January 12

Genesis 25:1-26:35

The picture is of the Lord using little niggles and frustrations to draw Isaac and Rebekah into greater dependence on him and into the geographical place that he has for them.  For me, the defining point of this passage is the Covenant promise that God is re-emphasising to Isaac.  God has chosen his people - the family of Abraham - and through them he intends to benefit and redeem the whole world.  Isaac’s insecurities and difficulties (which interestingly mirror those of his father - I need to be careful what legacy I give to my children!) cannot inhibit the progression of God’s redemptive action.  

The writer seems to make rather a big deal of Esau’s swapping of his birthright for the ancient equivalent of a Pot Noodle, but that makes perfect sense in the context outlined above.  Esau’s actions scream that he couldn’t care less about the role he has been given to play in God’s chosen people - he just wants his lentil soup!  It’s amazing how in the heat of the moment people can swap something so insignificant for something so important.

Matthew 10:1-31

The first bit of this really gets the old Vineyard blood pumping through the veins - the signs of the kingdom, freely receiving and freely giving - it makes you want to jump up and give someone a fist pump.  And then Jesus comes out with “everyone will hate you...when you are persecuted...you will be called Satanic”.  It’s not quite Obama’s “change is going to come” is it?  Did Jesus not know how to give a motivational speech??  But then, he did have a ruthlessness about him that I rarely get to. He was ruthless in excluding the Gentiles at that stage as it was not yet the time for them to be drawn in, he was ruthless about naming and shaming the evil and corruption around him, he was ruthless in banishing disease and demon, death and disfigurement.  I increasingly think you can’t have one without the other - we can’t heal without haranguing, we can’t redeem without rebuking.  It’s all part of the same package - to push back evil in every form that it presents itself.

Proverbs1:20-33

When it talks about simple ones, I think it is maybe better understood to mean ignorant, or people who don’t bother to look at their actions and realise that there will be consequences.  In fact, there seems to be great simplicity in choosing to fear the Lord; of having a single place to go to for advice.  Surely that’s something even the Russian meerkat would agree is good thing to do..