What could go wrong?
by Verena Johnson
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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 (Genesis 25:21).
Read Genesis 25:19–34
Sometimes, when we assume nothing can go wrong, it is when things do go wrong.
It certainly seemed like nothing could go wrong for Isaac and Rebekah. After all, God has found Abraham a good wife for his son. Isaac and Rebekah have fallen in love and married.
Yet Rebekah hasn’t been able to have children for 20 years. God’s promise will only be fulfilled if God intervenes. They must depend entirely on God. This kind of dependence isn’t easy. We certainly struggle with it when things go wrong for us.
Isaac goes to God in prayer, and Rebekah becomes pregnant.
So now nothing can possibly go wrong, can it? Rebekah and Isaac will have a son, and God’s promise will be fulfilled.
However, Rebekah’s pregnancy becomes painful. Her unborn twins aren’t just moving delicately around in her womb; they’re jostling or struggling with each other. She asks God that classic question we all ask from time to time, ‘Why is this happening to me?’
What God tells this expectant mum is hardly reassuring. Your sons won’t be friends or even close. They’ll be separated. In fact, they’ll become two nations, and the older one will serve the younger one.
The twins grow up to become two very different people. Esau becomes a big, hairy, outdoorsy hunter. Jacob becomes a quiet stay-at-home man. On top of that, Isaac loves Esau best, while Rebekah loves Jacob. Even their parents are divided.
It all comes crashing down when Jacob cheats his big brother out of his birthright. Esau doesn’t come off well in this story either, as he trades his valuable birthright for a simple bowl of stew. It’s a trade he’ll live to regret and the beginning of a resentment that will only grow.
Thank God that his grace comes to us, as it did for them, when things go wrong. God meets us in the unpredictable and often messy places of our lives. He comes to us amid our sinfulness and brokenness. He does not give up on us when we fail to value our heavenly birthright and focus on the things of this world. He still loves us when we cheat or take advantage of others. Thank God for his amazing grace.
Gracious God, thank you for the amazing grace you show towards me in my messy, unpredictable, sinful life. Please help me to treasure the heavenly birthright you’ve given me and to live as your beloved child. Amen.
Verena is a Church Worker Support Officer for the LCA’s Church Worker Support team, through which it is her privilege to support congregations, pastors, lay workers, employees and volunteers of the LCA. In her spare time, she is involved in drama ministry, women’s ministry and prayer ministry. She has three children and nine grandchildren in three different states.
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