Jacob
knew Esau lived for his stomach, so he waited for the right moment and
then brewed up a mess of good stew. The aroma would make any man hungry,
and when Esau arrived hungry, Jacob took the advantage and said, “Sell
me your birthright and you can have the stew.”
Even Jacob’s own mother, Rebekah, led him down the road of treachery and deception in deceiving her husband to bless Jacob in place of Esau.
When I read this story, I do not really like Jacob very much. I think his
brother was a much finer man. I think I could get along with Esau, but I would have had trouble with Jacob.
Yet, Jacob serves as a model of how God prepares His prophet. His story is the story of how a man who was not good by nature was delivered by God from the hand of a man who was not any good by grace. Jacob was delivered from out of the hand of Esau in a way he never dreamed possible.
In order for God’s prophet to carry God’s message to God’s people , he must be uniquely prepared and qualified, and he must be delivered out of the hand of his Esau. The astonishing thing to me is that when God chooses His prophets, He does not disqualify a man because of his history. The message here is that God can take any man who will yield to Him and make him into a man He can use. It is not so much the man as it is the God who makes the man.
Dr. A. B. Simpson founded Nyack College, but Nyack College never produced an A. B. Simpson. D. L. Moody founded Moody Bible Institute, but Moody Bible Institute never produced a D. L. Moody.
Both colleges produced a great many servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. What I am getting at is simply this: Only God can prepare a prophet to do the ministry of a prophet. The schools of the prophet never produced an Elijah or an Elisha.
Tozer, A. W. (2014-05-29). Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks for God? (pp. 55-56). Gospel Light. Kindle Edition.
Even Jacob’s own mother, Rebekah, led him down the road of treachery and deception in deceiving her husband to bless Jacob in place of Esau.
When I read this story, I do not really like Jacob very much. I think his
brother was a much finer man. I think I could get along with Esau, but I would have had trouble with Jacob.
Yet, Jacob serves as a model of how God prepares His prophet. His story is the story of how a man who was not good by nature was delivered by God from the hand of a man who was not any good by grace. Jacob was delivered from out of the hand of Esau in a way he never dreamed possible.
In order for God’s prophet to carry God’s message to God’s people , he must be uniquely prepared and qualified, and he must be delivered out of the hand of his Esau. The astonishing thing to me is that when God chooses His prophets, He does not disqualify a man because of his history. The message here is that God can take any man who will yield to Him and make him into a man He can use. It is not so much the man as it is the God who makes the man.
Dr. A. B. Simpson founded Nyack College, but Nyack College never produced an A. B. Simpson. D. L. Moody founded Moody Bible Institute, but Moody Bible Institute never produced a D. L. Moody.
Both colleges produced a great many servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. What I am getting at is simply this: Only God can prepare a prophet to do the ministry of a prophet. The schools of the prophet never produced an Elijah or an Elisha.
Tozer, A. W. (2014-05-29). Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks for God? (pp. 55-56). Gospel Light. Kindle Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment