The Brookside Institute
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Brookside Church

Genesis 27:20 is a Scary Verse

1/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Earlier this week I was reading Genesis 27:20.  Isaac is asking his son how the food that was being prepared for him got there so quickly.  Here's the verse: 
Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”  “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. (Genesis 27:20)
Taken by itself, the verse seems pretty straightforward.  Isaac asks his son a question, and his son answers.  Jacob (the son) acknowledges God and credits success to the LORD.  This response sounds pretty good, right?  WRONG.

The larger context of this story (check it out in Genesis 27:1-41) shows us that this answer is heavy with deceit.  Isaac thinks he's talking to his OTHER son, Esau, but Jacob tricks his father into thinking he is Esau.  The motive for this deceit is that Jacob might "steal" his brother's blessing (and blessings were a BIG deal).  This deceit was premeditated and organized.

And what I find so scary about this passage is that in the middle of this known, willful, organized deceit, Jacob invokes religious language.  Jacob "says the right thing" by crediting God, even though he's in the middle of sin.  In other words, Jacob uses theological language but he doesn't mean any of it.  Jacob references God casually, as a means to his own ends.

Let me go right to the lesson: It's possible to use theological language - about God or anything else - carelessly and for selfish ends.  Jacob's story shouldn't scare us away from theology, but it should alerts us to the possibility - the possibility within all of us - to "say the right thing" casually and manipulatively.  We can "say the right thing" but mean none of it.  

Let's learn from Jacob's bad example and be careful to use theology not as a means to our own gain, but as a means to grow in our communion with God and our glad submission to Him.

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in:
  • Revelation 3:17 is a Scary Verse
  • Matthew 11:27-30 and the Importance of Context
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Tim Wiebe

    Christian. Husband. Father. Pastor. Learner. Contributor. Reader.


    RSS Feed


    Categories

    All
    Apologetics
    Bible
    Book Reviews
    Catechesis
    Church History
    Culture
    Devotional
    Ethics
    Mission
    Quotes
    Reading
    Spiritual Disciplines
    Teaching
    Theology

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    February 2022
    March 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

SITE MAP

Home
About
Blog
Contact
Brookside Church

Top Five Posts from December 2022
#1 - 5 Ways to Show Readiness for Jesus' Return
#2 - 6 Online Tools that Can Help You Dig into (and Understand!) the Bible
​#3 - ​​8 Things We Learn About God in Deuteronomy 4-10
#4 - Weeding Out the Sin in Our Lives
#5 - Establishing a Discipleship Pathway for Ministry Programming at Brookside Church, Omaha, NE — Table of Contents

Picture
© 2014-2022  |  11607 M Circle, Omaha NE, 68137 | www.thebrooksideinstitute.net
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Brookside Church