Friday, May 30, 2014

#76 Lay Low Genesis 28



Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham." So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Genesis 28: 1-5 NKJV

It was easy for Rebekah to get Isaac's support in sending Jacob away. He blesses him again but charges him not to take a wife of the local tribes, like his brother did. God is setting apart those to whom He will reveal His law, but those who worship other God's and idols will not be on the same path. It is a marriage of contention or compromise, but if the God of Abraham will have no other gods then to compromise is to deny who He is. Jacob is sent to Laban, not only to look for a wife, but to let his brother have time to cool down. 

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV

There is a certain incompatibility in a marriage between those who would seek God's will and those who would seek their own. If you put a yoke across a strong bull and weaker bull, you will not get a straight path, but fight going in circles. This does not suggest that Christians should not interact with unbelievers, but marriage is also considered a spiritual union. How can you be one with each other when you are like oil and water. No one can serve two masters, so any relationship that would deny God as the head should be avoided. 

Isaac again blesses Jacob before he leaves and this time knowing it is the younger son. He invokes the Abrahamic blessing, and shows that his own understanding has changed toward obedience in God's will and purpose. Jacob is on his way.


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