DAILY DEVOTION: Wrestling with God | Jacob 6

Threat and wife were in the purpose of the run (sounds like Prov.18:22, doesn't it). Poor Jacob, he is messed up and doesn't even know it, but as we read, we can see why. He has parents who were themselves manipulators. There should, at this time, be a family truth and reconciliation meeting, in which the expressed Will of God be placed on the table. Instead, the manipulating and undermining continued. Rebekah, hearing Esau's words, manipulated Isaac to send away Jacob, to get a wife from their own family. Who will stand up and speak the truth that God loves?

Let me encourage everyone to let truth dictate your lives. Deception is painful and hard to defend. It may be easy to tell one lie, but it is usually hard to tell ONLY one lie, because more lies usually have to back up that first lie. We are sinners because we got the nature (trait) and sometimes, the nurture (training), from our parents. When a child says to a parent, "I am nothing like you!" That's a joke. We cannot help the nature, but we have to be careful of the nurture. As parents, be thoughtful of what you are teaching. As children, be mindful of what you are learning.

Scoreboard: Esau, for his threat to Jacob, will lose a point, 1; Rebekah, for getting Jacob sent away, 1; Isaac, for sending Jacob to the right place, moves up to 3; Jacob, like the ball in a pinball machine, gets points for others but not himself, 0.

Pastor Gary Williams is head of the Cedar Grove Baptist (Independent) Church, located at Cedar Grove Estate, Portmore, St Catherine, and also a certified counsellor. Send feedback to kgdaddie@yahoo.com or editorial@oldharbournews.com.