(Genesis 27:46) Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
(Genesis 28:1-9) So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
I can't help but feel bad for Esau! It's like the guy couldn't get a break. But he had created his own mess. I would hope that his parents had offered him some guidance. Maybe they did, and he just decided to disregard what they said.
From everything he had done already, to the fact that he took notice of Jacob obeying his parents' request, makes Esau look very impetuous. I mean, how could Esau have remained oblivious to the fact that his wives had pushed his mom to the point of wishing for death???
As Esau observed Jacob's life and how it was unfolding, he was inspired to do better. Although his tactics to gain his parents' favor were still off. By simply marrying another woman from a better family - only added to his mess.
I see people like this today. They go about life just doing as they please, but when things aren't going their way - they look around at those who are successful in life - and/or do a quick search for that "magic key" to quickly make everything better. But what they tend to look for is either a pill, or a quick fix, or something they figure they can easily wedge into their lives.
Christians can even look to these strategies, like, maybe if I just memorize more Bible verses, or dress a certain way, or... None of these things are wrong, necessarily, but by just adding more do's and don'ts to the mix, one can get really tired. And then when things don't go their way - they determine that Christianity doesn't work after all, and they walk away from their faith.
It's not about looking good on the outside. External things will not fix what is wrong on the inside. But, addressing the inside will fix the things that are wrong on the outside. It is all about our heart's condition. Then when we get our heart in the right place, by putting God first in our lives, and start allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and equip us, we will WANT to do as we should... THIS is when God's blessings begin to manifest.
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