Category: Bible Challenge

“But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6she said to her son Jacob, ‘Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the LORD’s presence before I die.’ Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. . .” v4-8
Have you ever overheard someone talk and felt as if you had to get involved by defending, fixing, or changing a situation?

When Rebekah learned that Isaac was preparing to bless Esau, she quickly devised a plan to trick him into blessing Jacob instead. Although God had already told her that Jacob would become the family leader, Rebekah took matters into her own hands. She resorted to doing something wrong to try to bring about what God had had already said would happen. For Rebekah, the end justified the means. No matter how good we think our goals are, we should not attempt to achieve them by doing what is wrong. Would God approve of the methods I am using to accomplish my goals?

Taken from the NLY Life Application Study Bible

“‘All right,’ Jacob replied, ‘but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.’
‘Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?’” v31-32
Have you ever been caught in the moment? Meaning you do something that you never intended to do, but at the time you just did it?

Esau traded the lasting benefits of his birth right fo the immediate pleasure of food. Now a birthright was a special honor given to the firstborn son. It included a double portion of the family inheritance along with the honor of one day becoming the family’s leader. The oldest son could sell his birthright or give it away if he chose, but in doing, he would lose both material goods and his leadership position. By trading his birthright, Esau showed complete disregard for the spiritual blessings that would have come his way if he had kept it. By exaggerating his hunger. “I’m dying of starvation!” he said. This thought made his choice much easier because if he was starving, what good was an inheritance anyway? The pressure of the moment distorted his perspective and made his decision seem urgent. We often experience similar pressures. For example, when we feel sexual pressure, a marriage vow may seem unimportant. We might feel such great pressure in one area that nothing else seems to matter and we lose our perspective. Getting through that short, pressure filled moment is often the most difficult part of overcoming a temptation.

We can easily fall into the same trap. When we see something we want, our first impulse is to have it, or get it. At first we feel intensely satisfied and sometimes even powerful because we have obtained what we set out to get. But immediate pleasure often losses sight of the future. We can avoid making Esau’s mistake by comparing the short-term satisfaction with its long-range consequences before we act.

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.” v67
Things have changed since Isaac and Rebekah. But God is still constant. When it comes to relationships, who do you trust in choosing the person you will spend your life with? Even though Rebekah was picked for Isaac by a servant, their element of prayer put God in the center of the relationship. Is God in the center of your relationship?

“Swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”v3-4
Have you ever been given a task that had a lot riding on it? Abraham has just asked a servant to find a wife for Isaac. Now remember that God has promised to bless Abraham and his descendants, so there is a lot on the line here in who he chooses.

After traveling and a short honest prayer, the servant ask God to for help. He specifically prays in the direction of finding a woman that has a servants heart. Not only did Rebekah have a servants heart, she was beautiful!

When was the last time you asked God for help and His answer blew you away by His goodness? I believe the servant here has just experienced the goodness that God provides for those that are obedient to Him.

“Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. ‘Abraham!’ God called.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Here I am.’
‘Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.’” v1-2
What in the world is God doing? Have you ever asked that question? Why is God letting this happen is often our response when we are dealing with a tough situation. But it is in this time that God is testing our faith and trust in Him. God tested Abraham, not to trip him and watch him fall, but to deepen his capacity to obey, and thus to develop his character. Just as fire refines ore to extract precious metals, God refines us through difficult circumstances. When we are tested we can complain, or we can try to see how God is stretching us to develop our character.

Obeying God is often a struggle because it may mean giving up something we truly want. We should not expect our obedience to God to be easy or to come naturally.

“Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.” v13
Notice the parallel between the ram offered on the altar as a substitute for Issac and Christ offered on the cross as a substitute for us. Whereas God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, God did not spare his own Son, Jesus, from dying on the cross. If Jesus had lived, the rest of humankind would have died. God sent his only Son to die for us so that we could be spared from the eternal death we deserve and instead receive eternal life.

Taken for the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“But God told Abraham, ‘Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.’” v12-13
As a dad, it must have been hard to send away your son. Abraham had to do just this and trust that the Lord would provide for their needs.

Ever wounder what happened to Ishmael and who his descendants were? Ismael became ruler of a large tribe or nation. The Ishmaelites were nomads living in the wilderness of Sinai and Paran, south of Israel. One of Ishmael’s daughters married Esau, Ismael’s nephew. The Bible pictures the Ishmaelites as hostile to Israel and the God.

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. ‘Do you have any other relatives here in the city?’ they asked. ‘Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it.’” v.12-13
God promised to spare Sodom if only 10 innocent people lived there. Obviously not 10 could be found, because the angels arrived to destroy the city. Archaeological evidence points to an advanced civilization in this area during Abraham’s day. Most researchers also confirm some kind of sudden or devastating destruction. It is now widely thought that the buried city lies beneath the waters of the southern end of the sea of the Dead Sea. The story of Sodom reveals that the people of Lot’s day had to deal with the same kinds of repulsive sins the world world faces today.

“When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.” v16
Have you ever hesitated to do something? Especially something that required Faith? It is easy to get settled in a comfort zone or a situation even if it is not the best for us. Lot hesitated, so the angle seized his hand and rushed him to safety. Lot did not want to leave the wealth, position, and comfort he enjoyed in Sodom. How many times does a curtain situation seem to hypnotize us from the things God what us to do or experience?

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

Is anything too hard for the LORD? v.14
The obvious answer is, “Of course not!” This question reveals much about God. Make it a habit to insert your specific needs into the question. “Is this day in my life too hard for the Lord?” “Is this habit I’m trying to break too hard for Him?” “Is the communication problem I’m having too hard for Him?” Asking the question this way reminds you and I that God is personally involved in our lives and nudges us to ask for His power to help us!

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.’” 12:1-3
When God called him, Abram moved in faith from Ur to Haran and finally to Canaan. God then established a covenant with Abram, telling him that he would found a great nation. Not only would this nation be blessed, God said, but other nations on earth would be blessed through Abrams descendants. Isreal, the nation that would come from Abram, was to follow God and influence those whom it came in contact with. Through Abram’s family tree, Jesus Christ was born to save humanity. Through Christ, people can have a relationship with God and be blessed beyond measure.

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.’” 17:1
God has the same measure for us today. We are to obey the Lord in every respect because he is God – that is reason enough. If you don’t think the benefits of obedience are worth it, consider who God is! He is the only one with the power and ability to meet your every need.

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.’” v4
The tower of Babel was a great human achievement a wonder of the world. But it was a monument to the people themselves rather than to God. We build monuments to ourselves (expensive clothes, big house, fancy car, important job) to call attention to our achievements. These may not be wrong in themselves, but when we use them to give us identity and self worth, they take God’s place in out lives. We are free to develop in many areas, but we are not free to think we have replaced God. What “towers” have I built in my life?

Taken for the NLT Life Application Study Bible.