How Dare These People Serve God
The story of Isaac, Rebekah and sons in Genesis 25:1-34 may make us ask, How Dare These People Serve God, but God chose these unlikely candidates to serve him and in his mercy he does the same in our lives. October 26, 2008.
“I dare you!” Those words usually are a challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy, like being in Mexico on spring break with your college roommate, standing at the edge of a thirty foot cliff overlooking a pool of water, and hearing him say, “I dare you to jump in!” But the word “dare” can also mean to be courageous enough to do something that others might not do, “The Olympic gymnast dared a double twisting, triple summersault dismount.”
God would never dare to do something dangerous or foolhardy. He is God and cannot make mistakes or violate his own holy will. But God does have the courage to do things that others might not do. That’s what we find when we take a run through the first Scripture lesson today from Genesis chapter twenty-five, an account that makes us wonder, How Dare These People Serve God!
People who are doddering
Isaac was a doddering old fool. Married at age forty, Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth totwins. He had to be almost eighty by the time his older son was selling his birthright. Granted, people lived a tad longer then. But even at that, Isaac should have known better and stepped up to the plate. Where was Isaac when his sons were out of line? OK, we can’t read minds or look into hearts. But we get the impression that Isaac was almost an absentee father, avoiding conflict, giving up his God-given responsibility for leading his household with a selfless, servant heart, acting like Adam in the garden of Eden when Eve was getting tangled in Satan’s web – in other words, doing nothing – and standing by while the people he was to care for misbehaved. “Oh, Isaac, you’re a doddering old fool!” How can a person like him serve God?
Aren’t people like Isaac irritating? Oh, wait! I’m like that. Are there times when I’ve been a doddering old fool even though I was not limping and before my eyes went bad? Have I avoided conflict under the guise of trying not to hurt someone’s feelings when all the while it was my own tender ego that I was protecting? Have I failed to step in or step up in a godly way when the Lord gave me the responsibility of loving leadership to help and empower others? Have you? How dare God use doddering old fools like us?
You would think that God would dump Isaac off the heaven-bound wagon and leave him in the ditch of his own weakness and sin. But God poured out mercy on Isaac, picked him up out of the ditch, lit a fire under him with his love, dared to use him as an ancestor in the line of the Savior, and dared to give him four more decades to share his wisdom and guidance.
You would think that God would dump us off the heaven-bound wagon when we act like doddering old fools. But the Bible tells us that Jesus caused our sins to go bye-bye as far as God is concerned, including the lack of leadership, and he uses that forgiving mercy to light a fire under us to serve. How dare we serve God with selfless leadership and a servant’s heart to empower others? We can because God dared to send his Son to serve and empower us.
People who are doting
Rebekah was a doting mother. We admire her courage in carrying twins and inquiring of the LORD when the pre-born boys started an all-star wresting match in the womb. But she joined her husband in playing favorites. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Where did that favoritism come from? We can’t read minds or look into hearts. But we get the impression that Rebekah was putting her own interests first, excusing sin in her son and in her. How much of her favoritism caused Esau to turn his back on his responsibilities? How much of her favoritism caused Jacob to think he could get away with anything? How much of the children’s weaknesses can be laid at the feet of a do-nothing father and a doting mother? “Oh, Rebekah, you’re a doting fool!” How can a person like her serve God?
Aren’t people like Rebekah irritating? Oh, wait! I’m like that. Are there times when my attention, friendship, and love go toward the people I’m pretty sure will pay it back in kind, and I ignore strangers who need a helping hand or a kind word or, more importantly, a word from God? Have I played it safe and interacted only with fellow Christians instead of daring to share God’s love with everyone and anyone I meet, including the high and mighty who intimate me and the down and out who turn me off. Have you? How dare God use doting, favor-savers like us?
You would think God would shove Rebekah aside and tell her, “Since you play favorites, you have lost favor with me.” But God did the unthinkable and dared to pour out his favor on Rebekah, using her to protect one of her sons from a murderous plot by the other, thus keeping alive God’s promise regarding his plan to use Jacob in the line of the Savior – the older will serve the younger.
You would think God would shove us aside and tell us, “Since you play favorites, you have lost favor with me.” But God did the unthinkable and dared to pour out his favor on us. How dare we serve God with open hearts and with open eyes to see everyone as candidates for his love and objects of our concern and care? We can because God dared to open his heart and share his Son with us.
People who are careless
Esau was careless. There’s nothing wrong with being an outdoorsman, which he was. There’s nothing inherently evil in having reddish skin and red hair. There’s nothing sinful in having additional body hair. There were twin boys … the first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau(which means “hairy”), and he was nicknamed Edom (which mean “red”). But it seems he could care less about anything except satisfying his own needs. When he came in from the hunt, famished, and sold his birthright for a hunk of bread and a bowl of lentil stew, he demonstrated that he really didn’t take seriously his role as the firstborn, the future head of the family. His indifference had spiritual overtones which we see in the next chapter in his choice to marry not just one, but two heathen women who could care less about God. “Oh, Esau, you’re a careless fool!” How can a person like him serve God?”
Aren’t people like Esau irritating? Oh, wait! I’m like that. Are there times when my needs and my wants become such a powerful drug that they dull my senses to caring about others and putting myself in their shoes. Have I been careless in my responsibilities to care for others? Have I been indifferent and gone about my lot in life and my job as though they were only to earn benefits and pleasures and rewards for me and not to help and care for others? Have you? How dare God use careless, self-worshipers like us?
You would think, with all the time Esau had to think about his carelessness after his brother ran away from home, that he would wake up, smell the roses of God’s forgiveness, and turn away from his self-love. But we have little evidence of that. However, God dared to use his descendants, even though they became enemies of God and his people, as a disciplinary rod when the Israelites stepped way, way out of line, and God dared to use their unbelief as a warning for us.
You would think that after all the emotional pits we place ourselves in by our carelessness and after all the emotional trauma we cause in the lives of others that God would banish us to an eternity of barren, rocky Edom – only hotter. But he dares to give us this warning with the example of Esau and his descendants and holds out his hand in love to draw us back to him. How dare we serve God and others with caring hearts? We can because God cared enough to send us Jesus.
People who are conniving
Jacob was a conniving trickster. He came out of the womb as the second twin born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob, which means “heel-grabber,” and he was forever tripping people up, tricking people. Living by his wits, he tried to outsmart his brother, outsmart his dad, and outsmart God. “Oh, Jacob, you conniving fool!” How can a person like him serve God?
Aren’t people like Jacob irritating? Oh, wait! I’m like that. Are there times when I have plotted and planned to get ahead at the expense of others? Have I trusted in my brainpower without recognizing it as a gift from God to use for his glory? Have you? How dare God use conniving tricksters like us?
You would think that God would let Jacob trip over his own feet and keep falling all the way into pit of hell. But instead, the next Bible chapters unfold how God dared to bring him low in order to raise up his humility and teach him to lean not on himself or live by his wits but to lean on God and rely on God’s gifts. Jacob got a nickname, too – Israel. He became the father of the Israelite nation and the ancestor of Jesus.
You would think that God would let us trip over our own feet and keep falling all the way into the pit of hell. But instead he sent his Son there so we wouldn’t end up there. How dare we serve God with honorable intentions and honest motives? We can because God dared to honor us by elevating us to the status of dearly loved children.
God took the IRS – Isaac, Rebekah, and sons – and used them in his service. How is that possible? How did they dare to serve God? They did because God dared to save them and dared to use those most unlikely candidates – all remade, reconstructed, and empowered by his mercy. He dared to save us and dares to use us – all remade, reconstructed, and empowered by his mercy. God bless your service to him and others … in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (http://www.gracedowntown.org/) on October 26, 2008
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