Of all the strange events in Jacob's life, this is by far the strangest. Left alone on the far bank of the Jabbok River, he ended up wrestling with a stranger in the dark of the night. During the course of the fight, Jacob began to realize he was grappling with no ordinary man. Though painfully injured, he refused to release his hold on the man until he "blessed" him. The request for a blessing in itself is surprising because Jacob was already a wealthy man with a large family. What more could he desire beyond what he already had? Yet, in the blessing God gave him, we discover the deep longing of Jacob's heart: he was tired of being Jacob. He was a self-reliant, competitive man, and he had stubbornly prevailed with everyone he dealt with, starting with his twin brother in the womb (Ge 25:21-24). Yet, something of blessing was missing inside his unsubmitted heart. He needed to walk with God at a new level, but he wasn't able to do so. This is what God saw and said He would grant him because he had not quit in his pursuit of God.

Many of us are strong-willed and find it hard to become dependant on God. From God's dealings with Jacob we will learn how to receive the gift of a changed nature.

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Though Jacob had enough faith to receive God's blessing, he was still very immature in his understanding of God. On his journey north to Haran, he fell asleep with a rock under his head. In a vision he saw the spiritual realities now surrounding him. God had prepared a pathway, allowing angels to constantly attend to him. And, he saw the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ watching over him and heard Him make the same promises He had made to his father and grandfather. But when Jacob awoke, he reacted strangely. He tried to bargain with God rather than thank Him for His gifts. It would take the next 20 years for him to grow up enough to appreciate what God had given him and respond appropriately. Unfortunately, some Christians still relate to God with the same immaturity evident in Jacob's younger years. Like him, we tend to bargain with God as an opponent rather than stand boldly on the promises He's made to us. To use Paul's words, we still think like slaves rather than God's children (Gal 3:26-4:7).

In this passage, we're going to see Abraham bless his son, warn him against sin and then send him on into the calling of his life. In essence, we're looking at what Jacob received from his father Isaac. For those who have not been blessed in such a way, you can still receive your blessing as a Christian. It is your birthright, and you need it!

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Moses has chosen to describe in vivid detail a very strange event that took place in Isaac's family. With the brilliance of a great storyteller he takes us through a day in which people used lies and deception to steal a spiritual blessing, and the amazing result was that they succeeded! This raises several questions: First, why did Moses take so much care to tell us this story? And the answer must be that he considered this to have been a very important spiritual moment. Second, how is it possible that God would bless someone who lied to take another's blessing? And third, what did God see in Jacob that caused Him to prefer him over Esau? Does God love some and hate others? By studying this passage we'll discover why God has chosen to bless sinners like us and why He does not give the same blessing to others.

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This passage is about two hungry men. One is returning to camp after an unsuccessful hunting trip. He is physically starving and feeling faint. The other has been waiting in camp cooking dinner. He is spiritually hungry, yearning for the birthright and blessing that would naturally go to his brother. The attitudes of these two men challenge us to examine our own attitude toward God. Are we like Esau who is too impatient to wait for God's promises, or are we like Jacob who wanted God's blessing more than anything else?

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Both these verses refer to children whom Abraham fathered, but his relationship to the two groups was very different. Verse six refers to the "sons of his concubine." These were six sons whom Abraham conceived in his old age with a woman named Keturah. When they reached a certain age he gave them enough to live on and sent them away. It appears he was their biological father, but invested little as their spiritual, emotional or educational father. Verse nine names Isaac and Ishmael and calls them "his sons," meaning that they were children Abraham personally love and nurtured. Being a real father requires much more than just conceiving a baby; it requires an enormous personal investment in the development of a child.

In this episode we'll look at four roles to which a father is called (if he is to be a real father to his children).

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It would be hard to imagine an offense more painful than that which Ishmael experienced at the age of 16. Suddenly, without warning, he was awakened early in the morning by his father, walked a distance outside of camp and abandoned to the wilderness with only a goatskin of water. One day he was the firstborn son of a tribal chief and, the next, he was the disinherited and penniless child of a single mom fighting to stay alive. Miraculously, he and his mother did survive and even prospered by moving to a remote area where he could hunt for a living (Ge 21:9-21), but it's impossible to conceive that he was not deeply wounded by his father's brutal abandonment. Yet, there are clues given here in chapter 25 that a reconciliation took place between father and son before Abraham died. The most startling evidence is the sight of Isaac and Ishmael working side by side to bury their father (v 9). This simply could not have happened if Ishmael were still a bitter outcast.

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It's often quite easy to recognize God's will for other people and there are also certain areas of our own lives where we have no trouble making good decisions. But nothing is more difficult than trying to determine God's leading in matters where we have strong personal interest in the outcome. This is the area of decision-making where we all struggle and may have a long history of making bad choices. When confronted with these very personal decisions, we discover we can't trust our own judgment: our emotions overwhelm our reason, our fears and longings disguise themselves as God's voice, and we tend to hear what we want to hear.

In today's lesson we watch as Abraham's servant goes in search of a wife for Isaac. His trip turns into a remarkable adventure in which God guides him to the perfect choice and enables him to fulfill his assignment. In watching how this family makes their "important personal decision," we can all learn to make better decisions for our own lives.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge!

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.