When you hear the phrase, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” what comes to mind? When exploring God’s story in Scripture, this comes up a bunch of times. And when you explore the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 11-50) you encounter God making covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “I will be your God… I will be with you always… I will bless you and you will bless the nations… you will have as many children as the sand on the shore, the dust on the earth, the stars in the sky…”
Yet, everywhere you turn in God’s story, there are threats to this promise being fulfilled. Often it’s human desire to force the issue, to choose another path, to simply avoid the promise, undermine the promise, breaking covenant with God. And yet, God loves the world, loves people, and remains faithful to his promise through it all.
This Sunday we will take a look at the life of Jacob and God’s faithfulness to him, and to his covenantal promise. As we learn more and more about God’s story, we see in God’s story, our story. We too, are called to faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When it comes down to it, we are not much different than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – same flaws, same waywardness, same manipulations and deceitfulness… we are always grasping for God’s blessing, when we run from God, he will meet us there (cause he’s already there), when we turn away, he calls us back to him, and in repentance we receive reconciliation. How can this be? Because God is faithful to his covenant promise even when we are not.
I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and God’s covenant promise is for me! God’s story is my story,
Pastor Mark