Jacob Takes A Blessing
Memory Verse:
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
Sermon Sentence: At the root of all of our struggles seems to be the choice of where we get blessings in that moment.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
Sermon Sentence: At the root of all of our struggles seems to be the choice of where we get blessings in that moment.
Day 1
Read Genesis 25:19-34
The Bible has all sorts of different kinds of writings in it. There is poetry, history, letters, and even songs. I like that and some are more relatable to me than others. Have you ever been told a good story just for the sake of hearing a good story? Parents do this with their kids all the time! I know I have told stories about my kids that have probably left people wondering why I was even telling them. The Bible doesn’t have stories like that. The stories are there because they matter. When i run across a story that seems a bit strange, I remind myself that a strange story points to a greater meaning and I might want to take some extra time to unpack this one.
I don’t think the story of Jacob and Esau is just a cute baby story that carries no real significance. I think it is the opening story to a narrative that carries weight in character flaws and story arches that really need to be paid attention to. This is going to matter. In our reading here, it seems like in the first half of what we read Jacob and Esau are at birth. The very next story they seem to be older showing that they hunt and make soup. When I read about the negotiations in this section, I have to understand that the birthright is no small piece of inheritance. This was a significant transaction that was being made over a bowl of stew. The drama is high!
Why do you think Esau was so ready to make this deal when the stakes on each side seem pretty lopsided?
What do you think, after you have read these two stories, you should be thinking about what kind of a guy Jacob was?
Why do you think Jacob was looking to secure the birthright at this point in the story? How did the plot go in his head?
What do you take away from this story?
How does this become part of your prayer?
The Bible has all sorts of different kinds of writings in it. There is poetry, history, letters, and even songs. I like that and some are more relatable to me than others. Have you ever been told a good story just for the sake of hearing a good story? Parents do this with their kids all the time! I know I have told stories about my kids that have probably left people wondering why I was even telling them. The Bible doesn’t have stories like that. The stories are there because they matter. When i run across a story that seems a bit strange, I remind myself that a strange story points to a greater meaning and I might want to take some extra time to unpack this one.
I don’t think the story of Jacob and Esau is just a cute baby story that carries no real significance. I think it is the opening story to a narrative that carries weight in character flaws and story arches that really need to be paid attention to. This is going to matter. In our reading here, it seems like in the first half of what we read Jacob and Esau are at birth. The very next story they seem to be older showing that they hunt and make soup. When I read about the negotiations in this section, I have to understand that the birthright is no small piece of inheritance. This was a significant transaction that was being made over a bowl of stew. The drama is high!
Why do you think Esau was so ready to make this deal when the stakes on each side seem pretty lopsided?
What do you think, after you have read these two stories, you should be thinking about what kind of a guy Jacob was?
Why do you think Jacob was looking to secure the birthright at this point in the story? How did the plot go in his head?
What do you take away from this story?
How does this become part of your prayer?
Day 2
Read James 4:1-12
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” Well James…that’s a loaded question for sure! What are we NOT fighting about seems to be the easier question to ask. Every single time I ask that question of my kids, there is a different answer. “They did this, so I did this!” While that is probably true most of the time, James is not expecting us to look up from our current fights and answer what caused it. Most of the time we want to blame others. I am doing what I am doing because you did something to me! So I figure, if you are going to do that, then I am going to do this!
James is aiming much deeper than this. James is looking for the root of ALL of the fights, not just this one. Sure the answer will be the same, but it will also be much, much bigger. James is asking, “Why do you struggle with other people?” Because we are selfish people. You are instantly wanting to push back at me and declare that this fight is not that and it would be unfair to look at it like that. You may be right. But somewhere in that struggle, when you strip away all of the other things that are clouding opinions and clear sight, you will find the desire of someone else over the desire of the other. Or maybe one desire at the expense of the other. When we don’t have what we want, we ask for it. James talks about it being in prayer. The problem is that what we want is mostly for our own comfort and benefit, and that is why we think we deserve it. The problem with that takes us right back to the struggle of our selfish desires.
How have you experienced a fight or quarrel this week that was the result of selfish desires?
Are we supposed to take from this that God does not want us to have anything for our own desires but only to serve other people? Why or why not?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” Well James…that’s a loaded question for sure! What are we NOT fighting about seems to be the easier question to ask. Every single time I ask that question of my kids, there is a different answer. “They did this, so I did this!” While that is probably true most of the time, James is not expecting us to look up from our current fights and answer what caused it. Most of the time we want to blame others. I am doing what I am doing because you did something to me! So I figure, if you are going to do that, then I am going to do this!
James is aiming much deeper than this. James is looking for the root of ALL of the fights, not just this one. Sure the answer will be the same, but it will also be much, much bigger. James is asking, “Why do you struggle with other people?” Because we are selfish people. You are instantly wanting to push back at me and declare that this fight is not that and it would be unfair to look at it like that. You may be right. But somewhere in that struggle, when you strip away all of the other things that are clouding opinions and clear sight, you will find the desire of someone else over the desire of the other. Or maybe one desire at the expense of the other. When we don’t have what we want, we ask for it. James talks about it being in prayer. The problem is that what we want is mostly for our own comfort and benefit, and that is why we think we deserve it. The problem with that takes us right back to the struggle of our selfish desires.
How have you experienced a fight or quarrel this week that was the result of selfish desires?
Are we supposed to take from this that God does not want us to have anything for our own desires but only to serve other people? Why or why not?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 3
Read Genesis 4
You read this story just recently. Genesis is such a neat book because it tells parables within its stories. The question then becomes whether or not the stories are meant to be true or just a lesson. I think that is a bad question. It can be both true and also a lesson. Especially these stories in the early parts of Genesis, you get big picture stories that are meant to be the vehicles of meaning and purpose. This one is the story of the first murder. The point of the story is not to explain murder, but the human problem that exists in the heart of all humans. It is almost like this story is saying to us, “This is what it is all like.” What happens when humans don’t get what they think they deserve? That is a real question that is worth sitting and thinking about. I think it is the same question that is being asked in the Jacob and Esau story. Jacob wanted something that was not due to him. He was the type of person that was going to try and take it. Cain’s version of the story is meant to pull us all into the table for the discussion, making us realize that this is the very thing that we all deal with all the time. What do I do when I don’t get what I want, declaring that I deserve it? What if I was not noticed like I hoped or expected to be? Have you not had that very same struggle even this week? That is the weight that this story is carrying. It is not just about one of those families from sooo many years ago. It is about every single person, every single day.
Why do you think Cain became so angry?
Is there any indication in this story that Cain gave the wrong kind of gift? Then why do you think God didn’t “regard” it like Abel’s? Does that matter in this story?
How does this become your prayer today?
You read this story just recently. Genesis is such a neat book because it tells parables within its stories. The question then becomes whether or not the stories are meant to be true or just a lesson. I think that is a bad question. It can be both true and also a lesson. Especially these stories in the early parts of Genesis, you get big picture stories that are meant to be the vehicles of meaning and purpose. This one is the story of the first murder. The point of the story is not to explain murder, but the human problem that exists in the heart of all humans. It is almost like this story is saying to us, “This is what it is all like.” What happens when humans don’t get what they think they deserve? That is a real question that is worth sitting and thinking about. I think it is the same question that is being asked in the Jacob and Esau story. Jacob wanted something that was not due to him. He was the type of person that was going to try and take it. Cain’s version of the story is meant to pull us all into the table for the discussion, making us realize that this is the very thing that we all deal with all the time. What do I do when I don’t get what I want, declaring that I deserve it? What if I was not noticed like I hoped or expected to be? Have you not had that very same struggle even this week? That is the weight that this story is carrying. It is not just about one of those families from sooo many years ago. It is about every single person, every single day.
Why do you think Cain became so angry?
Is there any indication in this story that Cain gave the wrong kind of gift? Then why do you think God didn’t “regard” it like Abel’s? Does that matter in this story?
How does this become your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Genesis 1
You may not be the type of person that really enjoys a good story with a deep meaning. You may be the type of person that is too quick to the Bible to sit and process what is the point and the meaning of it all. This type of person comes to the Bible looking for a formula or a sign that will be easy to scoop up and move on. Or, like I tend to find myself, you may just be so easily distracted by anything and everything that when you sit with something too long you find yourself sitting with so many other thoughts and randomness. If you are that type of person, it may bug you that I come to these passages so much and reread what seems like easy stuff that you are certainly familiar with. Sure, God created Adam and Eve and all of the world, got it…next? But there is more than that! There is SO much more than that here!
I want to challenge you to think about the philosophy of human existence in light of this chapter. If you say that you believe this, like I do, then there are so many incredible truths that show up in your every single day of life. If this is the foundation that you build off of, then the implications are incredibly valuable.
This is the very first mention of “blessing” in the Bible. Based on that, what can you figure is the meaning of the word “bless?”
Here is a big one to think about, why are we (humans) here? Assume this is the only part of the Bible that you have read when you try to answer that.
Why is it important to see that blessing first comes from God?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
You may not be the type of person that really enjoys a good story with a deep meaning. You may be the type of person that is too quick to the Bible to sit and process what is the point and the meaning of it all. This type of person comes to the Bible looking for a formula or a sign that will be easy to scoop up and move on. Or, like I tend to find myself, you may just be so easily distracted by anything and everything that when you sit with something too long you find yourself sitting with so many other thoughts and randomness. If you are that type of person, it may bug you that I come to these passages so much and reread what seems like easy stuff that you are certainly familiar with. Sure, God created Adam and Eve and all of the world, got it…next? But there is more than that! There is SO much more than that here!
I want to challenge you to think about the philosophy of human existence in light of this chapter. If you say that you believe this, like I do, then there are so many incredible truths that show up in your every single day of life. If this is the foundation that you build off of, then the implications are incredibly valuable.
This is the very first mention of “blessing” in the Bible. Based on that, what can you figure is the meaning of the word “bless?”
Here is a big one to think about, why are we (humans) here? Assume this is the only part of the Bible that you have read when you try to answer that.
Why is it important to see that blessing first comes from God?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Proverbs 3:13-35
One of my goals, in the sermon from Sunday, was to take back the idea of what a blessing is. I think that the church culture has done a really poor job of cheapening this word and making it nothing more than something that can magically be spoken over someone and amounts to little more than a good feeling. In my opinion, the word blessing is used in the Bible as a centering theological idea of what it is that God desires from life. When we describe life, we are little more than talking about a physiological occurrence of a heartbeat and breath. But in the Bible’s definitions, you can have a heartbeat and breath and be dead. Again, that is not a scientific difference, that is just that the point is far greater than scientific. For the Bible, life is defined as the presence of breath and a heartbeat, but also flourishing and living out God’s purpose.
It would be good to carry over those ideas into the reading of Proverbs as we wrestle with “what is life all about?” The understanding of all of these things in the context of God as Creator is the idea of wisdom. Wisdom is more than knowledge. Knowledge is just knowing things. Wisdom is more than knowing while also understanding and applying. In the sermon, we emphasized the idea of where blessing came from when God spoke. In Genesis 1:28 we read that for the beginning of humanity, “God blessed them and said to them…” After God’s word was the blessing of what life is. In other words, God’s word is wisdom and wisdom brings about life. With that in mind, we run into Proverbs 3 seeing what we can gather.
What do you learn from this section of scripture?
How does this reading impact your day today?
How do you connect the idea of Proverbs 3:18 back to Genesis 1 and how is that helpful?
How does this become your prayer today?
One of my goals, in the sermon from Sunday, was to take back the idea of what a blessing is. I think that the church culture has done a really poor job of cheapening this word and making it nothing more than something that can magically be spoken over someone and amounts to little more than a good feeling. In my opinion, the word blessing is used in the Bible as a centering theological idea of what it is that God desires from life. When we describe life, we are little more than talking about a physiological occurrence of a heartbeat and breath. But in the Bible’s definitions, you can have a heartbeat and breath and be dead. Again, that is not a scientific difference, that is just that the point is far greater than scientific. For the Bible, life is defined as the presence of breath and a heartbeat, but also flourishing and living out God’s purpose.
It would be good to carry over those ideas into the reading of Proverbs as we wrestle with “what is life all about?” The understanding of all of these things in the context of God as Creator is the idea of wisdom. Wisdom is more than knowledge. Knowledge is just knowing things. Wisdom is more than knowing while also understanding and applying. In the sermon, we emphasized the idea of where blessing came from when God spoke. In Genesis 1:28 we read that for the beginning of humanity, “God blessed them and said to them…” After God’s word was the blessing of what life is. In other words, God’s word is wisdom and wisdom brings about life. With that in mind, we run into Proverbs 3 seeing what we can gather.
What do you learn from this section of scripture?
How does this reading impact your day today?
How do you connect the idea of Proverbs 3:18 back to Genesis 1 and how is that helpful?
How does this become your prayer today?
Devotions
Archive
2025
January
February
March
May
2024
January
March
May
June
July
August
September
2023
January
February
June
No Comments