Who says God is fair?

Where do we get this idea?

Consider one of the most extraordinary passages of the Bible; it is about Isaac the son of Abraham:

And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

Well, I guess Isaac became great.

We shouldn't begrudge him this, should we? Most likely Isaac deserved to be great, didn't he? He must have lived a righteous life; he must have worked hard for his greatness; he must have been an example and a leader in his community ... and all the rest of what we think it takes to become a great person.

But wait...

This passage about how Isaac was so great, greater, very great -- just Tony-the-Tiger GRRRRREAT! ... comes right after he tells a lie about his wife.

In the true tradition of his father Abraham -- who also was a great man; after all, Abraham is the father of all those of faith -- in the true tradition of his father Abraham, Isaac tries to pass Rebecca off as his own sister.

This just so as to protect his own great hide. Truly an act of greatness. And then, right after this noble act:

And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

And what does the rest of that chapter say about Isaac?

It seems that all Isaac did was dig wells. Wells upon wells. That's all he seems to have done. And make no mistake: Isaac didn't do the digging; his servants did it.

And then the chapter concludes by saying that Isaac and his (ahem) wife Rebecca had a real problem with one of their sons, a guy named Esau ...

That's it. That's the chapter. But Isaac was one of the greatest men in the Holy Scriptures.

Who says God is fair? On the evidence of Genesis chapter 26, He is not.

We insist on a fair God because we insist on the myth of a level playing field. You see, if the playing field is level, then scrubs like you and me can have a chance in life. If the playing field is level, then it's UP TO ME to make myself a success.

We like that. We just want God to be a benevolent umpire on the sidelines, making sure that everything is FAIR.

We want God to be fair because we really don't want Him to interfere with our own efforts at success ... even with our own efforts at holiness. It is as if we are saying to God:

"Now you just stay over there and watch us; if the other guy cheats, make sure you throw the flag and penalize him ...! Just be fair!"

But God is not the God of FAIR.

God is the God of GRACE.

And because we never know how His grace will play out ...

God is a God to be FEARED.

Logos2Go

Isaac lying about his wife: Genesis 26.6-11

Genesis 26.13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

Isaac's people digging wells: Genesis 26.15, 18,19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 36

Genesis 26.34-35 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

Abraham lying about his wife: Genesis 12.11-13

Abraham lies again about his wife: Genesis 20.2

Romans 5.16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.