Mon.’s Devo - Trust and Obey, For There’s No Other Way

Read: Genesis 26:17-27:46; Matthew 9:1-17; Psalm 10:16-18; Proverbs 3:9-10 Isaac moved away from the Gerar Valley and reopened Abraham’s wells that the Philistines had covered in dirt. The Philistines came and argued over the rights to two of them. Isaac called one of them Esek, meaning “argument” and the other Sitnah meaning “hostility.” The third well was not contended over, so he named it Rohoboth which means “open space.” Finally God had made space for them to prosper in the land. *** Isaac moved from there to Beersheba where the God had appeared to him before. God appeared to him again the night he arrived. He told him that he would bless him, and his descendants would multiply to become a great nation. Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord. His servants dug another well. *** Abimelech came with his army commander and wanted to enter into a covenant of peace with him. They both swore that they would not harm each other or cause contention. Isaac celebrated it with a feast and they took the oath of peace. Isaac sent Abimelech home in peace. *** Isaac’s men came to him and reported they had found water and named the well Shibah which means “oath.” *** Esau married two women when he became 40 years old. Both were Hittites and they caused Isaac and Rebekah much grief. *** Isaac was becoming blind in his old age. He called for Esau so he could bless him before he died. He told Esau to go and kill some wild game and fix his favorite dish, then he would bless him. Esau went to hunt while Rebekah stayed home and schemed so Jacob could get Esau’s blessing. *** She had Esau get some goats from the flock and she cooked it the way Isaac liked it. Then she put skins on Jacob’s arms and neck. She dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes so he would smell like Esau. *** Jacob had to lie three times to his father to get him to believe he was Esau. He got the blessing of abundant harvests and master over his brothers. Those who blessed him would be blessed and those who cursed him would be cursed. *** As soon as Jacob had left Isaac’s side, Esau returned with his meal. When he found out Jacob had deceived him, he was wrought with dispair. Esau had lost his birthright and now, the blessing. He begged Isaac for a blessing and finally Isaac told him he would live away from the richness of the earth and would live by his sword. One day he would break free and shed Isaac’s yoke from his neck. *** Esau hated Jacob for taking his blessing and began to sceme to kill Jacob. Rebekah found out about it and told Jacob to flee to her brother Laban’s house and marry one of his daughters. When Esau calmed down, she would send for Jacob and he could come home. *** Then Rebekah started working on Isaac to agree that Issac should go to Haran. She told him that they surely did not want Isaac to marry one of the local Hittite women. Rebekah gets the Great Manipulator Award! *** In Matthew, Jesus left the Gaderene and went back across the lake to his own home town. There, he came to a paralyzed man and forgave his sins. The Pharisees were not to happy about him forgiving the man and called it blasphemy. Jesus questioned them about their evil thoughts and then proved that the Son of Man had the authority on earth to forgive sins. He told the paralyzed man to get up and take his mat and to home. The man immediately stood up and walked. The crowd was amazed. The Pharisees couldn’t see the forest for the trees. *** Jesus continued on his way and saw Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth and called him to follow him. Matthew immediately got up and followed him. Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his house for dinner. He also invited all his friends who were also tax collectors and disreputable sinners. The Pharisees saw this and were critical. Jesus told them that healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do. Then he told them to contemplate this: The scriptures (Hosea 6:6) say that God wants us to show mercy, not sacrifices. Then he added that he came to call those who knew they are sinners, not those who thought they are righteous. *** One day the disciples of John came to Jesus and asked him why they fasted when Jesus’ disciples didn’t. Jesus asked them if wedding guests mourn at a wedding. And the answer was, “of course not.” Jesus added that one day the groom would be taken from them and they would fast then. *** Jesus then gave them something to ponder. You don’t patch old clothing with new cloth because the new patch would shrink and rip away leaving an even bigger hole. Also, you don’t put new wine in old wineskins for they would burst from the pressure of the new. New wine must be stored in new wineskins so both are preserved. He was referring to the old covenant, and the new covenant that he was bringing. Both need to be preserved but to receive the new covenant you must be born again and become a new wineskin. *** Lord, may our wineskins be filled with your Spirit of truth, grace and life. May we not be guilty of manipulating but trusting your plan.