by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Holding on to the Blessing of the Resurrection

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

 ^“And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.”
Genesis 26:12-13 English Standard Version

No, this is not a devotion on how God wants you to be rich. Isaac’s blessings were not the result of his naming and claiming that wealth, but purely the result of God’s mercy and grace. Farmers would love to receive back a hundredfold from what they plant, but this is not an account promising that the good things we “plant” will grow a hundredfold.

As with most passages like this, there is more to the story. and the story isn’t all that great. As God blessed Isaac, his neighbors became jealous. At this point in Isaac’s life, he is living among the Philistines and King Abimelech. God’s blessings granted to Isaac became a sore spot for the Philistines.

Because of Isaac’s blessings, the Philistines stopped and filled all the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug. Even King Abimelech got involved.

“And Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.’”
Genesis 26:16 ESV

Like flowers growing in a burnt forest are the blessings God bestows on his children in a world that does not know the mercy of Christ.

The message of Jesus’ resurrection is a blessing beyond that which Isaac received. We know that death has been conquered, that sin has no dominion over us, and that we have the hope of eternal life.

It shouldn’t surprise us that others want to “stop and fill” the wells of salvation. It is the message that has baffled generations of people who have rejected God’s love.

Even though the Philistines had rejected Isaac, he still enjoyed the blessings that God had promised him. Even though the world will never understand the power of the resurrection, we still marvel at the blessings of God’s love for us.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado