God's Blessing

I came across a connection I found interesting between Laban and and his nephew Jacob:  they were always working angles for their benefit.  When Abraham's servant came to Nahor to find a wife for his master's son Isaac Genesis 24:29-31 reads, "Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. ³⁰ So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹ And he said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels." (emphasis mine)  Laban was glad to favour people from whom he could enrich himself.  Laban proved to be a shrewd man, always seeking his own prosperity at the expense of others.

Jacob was the younger of Isaac's twin sons born to Rebekah, and he too had a penchant to scheme for his own advantage.  He managed to weasel Esau out of his birthright and blessing.  He was sent to Laban's house in Padanaram to marry within the family, and though a "man of the tents" by God's grace he found the way.  Genesis 29:10 says, "And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother." (emphasis mine)  Jacob was impressed by the beauty of Rachel and the bounty of Laban's flock, and ended up staying with Laban.  Laban acknowledged in Genesis 29:14, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month."  At the end of the month, Laban made the generous offer to Jacob to state his wages--wages Laban agreed to but changed 10 times.

Jacob served Laban for 7 years for the privilege of marrying Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah instead.  He asked Jacob to serve another 7 years to marry Rachel and because he loved her Jacob did so.  When Jacob asked to be released from his service Genesis 30:27 reads, "And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favour in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake."  Laban and Jacob wanted blessing from the LORD, and the blessing they sought meant material possessions.  Jacob ended up leaving Padanaram with wives, sons, daughters, servants, flocks and herds, more than he could have ever dreamed of receiving.

A touch from God changed the old schemer, and gave him a new name.  Genesis 32:24-30 records a compelling scene as Jacob fretting over returning to his country and his brother Esau:  "Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. ²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶ And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" ²⁷ So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." ²⁸ And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." ²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. ³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

From that day forward Israel walked with a limp and a blessing received from God.  Instead of scheming for gain he gave:  he gave his brother a generous present, bought land where he made an offering to God, gave Joseph a coat of many colours, gave money for food from Egypt, and even gave his youngest son Benjamin at the request of an unknown ruler in Egypt--who happened to be his beloved and long-lost Joseph.  His life began to reflect the giving and generous God he worshiped.  Isn't God awesome in the way He changes people?  He gives those who seek Him a new name, blessings, and a glorious destiny by His grace.

The Heart Requirement

The almighty God is unapproachable in glory, yet He graciously called the children of Israel as His own inheritance.  He graciously made a covenant with them and His presence dwelt among them.  Offering sacrifices to God under Law became ingrained in the culture of Israel and over time a subtle shift occurred:  people offered sacrifices who did not know God.  They imagined on the basis of their sacrifice they were pleasing and acceptable to God regardless of what they did.  Sin was like a debt in a ledger which sacrifice blotted out, and the greater the sacrifice the more righteous or pious the person.  Ironic, right?

I read this today in Micah 6:6-8:  "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  God was not interested in the apology gifts of His people but preferred they obediently walk in His ways.  You've heard the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and it rings true here.  The prophet revealed no amount of sacrifice makes a man worthy to approach God, and even offering your child as a burnt offering cannot wash hearts and hands of sin.  Better than sacrificing for sin they should walk in the good way God already directed.

God despised and refused to receive the sacrifices of the proud who gave only in response to their guilt instead of God's worthiness.  They vainly hoped greater sacrifice would make them worthy, but no sinner has merit to be acceptable to God.  God desired His people would do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.  The Father sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Saviour of the world, and He has bid all men by faith to walk with Him.  Jesus is the Lamb of God without blemish who the Father ordained as a sinless and acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world.  No man can earn heaven by their gifts, but as many as have received Jesus to them He gives power to become the sons of God by grace through faith.

People in Micah's day made sacrifices which gave them glory before men, and men viewed them as righteous though they gave out of guilt for sin.  They forgot sacrifices are not offered by the righteous but by sinners!  Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart.  As Jesus and His disciples watched people contribute money to the Temple treasury, He pointed out a poor widow who threw in two mites--the smallest denomination of coinage.  To their great surprise He said she gave more than all because she gave out of her lack.  This likely has more than financial implications:  she gave without pride, arrogance, or self-confidence from a heart that hungered and thirsted for God.  David wrote in Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise."  It isn't the monetary value of the sacrifice which impresses God but hearts which are broken and humbled before Him.

To obey is better than sacrifice, and the broken and contrite heart is willing to give God all.

Not Immune, but Loved

I was reminded of a childhood memory of a friend at church who was convinced he was "immune" to the effects of poison oak because of his Native American ancestry.  The reason?  He and two friends unwittingly walked through a patch of poison oak:  they were covered with hives, and he had none. Seeing I was most skeptical of his claims, he proceeded to grab leaves of poison oak and slowly rubbed them on his arms and across his face.  When he came to church on Sunday, it was obvious to all (including him!) he was NOT "immune" to poison oak.

It is a common misconception that coming to Jesus Christ in faith brings comfort and rest to life without struggles which plagued us before.  There is a sense our relationship with God means we are immune to the trials of life, and that sin's negative influences and effects are negated.  They felt they could choose to walk in sin without consequences.  An example of this is seen in the children of Israel who departed from obedience to God in Micah 3:11:  "Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us."  I imagine they quoted hackneyed phrases to pump up their confidence like, "No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper," or "If God be for us who can be against us?"

Sin remains as poisonous and deadly as ever after we come to Christ, desiring to cut us off from fellowship with God and other believers.  The context of what Paul wrote was not that relationship with God causes us to avoid painful trials, but though He allows them nothing can separate us from His love--very different to what many assume.  It is not the cessation of pain or problems, but consolation from God in the midst of them.  As long as we live in this body of flesh in a fallen world we await ultimate redemption and thus pain and problems will continue.  Yet even as Jesus rose from the dead, there is a continual supply of hope, help, and deliverance in Him.

Read it in context for yourself in Romans 8:31-39:  "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." ³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God did not spare His Son Jesus Christ from suffering, grief, pain, and death, but He has exalted Him above all other names.  He has all authority in heaven and earth and freely has given us all things.  Jesus lives to make intercession for us and at no point in our lives on earth will we be free of our need for help, wisdom, and strength from Him.  See the things which Paul and other Christians suffered!  Not one of them was immune to distress, persecution, famine, peril, or sword; many believers suffered cruel deaths at the hand of God's enemies.  Yet though they encountered fiery trials and brutal pains, they were greatly loved by God who demonstrated His love for sinners on the cross.  Paul was accounted (like Christ) as a sheep to be slaughtered, yet by God's grace he would rise.  This is the promise, not the absence of pain or problems but the presence and power of the Almighty God now and forever.

Sometimes our pains are self-inflicted, like my friend who covered himself in poison oak.  But praise God He is a Healer, a Redeemer, and Restorer of souls to all who turn to Him in faith.

Love-Based Relationship

Last night as a family we watched a film we hadn't seen for over a decade:  How To Train Your Dragon.  Hiccup is a young lad who aspires to be a dragon slayer but doesn't seem to fit in with the other Vikings of the village.  This is especially true concerning his brave and brutish father.  Hiccup was more apt to try to befriend dragons rather than kill them.  He is a constant source of embarrassment to his father, who at one point says to him:  "You're not my son."

About 15 minutes later in the film, however, Stoic the Vast's opinion of Hiccup changed due to his brave exploits:  "I'm proud to call you my son," his father beamed.  "It seems they share a performance-based relationship," I said aloud.  The son was always working to earn the approval of his father, and the father exuded bitterness at perceived failures yet pride for apparent success.  Stoic viewed Hiccup in light of his failure or success, whether he was able to meet or exceed expectations he had for his son.  Sadly, I don't think the dynamics of their relationship are unique.  Performance-based relationships are more common than we might think.

One thing for which I am grateful is God's gracious acceptance of flawed people because He loves them--not because they have measured up to His immaculate standard.  In my personal experience with corporations and workplaces it was always very much, "What have you done for me lately?" rather than trust and mutual respect.  Any favour was a thinly veiled "You Owe Me" rather than "Well done."  Isn't it amazing that we owe God for everything, yet He never once says "You owe me?"  The wise realise we owe Him our lives, all we possess, and can only credit Him for the amazing future He has in store for us.  Just because we can't measure up doesn't mean working to please Him isn't worth it.  We are called to wisely respond to the everlasting love He has extended to us, humbled to be His chosen, adopted child.

With God we are not in a performance-based relationship, yet at the same time faithful servants will be rewarded accordingly.  He entrusts more to those who are faithful in the little things.  Instead of despising the days of small things, we are to be faithful unto the LORD who has provided all things by grace.  Every day is a good day to praise and honour God, the One who has accepted us and is pleased to call us His own even when we fail and fall.  What peace, rest, and comfort is ours by the mercy and grace of God.  God is not proud of us but pleased with us, for ours is a relationship based on love, not performance.