A Precarious Position (Community Bible Project)
That is exactly what we see as the Genesis account unfolds. If you are joining us in our Community Bible Project, you are no doubt feeling a bit confused and dismayed by these so-called “fathers” of our faith: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
After all, didn’t Abraham give his wife away – twice! – in order to save his own skin (chs. 12 and 20)? And didn’t he have a baby with his slave (at his wife’s request) in order to “help” God fulfill his promise (ch. 16)?
What is more, Isaac following in his father’s footsteps, pawned off his wife for his own protection (ch. 26). And Jacob, whose story you read today (ch. 27) has just stolen his brother’s blessing, fulfilling his name: “Cheater/Deceiver.”
The story does not get any better, as seasoned Bible readers will know. There is everything from cheating, lying, hatred, murder, adultery and incest in the holy family tree.
What are we to make of this?
For one thing, these messy stories give us hope: After all, haven’t we found ourselves sometimes making a royal mess of our lives? God did not give up on them; God will not give up on us.
As Joseph (Abraham’s great grandson) said to his brothers in a passage at the end of the book (and which virtually summarizes the human aspect of the Genesis account): “You meant it for bad, but God meant it for good” (ch.50).
That is not to say that there are no consequences for our foolishness; there certainly were for these Biblical characters. Despite this, however, God takes the muddled mess of our lives and creates something beautiful out of it. In that, we can find hope, no matter how sordid our past.
More importantly, however, these stories point to a much larger story. From the very beginning, we have seen that, try as we might, humanity cannot fix itself. God must step in.
Adam and Eve felt shame and tried to cover it with fig leaves. God stepped in and sacrificed an innocent animal to cover their shame.
Abraham was childless and sought to help God by having a baby through his servant, Hagar. God stepped in and miraculously provided a child by his wife, Sarah.
And so it goes: From Moses to David, and everywhere in between, all their best efforts fell short and were short-circuited by their own failures. God’s ultimate solution always requires divine intervention.
It is this necessary divine intervention which we are meant to see in the Genesis narrative and, indeed in the entire Old Testament. The “rescuers in need of rescue” point us toward the Ultimate Rescuer: the God-Man Jesus Christ.
Need proof? Take a look at Peter’s sermon in today’s reading from Acts 3. Among many things, he reminded them that “all the prophets” foretold Jesus’ arrival, and that Moses himself had prophesied about Jesus, as well as Samuel and all those who came after him. Yes, in a nutshell, Peter is saying that Jesus himself is the ultimate hero of the Old Testament stories.
This is not an isolated example. Most famously, Jesus himself made the same claim in his post-resurrection appearances (Luke 24:27, 44).
Yes, the rescuers were in need of rescue. But God in his grace always knew that he would be the Ultimate Rescuer of his wayward children.
Adam gave in to the garden temptation, but his failure points us to Jesus, the second Adam, who, faced with a similar temptation said, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”
Abraham succumbed to the temptation to use human means to accomplish divine ends, but Jesus refused a similar temptation three times in the wilderness, saying, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
Jacob wrestled with God and walked with a limp the rest of his life. His name was changed to Israel. Jesus submitted to God and gave up his life to set us free from sin. He has been given the Name at whose Name every knee must bow.
Yes, the “rescuers in need of rescue” which populate the Genesis narrative point us toward the one who would be the Ultimate Rescuer: the God-Man, Jesus Christ.
So ... Rather than being discouraged by our own failures, or worse, straining to follow the moral examples of biblical characters, let us give thanks for the One whose self-giving love provided the ultimate means of rescue for our beautifully broken world. When we trust in him, we are, most assuredly, not in a precarious position.