The daily devotional from Moody Bible Institute, Today in the Word, this month focuses on the lives of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and looks at how God kept the promise He made to Abraham in spite of the deceit, violence and turmoil in his family.  You may recall, as recorded in Gen. 12:1-3, how God made an unconditional covenant with Abram to give him a land, bless him, provide many descendants, make them a great nation and also through them be a blessing to all the nations on earth. We see the covenant promises repeated in Gen. 17.

     As you follow the stories of the lives of Isaac, the son God provided to Abraham and Sarah in their old age, and his sons Jacob and Esau, and Jacob’s son, Joseph, you read some of the most famous stories in the Bible, including Isaac lying about his wife, calling her his sister; about Rebekah favoring Jacob and Isaac favoring Esau, about Jacob stealing his brother’s birthright and the blessing of his father and then fleeing for his life from his twin brother, Esau; of how Jacob, the “deceiver,” was deceived by his uncle Laban, and ended up with two wives, which created quite the tension in the home; of how Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son and was hated by his brothers who plotted to kill him.

     All that to say, they had very dysfunctional families.  A “dysfunctional family” is defined as “a family that experiences conflict, instability, and tension, and where family members may behave in negative ways, often involving child neglect, abuse or favoritism which creates friction.”  I’d say that Abraham and Sarah’s family qualified, and I didn’t even mention the arrival of Ishmael, born to Abraham and their servant, Hagar, and the problems that caused and continues to cause!

      But the amazing thing is how God has kept, and will continue to keep, His promises to Abram, Isaac and Jacob, whose name God changed to “Israel” after his wrestling match with God.   The twelve sons born to Jacob would become the heads of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel.  And that nation, though it has struggled greatly due to unbelief and idolatry and rebellion and was conquered by Assyria and Babylon and scattered over the face of the globe, has returned  and continues to return (just as Ezekiel prophesied...Ezek. 37). That nation provided us with our Scriptures and with our Savior, Messiah, Jesus Christ. And, in 1948, that nation once again declared statehood.  Though they continue to be persecuted and attacked, and though many nations vow to wipe them off the face of the earth, they happen to remain God’s chosen people to whom He promised a land, a nation and a blessing and through whom He has blessed the world.  

     In addition to providing God’s Word and God’s Redeemer through that nation, God has blessed the world in so many other ways through the many advancements in science, technology and medicine that have come out of that little country the size of New Jersey.  Remarkably, people of Jewish descent represent less than .20% of the world’s population, but they represent 22.4% of all Nobel prize winners! Out of that very dysfunctional family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, came a little nation that has greatly blessed all of mankind–just as God promised Abraham would happen. 

     Have you ever thought that God can’t use you because of your past, where you came from or what you have done, or because of the dysfunction of your family? Well, if you’ve ever felt that way, be encouraged by the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Families don’t get much more dysfunctional than theirs, but God is faithful and can work through all our weaknesses to accomplish His purposes. Check out I Cor. 1:26-31 and see what kind of people God uses. That should encourage you as well. 

Forever His,

Pastor Dave