创世记

Meditative Reflection
Blessed are the Meek

In the secular world, meekness is not necessarily a virtue; in fact it may be looked upon as a sign of weakness. A meek person may be seen as someone who is gutless, who is afraid to stand for his right, or who is even a pushover.

At work, a meek person is likely to be passed over for promotion. In business, a meek person will likely lose ground to a more aggressive competitor. If that is true, then in ancient times, when there was no law to protect you, a meek person would likely be intimidated and be robbed of his many rights. But Jesus insists, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) The life of Isaac is a very powerful proof of this.

The Bible says Abimelech clearly saw that the Lord was with Isaac. The Bible does not say that Abimelech clearly saw that Isaac was very aggressive and powerful and thus was to be feared greatly so that Abimelech had better sought a peace treaty with him. The opposite was true. Abimelech clearly saw that in spite of Isaac’s repeated retreats from confrontation, he kept on prospering and was able to find fresh water wells that were clearly a blessing from the God he trusted. So, it was not so much the man, Isaac that Abimelech feared, but the God he trusted.

Many Seminarians appear to have been taught that when they enter into ministry, they should negotiate a proper employment contract that would protect their rights, especially in terms of salary and benefits. I do think that the church should take extremely good care of their ministers (1 Tim. 5:17), but as God’s servants, should we not set an example in trusting in the Lord who alone should be our source for “inheriting the earth”?

Meditative Reflection
Favoritism

Playing favoritism within a family can be very destructive to the development of the character of the children. Although Esau and Jacob could not blame all their misfortunes and less-than-godly character on their parents, favoritism of their parents did contribute to the aggravation of their sibling relationships.

Esau was obviously favored by his father. Even his immoral lifestyle was tolerated by Isaac to the extent that he did not really know how displeasing his marriage to two Hittites women was to his father who must have voiced his concern ever so softly (Gen. 28:8). Isaac’s favoritism even caused him to completely ignore the words of God concerning whom He has chosen as the heir to the very important covenant with Abraham. He went ahead against God’s will to bless Esau, except that it was spoiled by his wife’s intervention.

I sense that Rebekah’s favoritism was milder in comparison, as she grieved the possibility of losing “both” sons (Gen. 27:45). She loved them both, and perhaps, it was Isaac’s blatant disobedience to the word of God that prompted her to do the unthinkable — coaching her son to cheat the blessings already promised by God. She could have confronted her husband instead, reminding him of the words foretold by God before the birth of their twins. Perhaps, she knew that Isaac’s mind was made up.

In any case, their favoritism had directly contributed to the hatred between their sons, as one continued to live a godless life, the other had to seek refuge in a far-away place. In essence, they have already lost both sons.

I grew up in a nominal Christian family and I often felt being despised by my father because of my less-than-stellar academic achievement as a teenager. As I came to know the Lord in my college years, I have come to reclaim my self-esteem in the Lord and have come to commit to raising my own family in fairness. By God’s grace too, most of my siblings have come to know the Lord in their youth. Instead of a family split apart like Isaac’s, the grace of God has glued us together, extending even to those siblings my father had born outside of our own mother. Reconciliation and redemption is possible, if we allow His grace to work through our lives.

Meditative Reflection
Molding into Someone Usable by God

I used to think that since God is God Almighty, He could achieve His purpose with or without the cooperation of His servants and that the achieving of His purpose was far more important to Him than how His servants might turn out in the process. But the more I read the Bible, I have come to understand that as much as God is truly Almighty and He can certainly achieve His purpose or mission in spite of His servants, invariably, His desire is to mold His servants into His likeness and to understand and share His passion. The life of Jacob is a case in point.

There is no way that you and I would have chosen Jacob to be the heir to inherit the blessing bestowed on Abraham by God, because Jacob was not just a chosen seed, but he had to inherit also the spiritual responsibility spelled out by God in Genesis 18:19:

“For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.”

How on earth could Jacob assume such an awesome responsibility! As the story of Jacob unfolds, we can see that God, with great patience, would mold him into someone eventually fit for His purpose, albeit through many of his self-inflicted trials. I believe it is safe to say that once God has chosen His servant, He would not give up on him easily, until He has completed His work of molding.

Meditative Reflection
Once It was the Blessing

As we reflect on the lives of Esau and Jacob — one despised God’s blessing only to regret having lost it, and the other coveted it so much that he would use deception to get it — let’s reflect on the right attitude towards God’s blessings through this hymn of A.B. Simpson:

1. Once it was the blessing,
  Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
  Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
  Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
  Now Himself alone.

2. Once 'twas painful trying,
  Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation,
  Now the uttermost;
Once 'twas ceaseless holding,
  Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting,
  Now my anchor's cast.

3. Once 'twas busy planning,
  Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring,
  Now He has the care;
Once 'twas what I wanted,
  Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking,
  Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

4. Once it was my working,
  His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him,
  Now He uses me;
Once the pow'r I wanted,
  Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored,
  Now for Him alone.

5. Once I hoped in Jesus,
  Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying,
  Now they brightly shine;
Once for death I waited,
  Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored
  Safe within the veil.

Chorus:

All in all forever,
  Only Christ I'll sing;
Everything is in Christ,
  And Christ is everything.

Meditative Reflection
Learning Faith the Hard Way

As I reflect on Jacob’s journey to Paddan Aram, I cannot help but think of the same journey taken by the servant of Abraham. Both journeys were in search of a bride for the chosen seed of Abraham in fulfillment of the promise by God. The former was done out of faith and obedience. The latter was a result of faithlessness and human effort. How vast was their difference.

Jacob, no doubt, had learned of his grandfather’s journey of faith and how God had been faithful in his life. He would also have learned of God’s message to his mother, concerning his chosen role in the Abrahamic Covenant. Had he learned to trust in God and leave it in God’s hand — trusting in God’s own timing and God’s own intervention even against all odds (i.e. his father’s obvious choice of Esau over him) — he would still end up having Rachel as his wife, but he would have been spared his frightful journey fleeing for his life and all the trials he faced in Laban’s hands. Who knows? Maybe Isaac and Rebekah might learn from Abraham and send a servant to fetch a wife for him as well?

But as I reflect on my journey of faith, I have come to see that I am not too different. I have often made things harder for myself because of my own stupidity, disobedience and rushed actions. But God is truly gracious, He continues to amaze me with His patience and forbearance, turning each potential disaster into a time of learning for me, or to put it more accurately, a time of blessing for me indeed. I believe, Jacob would have agreed with me.

Meditative Reflection
Jacob’s Ladder

Jacob’s ladder has been the subject of many famous paintings in the past. Some imagine it to be a simple wooden ladder and others think of it as a grand staircase fit for a royal procession. Some depict angels swinging around it, others would have angels walking up and down just as it is recorded in Genesis 28, while some would have angels converse with one another as they travel on the grand staircase.

Some have a more relaxed Jacob leaning on a rock, while others depict a more worn-out Jacob. While some completely ignore Jacob in their paintings.

In the reading of that dream of Jacob, we have to remember that it was not only his first encounter with God, but also that he barely knew God. Therefore, such a dream served to introduce Jacob to a God he heard about, but hardly knew.

So the messages depicted by his dream would have included:

a. God is not an inaccessible God: the ladder that rested on the earth, and reached all the way to heaven, lets Jacob know that God is not indifferent to the events on earth, and that He is a God who can be reached,

b. Angels do the bidding of God: with angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder, Jacob is informed of the reality and activities of God’s angels who do the bidding of God, including things that would concern the life of Jacob, and

c. God is in control: with God standing on the top of the ladder, God is the one who is in full control of heaven and earth and His words can be trusted.

It was with these assurances that God proceeded to reiterate His promise to Jacob’s forefathers — the land and the blessings of all peoples on earth through him, and added His personal promise to watch over him and to bring him back to this land.

It is interesting to note that at this stage of Jacob’s life, even with this amazing revelation of God, his only concern was a safe return to his father’s house and that he would have “food to eat and clothes to wear,” (Gen. 28:20-21) He completely overlooked or ignored the importance of the covenant God made with Abraham and his glorious role as the successor of this covenant. But he was still better than many who greatly appreciate the many great paintings of his dream and consider it nothing more than a myth!

Meditative Reflection
Ungratefulness

Jacob made it safely to the house of his uncle, Laban. Laban must have been rather disappointed to see his nephew, penniless and broke. The last time a visitor came from Abraham, he bore gifts and the first things Laban noticed was the golden jewelries given to his sister. This nephew of his came with nothing. But at least, he was gracious enough to receive him because he was his own flesh and blood. Given what we learn about who Laban was, Jacob should not have taken his reception for granted. The safe journey itself was God’s answer to his prayer. The courteous reception by Laban was an extra measure of the grace from God. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention any act of thanksgiving or worship by Jacob that marked the response of Abraham’s servant upon his arrival at Laban’s household.

God is not a God who covets our gratefulness or our tithes. The expression of our gratefulness ultimately is for our own benefits in that:

(1) We will learn humility: it is by giving instant and constant recognition of God’s provision that we will not be conceited and proud:

(2) We will learn to trust God even more: it is by recognizing that God answers our prayer that we can be even more sure that we can continue to count on God and pray to Him, and

(3) We will know Him more: the most precious outcome of giving thanks instantly and constantly is that we will come to know Him more as a God who is not only mighty, but caring and loving.

A person who is slow to give thanks is also a person who is slow to trust God.