Fixtures - They go with the house!

I have been thinking about Monday’s post – about what has already been written concerning the fairness of the Jacob and Esau saga … and what we still have to learn.  Before moving head-on into what's next, I thought of an illustration that might help us understand that the selling of the birthright and the stealing of the blessing were not two separate incidents; rather the latter (blessing) was a consequence of the former (birthright).

When I was in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.  I was majoring in math, with an interest in business and architecture (at the time), so I started thinking about real estate.  Being the student that I am, I decided to get my realtor’s license one summer.  One evening, our teacher told us a story about her daughter buying a house.  When her daughter went to move in, the previous owners had taken something considered a fixture (i.e. it went with the house) – a light fixture or all of the light bulbs, maybe the curtains, or a built-in cabinet … I can’t remember exactly, but I guess it doesn’t really matter.  The point is that in selling their house, they didn’t realize that some things “go with the house.”  In their ignorance, they took what they wanted when they left, but ignorance was no excuse.  They had to bring it back when the new owner noticed and called them out on it.

Like the previous owners of the house, apparently neither Esau nor Isaac realized that in selling the family birthright to Jacob, the blessing went with it.  The blessing was a fixture of the birthright, in a manner of speaking.  I doubt that light bulbs or curtains would have kept the previous owners from selling the home I mentioned above, but if Esau had considered all that his birthright encompassed, he may have changed his mind as to its worth.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps 34:8).  That verse has been on my mind all week.  This past Sunday we talked about how Jacob deserved nothing from Isaac if he came in his own name.  It was only by coming – not just in the name of Esau, but – as Esau that Jacob was blessed.  This Sunday (instead of moving forward as I had originally planned), we’ll spend our time discussing specific parallels between Jacob approaching Isaac in Esau’s name and us approaching God in Jesus’ name.  Inspired by Psalm 34:8, we’ll be using our five senses (smell, sight, taste, touch, sound) as a backdrop for our lesson.

At the end of Sunday's class, I mentioned reading Colossians 3:6-17.  I'm actually going to recommend reading the Colossians passage alongside the account of Isaac giving the blessing (Genesis 27:1-29).  In each passage, watch for ways the 5 senses are involved.

So excited for Sunday!!  Can't wait to see you there.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Ps 34:8)

I am trying to acclimate myself (and my family) to our summer schedule.  While I am thankful for a slower pace, being at home during the day leaves my mind with more opportunities to wander toward food … especially after lunch.  My weakest time of the day is the post-lunch let-down (as I’m calling it).  At school … at home … really wherever I am, I always find myself craving something sweet after lunch.  At school, I can control it pretty well (by controlling my environment), but at home, it’s a lot harder.  Today as I finished eating my lunch and gathering my thoughts to write, the post-lunch let-down kicked in.  What would satisfy my craving?!  Then – remembering my afternoon plans to write – I felt God answering my question, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8).  I had a choice:  spend my kids’ naptime feasting on God’s Word or binging on momentary satisfaction.

Well, well, well … and here I thought that I was just writing something silly to break the ice for yesterday’s lesson summary.  All along God was leading us – you and me both – into today’s post.  I love it when He does that!!  In case you’re confused, remember last week we discussed Esau selling Jacob the family birthright (the Lord’s goodness) for a bowl of stew (momentary satisfaction).

Thousands of years after the aroma of red lentil stew had faded away, the question of the fairness in the story of Jacob and Esau still hangs in the air.  So I bring it up again, Was it fair that Jacob got Esau’s blessing?  I thought about this all last week.  My mind kept shouting back, “No, it wasn‘t fair!  And Jacob should have been cursed instead of blessed!”  Thankfully, God interceded with some thoughts of His own.  First, He said (in my spirit), Do you have any idea what fair really is?  I thought of Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.”  I found myself in the book of Job – another case study of questionable fairness.  Job understandably asked why this was happening to him (in chapter 3).  Later (after Job’s well-meaning, albeit ignorant, friends finished giving their opinions of his suffering), God addressed Job directly:

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, Who is this

that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  …  Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding.”  (Job 38:1-2, 4)

God continued His “answer” (mostly in the form of rhetorical questions) through the rest of chapter 38 … and 39 … and 40 … and 41.  As if we didn’t feel sorry enough for Job before, we certainly do now!

Something else God pointed out to me was that I wasn’t just questioning the fairness of an isolated circumstance.  I was questioning His fairness – whether or not He was and is just.  I went back to Deuteronomy 32:4 where Moses said, “He [God] is the Rock.  His work is perfect, for all His ways are law and justice.  A God of faithfulness without breach or deviation, just and right is He.”  For the most part what you and I know about fairness and justice has come from the world, but the true standard of fairness isn’t what the world suggests.  It’s what the Word teaches.  Go back and re-read Deut 32:4 again.  Moses used the descriptions “perfect … without breach or deviation.”  Those things certainly do not describe the world, so when our thoughts don’t align with His (Isa 55:8-9), we have a deliberate choice to make.  Are we going to put our trust in the Word or in the world?

… I’m going to stop today’s post here.  Believe it or not, we covered more than this yesterday; I can hardly believe it myself!  I’ll get back to you later in the week.  As for my post-lunch let down … “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4).

Father God,

I ask today, in the name of Jesus, that you will give Your people a hunger for your Word like nothing we have ever known.  Don’t let us settle for temporary substitutes.  Instead let us “taste and see that [You] are good!”