BIAY Day 11 - Unexpected Presence
Genesis 27-29, Psalm 10
Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
If you ever felt like you had an odd, contentious, messed up, or dysfunctional family, you’re not alone! The chapters today are a great example of how some stories in the Bible are describing the people and events but are not prescribing their behavior for us to imitate.
Here’s what I’m noticing today.
Nonretractable blessing - What a messed up situation in chapter 27. Parents picking favorites and actively scheming with one child against another. Out-and-out lying. Ugh. Something interesting here is that Isaac’s blessing is nonretractable once it has been given. In the world of the Genesis patriarchs, words once spoken had a long-term impact so it was vital to speak them carefully and well. No wonder Isaac wants to make double-sure that he’s about to bless Esau. Once the blessing has been given, it takes on a life of its own. That’s not our world, but we have no less responsibility to be very intentional about the words we speak—when, why, and to whom.
Jacob’s Ladder - Jacob’s dream/vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven is a powerful one. God’s promise comes to him as the next in line to his grandfather Abraham’s promise. I’m drawn to Jacob’s words when he awoke (verse 16): “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’” I wonder about times I missed that the Lord was present and I missed it because I failed to perceive the situation rightly. Sometimes God surprises us by showing up when and where we didn’t expect. I imagine that’s the situation with Jacob here. Also, Jesus mentions this episode in John 1:51 (if you are creating a Legacy Bible, this is where I like to jot the NT reference in the margin): “He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.’” He is the bridge between heaven and earth, the access point for people to know “the Lord is in this place.”
Two deceivers of a kind - Ok, so there’s a little enjoyment of seeing Jacob, the deceiver and scoundrel, get out-deceived by Laban, his once and future father-in-law. Side comment—an unhealthy family dynamic yet again! But I do appreciate seeing Jacob’s determination and perseverance. Perhaps he’s growing up a bit finally.
God continues to notice - God remains, somewhat scandalously, with Jacob throughout this ordeal, much of which is of his own making. I love that we continue to see God’s heart for the person with the least going for them in the situation. Leah is the unloved woman married off by a swindling father to a dishonest husband. It hardly gets more on the outs than that. Yet God blesses her first (29:31).
God notices, part 2 - Leah’s situation seems well expressed in a verse from the psalm today: “But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14)
Questions:
When did you realize after the fact (or later in the episode) that God had been present in a way you didn’t see at first?
When have you noticed someone otherwise overlooked? What was that like for you?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, keep my eyes open and my heart attentive to the when, how, and through whom you are present today. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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I haven't gone back and researched it, but since Esau gave up his birthright to Jacob, shouldn't the blessing have been his anyway as the new "first born" son?