BULLETIN ARTICLE
13 October 2019
PROMISE KEEPING GOD
The contrasting lives of the twins – Esau and Jacob – as recorded in Genesis 36 and 37 teaches us a special spiritual lesson. He who chooses to draw near to God will see his grace unfold; he who chooses to disbelieve have only themselves to blame for their spiritual emptiness.
Esau voluntarily gave up his own birthright. He did not value spiritual inheritance. He lived for the here and now. First it was his hunger. Then, at his father Isaac’s bedside, he cried out to be blessed materially after his brother Jacob had cheated him of the blessings. He was blessed materially in abundance. It was what he desired. He fathered a large family and possessed the region of Seir. He was so wealthy that he did not mind moving off so that both he and Jacob could expand in their habitation of Canaan. Did Esau really repent of his godless ways? The answer may be seen in names of his sons and grandsons. Their listed names in Genesis 36 reveal his family turning away from God. It is also quite possible that one of them was named Baal-Hanan (Gen. 36:38) – a name that took on the false god Baal.
In contrast, Jacob received God’s sovereign grace. Much has been written about Jacob’s craftiness but there is one aspect of his character amidst all the deception that should be looked at – God’s Word was real to him in practical ways. On his journey from Beersheba to Harran he heard the voice of God in a dream speaking to him giving him the promise of inheritance – “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying” (Gen. 28:13). When he awoke, Jacob responded by putting up a bargain with God that: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God” (Gen. 28:20-21). He acknowledged how God had shown him undeserved kindness and faithfulness and expressed that he was clinging to God’s promised protection. That is not to deny that he continued to rely on his own crafty planning and solutions when fleeing from his father-in-law Laban and in trying to save his family and property from Esau. Sadly there was also his silence over his sons murderous vengeance on the men of Shechem due to the sexual assault on his daughter Dinah.
There is an account of yet another person – Jacob’s son Joseph, who gave himself fully to trust God and to abide by God’s timing in the unfolding of his plan in the life of his father Jacob. Joseph’s stay and life in Egypt and his ultimate elevation to the post of prime minister under Pharaoh makes possible the preservation of Jacob and his family, as well as teaching all of them some valuable spiritual lessons.
We are reminded once again that God’s promises will remain fulfilled and his purposes are not derailed even if things look otherwise, when things are far from perfect. Who is able to thwart the plans of God? The promises of God’s Word stand to be fulfilled. Once God’s Word is spoken, the promises of God to his Church, no matter how impossible it looks, will be fulfilled. Promises made – Promises kept!
