Tag: Isaac

• Genesis 27: Deception

  
  

  Genesis 27: Deception

  Tuesday, July 8, 2025

  

  No matter how many times I read this story I continue to be curious about Rebekah, the woman who changes the course of history when she urges Jacob to deceive his aging father in order to steal his brother’s birthright. In her elegant yet simple scheme she takes on all culpability and allows both Jacob and Isaac to stand by passively as the story unfolds. This dichotomy of action versus inaction is reflected in the values these family members choose; and it calls us to examine our way of relating to others in this world.

  From the HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY (99): “Jacob’s disguise involves his wearing his brother Esau’s clothing; as will be seen, deception involving clothing is an important motif in the narrative about Jacob’s beloved son Joseph (37:31-33).” A son deceives his father. This son is in turn deceived by his own sons. We can only wonder if years later Jacob sees this echo of himself in any way when he realizes what has happened to his beloved son, Joseph. In all of this deception, the result is the same: separation from those we love and pain we had not intended. The joy and hope we looked for cannot flourish in a life of shadows and secrets. The irony is not lost on us that by participating in fraud, we may gain our immediate objective, but we will also experience a lifetime of rippling, unforeseen consequences that we may not want or like.

  

  We humans struggle to climb to the top of the heap, to arrive first, to be the most liked, the best fed, shod and clothed. Many of us use any means to justify this end while others of us reject deception of any kind to hug closely the values of integrity and honesty. This uncomplicated choice of deceit versus honesty is presented to us in Psalm 101: Norm of Life for Rulers. We may want to pray it today as we consider who we choose as our companions in life and who we are as companions to others.

  I follow the way of integrity . . . I do not allow into my presence anyone who speaks perversely . . . I shun the devious of heart; the wicked I do not tolerate . . . Those who follow the way of integrity, they alone can enter my service.  No one who practices deceit can hold a post in my court . . . I look to the faithful of the land; they alone can be my companions. 

  Mays, James L., ed.  HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 99. Print.

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  To visit a site with art through the ages about this story, go to: http://www.bible-art.info/Rebecca.htm

  Images from: https://www.artbible.info/art/large/83.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca

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  July 8, 2025

  deceit, fraud, honesty, integrity, Isaac, Psalm 101, Rebekah

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• Hebrews 10:30-39: Trials Well Borne

  
  

  Hebrews 10:30-39: Trials Well Borne

  Friday, March 28, 2025

  

  This reflection continues thoughts posed in the Revenge and Forgiveness posts on this blog. 

  Obadiah, one of the Minor Prophets, offers us ideas we will want to examine further.

  From the ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE we discover themes. We learn that Obadiah’s  name means “servant of Yahweh,” and many scholars believe that his brief prophecy was written between 586 and 553 B.C.E. We know that Obadiah does not specify that his prophecy is meant for any particular king or event; yet he indicates that a major calamity has occurred in Judah and that the Edomites have capitalized on this event. In general, scholars believe that there was a post-exilic setback for the Israelites, and most believe it to be the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. They also remind us that Edom itself fell to this same empire in 553 B.C.E. All of this sets up a story of intense tribalism, payback, and retaliation. We look a little further.

  Who are the Edomites and where is their land? These people descended from Esau, the son of Issac, who was cheated of his heritage by his brother Jacob and his mother. Obadiah writes to the people of Judah (the descendants of Jacob) condemning the Edomites for their treachery and violence toward the people of Judah. He also rails against the people for their sins of arrogance and indifference toward God. So this prophecy harkens back to the conflict between these two brothers. Judah feels that the hostility shown to them when they are at a low point by the people of Edom is cruel and unjustified. Edom’s arrogance was founded in its nearly impregnable mountain strongholds where the Edomites safeguarded their wealth (gained from trade) in rock vaults. Obadiah teaches that God is sovereign over all nations. (Zondervan 1464-1465)

  

  So much of what we read here reminds us of the story we live each day; our modern world is occupied with ancient themes: indifference to a higher authority, arrogance of the ego, injustice of systems and structures, and the use of cruelty as a fair means to any end. The rivalries in this prophecy echo the petty rivalries we set up early in life and, as we grow older, carefully nurture.

  Turning to today’s reading, we see these familiar words in verse 18: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” Yet, despite our recognition of the truth these words bring to us, we need more urging. The prophet, knows that despite enlightenment we will have setbacks, and so he lays them out for us to examine in ourselves: the malignant hope for revenge, the overpowering force of hubris, the willingness to use any means to achieve our ends, the animal-instinctive fear of others. Obadiah asks us examine the suffering of our daily experience as we reflect on his prophecy.

  As New Testament believers, we want to be poised for Jesus’ coming into our lives and receptive to the Spirit that lives among us. Feeling Christ’s call to our highest goodness, we might look at Hebrews 11 and determine to follow the example of the faithful lived by the Patriarchs: Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and the Judges . . . “all these . . . approved by the testimony of faith”.  We might look to these people as models of how and what we are to do, how and why we are to overcome our lust for revenge, how and why we are to practice love.  When we study their individual stories, we see that these ancestors do not lead perfect lives; but they strive for that perfection in their loyalty to Yahweh.  They listen, they obey, and they bear their trials well.

  In the name of Jesus, let us call out our best selves to serve God, to fulfill his hope in us.  Let us be good and loyal servants who want nothing more than to discern our mission and to complete it well.  We ask this in the name of Jesus, the one who dwells among us to lead us, to heal us, to restore us, to be one with us.

  Amen.

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  Adapted from a Favorite written on October 27, 2007.

  Read the brief prophecy of Obadiah and compare varying translations to better understand our tendency to seek revenge . . . and our need to rely on God’s wisdom rather than our own.  

  ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY BIBLE (NIV). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. 1464-1465. Print.

  Visit the Obadiah – Outrageous Hope page on this blog at: https://thenoontimes.com/the-book-of-our-life/the-old-testament/the-prophets/obadiah-outrageous-hope/  or the Revenge and Forgiveness page at: https://thenoontimes.com/2012/09/09/revenge-and-forgiveness/

  Images from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_The_Mess_of_Pottage.jpg and https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/tissot_the_meeting_of_esau_and_jacob.jpg

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  March 28, 2025

  Abraham, Adam, arrogance, cruelty, Edom, Edomites, Enoch, Forgiveness and Revenge, indifference, injustice, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Judges, Moses, Rahab, Sara

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• James 2:21-26: Faith and Wisdom – Part III

  
  

  James 2:21-26: Faith and Wisdom – Part III

  Tuesday, October 11, 2022

  

  Certainly none of us set out to become a corpse in this life; yet James challenges us with two examples of how one man and one woman fuse together works and faith to discover disciple wisdom.

  Abraham, our first patriarch who responded to God’s call to move himself and all he possessed to a new, unknown location. In faith Abraham responded to God’s call. Click here to follow the link to learn more about Abraham as we reflect on how we might likewise use works to accompany our faith.

  

  Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?

  

  Rahab is an interesting woman and as a member of Jesus’ family tree she may hold particular interest for us. When we explore her life we give ourselves the opportunity to discover who and what she was, but who and what we are as well. Explore her story here or by clicking on the images.

  

  The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

  James tells us today about wisdom engendered by a fusion of faith and works. Tomorrow we take a look at taming the tongue.

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  For more about Women in the Bible, visit: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rahab-bible. Read her story in Joshua 2.

  Images from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_and_the_Three_Angels and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anthony_van_Dyck_-_Abraham_and_Isaac_-_WGA07427.jpg and http://www.wikiart.org/en/james-tissot/the-harlot-of-jericho-and-the-two-spies#supersized-artistPaintings-242837 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_and_the_Three_Angels

   

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  October 11, 2022

  Abraham, good works, Isaac, Joshua 2, Rahab

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• Genesis 26: Settling in Gerar

  
  

  Genesis 26: Settling in Gerar

  Monday, October 28, 2019

  We might take time today to pause and reflect on the marvelous stories we find in this first Book of the Bible; we see humanity with all foibles and glories.  Today’s Noontime is no exception to this for today we read about Isaac, the precious son of Abraham and Sarah, and we anticipate that we will hear only good of him then we will have miscalculated God and his plan for us.  We will have missed the valuable lesson that the patriarchs and their families who established and passed on the covenant with the Living God are to be seen as ordinary people who make ordinary mistakes in their ordinary lives.  These people about whom we read are us.

  When we allow ourselves to spend time with a commentary as we sift through the details of this story, we will see that the players in this drama behave much as we do today when faced with moral, physical and political dilemmas.  They weigh odds and consequences.  They make decisions. They have regrets, experience deep suffering and great joy.  They find that life holds no guarantees as they duplicate the labor of previous generations by re-digging Abraham’s wells.  They plan and execute deceptions and endanger their tribe.  They work toward and achieve success and so become objects of envy; and they are eventually sent away from the place they have made their home.  They are persecuted, separated and marginalized, and they watch all that they have gained through labor move into the hands of others. Their prosperity has become their curse.  Isaac, Rebekah, Abimelech and the others live out their lives struggling against their shifting circumstances and as they do they teach us much.

  There was a famine . . . We too, suffer from famines and dry times in our lives, asking God what we are to do and how we are to do it.

  So Isaac settled in Gerar . . . We too, make decisions about our families, our health, our jobs, hoping that we have not missed an important detail.

  Isaac was afraid that if the men of the place would kill him on account of Rebekah because she was very beautiful . . . We too, enter into deception impelled by our fears.

  Isaac sowed a crop and reaped a hundredfold that same year and the Philistines became envious of him . . . We too, experience prosperity that can bring problems of its own.

  Isaac went up to Beer-sheba . . .We too, move house, change jobs, enter into and leave relationships as life pushes and pulls at the details of our living.

  And all the while, as we are re-digging the wells first begun by our ancestors and as we call and count on God, others watch us to see what holds us up through struggling, what brings us peace in turmoil, what sustains us in desperate times.  And we might pray that despite our deceptions, and despite our fears we will have lived a life worth watching.  We may pray that our own Abimelech will come to us to ask: We are convinced that the Lord is with you, so we propose that there be a sworn agreement between our two sides – between you and us. Let us make a pact with you.

  And when Abimelech offers this tangible sign of peace, let us also pray that we will be generous in our reply as Isaac is.  And let us hope that we too, prepare a feast of celebration that God has been with us and that despite our weaknesses . . . we have witnessed to the goodness of God.

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  A re-post from October 7, 2012.

  Image from: http://www.pastorsebastiaan.com/2011/01/revitalization-before-church-planting/

  Enter names and places into the blog search bar to explore. And to learn more about Gerar go to: http://bibleatlas.org/gerar.htm or http://www.bibleplaces.com/gerar.htm or http://bibleencyclopedia.com/places/Gerar_wheatfield.htm

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  October 28, 2019

  Abimelech, Abraham, famine, Gerar, Isaac, peace pact, prosperity, Rebekah, witnessing

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