HONESTY 4 - Someone who deceives others will be deceived himself.

Honesty 4 - English files

Ehrlichkeit 4 - German files

Devotional Thoughts about Genesis Chapters 27-31 and Chapter 37

What a rogue Jacob must have been! Of all the people in the Bible, this patriarch, from whom the nation of Israel has descended and gets its name, is someone whose life clearly shows us the sordid reality and results of deceit. When Pharaoh asked his age (47:8,9), Jacob answered that his days had been "few and evil". Maybe he was remembering his brother’s hatred for him or the excruciating 20 years he’d spent grieving for his favorite son. Both situations had been caused by deceit.

Many of us have trouble compre­hen­ding why God chose to bless Jacob of all people and to make him a founding father of His people. Maybe one reason is to show us He can use and change anyone. The remaining chapters of Jacob’s history show us an altered man who believed God’s promises and was concerned with passing on what had been given to him.

When we’re tempted to cut corners and see what we can get away with, we probably don't often think of the reciprocal nature of deceit—and indeed of any sin (see 2 Timothy 3,13). The law of sowing and reaping can make an ugly family drama out of self-serving behavior or turn a secret affair into public ridicule (see 2 Samuel 12:11,12; 16:21,22).

Lord, help me live for You without scheming to get what I want.

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