Day 31 – Isaac & the Blessing

• Yesterday we started looking at the warring brothers Jacob and Esau, and we’ll get back to them tomorrow, but today we’re taking a step away and putting the camera lens back on their father Isaac.
• I’m sure you’ll have noticed how Isaac’s actions, and that of his rather beautiful wife Rebekah, mirror those of his father earlier in Genesis. Can you remember the stories regarding Abraham and where they are in Scripture?
• What similarities, apart from the fact that they both seem to be married to supermodels, can you find between the story in Genesis 26:6-11 and that of Abraham in Genesis 12:10-20?
• Do you think it’s easy to repeat our parent’s mistakes? Do you think that you pick up their bad habits as well as good?
• What’s going on with the battle over the wells and the water supply in verses 17-22? This time Isaac shows wisdom. How?
• What interesting bit of information do we read about Isaac’s firstborn son Esau in verse 34? Does it look like his parents approved of his choice of brides? Why do you think Isaac and Rebekah were not pleased?
• For the first time in our reading plan, we open up 1 Chronicles (make sure you don’t read 1 Corinthians by accident!). The words in it are clear to read and show God is in control. What words of comfort and encouragement can you take from them?
• The single verse that we read today in Galations 4 says that we are like “children of promise”? What promise is that, do you think?

Like his father, Isaac seems to be having his share of dumb moments, and a good portion of wise ones too. God continues to stand by His promises though, doesn’t He? Whatever difficulties Abraham and Isaac have been in, God has seen them through – whether they trusted in Him or veered off the path a little.

We’re on day 31 today – that’s the end of month one! Give yourself a high five in the mirror (go on, nobody’s watching!). That’s a whole month of reading and studying God’s Word every day. We’ve looked at creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Job, Abraham and Isaac now, with plenty of other stories thrown into the mix, such as the ark, the tower of Babel and the messy situation in Sodom. Think back on what you’ve studied and how you think you’ve grown in your factual understanding, your spiritual understanding and your maturity in handling God’s Word. I hope you can see growth already, and we have lots of exciting things to read about yet.

Be especially vigilant that this hasn’t become just a daily exercise in reading and writing. How has your prayer life improved? And have you acted more Christ-like as you’ve got to know your bibles better?

By the end of February we’ll have gone through the entire story of Joseph, and Moses will have led the Israelite people into the desert, ready for all that awaits them. They’re wonderful readings, and I can’t wait to work through them with you.