Serving in the Shadows (Genesis 25:19-21)

This week we will start a new series on the Lives of Jacob and Esau. Someone asked why we wouldn’t go from the Life of Abraham to the Life of Isaac, and my answer was simple: because there aren’t many stories recorded in Scripture in which Isaac is the main character. Isaac is either described as Abraham’s son, and used as an example of Abraham’s faithfulness and blessing, or Isaac is described as the father of Jacob and Esau, and used to illustrate how deceitful Jacob was. There simply aren’t many stories where Isaac is the focus. In today’s passage, we read of “the generations of Isaac,” where Isaac’s sons are born. We then spend just a single chapter looking at Isaac as the protagonist before moving on to Jacob as the main focus of the next ten chapters.

This is not to diminish the presence of Isaac, however. When the Patriarchs are listed, we talk about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaac is important. But his importance is more as someone who sets the stage than as someone who dances on the stage. He is perfectly content to serve in the shadows.

Please read Genesis 25:19-21.

Notice that the generations of Isaac move right from Abraham to Isaac’s children. While the next chapter will delve into some of the important events of Isaac’s life, God’s focus is more on the life of Abraham, and the life of Isaac’s sons, Jacob and Esau.

There’s something inside of us that just doesn’t feel like this is right. We feel like Isaac should get just as much attention as the other Patriarchs. He should receive the same amount of Scripture devoted to him. That’s what’s fair! For the Bible to skip right over Isaac just makes it seem like God doesn’t care about him, like he’s not as important as the other patriarchs.

If we were to picture ourselves playing a part in the story of Scripture, we certainly wouldn’t want to be Isaac!

Or would we?

Scripture is very clear about the people highlighted within it. They are utterly sinful people. Yes, even the good examples: Abraham is the father of faith, but he was a liar, a doubter, and willing to let others sleep with his wife; Jacob would be renamed Israel, the father of God’s people, but he was a cheat and a deceiver; Moses led God’s people out of slavery, but he was a murderer, a coward, and disobedient; David was a king after God’s own heart, but he was a murderer and an adulterer; Peter was the leader of the apostles, and founder of the church, but he often put his foot in his mouth and abandoned Jesus at the cross; Paul wrote more than half of the New Testament, but he was a murderer set on destroying the church.

I could go on, but the point is clear: when Scripture raises up heroes, it shows them warts and all. Serving God in the spotlight means that people will see all of your faults. Some of us are much more comfortable on the edges of the story. We are more than happy to set the stage and allow others to dance. We are more than happy to serve by washing dishes while others cook the meal and socialize.

Let the spotlight shine on someone else. Let the great pastors, missionaries, artists, and theologians serve God with great pomp and circumstance. We will simply serve God in the shadows, just like Isaac, one of the great patriarchs did.