Chayei Sarah/the life of Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18
IKings 1:1-31
Boy the themes this week for the torah portion were just ‘all over the place’! Even fitting the torah and haftorah portions together, seemed to escape me. There is, however, the obvious problem of succession from one generation to the other; especially for David and his sneaky rebellious sons…whereas Abraham’s ‘son problem’ was a little more complex in later generations…and fortunately for us all; the Holy One of Israel uses it all for His glory! Even if we at times, don’t understand the ‘why’. The idea of succession is however important in all of our lives, even if we aren’t the ‘father of faith’ or the king of Israel. God has purpose and destiny for all of us; including our offspring, and maybe we should ‘wake up’ to that and be more conscious of how we can be involved in the promises of God over our lives. In a way David and Abraham are a contrast in at least ‘style’, when it comes to this issue. David, on the surface, was basically a disappointment. I realize he was old etc., but he had promised that Solomon would be the next king but was passive and didn’t prepare Solomon nor the other leaders for that fact. The resulting ‘vacuum’ caused upheaval and rebellion in his family and kingdom, while he ‘cuddled’ with a younger woman for warmth in his old age: not a good look for the man of God… Next up, let’s look at Abraham: though he almost sacrificed Isaac in last week’s reading, he may have gotten a bit of the ‘fear of the Lord’ after that, in terms of God’s promises to him and his heirs. The story of Abraham getting a wife for his son, Isaac is actually very tender and one of my favorites. For there to be genuine succession; you need offspring, of course! Isaac was single and he needed a wife; so, dad decided to look after this ‘endeavor’. He called on his trusted servant, Eliezer, who knew and respected Abraham’s heart and desire for the right wife for his son; Eliezer was not just a ‘hired hand’. It was so important to Abraham that he prays with Eliezer (I am taking some liberty here), but Abe has him testify (basically putting his hand on Abraham’s testicles) and swearing to do this for all the generations promised to him. He had Eliezer swear that he wouldn’t look among the people that served other gods. So, this special servant went forth carrying the promises of not only his master; but the promises of God, which we are the recipients of today. “Lord, thank you for the way you used Eliezer!”
I want to ‘jump’ ahead a bit and get to the return journey with Rebekah. Christie, my wife, has helped me see how special their traveling back to meet Isaac was. Eliezer was not only a servant to Abraham, but was around Isaac as he grew up, and knew in a very personal way. So can you just imagine how that long trek was filled with stories and insights of who this prospective husband she had never met was. By the time she got off her camel and Isaac came out to greet her; she ‘knew’ him. It’s kind of like our ‘story’ as we look forward to Jesus coming for us as His chosen bride. We have been given Holy Spirit and His word to ‘tell’ us about our Bridegroom God on our journey through this life, so we will know Who He is and what He is like, causing love to grow in our hearts, on our ‘journey’ to see Him, at His return. Our Father is so amazing; He didn’t just leave us with truths and rules; but He has given us Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts for the day we are caught up with our Bridegroom, Jesus! As we have moments that we feel that Jesus is distant or unknowable; we have an ‘escort’ like Eliezer (Holy Spirit) on this wilderness journey. He talks to us about the One that He personally knows and loves, so our hearts can grow ever more tender and not become bitter in the ‘waiting’ for His coming. Thank You Lord, that You haven’t left us to ourselves…
Ps. I felt I just leave you with another thought: Regardless of how Abraham was intentional about the promises of God being fulfilled in his lineage; contrasted by David’s seemingly ‘disconnect’ in his old age, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord God Almighty, is the One looking after His promises and plans (including for us); so we can regularly ‘take a breath’ and not just hold our breath as we wonder if we can mess things up with our occasional poor choices or decisions…”Praise God, the Sovereign One!” by john eisner
Leave a Reply