City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

1Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. Esau Marries an Ishmaelite 6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Genesis 28:1-9

Reflection

At this point in the lives of Isaac and Jacob, we know God had told Rebekah there were two babies in Rebekah’s womb but the older would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). Rebekah, knowing the promises God made to Abraham, had surely told Isaac. Yet, even though God had chosen Jacob (Romans 9:11-13), Isaac preferred Esau (Gen. 25:28). 

Then, when Isaac knew he was going to die, he insisted on laying hands on Esau to pronounce his blessing over him, instead of Jacob (Gen. 27:29). Through the trickery of his wife, Rebekah, and his son, Jacob, the blessing lands on Jacob. When Isaac is tricked he is initially angry, but upon reflection seems to recognize he has been resisting God’s will in attempting to bestow his blessing and the fruit of God’s promise on Esau.

Now it was time for Isaac to send out Jacob to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and it appears Isaac has finally seen the light, i.e. that Jacob is the heir apparent to God’s blessings. Isaac says to Jacob, “May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you make take possession of the land of your sojourning that God gave to Abraham!” (Gen. 28:4). It appears Isaac had finally stopped resisting God’s will with regard to his two sons.

There was a man named Saul, a Pharisee, a religious leader, but a persecutor of Christians. He had been present when Stephen was stoned and heard him preach Jesus. When Saul was on the road to Damascus to arrest more Christians, Jesus appeared to him in a bright light and said to him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 9:5). 

A goad was a long sharp stick. The farmer would walk behind the oxen and if it started to stray off the path, the farmer would stick the oxen in the hind legs to get it to go where he wanted it to go while he was plowing. Jesus was the farmer and Saul was ox. When Jesus told Saul, “It is hard for you” he was saying, “this is a hard path you have chosen.” 

Application

God is sovereign, and He will accomplish His purposes on the earth. Maybe you have been feeling the goad of the Holy Spirit in a certain area of your life, and what started as gentle nudges has become sharp pokes. Resisting His will in your life is a hard path. 

Prayer

Lord, thank You for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. Amen.