The Fear of Isaac

In Genesis, when Jacob has finished his time with Laban and is returning to his homeland, Laban pursues him. In the midst of their conversation, Jacob refers to the Lord as the “Fear of Isaac.” A few verses later, he takes an oath in the name of the “Fear of his father Isaac.” There is no other place where God is referred to in this way. thinking about it, I can only imagine what Isaac’s relationship with the Lord must have been like, for his children to refer to it in this way.

My thought is that Isaac never really got over almost being sacrificed as a child. God had asked for his life and only relented as the knife was raised. Isaac may have taken this to heart and lived in fear of the Lord, of what the Lord might ask of him all his days. If he understood why the Lord had done this, it may have kept him from holding anything or anyone too tightly. Being human, there is a good chance he overcompensated and had a tough time in relationship with his sons. Do we see the consequences in his son’s lives? Is it reflected in their relationship with their mother or wives?

Fast For The Birds

T, I appreciated you word from the pulpit Sunday morning. I understood, and had already considered that H might come back with a negative decision. I was prepared for that, and prepared to throw myself on the Lord if that was the case.
Instead, H came back with no decision at all, just a continued commitment to her current course. This was probably harder for me than either of the other options. I asked what her expectations were for our relationship. She does not expect it to get better. She expects that sooner or later, she will talk to a lawyer. I asked her again to look to the Lord. To trust him. I talked about the things I am learning, and the things I am trying to show the children. I talked about what the breaking of our covenant would mean to our children. How badly it will hinder us when they go through these same problems, and we cannot speak to them of God’s faithfulness. I cannot begin to tell what it would mean for our oldest daughter.
I continue to try to focus on the Lord. More and more I am aware of how little I have looked to Him for my daily bread. I listened to that song this morning “This is my daily bread, this is my daily bread….” It really struck me that I have been consuming my wife for many years instead of the Lord. This led me to pray for replenishment for her spirit. I continue to be convicted about how poorly I have husbanded my wife.
Understanding the depth of my sin has made it much easier to accept these current trials. I know that whatever I have going forward will come from the Lord.
I tried fasting Sunday. I bet it has been more than twenty years since I last did that. I decided that I would break my fast with H when she got back. This was my first mistake, she was about two hours later than I thought she would be. Other than that, I was miserable. I had a headache a lot of the day, some of it from caffeine I’m sure. I had big plans to use my hungry times to pray. Instead I found myself convicted about my appetites and motives. It was not until near the end of the day when I thought that H would be arriving soon, that I came to the point of bowing before God and acknowledging what a wretched man I am. I know God’s purpose was accomplished in this, but as one who has never disciplined his body, all I can say is ouch!