TRICK OR TREAT (33 OF 54)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: Genesis 26:34, Genesis 28:9
This content is part of a series.
Trick or Treat (33 of 54)
Series: The Book of Beginnings
Keith Krell
Genesis 26:34-28:9
This past Monday, many Americans celebrated Halloween, or if you prefer ''Helloween.'' Children who participate in Halloween go door to door and announce, ''Trick or Treat.'' The hope is that they will receive a piece of candy...or two...or three. Yet, there is always the risk that they will be stiffed by some cheapskate, or worse yet, be poisoned by some sicko. ''Trick or Treat'' has inevitable consequences, either positive or negative.
In this section of Genesis, we discover that Isaac's family lived by ''Trick or Treat.'' Yet, in pursuit of a ''treat,'' Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob all succumbed to trickery. As a result, the consequences proved devastating. The Scottish novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), wrote in his poem Marmion: ''Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive.'' How true! In Genesis 26:34-28:9, we will learn that faith is living without scheming. Put positively, faith means obeying God no matter how we feel, what we think, or what might happen.
Like many biblical passages, this one has bookends. Two reports of Esau's pagan marriages (26:34-35 and 28:6-9) frame the major account (27:1-28:5), providing a prologue and epilogue. The main account then centers on Isaac giving the blessing to Jacob. Let's begin with the first bookend. In 26:34-35, Moses writes, ''When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief [lit. ''bitterness of spirit''] to Isaac and Rebekah.'' Esau marries at age 40, just as his father Isaac did (25:20). Esau, however, marries two Hittite women from the land of Canaan (36:2). Abraham warned his servant not to take a wife for Isaac from among the wicked Canaanites, who would not give up their gods for their husbands (24:3). Thus, the servant found Rebekah from the country and family of ...
Series: The Book of Beginnings
Keith Krell
Genesis 26:34-28:9
This past Monday, many Americans celebrated Halloween, or if you prefer ''Helloween.'' Children who participate in Halloween go door to door and announce, ''Trick or Treat.'' The hope is that they will receive a piece of candy...or two...or three. Yet, there is always the risk that they will be stiffed by some cheapskate, or worse yet, be poisoned by some sicko. ''Trick or Treat'' has inevitable consequences, either positive or negative.
In this section of Genesis, we discover that Isaac's family lived by ''Trick or Treat.'' Yet, in pursuit of a ''treat,'' Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob all succumbed to trickery. As a result, the consequences proved devastating. The Scottish novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), wrote in his poem Marmion: ''Oh what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive.'' How true! In Genesis 26:34-28:9, we will learn that faith is living without scheming. Put positively, faith means obeying God no matter how we feel, what we think, or what might happen.
Like many biblical passages, this one has bookends. Two reports of Esau's pagan marriages (26:34-35 and 28:6-9) frame the major account (27:1-28:5), providing a prologue and epilogue. The main account then centers on Isaac giving the blessing to Jacob. Let's begin with the first bookend. In 26:34-35, Moses writes, ''When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief [lit. ''bitterness of spirit''] to Isaac and Rebekah.'' Esau marries at age 40, just as his father Isaac did (25:20). Esau, however, marries two Hittite women from the land of Canaan (36:2). Abraham warned his servant not to take a wife for Isaac from among the wicked Canaanites, who would not give up their gods for their husbands (24:3). Thus, the servant found Rebekah from the country and family of ...
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