Hello my “Walking with Jesus” fellow pilgrims;
Perhaps you noticed the title I’ve given our reflection today, and it may have startled you? FAMILY is a wonderful concept of human relationships designed by God Himself. After God had created Adam and surrounded him by a perfect utopia called the “Garden of Eden”, and given to Adam freedom to enjoy and care for the majestic beauty of everything He had created… God made an amazing statement: “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable helper for him.” (Genesis 2:18) And so God made a woman and Adam named her Eve, and God brought them together to form the first marriage, and told them to multiply, and the first family became reality as they had two sons, Cain and Abel. Family is one of the most amazing things of all the wonderful things God has designed and created. But family can be complicated and painful and wounding, can’t it? Family can be one of the most complex and difficult of all human relationships, am I right?
We’ve been traveling with Abraham in the Bible book of Genesis and we come now to the end of his life. Abraham had been following and growing to know God in a deep faith relationship, for nearly 100 years, since he left home at age 75 to follow God’s invitation to a new land where God would build a new family with Abraham and Sarah, who at that time were growing old and were childless. Yesterday we looked at the miracle of God selecting Rebekah to be wife for Isaac. Isaac was 40 years old when that wonderful event happened, Sarah had died 3 years before, and Abraham was 137 yrs old. Now if you are a grandparent, I have a question… how much excitement do you suppose Abraham had for Isaac’s marriage and how much anticipation did Abraham live with, every day, awaiting news that he would soon be a grandfather?
But the Genesis record tells us there was a problem. Sadly, a problem that brought painful memories to Abraham. Genesis 25:21 says “Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife Rebekah, because she was barren.” In fact for 20 years of marriage, Isaac and Rebekah were unable to bear children. Oh can you imagine the long conversations Isaac had with his old dad Abraham, for Abraham had lived with that pain of an empty baby crib for many decades. May I ask… is this issue of sterility a pain in your extended family or among your close friends? How are you dealing with that, my “walking with Jesus” friends?
We’ve walked the path with Abraham over these past weeks, and so I’m confident Abraham told Isaac the entire story, in fact more than we know about Abraham’s story. He probably told Isaac and Rebekah over and over, seeking to help them not lose hope, for God had promised Abraham and Sarah a miracle son in their old age, and more than that, God had promised descendants as many as the stars in the sky. If God was to be trusted, that meant Isaac would have children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren… but in God’s time and God’s way.
Now let me ask you my friends, if there was ONE warning Abraham gave to Isaac and Rebekah as they longed for children but month after month found no change… what do you suppose that warning was? Remember the story of Hagar and Sarai’s determination to MAKE a family, even without God’s help? (Genesis 16) Remember the family discord and division which resulted from Hagar’s pregnancy and then her birth of her son Ishmael? Remember how painful it was for Abraham to finally have to send Hagar and Ishmael away, in order to keep peace in the family and focus his attention on his miracle son Isaac? Oh I’m sure Isaac and Rebekah heard Abraham’s passionate plea over and over… ‘please don’t get in a hurry, don’t do anything to abort God’s Covenant plan and promise. Just wait. Pray, keep your relationship with each other and with God pure, and be patient for God’s time.”
Years passed… in fact 20 years passed, and finally Rebekah became pregnant with her husband Isaac, as God opened her womb. Not one but two babies… yes, twins! The record is very powerful, listen: “The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her and she said ‘why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’ (Gen. 25:21-23) Now I imagine many late night conversations sitting around the fire as Rebekah asked first her husband Isaac, and then her father-in-law Abraham, to explain what they thought God meant by this prediction of the future of her twins, and especially how this would fit into God’s Covenant promises to Abraham?
If you are a parent or grandparent, think back for a moment to the times of pregnancy, as you considered who you thought that little child inside the womb might become. What type of person would they be? What would they do in life? Where would they end up living and if they married and had a family who would be their spouse? Oh so many questions ONLY God can answer during pregnancy, right?
The Genesis record describes the birth of these twins in this way: “When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.” Remember for most of history no one knew for sure the gender of the unborn baby, or even for sure how many babies were in the womb…until birth? “The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. (Esau means hairy) After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. (Jacob means, ‘he grasps the heel’) Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to these twins.” (Genesis 25:24-26)
I wonder if any of us can imagine the excitement and joy in those tents as Isaac and Rebekah celebrated these boys and the end of 20 years of sterility! If Abraham wasn’t present at birth, I would guess he came to visit as fast as his camel could carry him, don’t you suppose. And can’t you just see him, old but filled with joy, a smile spread across his face, sitting in a chair under the flap of their tent, with a grandson in each arm… day after day! And like you, if you have been a grandparent, I can see Abraham talking to his twin grandsons, telling them all the stories, going all the way back to when he was a little boy… perhaps just like you have done!
Let’s just pause right here my friends… oh how God has blessed Abraham! Abraham lived 15 more years, after the twins were born, before he died at the age of 175. That tells me Abraham watched these two little twin infants learn to talk and walk and soon start to understand about the sheep and other animals which were the life of their family. Above all, I suppose Abraham was the one who told those boys hundreds of stories about GOD. The God whom he had grown to know, love and serve with all his life. Sadly, I’m sure Abraham also had to tell them they had an uncle named Ishmael, whom they might never meet, but Ishmael was family nonetheless, and his story was important for them to know.
Finally, as Abraham watched his grandsons grow up, what advice do you suppose he gave Isaac and Rebekah about raising and teaching those boys to be God honoring men? So let’s just sit with them and watch and listen… and here’s a special song to help you consider the power of parent and grandparent influence… especially God’s design for us men:
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 25:20-26.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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