15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his. (Deuteronomy 21)
Sometimes these laws seem almost too detailed, but then we stop and think: Jacob and Esau? Even at this point in Israel's history they had pretty much seen it all. So had God. There really is nothing new under the sun in terms of sin. God has seen it all, and some of the worst has been in the family. Much of it has been due to a rebellion against God's creative order: man versus woman, parent and child, and a refusal to accept one's responsibilities in that order. When we accept God's place and plan, we end up like a Joseph, useable to Him and even raise above our "level", but when we mess with God's plan, and try to "reorganize" things our way, we make a mess. Just ask Jacob.
No comments:
Post a Comment