Mon.’s Devo - Set Ups

Read: Genesis 24:52-26:16; Matthew 8:18-34; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 3:7-8 When Laban and Penuel agreed to let Rebekah marry Isaac, the servant presented them with the bride price he had brought. He wanted to leave the next morning and bring Rebekah home. Laban wanted her to stay an extra 10 days but when they asked Rebekah what she wanted to do, she agreed to go with him. When Isaac met Rebekah, he was very pleased and loved Rebekah deeply. Abraham had married Keturah with which they had six sons. Abraham left all he owned to Isaac but sent his other sons to the east (Arabia) with gifts. When Abraham died, he was buried beside Sarah. Isaac went to Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev. Beer-lahai-roi means ”the well of the vision of life.” It was named for the well where the Lord met with Hagar (Gen 16:7 14.) Just like God told Hagar it would happen - Ismael’s sons lived in open hostility toward all their relatives. Ishmael had 12 sons who became princes that occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. Rebekah was barren so Isaac went to the Lord about it. God heard his prayer and blessed Rebekah. When she was carrying her baby, there was so much turmoil in her stomach that she went to the Lord about it. God told her that she was carrying twins and they were fighting in her womb. They would become two rival nations. The older son would be the lesser nation and would serve the younger son. When Rebekah delivered, the first son was hairy and red. They named him Esau which means ‘red’. The other son was born grasping Esau’s heel. They named him Jacob menacing ‘he will take by the heal’. They were opposites in temperament and character. Esau was a skillful hunter and Jacob loved the quietness of being at home around his mother. Jacob loved Esau for his game and Rebekah loved Jacob. One day, Esau came in from hunting, starving for food. Jacob was cooking a pot of stew. He made Esau sign over his rights to the first born before he would feed him. Esau preferred his moment of satisfaction over his future inheritance. The right to the first born gave Jacob twice the inheritance of Esau. Esau despised his birthright over a bowl of stew. A famine came to the land so Isaac moved his family to Gerar where Abimelech lived. God warned Isaac not to go to Egypt because he was giving him this land and he needed to stay in it. His descendants would be as the stars in the sky. Just like his father had done, Isaac told Rebekah to tell them that she was his sister. The thing was… she wasn’t. When Abimelech found out that he had been tricked again, he sent for Isaac. Jacob got chewed out by Abimelech and a proclamation was sent out threatening death to anyone who touched either of them. That season, Isaac planted and harvested a crop 100 times what he planted. He also became very wealthy, so much that it made the Philistines jealous. Finally, Abimelech cast Jacob out of his land and told him to go somewhere else because he was getting too powerful. In Matthew, the crowds were forming but Jesus called for the boat and escaped. It was not time for him to be king. As they were crossing to the Gentile side, a huge storm arose. Jesus was asleep and the disciples went down to wake him. They were hysterical. Jesus calmly got up and went up to see. Jesus asked them why they had so little faith, then he rebuked the wind and the waves and it immediately became calm. The disciples were amazed. When the reached the other side, two men met them who were possessed by demons. The demons in them were angry that Jesus had come to interfere in their plans. They knew their time was out so they begged to be sent to the pigs. Jesus let them and the pigs ran off the cliff and drowned in the water. The herdsmen of the pigs saw the whole thing and ran into town to tell everyone. The whole town came and begged Jesus to leave. Jesus knew that change is a process and takes time. Set backs were not set backs to Him; they were set ups. Jesus was setting up his next visit because after the demoniacs had some time to prove their change, the town would welcome Jesus the next time he came. Lord, help us to learn this lesson when we are rejected for the truth. We walk through this life planting seeds of truth. It takes time to grow. May the seeds we plant fall on fertile hearts.