A Short Break From Things Domestic

I'm attempting to undertake the challenge of reading the Bible through in 40 days. I've got the time and it's been years since I've read it straight through -so it's something I'd like to do. I'm on summer break before my life transitions to a new job and a new state and it just seems like a good time to do such a thing.

So - I thought I'd post some reflections on my daily readings here. No guarantee they'll show up everyday - but hopefully most days.

I do apologize if you'd rather see recipes and such - check back in August for tales of my domesticity. :)

And here is Day One:

Rather than dividing the number of chapters in the Bible by 40 I divided the number of pages in my particular Bible by 40. (Because things like Psalm 119 exist) That puts me at roughly 60 pages a day of reading.

Today: Genesis 1-28

When it's time to find Isaac a wife Abraham sends his servant off to look for the right girl. The servant asks God to show him the right girl by having the "one" offer to water his camels when he asks for a drink. Along comes pretty Rebekah who does just that. They exchange a few rings and things and she's off for a camel ride across the dessert to meet and marry Isaac.

No questions asked. She's nice to camels. She's the one.

Seems like a pretty straight-forward "Thanks for the easy decision, God!" situation.

Fast-forward a few years. Isaac and Rebekah welcomed two sons into the world. Twins. Esau and Jacob. Dad picks E. Rebekah is a fan of J. Esau is the first born though - he's suppose to get all of the blessings and inheritance and all that jazz. This does not make Rebekah happy - so she aids her favorite son in tricking his father into giving him the blessing.

I mean - Jacob is the one that God chose. The one who would become Israel. The one who would have twelve sons that would become the twelve tribes. He's important. But - I don't know. I always get stuck on this story. Perhaps it's my rule-following side. Not getting why Esau, the firstborn, was denied the blessing. I mean - he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup - but Jacob was deceitful. It's not like Jacob was the stellar example of everything a man of God should be. And his camel-watering, chosen-by-God, mother was right there - helping him in the deceit.
It's a choice that seems off to me. I mean - I could come up with a million "answers" - about God being a God that breaks social rules. About God using even things meant for evil. About God filling the lineage of Jesus with people of shady character so we'd all know we'd fit in. About God just being God and we don't have to know the answers - but it just bugs me! And, well, I'm just going to leave it at that for now.



(My writing tends to assume a certain familiarity with the stories discussed. If you're unfamiliar check out Genesis 24-27 for more details.)