Genesis 26:12–17
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We live in an age that has made envy into a virtue. It is the resentment of the unblessed toward the blessed. It is the hatred of God's favor on another. And if we are to understand the world, and our place in it as God's people, we must understand that the blessing of God is an offense to the world. When God blesses His people, He is not just doing something for them; He is doing something to the world. He is demonstrating His sovereign choice, His unmerited favor, and this necessarily creates a division. The world can tolerate a private, pietistic religion that keeps to itself and bothers no one. It can even tolerate a religious fervor that is miserable, because a miserable Christian confirms the world's suspicion that God is a cosmic killjoy. But what the world cannot, and will not, tolerate is a joyful, prosperous, and fruitful Christian.