Aligning Yourself to God’s Will

Isaac blesses Jacob as Rebekah looks on

^“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7: 22-23 N.I.V)

Sarah and Rebekah thought that “the end justifies the means” and decided to help out in ensuring God’s will.

In Sarah’s case she knew that the will of God was to give Abraham a son so after many years of waiting to conceive the son to no avail, she took matters in her own hands thinking that God would go beyond his divine will for marriage. She offered her servant to her husband because she did not want to stand in the way of God’s blessings to a husband she loved deeply. But the servant Hagar’s son was not the promised covenant son and his birth brought in a lot of conflict for Abraham’s family. God said to Abraham when he asked him to bless Ishmael, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.^a]"> I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him”. Genesis 17: 19.

When she was pregnant with her twins Esau and Jacob, Rebecca had inquired from the Lord about her uncomfortable pregnancy and God had revealed that his plans would be channeled through Jacob. Jacob subsequently became her favorite and she helped him deceive his father Isaac (who preferred the elder son Esau) and receive his blessings. As a result of the deceit, Jacob had to run away from his brother who had vowed to kill him. He lived many years with his uncle Laban who manipulated and deceived him, just as he had done to Esau. The family conflict with Esau extended over many generations.

The word “corruption” aptly describes “the end justifies the means”. We cannot establish God’s will in worldly ways. We just need to keep on doing the right things, and God will accomplish his sovereign will for each person, in his own way, and in his own time.

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“The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced.” Aldous Huxley

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