Life was good – but then it wasn’t

Up to the time Isaac was forty years old, life had been good to him. There was a hiccup in his mid-thirties when God told his Dad to sacrifice him, but even when his young life could have ended with the slash of a knife, Isaac did not question what his Dad was doing. He simply trusted him, and God.  

His trust in God and his Dad continued in the choice of his wife too. His Dad believed it was God’s will to find him a wife from those in the family who’d stayed in their home country of Haran after Abraham had left for Canaan (Genesis 11:31, 12:4-5) – and Isaac didn’t question that either. Nor did he question his Dad’s wish for him to stay home and let Eliezer do the work of bringing back a wife for him. 

And on Eliezer’s return, Isaac had no trouble believing Rebekah was the one for him. “He loved her” (24:67). So life was good.

But then it wasn’t, because Rebekah was unable to have children. Which put Isaac in the same situation as his father Abraham, because how could YHWH’s promises to Abraham and his offspring continue if Isaac had no offspring either?  

But one thing Isaac had going for him was his trust, because Scripture simply states that “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife,” and “The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant” (25:21). So life was good again. 

But then it wasn’t, again – because the twin boys growing in Rebekah’s womb were having such a go at each other that Rebekah cried out, “Why is this happening to me?” (22). And YHWH’s answer spelled trouble for the future too, because he said the two boys would continue their antagonism as nations later on too. So could life ever be good again for Isaac and Rebekah with this constant worry on their minds? 

But life could still be good, because they still had the assurance of YHWH’s promise to Abraham, that through his offspring, including Isaac’s and Rebekah’s children, YHWH’s universal blessing of humanity would continue. And isn’t that where we’re at too? Because we too are Abraham’s offspring, so we have the same assurance that YHWH is fitting our life story into “the purpose of his will” as well (Ephesians 1:11). Which gives us hope, yes, but how do we cope – like Isaac – “When life is both hope and despair”?.…(next blog)