27:19 "Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.' "
Wow. I had a hard time finding something encouraging in this passage. Isaac shows preference for Esau, Rebekah for Jacob. Both parents and children seem to be working against each other. This blessing seems to be pretty important, yet Isaac makes Esau wait until he can catch his father some food, Rebekah eavesdrops and plots deception, Jacob carries it out and falsifies the Lord's support to back his story, and Esau vows to kill his brother when things don't go his way. Who's the hero here?!? Who do I look up to?!?
In every culture, history is viewed as an important part of life. "If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." And an integral part of history are the heroes. Students of history like heroes because it gives the learner a character to help summarize an era or event and, more importantly, gives them values and strengths to emulate. Greece has their Alexander, India has Gandhi, Native Americans have Chief Sitting Bull, America has George Washington, France has Napoleon. Yet a careful study of all these people will find them to have a common trait - they are all human. Being human, they all were far from perfect. We must be careful who we put on a pedestal, because if we truly want to emulate them, we find ourselves falling into the same sins that our heroes struggled with.
Who do I put on my pedestal? I greatly respect my grandfather. I named my first son after him solely because I hoped it would give my child reason to learn about him. And if my son becomes half the man my grandfather is, I will count it a blessing. But should my grandfather by my hero? I will not detract from the great life of ministry and devotion that my grandfather has lived, but he is still just a man. I know he's not perfect. If I put my entire focus on Christ, I will find no fault. Christ and Christ alone should be the hero we worship and seek to emulate.
While this passage was a bit discouraging, reflecting on it brought to mind the joy of knowing Christ and that he never pulled stunts like Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, or Esau. He lived a perfect life so we can have a perfect model. And as for my grandpa, if I need help, I will always consider him one of my best sources for wisdom and encouragement, but he still falls second place to the Word of God. My grandfather has earned this kind of respect in me and most everyone else he knows because... he has made Christ his hero. And I hope that I, my wife, and my two sons follow in that example.
Lord, help me not to put my trust in earthly heroes. Help me to look to you for all guidance. Let me make you the hero of my life.
1 comment:
I thought this story was really interesting today too. I was thinking about how God is sovereign and worked His plan even through their treachery. If it wouldn't have happened this way, Jacob wouldn't have been sent to Laben and then wouldn't have married Leah, had Judah which eventually came David and Jesus. I thought it was interesting how He worked His plan out!
And I agree, your Grandpa is definetly someone to look up to!
Thank you for blessing my family so much today!
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