Part 1 – Flexibility Training – Reading
A number of family dynamics play into the next event in the life of Isaac’s family.
1. Isaac was a passive father. He did nothing that we know of to respond to Esau giving up the birthright.
2. Rebekah was an eaves-dropping schemer who was willing to lie to her husband and insure her favorite son had every advantage.
3. Esau lived with no thought of his religious responsibility to God or to his family. He married Canaanite women, as well as a daughter of Ishmael. He gave away his birthright, then accused Jacob of stealing it.
4. Jacob had honestly, if cunningly, gotten the birthright from his brother. But he was willing to be lead by his mother into lying to his father, this time truly stealing what belonged to his brother.
In addition, the Patriarchal Blessing was a big deal. It was essentially a prophecy of the legacy the son would leave. It was not just about his one life, but the lives of his descendants. Isaac had probably been working on it for years, praying through the blessings he should give his sons.
Read Genesis 27:1-28:9.
It’s true that Jacob was a schemer, and tricked his brother out of his position as first born, then tricked his father into giving him the blessing of the first born. But Isaac seems to be reconciled to being tricked by wife and son and sends his youngest off with a blessing.
PART 2 – Strength Training – Memory & Thinking
We continue to add to our list of verses we know from memory.
Hebrews 11:20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
1 Peter 3:5-6 This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
And what does the rest of the Bible say about Esau giving away his birthright? These verses fill in some of the things we might have suspected from reading about the wives he selected.
Hebrews 12:15-17 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Proverbs 23:1-3 While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.
Part 3 – Cardio Training – Prayer
What are you facing today? Do you have rebellious children you don’t know how to help? Do you have trials at work because of fellow employees who scheme against you? Ask God to help you face these in His power. Look back through the verses you’ve learned and pray through the verse that stands out the most in your mind today. Ask God to help you be faithful.
Part 4 – Endurance Training
Whatever you face today, face it in the power of God. Let the Holy Spirit bring the verses you’ve memorized to your mind to help you in trials and temptations.
Then come back tomorrow to learn more from God’s Word.
An Extra Lap
Have you ever heard the phrase (or the song) Jacob’s Ladder? It has been considered through the ages as being a bridge between heaven and earth. There are many interpretations as to what, specifically, that connection is. It could be messengers bringing good news from heaven. It could be the angels assigned to the Holy Land sent to protect Jacob on his journey. It has also been suggested that, because of Jesus’ mentioning of that in John 1, that Jesus Himself is the ladder that connects heaven with earth.
Take a few minutes and read through Genesis 28:10 through the end of the chapter. Notice how the language is the same as the words Jesus used in the book of John:
John 1:51 And [Jesus] said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Faith Gym 