The God Of My Father Has Been With Me

   The book of Genesis was originally written to the first generation of Israelites who came out of their Egyptian slavery. God taught them about their special identity by reminding them of their forefathers. In the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a major lesson that’s constantly emphasized is that God is the origin of blessings.

First, we see a repeated pattern of divine protection. When Abraham traveled to the the city of Gerar and his wife Sarah was taken into the harem of the local king, God appeared to the man who took her and said “You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken…” (Gen. 20.3). After Isaac attempted to dig wells of water for his household and was stopped repeatedly by the Philistines, God appeared to him and declared, “Fear not, for I am with you…” Afterwords, Isaac was able to find water without further conflict and resolved his disputes with the Philistines (Gen. 26.23-33). When Jacob obeyed God’s instructions to travel to the city of Bethel after his sons mercilessly slaughtered and plundered an entire Canaanite city, “a terror from God” fell upon the surrounding cities and Jacob’s family traveled the land without pursuit (Gen. 35.5).

Secondly, we also observe that the material wealth they accumulated was due to God. After we’re told that Isaac sowed crops in the land of the Philistines, the text says that “The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich…” (Gen. 26.13). In a conversation Jacob has with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, he plainly acknowledged that “The God of my father has been with me,” (Gen. 31.5). Because of the Lord’s presence in his life, he obtained large herds of livestock despite his father-in-law’s best attempts to rob him of his proper wages.

Third, the patriarchs repeatedly learned the lesson that children are a gift from the Lord. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was unable to have a child until the age of 90 (Gen. 16.15-17, 21.6). Isaac’s wife Rebekah was also infertile until “Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife” and she conceived two sons (Gen. 25.21). After Jacob married Rachel, she was without children until “God listened to her and opened her womb” (Gen. 30.22).

The men and women who were used by God to create the Jewish nation understood that their blessings were not random strokes of luck and freely recognized Him as their benefactor. Do we do the same? Do we intentionally praise God for our children or simply take it for granted that they exist in our family? If we’re blessed with physical wealth, is it merely a product of our skill or of the Lord’s hand? If we’re protected from dangers, what is our attitude? Whatever success we’ve gained in our lives, what do we attribute it to? There is nothing we have which the Lord did not give to us.

Nathan