One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Tuesday, January 11th The Death of Abraham and the Birth of Esau and Jacob, The Cost of Following Jesus!
Death of Abraham
Abraham married again and had six more sons. Though we don't know a lot about them from the rest of the bible, we know most of them became distinct peoples. For instance one of his sons, Midian, formed a people called the "Midianites"
Abraham gave his son, Iesac everything he owned. This was part of the promise fulfilled from God to bless Issac, the promised child. Abraham lived a total of 175 years. He was buried in the cave of Macpelah that he bought from Ephron. It was the same tomb he buried his wife Sarah, after having bought the land. Abraham, the father of our faith is mentioned 70 times in the New Testament. He is a model for us all.
Ishmael's Descendants
Ishmael had 12 sons who formed 12 tribes. The text says they were often in hostility with each other. Ishmael was also blessed as God had promised Hagar, Sarah's midwife.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
As the story of the birth of Issac and Rebekkah's twin boys is told, you will see many similarities with the birth of Issac to Abraham and Sarah.
1. Rebekkah, like Sarah, was unable to have children, so Issac pleaded with the Lord.
2. God answered Issac's prayer.
3. The twin boys fought in the womb, much like Ishmael and Issac fought as they grew older.
Rebekkah sense that her twins were fighting in the womb so she asked the Lord about it. Answer: Though Esau was the first twin out, it was decided by God that he would serve his younger brother Jacob. Jacob came out of the womb grasping his brother's heal. Esau's name meant "red" because of his hairy red body. And Jacob's name meant "heel or deceiver" and we will see why. We often say so and so is a "heel". Or, we call some an "achilles heel".
So people question the fairness of God choosing Jacob over Esau to be the leader.
"In this case, God chose to go against the accepted pattern of the younger serving the older. In Romans 9:10-13, the Apostle Paul used this choice of Jacob over Esau before their birth as an illustration of God’s sovereign choice." (Guzik)
We see the deceptive nature of Jacob, who like to stay at home while Esau was the hunter, when Esau comes in from a long day of hunting. Esau is famished and Jacob won't give him any food unless he gives him the birthright.
"Jacob acted in the character of his name, acting like a heel-catcher. He was acting like a scoundrel or a rascal in taking advantage of his brother." (Guzik)
But we can't only blame Jacob. "Esau thought little of the spiritual heritage connected to the birthright. He valued only material things, so a spiritual birthright meant little to him when his stomach was hungry."
Issac Deceives Abimelech
You've heard the saying, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Issac basically tries to deceive Ablmelech the way his dad did by saying Rebekkah was his sister. The passage again says that Rebekkah is very beautiful. Issac rationalizes this as to why he said she was his sister, because he thought they would kill him, just as Abraham did.
But when Issac is having intimate relationship with Rebekkah, the king sees it and calls in Issac to ask him what is really going on. Similar to the other kings that Abraham tried to deceive with the Sarah, Abimelech and the Pharaoh. Despite his anger, Abimelech agrees that no hand would ever be laid upon Rebekkah.
The bottom line is though just as God protected Sarai, He protected Rebekkah, despite the conduct of conduct of their husbands. By protecting these two women, God protected the bloodline of the covenant.
Conflict Over Water Rights
Though Issac had been blessed by his Father's inheritance, he still worked hard. His herds, cattle and servants grew exponently so that the king resented him. Abimelech feared that with this material prosperity, his rule might be threatned. The wells that Abraham had dug many years had served Issac and his flocks very well. Wells were a very valuable commodity so for the Philistines to stop up Issac's wells was a very dirty and costly trick.
Abilimelech was so threatened and jealous of Issac that he asked him to leave. Issac leaves to go to Gerar and we will read about his success there tomorrow. The key thing as you can see was God's hands up Issac and his family, as he kept his promise he made to his father, Abraham.
The Cost of Following Jesus
The crowds started to follow Jesus. led by the religous leaders. With the miracles he had done, following him might have seemed glamorous to them. Instead of trying to ride their emotion, instead Jesus challenged them to think about what they were asking to do. Jesus wasn't literally saying "he didn't have a home", when he said he had no place to rest to lay his head. He was letting them know that a life of following him would not be one of safely but stepping out and trusting God with every step and decision and for every provision.
Another man asked to go bury his father. It wasn't like Jesus was against honoring one's father and mother, but he saw that for this man this was an excuse.
"The man wanted to follow Jesus, but not just yet. He knew it was good and that he should do it, but he felt there was a good reason why he could not do it now. “If the scribe was too quick in promising, this ‘disciple’ was too slow in performing.” (Carson)
Jesus Calms the Storm
Jesus had shown his power and authority over sickness and disease, and today he shows his power over nature by calming the sea of Galilee. Capernaum was just on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was familiar with the fishing life. It was not uncommon for sudden and fierce storms to come on the Sea of Galilee. Despite being experienced fishermen, the disciples were frightened and though they were about to die.
Seeming to be oblivious to it all, Jesus was sleeping below deck. Though the tempest was raging about on the outside, all was calm with Jesus on the inside. The fact that he was sleepoing showed once again his humanity. Jesus woke when the screamed at him to wake up and save them for they were going to drown.
When he calmed the wind and the waves, it says he "rebuked the wind and waves". Some have been led to think this was not only a physical storm, but also a spiritual one. Perhaps Satan was trying to take both Jesus and his disciples out. But Jesus rebuked it and there was calm.
Jesus Heals the Two Demon Possessed Men
The above supposition is given more credence when Jesus goes on to heal two men who were possessed by demons. We can learn a couple of things from this story.
1. The men were possessed by the demons, not just oppressed. There is a big difference.
2. Being possessed the men were at the control of the demons who kept them in the graveyard screaming and horrifying people as they went by.
3. The demons recognized Jesus and called to him through the voices of the men. They recognized his authority and knew he could have thrown them in the pit of hell forever.
4. They knew there time was limited so they asked Jesus to deliver them into the bodies of a pigs nearby. The demons they possessed the pigs at Jesus command and the pigs ran to the water and drowned.
The townspeople, instead of being joyful for the men who were delivered, could only focus on the loss of their pigs, who provided them with get a bit of money.
The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them They sneer at all their enemies. They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!” Verses 4-6
I think we have all felt like the psalmist at one time in our lives. It seems like people who do evil get away with it. They think because God is not paying them back for their deeds now, they will never have to account for this evil ways. But they are near sighted. They do not seem to know that the justice of the Lord will catch up with them when they least expect it. Though they are enjoying the fortunes of sin today, one day they were forever regret living this kind of life.
"Justice delayed is not justice denied." (Lee Strobel, Case for Faith"
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