It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who, with pen wrote:

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

This morning it seems Isaac, from the flesh, pens a different legacy:

“Sow disobedience and you reap mistrust. Mistrust will lead to deception, and deception to anger. Anger sown reaps hatred, and hatred murder.”

Hovering over Genesis 27 this morning. Trying to make sense of the dynamics of this seemingly hyper-dysfunctional family.

Not bright enough to dogmatically assert cause and effect here, but it seems it all starts with Isaac, an old blind man, driven by his appetite, deciding to do one thing when God had clearly told him through his wife to do another. He’s hungry, he’s weary and anticipates the day of his death, and so he strikes a deal with Esau, the older son, to bless him in exchange for a favorite meal. Problem is God had revealed to Rebekah, before their twin boys were born, that “the older shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23). But you know there’s trouble coming as, in Genesis 25:28, the Holy Spirit, with a certain foreboding, makes sure we know that “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob” (because he was the child of promise).

Fast forward to the twilight years and Isaac decides to bless Esau as the one to be served (Gen. 27:29). Disobedience. And it’s a train-wreck from there on.

Rebekah’s eavesdropping and plotting. Jacob’s scheming and deceiving. Esau’s choked and murderous. Just one big happy family.

And while there’s a lesson here about sin taking you farther than you want to go, a warning to heed about how sowing thoughts out-of-sync with God will reap actions, habits, and character out-of-sync with God, ultimately God determines the destiny.

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him . . . “God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!”

(Genesis 28:1a, 3-4 ESV)

God’s purposes prevail. His promises are fulfilled. His grace always greater than all our sin.

God does some of His best work through dysfunctional families.

Not because of who we are, but because of what He’s done. Not because of what we’ve done, but because of who He is. (Thank you, again, Casting Crowns).

By His grace. For His glory.