Written by: Captain Ray Khan – Church Army

Genesis 25 v 29-31
One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields, weak from hunger. So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup, because I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom.)
But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”

Notes 
A psychologist called Maslow noticed that some needs take precedence over others. If you are hungry and thirsty, you will tend to try to take care of the thirst first. After all, you can do without food for weeks, but you can only do without water for a couple of days! Thirst is a “stronger” need than hunger. Likewise, if you are very thirsty, but someone has put a chokehold on you and you can’t breathe, which is more important? The need to breathe, of course. If your basic needs are met, then there are others that take precedence – safety, belonging, acceptance, self-esteem.

Esau was hungry - he had a basic need. His younger twin brother Jacob had a need, but it was not as obvious as Esau’s. Jacob had a need to be loved and admired by his father, to be loved like the firstborn son - so when Jacob sold his soup for a price he was meeting a need.

You could say that what was happening was positive - needs were about to be met. But there is something to say about how we meet those needs. Jacob did not have to ask for a price, he could have given freely. Their father could have shown both his sons an equal amount of love, but he didn’t.

Our needs often drive us into situations that leave us vulnerable.

Reflection:
What are you needs today? Do you have basic needs like Esau, or more subtle ones like Jacob? 

How can you meet the needs of others today? Perhaps you can offer a beggar not just a cup of coffee but share some time to listen.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to be driven just by my own needs - help me to meet the needs of others. Amen.

Genesis 25 v 32-34
Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.”
But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob and sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup, and he ate and drank, and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son.

Notes
Desperate times can call for desperate measures. Esau was desperate, and his hunger led him to take desperate measures. He gave away his rights and status as the firstborn son to his brother Jacob. His hunger was more important to him.

When Jesus was tested by the devil, Jesus was desperate and the devil used that desperation to test him: “Change this stone to bread and eat”, “Worship me and I will give you the world”, “Jump from this tower and your heavenly Father will protect you”.

These tests focused around the needs of hunger, status and love. (The final test was about how much Jesus really trusted his father’s love.) Jesus would not be compromised by his real needs. He knew what was important and would not lose it.

It is a shame that Esau failed the test; he sold the most important thing in his life for soup and bread.

Reflection
What does your faith and relationship with God mean to you? Thinking about today, where are the pressure points where your faith could be compromised?

Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have given to me, for all that you have done for me. Give me strength and hope today to pass the tests that come my way.

Genesis 26 v 1
Now there was a time of hunger in the land, besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar to see Abimelech king of the Philistines. 

Notes
Refugees fleeing from famine is nothing new. During the time of the Old Testament, famine often led to huge numbers of people migrating to other lands. Sometimes this was part of God’s plan, like in the story of Joseph, but what about Isaac? Was this part of God’s great master plan? Was Isaac fleeing to safety, or was he jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire?

When you find yourself in trouble, how did you get there? Did you decide to tempt fate? Was it because you were careless? Did some need drive you?

Isaac was driven by need to seek help from a king of the Philistines and this would eventually lead him into trouble.

Reflection
Think about a time when you found yourself in trouble. How did you get there? What lessons can you learn that will help you in the future?

Prayer
Lord, I ask for your grace today to help me walk in your way. I also pray for those people around the world who are refugees. Help me to show compassion to the strangers I meet today.

Genesis 26 v 2-5
The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt, but live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands, and I will keep the oath I made to Abraham your father. I will give you many descendants, as hard to count as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said and obeyed my commands, my teachings, and my rules.”

Notes
Where does God bless you and give you good things? Some of you might think church, while singing songs to God, or when your Christian friends are with you. Where are your places of blessing?

Isaac’s place of blessing was not when he was strong, but weak and needing the help of others. He was not at home, but in a strange town. You could say that Isaac was not in a comfortable place.

And it was there in that place and situation, where God blessed Isaac. God gave Isaac some clear instructions: “Don’t go to Egypt. Stay here.” God reminded Isaac of what he had done in the past – the promise he made to his father Abraham - and God gave Isaac a future vision: “Your descendants will bless the whole world and will be numerous.”

In a desperate situation God blessed Isaac with clear instructions for now, with a reminder of what God had done in the past, and with a future vision and hope.

Reflection
Do you need clear instructions for now? What would they be? Tell God.

Think about what God has done in the past, either in the scriptures or in the lives of those you know. Give thanks to God.

Ask God for a future vision and hope. Perhaps God has already done this. If so, remind yourself, then check out that vision with others.

Prayer
Lord, help me to hear your voice of blessing when I feel desperate, vulnerable, weak and useless. Give me a vision for the future that will fill others and me with hope. 

Genesis 26 v 6-7
So Isaac stayed in Gerar. His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her.

Notes
Needs drove Isaac to Gerar, then fear drove him to lie.

Everyone experiences fear, even the brave do. The difference between the brave person and the coward is that fear does not cause the brave person to freeze, feel powerless or compromise. Brave people are the ones who can face their fears and win.

Fear is not bad, in fact it is important for survival. If you are climbing up a tall ladder, the fear of falling will make you more aware of the danger and make you more careful. If you have no fear, there is a chance that you can put yourself and others in real danger. However, if your fear of falling is so strong that it stops you from climbing the ladder then that fear becomes unhealthy.

Isaac had a natural fear, a fear of death. This fear did not just make him careful; it paralysed him and he lied! He compromised his marriage, his integrity and his wife. Isaac failed the test of fear.

Reflection
Think about your fears – fear of failure, rejection, heights, spiders!

Do these fears drive your life and your decisions?

How can you overcome these fears? (You might need the help of others.)

Prayer
Lord Jesus, you experienced the fear of dying, but you overcame your fear and obeyed your heavenly Father.

Help me today to overcome my fears. Amen.

Genesis 26 v 8-9
Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of his window, he saw Isaac holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?”
Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.”

Notes
Lying can sometimes seem a great way of getting out of a tight spot. The problem is that quite often one lie leads to another, and before you know it you have created a web of lies that you cannot get out of. Why does this happen? It could be that you do not want people to know that you have lied; you don’t want to get caught out.

Isaac told a lie to King Abimelech, because he wanted to protect his life. Isaac got caught out. What would you have done? Told another lie so you would not be shamed? 

His need to protect himself caused him to lie. That could be seen as a natural response. However, what need would he be meeting if he told another lie? The need not to be shamed? Isaac told the truth, and the truth exposed him as a coward and a liar. There was no way out for him. Perhaps Isaac’s integrity was more important to him than being shamed.

Reflection
What is more important to you: your integrity as a person, as a Christian, or being “shamed” by those around you?

Do you need to end a lie today?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to be true to you and to others, and help me to be true to myself. Thank you that the truth will set me free to be me with you. Amen.

Genesis 26 v 10-11
Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had sexual relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.”
So Abimelech warned everyone, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

Notes
In the west we are surrounded by sexual images of desirable people. Sex is not just used to sell a product, but how we would like to see ourselves. Let us be honest - we all want to be seen as desirable.

Isaac’s wife Rebecca was a beautiful and desirable woman. The men of the city would probably have seen her as someone who would greatly enhance their own sense of worth. She must have caused a stir when she was still thought of as Isaac’s “sister”.

But when the king found out she was not available, something more important kicked in. What was right and what was wrong?

The king knew it would be wrong and shameful for him, or for any of the men, in the city to have sex with a married woman. This was a person who had standards about sexual behaviour. 

Their sense of worth did not compromise what they felt was right and honourable.

Reflection
In your own struggle to be seen as “desirable” do you compromise yourself?

How do you allow yourself to be driven by sex? 

If you are struggling in this area, talk to someone you can trust and remember you are not alone.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to be attractive to others because of what you have done in my life. Help me to find my sense of true worth in you. Amen.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes