The true Christian is a man who cannot understand himself; he can only say ‘I am what I am by the grace of God. I have not done this myself.’ But he knows that something has been done to him. He is amazed at the fact that he loves God. The Christian is a man who is conscious that God has been dealing with him. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 8, p. 190
Month: January 2010
Brackets and Fragments & Genesis 26:34-28:9
The literary framework of this section is beautiful, the characters in the narrative are not. Genesis 26:34-35 and 28:6-9 form brackets around the narrative. They record Esau’s birth to Canaanite and Ishmaelite women. In between these brackets there are a series of scenes portraying the covenant family. The family is never all together, they are fragmented. Scheming and plotting abound, sin is everywhere, no one is untainted.
Isaac is secretive and disobedient to the birth oracle his wife received in Genesis 25:23. He, like his son, is driven by his appetite. As Derek Kidner says, “Isaac’s palate governs his heart.”
Rebekah is an eavesdropper. She manipulates, plots, schemes. She usurps her husband’s authority. She has good ends in mind but seeks to accomplish those ends with sinful means.
Jacob goes along with his mother’s plot. He succumbs to her pressure to sin. As a 40 year old man he is commanded by his momma. Initially he seems resistant, but it is not the morality of the plot, but the feasibility of the plot that causes his hesitation. In the midst of his deception one lie leads to another and he blasphemes (27:20).
If you are tempted to sympathize with anyone it is Esau. This shows us our wickedness. You must come to Esau in context. First, we have seen that Esau has no right to the birthright/blessing by Divine order; God has chosen Jacob (Malachi 1:2-3). Second, Esau has sold his birthright (25:29-34), and although distinct, the birthright and blessing are inseparably linked. Thus the blessing is now doubly not his. Third, he marries Canaanite wives, making his parents miserable. Fourth, here he is breaking his vow to Jacob. Fifth, he is unrepentant and blames Jacob wholly for losing his blessing when he was only cheated once, and only cheated out of that which was already doubly not his. Sixth, his unrepentant attitude toward sin leads to bitterness and hatred and intended murder. This is the guy we want to sympathize with? And indeed we should. We sympathize with Esau not because we also are innocent and cheated, but because we also are wicked and stupid.
Where is the hero in this Jerry Springer drama? He is behind the curtain. And all the sin in the covenant family does not thwart his purposes, it only accomplishes it. He will discipline His people, sin has consequences, yet His covenant love carries on.
The Doctor: Look At the Face, Not the Wheels
An old preacher who lived about 100 years ago used a very good illustration to explain the matter. He said: “Here is a statement which appears to be contradictory, ‘All things work together for good to them that love God”. How can that be? The good things I see, are working in that direction, but look at those other things – they seem to be working in the opposite direction. How can you say that things which are working in the opposite directions are for my good? The old preacher answered by using the illustration of a watch. He said, “Take your watch and open it. What do you see? You see that one wheel is turning in an anti-clockwise direction, but it is attached to another wheel that is working in a clockwise direction. You look at the machinery and you say, ‘This is mad, this is quite ridiculous; here are wheels turning in opposite directions; the man who made the watch must have been a madman.” But he wasn’t. He has so arranged the watch and put in a main-spring to govern all the wheels, that when it is wound up, though one wheel turns this way, and another that way, they are all working together to move the hands round the face of the watch. They appear to be in contradiction but they are all working together to the same end. Our lives are like that. Look at life, and you ask at first what is happening? I can see that certain things are good for me, but other things seem to be al against me. But think again of the great Watchmaker who has planned it all. Do not jump to the conclusions, look for the ultimate purpose, look for the ultimate end. And if you do so with a spiritual eye you will soon begin to see that God knows what He is doing.” – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 8, pp. 169-170
No Other Boast 