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^“22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to enquire of the Lord.²³ The Lord said to her,‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other,and the elder will serve the younger.’²⁴ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. ²⁵ The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. ²⁶ After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ (That is why he was also called Edom. ³¹ Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’³² ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’³³ But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.So Esau despised his birthright.” NIV

The jostling babies (22a)

Whenever I read this, it causes me to think about that inner tussle between the sinful nature and the Holy Spirit which is the experience of every Christian (Galatians 5:17). It is an unpleasant and uncomfortable reality, and we will face it until we leave this world. It doesn’t get any easier just because we become older, but it may manifest itself in different ways – although not necessarily. Thankfully, although the battle is real, the ‘flesh’ can ‘’serve’’(23) the Spirit. The Spirit can have the upper-hand (Gal.5:24,25), but not a day will pass when we can relax our guard. We must stay alert and be vigilant.

The seeking mum (22b)

Prayer is not just asking for things. One aspect entails asking about things. It is confessing ignorance and requesting information. It is reaching out to God for insight, revelation, understanding. It is going ‘’to enquire of the LORD’’. It’s intentional. There is something I don’t know that I need to know, but this I do know – God can help me with it if He so chooses. If He has a reason for not telling me (at least in the short term) that is His business. He knows best. I can have no argument with Him over it. But from where I sit, I do know that the Lord encourages me to come to Him in all humility and faith and ask for the much-needed wisdom (James 1:5-8). God does speak.

The fleshly man (24-34)

It is always a cause for wonder how two children born to the same parents, and part of the same family, can be so different. Jacob and Esau were (and each one was favoured by a different parent v.28 – never a good idea. It tends to lead to unwanted consequences). Here we see Esau as a fleshly man, dominated by his appetite. He can’t delay gratification, and throws away something precious for a bowl of stew. It still happens of course, over and over again. But the contents of the bowl may differ. Like Esau, we may find that an appetite is temporarily satisfied, but the inner longing isn’t. We have exchanged something that really matters for…NOTHING!

^“19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.Abraham became the father of Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.²¹ Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.” NIV

Imagine becoming the father of twins at the age of 60!  Warren Wiersbe makes this helpful point: ‘Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. For twenty years, they waited for a family that did not come. God blessed Isaac in everything but the thing he wanted most. He and Rebekah knew that God had promised descendants (Gen. 15:5), so Isaac laid hold of the promise and prayed. True prayer lays hold of God’s Word (John 15:7) and seeks to accomplish God’s purposes.’ ‘With the Word’, p.33.

‘The fulfilment of God’s promise is always sure, yet it is often slow. The faith of believers is tried, their patience exercised, and mercies long waited for are more welcome when they come. Isaac and Rebekah kept in view the promise of all nations being blessed in their posterity, therefore were not only desirous of children, but anxious concerning every thing which seemed to mark their future character.’ Matthew Henry.

Prayer changes things. Let us believe God and pray on. It is not the case that we can have just anything we want. But if our request is in line with God’s Word, if we are standing on His promises, we can have great boldness and confidence in our prayers.

God didn’t merely give Isaac what He asked; He gave Him more. He so regularly does.

‘’Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’’ (Ephesians 3:20,21).

PRAYER: Lord, increase our faith.

“Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.⁷ Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, ¹⁰ the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.¹² This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.¹³ These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps. ^{17 Altogether,} Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go towards Ashur. And they lived in hostility towards all the tribes related to them.”NIV

‘’Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people’’ (17).

When Ishmael was my age he still had more than half his life ahead of him. Nevertheless, he died. Even when life is long it is short. After writing yesterday’s thought, I laughed out loud when I read a letter from a Cheltenham vicar in ‘the Spectator’. He wrote: ‘’As a vicar, I’ve been the recipient of many a missive signed off with…flair. My collection moves from the solid ‘In Him’, through the invigorating ‘In His Grip’ to the faintly troubling ‘Under Aslan’s Paw’, and many besides. I’ve always enjoyed working with one particular funeral director, who ends his emails ‘Yours eventually’.’’

Many a true word…!

By the time we reach verse 18 of this chapter two major figures, Abraham and Ishmael are both dead. I am reminded that, as someone observed, ‘Death is the ultimate statistic. One out of one dies.’

Mention of the ‘’hostility’’ of the Ishmaelites ‘’towards all their brothers’’ (18) makes (9) seem all the more poignant and touching: ‘’His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him…’’ As has been observed, death is a human experience which binds all people together in spite of natural differences.

(P.S. You may have noticed that already I am lingering longer in chapter 25 than I originally intended. But I am noticing features in the Biblical landscape I feel I need to point out. So I will apply the break a little).

“Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.⁷ Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, ¹⁰ the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.” NIV

‘’After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac’’ (11).

I was sad to hear recently that Christopher Plummer had died at the age of 91 – the Canadian-born actor whose most famous role was that of Captain Von Trapp in ‘the Sound of Music’. I wrote in my journal that it felt like the end of an era. It was a poignant reminder that the most famous and well-beloved are eventually born away by death.  All the Biblical heroes were mortal. They lived in a fallen world, and even when they lived for a long time, they eventually had to take their leave. Abraham has dominated the Genesis story for many chapters, but now it is the end of an era.

‘The centre of attention now shifts from Abraham to Isaac…Abraham distinguished Isaac from his other sons: he gave them generous gifts, but he made Isaac his heir (v.5,24:35). God gives good things to unsaved people (Matt.5:45; Acts 14:17, 17:25), but only those who are His children through faith in Christ, can claim their inheritance (See Rom.8:17; Eph.3:6;Heb.1:2)’. Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.33.

The death of a loved one, such as a spouse or a parent, is a grievous blow. The pain cuts deep and there is no need to pretend otherwise. The wound may never fully heal, but if we are to go on living we have to adjust to the new situation. There is nothing truer than this – life goes on, and we must too. For as long as we live and breathe God has plans for us. As Abraham had a life following the death of Sarah (much as he loved her dearly), so life went on for Isaac after his dad died.

It was the end of one era, but the beginning of another.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, amid life’s changing ‘seasons’, you remain a constant. In spite of hurts and losses that mark our ways, help us to keep you ever before our eyes.

‘’When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place…’’ (3, underlining mine).

Recently I ‘attended’ an online theological conference, presented by my denominations. One speaker, who broadcast live from Eugene, Oregon, USA, (at some unearthly hour for him!) – Dr. A.J.Swoboda – spoke about the theology of creation care, in a persuasive and winsome fashion. Here are some of the notes I jotted down from his talk:

‘‘To care for ‘the garden’ is to worship God.’’

‘’In many parables judgment comes from the Landowner on those who do not care for His land.’’

‘’This is God’s garden. We have got to regain this theology of God as the Landowner.’’

But he also told a story about a man he knows who takes kids from urban environments to camps in the countryside. He said, ‘He shows them the stars and leads them to Christ.’ He told us that this evangelist has led hundreds of young people to Christ in this way. They are not used to seeing the night sky in its sparkling clarity, and being exposed to the raw impact of nature opens them up to hear the gospel.

The Bible does talk about the evangelistic power of nature. Think about Psalm 19 and Romans 1:19,20.

I preached a sermon on Psalm 19 and entitled it ‘the Rev Creation’. Have a look at Psalm 19 and see if you can see why.

Even in lockdown, we can step outside and hear the longest sermon ever. The Rev Creation has been preaching for centuries, and what a talk this is. No-one can be bored, surely?

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that even with restrictions placed upon us, we can still look with awe at the natural world, and see your finger-prints all over it. ‘’You are beautiful beyond description, too marvellous for words, too wonderful for comprehension…’’

“Abraham was now very old, and the Lordhad blessed him in every way. ² He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh. ³ I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, ⁴ but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.’⁵ The servant asked him, ‘What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?’⁶ ‘Make sure that you do not take my son back there,’ Abraham said. ⁷ ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, “To your offspring I will give this land”– he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.’ ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.¹⁰ Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was towards evening, the time the women go out to draw water.¹² Then he prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ May it be that when I say to a young woman, “Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,” and she says, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too”– let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.’¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar.’¹⁸ ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.’ ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka^[c] and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. ²³ Then he asked, ‘Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?’²⁴ She answered him, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.’ ²⁵ And she added, ‘We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.’²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, ²⁷ saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.’²⁸ The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. ³¹ ‘Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,’ he said. ‘Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.’³² So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³ Then food was set before him, but he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.’‘Then tell us,’ Laban said.³⁴ So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. ³⁷ And my master made me swear an oath, and said, “You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, ³⁸ but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.”³⁹ ‘Then I asked my master, “What if the woman will not come back with me?”⁴⁰ ‘He replied, “The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you – then you will be released from my oath.’⁴² ‘When I came to the spring today, I said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. ⁴³ See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’ ⁴⁴ and if she says to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,’ let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.”⁴⁵ ‘Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, “Please give me a drink.”⁴⁶ ‘She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.” So I drank, and she watered the camels also.⁴⁷ ‘I asked her, “Whose daughter are you?”‘She said, “The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.”‘Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed down and worshipped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.’⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.’⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.When they got up the next morning, he said, ‘Send me on my way to my master.’⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother replied, ‘Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.’⁵⁶ But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’⁵⁷ Then they said, ‘Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.’ ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’‘I will go,’ she said.⁵⁹ So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,‘Our sister, may you increaseto thousands upon thousands;may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.’⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.⁶² Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. ⁶³ He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, ‘Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?’‘He is my master,’ the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. ⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.NIV 

‘’So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘’Will you go with this man?’’ ‘’I will go,’’ she said’’ (58).

‘This is an illustration of personal salvation. The Spirit speaks to us about Christ and shows us His treasures, and we trust Christ even though we have never seen Him (1 Peter 1:8).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word, pp.32,33.This is a long chapter – the longest in the whole of Genesis, but what a wonderful story. There are so many details to revel in. I am struck by:

• Abraham’s desire to get a bride for his son from among his own people. He didn’t want him to be ‘unequally yoked’;
• The servant’s loyalty to his master, and sincere desire to serve his purposes. It’s been pointed out that he spoke about his master and not himself;
• Also, the servant’s prayerfulness and desire to be led by God. He is a God-centred person. He prayed and ‘watched’ and saw circumstances open up remarkably. His prayers and his worship are sprinkled liberally throughout the chapter.

Warren Wiersbe also points out:

‘Little did Rebekah realise that a small act of kindness would open up an exciting new life for her. ‘’Make every occasion a great occasion, for you can never tell when someone may be taking your measure for a larger place,’’ advised Marsden.’ (As above, p.32…and, I’m sorry, I’ve no idea who ‘Marsden’ is! But he makes a good point all the same).

There is a long tradition of seeing the servant as a ‘type’ (a picture) of the Holy Spirit who is sent into the world to bring a bride to Christ. He is totally focussed on glorifying Christ, and when he finds the bride He imparts gifts to her. Thinking about our text (58) in the light of this line of interpretation, the question comes to us, ‘Will we go with the Holy Spirit? Will we keep in step with Him, or demand our own way? In the first place, as Warren Wiersbe says, we went with Him to Jesus. We responded to His call. But now day by day, and even moment by moment, we face this same question, ‘Will we go with Him?’ Will we do what He shows us to do in God’s Word? Will we obey the still small voice of His promptings? For Rebekah, like Abraham earlier in his life, listening to and obeying God meant leaving the familiar behind, moving away from home and family. Will we do whatever He tells us?

‘’Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit’’ (Galatians 5:25)

Hello everyone, in the next ‘season’ I’m going to ask you to read a chapter (or a section of a) book each day.  This will be printed below as usual. Even If I only comment on one small part I would love it if you would read the whole, so as to get the context. Thank you for your support.

“Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ² Some men brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, ‘This fellow is blaspheming!’⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?⁵ Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”?⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the paralysed man, ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.’⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’ ¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’¹⁵ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.¹⁶ ‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. the skins will burst; the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.’¹⁸ While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, ‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’ ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹ She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’²² Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’And the woman was healed at that moment.²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s  house and saw the noisy crowd and the people playing pipes, ²⁴ he said, ‘Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶ News of this spread through all that region.²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’‘Yes, Lord,’ they replied.²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you’;³⁰ and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’ ³¹ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. ³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’³⁴ But the Pharisees said, ‘It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.’³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ NIV

This morning I was particularly arrested by these words:

‘’While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, ‘’My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’’ Jesus got up and went with him…’’ (verses 18,19)

See how humbly the ruler came to Jesus…

See how reverently he came…

See how earnestly he came…

See how he came full of faith…

And see how Jesus responded to him. He answered his plea.

I noticed how faith is a stand out theme in this chapter. It is illustrated in the story of the ruler, but we also see it in the next story (22), and the next (29).

It is possible to have ‘’little faith’’ (Matthew 8:26). It is also possible to have ‘’great faith’’ (Matthew 8:10).

PRAYER: Lord, increase our faith.

“King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. ² And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? ³ Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, pre-eminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.” NIV

The transformation of Mordecai’s circumstances is truly remarkable, and it is worthy of our attention one more time. Who could have imagined that a lowly and despised Jew would become second-in-command to the most powerful ruler in the world of that day?

But note how he used his power, and why he came to be held in such high esteem. Simon Sinek’s book on leadership is entitled ‘Leaders eat last’, and Mordecai exemplified servant leadership. He ‘’worked for the good’’ of others. Someone referred to Jesus as ‘the Man for others’. There are many ways in which He can be described, but that is certainly not inaccurate. He came not ‘’to be served, but to serve, and to give his life’’ (Mark 10:44). It is certainly true that Jesus gave His life for others in a unique and unrepeatable way. Nevertheless, He shows us that real life is found in serving and giving.

I read somewhere that the essence of life is found not in its duration but in its donation: it’s not how long you live, but how much you give.

Raised from obscurity to great power, Mordecai expended his unexpected privileges on those who desperately needed his help and support.

Mother Teresa said that although we may not be able to do great things, we can do small things with great love. May God help us to continually lose our lives, and so find them.

‘The epitaph on the life of a simple-hearted, true-hearted man, might be yours also. Why should you not from this moment adopt these twin characteristics? Go about the world seeking the good of people. It does not always mean that you should give them a tract or a little book. It is much easier to do this than to sacrifice your own good in order to seek theirs. You may be quite sure that some little act of self-sacrifice or thoughtfulness for a weary mother, or crying child, for a sick friend, or for some person who is always maligning and injuring you, would do a great deal in preparing an entrance for the Gospel message. It is thus that the genial spring loosens the earth and prepares the way for the germination of multitudinous life. Count the day lost in which you have not sought to promote the good of someone.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.176.

PRAYER: Once more Lord, I ask you to help me to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wound, to labour and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that I do your will.

^“18 The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.¹⁹ That is why rural Jews – those living in villages – observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.²⁰ Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, ²¹ that they should celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar ²² as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote to them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.²³ So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. ²⁴ For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur(that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. ²⁵ But when the plot came to the king’s attention,he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back on to his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. ²⁶ (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, ²⁷ the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. ²⁸ These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews – nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.²⁹ So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. ³⁰ And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’s kingdom – words of goodwill and assurance – ³¹ to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. ³² Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.” NIV

I remember some fellow students at Bible college, who had written a song based on the words of Psalm 20:7 as it is found in the ‘King James Version’:

’Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.’’

 The repeated chorus included the words:

‘We will remember, we will remember…’

Of course, naturally we can be prone to forgetfulness. But God gave His Old Testament people ‘festivals of remembrance.’ For example, there was ‘Passover’, to help remember and celebrate the deliverance from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh. Here we have the institution of ‘Purim’. They were never to forget the great rescue from the hand of Haman and all he intended to do to the Jews. It was not a time for gloating, but a time of thankful remembrance of what God did for them.

Jesus gave His disciples the Lord’s Supper, and as we regularly partake of it, we do this ‘in remembrance’ of Him. Jesus wanted His followers to remember Him in His death. By His Cross He achieved the greatest rescue of all time.

‘The observance of the Jewish feasts, is a public declaration of the truth of the Old Testament Scriptures. And as the Old Testament Scriptures are true, the Messiah expected by the Jews is come long ago; and none but Jesus of Nazareth can be that Messiah. The festival was appointed by authority, yet under the direction of the Spirit of God. It was called the feast of Purim, from a Persian word, which signifies a lot. The name of this festival would remind them of the almighty power of the God of Israel, who served his own purposes by the superstitions of the heathen…

Every instance of Divine goodness to ourselves, is a new obligation laid on us to do good, to those especially who most need our bounty. Above all, redemption by Christ binds us to be merciful, 2 Corinthians 8:9.’