Scripture

“Know tat I am with you and I will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for O will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”

Observation
Jacob leaves Beersheba and heads towards Haran looking for a suitable wife. He sleeps at a particular place along the way and dreams of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels coming and going upon it.
The Lord appears to Jacob and confirms the promise made to Jacob’s father Abraham. He promises that Jacob’s offspring will be like the dust of the earth and that the Lord will go with him.
Jacob wakes up and sets up a memorial stone. He calls the place Bethel, meaning House of God.

Application
Jacob was seeking a wife, but found God first. It would take another, more violent, encounter with the Lord before Jacob would be surrendered to the Lord’s purposes.
The Lord is always with us- we cannot flee from Him. He is often reaching out to us. But, because we a re preoccupied with our own concerns, we miss Him.
We need to be ready to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit at any time, not just when we are seeking Him.

Prayer
Father, I thank you that you are constantly revealing yourself to the hearts of men and women. Help me to listen to your voice in the midst of daily living. Amen.

Scripture

And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.

Observation

Abraham, now very old in years, sends his servant to the region he had come from to find a suitable wife for Isaac. The servant finds Rebekah, sister of Laban. He proceeds to tell Laban and his father Bethuel of his mission and his desire to take Rebekah home.

Laban and Bethuel agree to the request. The servant then brings gifts of clothes and jewellery for Rebekah and her family.

The servant then takes Rebekah to Isaac and they are married.

Application

To our ears the idea of sending a servant to a distant land to find a wife for your son seems somewhat unromantic. In those days, finding the right wife for your sons was an important task which affected the whole family, and who better than a trusted senior servant? Whatever our opinions, it worked for we are told that Isaac loved Rebekah deeply.

The servant clearly trusted the Lord for the fulfilment of his mission. It must have seemed like finding a needle in a haystack, but the servant prayed for success.

Whatever we are called to do, prayer and trust in the Lord can make the impossible mission achievable with far less effort than we might have thought.

Prayer

Father forgive me for the times when I rely on my own resources instead of trusting in you. Help me to remember to hand over every impossible mission to you and grant me success in those things you call me to. Amen.

Scripture

“Come lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand for I will make a great nation of him.”

Observation

Sarah bears a son for Abraham in their old age. Isaac grows and Sarah becomes jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. She demands that Abraham sends them away. Abraham is reluctant to do this, but God tells him not to be worried. Although Isaac is the child of promise, Ishmael will also father a nation.

Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away with some food and water. They wander in the wilderness near Beersheba. When the water is gone, Hagar places Ishmael under a bush and goes some distance away. God opens her eyes to see a well.

God is with the boy and he grows up in the wilderness.

Application

Sometimes we act outside of God’s perfect will. Abraham had tried to make God’s promises come true by sleeping with his wife’s servant. Trouble arose later but it didn’t mean that God would wash his hands of Ishmael.

God keeps His promises to us despite our sinfulness.

He also brings unexpected blessings out of our mistakes. That’s not to say that there are no consequences- Ishmael’s descendants continue to fight against Isaac’s to this day.

God takes our high points of faith and our monumental catastrophic failings and weaves them together to achieve His purposes.

Our sins don’t have the last word.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the story of Ishmael and your provision for him in the desert. Please help me to be faithful to you all the time, and when I fall redeem my mistakes and forgive my sin. Amen.