Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 24-29)

In our last two days of readings this week, we see the life of the first Patriarch end and the lives of his son and grandson continue the covenantal blessing from God.  Did you LOVE the story of Abraham securing a wife for his son Isaac?  I guess I'm a hopeless romantic, but it doesn't get much more beautiful than this one.

1. How did Abraham go about finding a wife for his son Isaac?  What were his instructions?
2. What did his servant do in Gen. 24:12-14, specifically the first words of v. 12?
3. This was a rather bold and specific prayer Abraham's servant made, but would we expect him to do any less?  Should we do any less?  I am always so blessed when my father-in-law tells me how they prayed for the future spouses of all their children as they were growing up, and how I am God's answer to their prayers for Michael.  Do you pray for your children's future spouses?  If not, why not start today!  The person they choose to spend the rest of their life with will greatly impact their future and yours.  While you're at it, pray for the parents raising those precious children that will become part of your family.  They might just be praying for you and your child, too!
4. What did God do in response to the servant's prayer?  Take special note of these words:  Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. (Gen. 24:15a; emphasis mine)  Don't you love how God already has the answer planned--He just wants us to join Him in His perfect plan so we can rejoice in His provision!  (We tend to notice his provision more when we've been praying for it!)  Rebekah's brother and father see God's hand in it, too.  Read her brother Laban's words in Gen. 24:50-52.  How did the servant respond to all of this?

I absolutely love reading the part of this story when the servant is returning with Rebekah and she sees Isaac from afar.  When she learns that the man she sees is her groom, she covers herself with a veil...just like a bride.  Then the two become husband and wife through the act of becoming one flesh, and "Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death."  Now that is a love story worth preserving for all time!

Were you ready for Abraham to die so soon?  I wasn't.  I know he was 175 years old, but I wasn't ready for his part of the story to be over just yet.  But I suppose we can get all the other details of his life one day in heaven.  I might just have to pull up my chair and ask him to tell "the rest of the story."  I can hardly wait!

I cannot even fathom the family dynamics at Abraham's funeral.  Did you notice God is already keeping His promise to bless Abraham's descendants?  See if you can find the verse in ch. 25 that tells us this.

Now it's your turn.  Study the birth of Esau and Jacob in Gen. 25:19-34, and see how many significant things you can find for this family and the future nation that will come from them.  Remember to take special note of names and their meanings, because they usually prophesy what will happen in that person's life.  See if you can find study notes in your Bible that explain the significance of the birthright in Biblical history.

Did you find some interesting stuff?  Now look at ch. 26.

1. What does God tell Isaac to do in verse 2?  Sound familiar? 
2. Read God's words to Isaac in vv. 3-5.  Why does God promise to do all of this for Isaac (see verse 5)?  The reality is, our obedience (or disobedience) impacts our children and future descendants.  (More about this when God gives Moses the Ten Commandments.)
3. Did vv. 6-11 sound like a rediculous re-run?  I mean, really, did Abraham forget to tell Isaac not to repeat this deception of the "shes's my sister" line?  What was the name of the king, and in what land did they settle?  Compare this with Gen. 20:2.  Really?  A king by the same name in the same country fell for the same sinful deception by the same family of patriarchs.  What a weird coincidence.  Read Matthew Henry's commentary, stating that this was not the same man, but another by the same name.  Soap opera stuff, sister.
4. What did the LORD do in v. 24, and what was Isaac's response in v. 25?  How do we know that the LORD is once again keeping His promise?  Read vv.28-29 for the answer.  Isaac is now God's witness to other nations!
5. As a further reminder of our need to pray for our children's future spouses and raise them to choose godly partners for life, read about the family strife caused by Esau's heathen Hittite wives in Gen. 26:35.  Let us not take this truth lightly!  Not only do we need to pray for the ones they will marry, but we need to prepare our children to be good spouses themselves.

In Genesis 27, Rebekah falls to the temptation of being deceptive.  God had promised her that Jacob would rule over his brother (Gen. 25:23), but she's not willing to wait for God to do this.  So, like her mother-in-law Sarah, she takes matters into her own hands. 

• This is an excellent section of Scripture for you to take and dig deeper, using the 3-question method at the bottom of your reading plan.  Be sure to write down all that you learn.

Genesis 28 opens with Isaac sending Jacob to his brother-in-law Laban to find a wife (same place Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac).  He speaks quite a blessing over his son in the first few verses.  On his way, Jacob lays down to sleep and has an incredible dream.  You may have heard of "Jacob's ladder" in children's bible stories or songs.

1. What promise does the LORD give Jacob during this dream?
2. What does Jacob say about that place?
3. What does he do there, and what does he vow to do in the future?

Genesis 29 is another love story of a groom finding his bride, but this one gets messy (thanks to the father-of-the-bride).  I love how, when the other shepherds gathered at the well tell Jacob they need to wait to remove the stone until the other flocks arrive, but then Jacob sees Rachel approaching and turns into macho-man.  Did you catch that?  What did he do all by himself in verse 10?  Rolling stones away seems to be God's specialty, doesn't it?  Either God or some serious adrenaline helped Jacob roll that stone all on his own!

As you read how things unfolded for Jacob and Rachel, I'm sure you were outraged at Laban's deceitfulness.  This repeated sin seems to be the downfall of this whole family, doesn't it?  But did you feel sorry for Leah, too?  Notice the names she gives her sons and what she says:

1. Reuben--"for now my husband will love me"
2. Simeon--"because the LORD has heard that I am hated"
3. Levi--"now this time my husband will be attached to me"
4. Judah--"This time I will praise the LORD."

My heart goes out to Leah, because it was her father's sin that brought this upon her.  She didn't really have a choice in the matter.  Her words after her first three sons' births are so sad to me.  What woman could endure knowing she is not loved by her husband?  She hopes for the best each time, but it is not to be.

So finally, when she brings forth her fourth son, she gives him a very different name than the others--Judah, the Hebrew word for "praise."  She resolves that in the midst of her difficult life, she will praise the LORD.  God is good, whether or not her circumstances are good.  This son, Judah, is not only a turning point in her life with God but a turning point for all mankind.  From Judah's descendants would come the promised Messiah--Jesus Christ!

Let's close with the blessing Jacob will prophesy over his fourth son in our readings next week, and the words spoken to the disciple John concerning the fulfillment of this prophesy in Revelation.

Genesis 49:8-10 

 ⁸ “Judah, your brothers will praise you;
   your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
   your father’s sons will bow down to you.
⁹ You are a lion’s cub, O Judah;
   you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
   like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah,
   nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
   and the obedience of the nations is his.  

Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." 

Leah, weep no more, but rather praise your God, because your promised Redeemer will surely come.