Shaky foundation
Monday, Sept. 28
Genesis 27:1 – 28:9 Read it here Listen to it here

If God is going to create a people who can witness to him in this world, this seems like a shaky foundation to start with.
We have Isaac, who seems to prefer his son Esau over the son God has said will be the father of a great nation, we have Rebekah, who schemes to make sure her preferred son wins out by whatever means she considers necessary, we have Jacob, who not only agrees to his mother’s dishonesty but improves on it. Then we have Esau, who seems not very bright but very angry.
We like to have our heroes be larger than life—to be beyond the limitations of human failings.
But it seems as though the Bible goes out of its way to make sure we understand that the people God uses to do great things are not great people—they are people of great faith and obedience (at least some of the time).
When we get to the New Testament, Peter will be called the rock upon which Jesus builds his church—the foundation. But Peter is also portrayed as temperamental and capable of denying Jesus when it gets uncomfortable.
The mighty King David seems at times to take the prohibitions in the Ten Commandments as a things-to-do list yet is presented as a man after God’s own heart.
The apostle Paul, who shapes the Christian church to an extent exceeded only by Jesus himself, could easily have been introduced to us as model of Jewish faithfulness, but instead we first meet him as a cruel persecutor of Jesus-followers.
It’s like God wants to make it clear that his kingdom isn’t built on a foundation of heroic people, or even consistently good people, but rather has to depend on God alone for its strength.
So the next time you think you’re not good enough to do what God is leading you to do, remember that at least you’ve never dressed in goatskin to steal something from your brother. It’s not about being good enough; it’s about trusting that God is strong enough.
As we read on through both the Old Testament, we’ll see how the people of God (Israel) try to earn God’s favor. Like Jacob (Israel), who schemed to get Isaac’s blessing, they have to be reminded that blessing comes from God, not human effort or cleverness.
Isaac’s blessing of Jacob is for the generations to come as well, “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness—an abundance of grain and new wine….May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

Monday meditation

Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Prayer focus
Show me, Lord, how to use my gifts and possessions in your service, and empower me to resist the temptation to seek only my own advantage.

-Rev. Mark Fleming