Genesis 27:11

Genesis 27:11 says, And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:  Jacob saw a flaw in Rebekah's plan.  Isaac may have been nearly blind, but he could still feel the difference between Jacob and Esau's skin texture.  Esau was hairy and Jacob wasn't.  Verse twelve adds, My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.  As just discussed, Jacob was afraid that Isaac would know by touching him that he wasn't Esau.  Jacob said he was then afraid that Isaac would see him as a deceiver and curse him instead of blessing him.  Whether Jacob recognized it or not, Jacob was a deceiver.  When we attempt to deceive others, the problem is not in being caught, but in the deception itself.  Verse thirteen states, And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voices, and go fetch me them.  Rebekah told Jacob that she would take the responsibility if he were caught, and asked that he simply obey her.  Even though someone might tell us that they will take the punishment for our sins, there is only One Who can, Jesus Christ.  Even if we are led into sin by someone else, we are still responsible for our own sins.  Verse fourteen declares, And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.  Then verse fifteen adds, And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:  Rebekah had the answer.  First, she made the stew, then she dressed Jacob in Esau's clothes.  People today sometimes put a lot of thought and effort into carrying out sinful plans, but as followers of Christ, we must not help them.  Verse  sixteen continues, And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:  To make Jacob feel hairy, Rebekah put goat skins on Jacob's hands and neck.  She was prepared to carry out the deception, and Jacob was a willing participant.  Even if we don't make the plan that leads us to sin, we are still responsible if we participate in it.  Verse seventeen concludes, And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.  Once the plan was in place, Rebekah told Jacob to act on it.  So far, the had really done nothing wrong, except conceive and plan the deception, but now they were ready to carry the plan out.  Even though we are told that we are responsible even for our thoughts about sinning, that does not mean that we should just carry them out anyway.  Until acted upon, our thoughts of sin are only between God and us, but when we act on them, they involve others.  Verse eighteen proclaims, And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?  When Jacob came and said to Isaac that he was there, Isaac questioned who he was.  Verse nineteen adds, And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.  Jacob lied to his father.  We may attempt to lie to our heavenly Father when we engage in sinful activity, but we will never fool Him.  Verse twenty states, And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.  Now, Jacob was not only lying about who he was, but he was bringing God into the lie.  He said God had blessed him with a quick success in his hunt.  It is bad enough when we sin, but we should never claim that God has blessed us in that sin.  I know some people will say that Rebekah was just carrying out God's plan, but I don't believe that God ever leads ue to do His will by sinful or deceitful methods.  Verse twenty-one declares, And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.  Isaac wanted to be sure that Esau was there.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.  Though he was not fully convinced, since Jacob and Esau did not sound the same, Jacob would rely on his touch instead of his hearing.  I believe that as followers of Christ that if we listen to His voice instead of what we may see, hear or feel, that we will never be deceived by sin.

Genesis 27:1

Genesis 27:1 says, And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.  Isaac was old and going blind when he called for Esau to come to him.  Though Esau was grown, he came when Isaac called.  Hopefully, we will never get to old to come when our parents need us, but just as important, as parents, as we grow older, hopefully we will never abuse the right to call on our children for help.  Verse two states, And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:  Isaac told Esau that he knew that he was old and didn't know how much longer he would live.  As we get older, we become more aware of our mortality, but no matter our age, we never know how much longer we are going to live.  As followers of Christ, we need to live each day committed to doing His will, because it could be our last.  Verse three adds, Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;  Isaac asked Esau to go and kill a deer and bring him some venison.  This would require a good bit of effort on the part of Esau, but it wasn't really a totally unreasonable request, because this is what Esau did.  I might note also that there was nothing wrong with hunting and eating meat then, and that is even more true today.  God removed restrictions that had been placed later in the Old Testament on what meat could be eaten in the New Testament.  Verse four continues, And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.  Isaac wanted some of the savory meat.  He said that he wanted to eat some of it before he gave Esau his blessing.  It seems that Isaac made the giving of the blessing dependent on the receiving of the meat.  If that was the case, then hopefully we will never do the same.  We should never expect our children to do things for us in order to receive our blessings.  Verse five says, And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.  Rebekah heard what Isaac told Esau, and Esau went to do what his father had asked him to do.  Verse six adds, And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,  Rebekah went to Jacob and told him what Isaac had told Esau.  Jacob was her favorite, just as Esau was Isaac's favorite.  We really should never favor one child over another in our love for them.  Verse seven adds, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.  Rebekah simply repeated to Jacob what Isaac had said to Esau about what Isaac wanted Esau to do.  Verse eight states, Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.  Just as Esau had obeyed Isaac, Rebekah asked that Jacob obey her, but she was about to carry out a plan so Jacob could receive the birthright blessing.  Verse nine adds, Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:  Rebekah planned to fool Isaac.  We could say that Rebekah was simply carrying out God's plan for Jacob to be blessed instead of Esau, but I personally do not believe that God ever expects us to use deceit to accomplish His will. Verse ten concludes, And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.  Rebekah had her plan, but we are never told that this was God's plan.  I believe that God can accomplish His plans without our having to use dishonest means to accomplish them.

Genesis 26:26

Genesis 26:26 says, Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.  Abimelech and some of his friends came to see Isaac.  Since there had been problems between Isaac's servants and the servants of the people already there, Isaac may have thought there would be trouble.  Whether Isaac did or not, we should never let preconceptions control our interactions with other people.  Verse twenty-seven states, And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?   As just stated, Isaac seemed to think that Abimelech and his friends were there to continue to give him problems.  At least Isaac took the time to talk to them.  Sometimes, we might solve what we see as potential problems with other people if we simply talk to them.  Even when we know that we are where God wants us to be, we don't need to act hateful or resentful towards other people, even if they have caused us problems in the past.  Verse twenty-eight declares, And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;  Abimelech and his friends said that they saw that the LORD was with Isaac.  Though they did not accept the LORD, or God as we would say, as their God, they did recognize His work in Isaac's life.  Even if people around us do not acknowledge God personally, they should at least be able to see His work in our lives, if we are followers of Christ.  Abimelech and his friends wanted to make a covenant with Isaac, not because of who Isaac was himself, but because of Isaac's relationship to God.  Verse twenty-nine adds, That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.  I guess we would call this a non-aggression treaty.  Abimelelech said that his friends and he had done Isaac no harm, and they wanted to agree that neither Isaac nor they would cause the other harm.  We should always attempt to live at peace with people of the world, and we should never approach them with a desire to cause them harm.  Verse thirty declares,  And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. Then verse thirty-one adds, And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.  Isaac prepared a feast for them, and the next morning Abimelech and his friends departed in peace.  When possible, it is always better for us to live in a peaceful relationship with the lost of the world, especially if they come to us seeking that peaceful relationship.  Verse thirty-two states, And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.  Islam's servants came that day and told him they had found water in the well they were digging.  As He will with us if we put our faith in Him, God had met Isaac's need.  Verse thirty-three declares, And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.  Isaac named the well Sheba, and the city became known as Beersheba, and it remained so far years.  God did not just temporarily provide for Isaac's needs, nor does He for us today.  God will always provide for our needs if we are following Christ faithfully.  Verse thirty-four states, 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:  Esau married a woman who was not of the same faith as he should have done.  Again, just because Esau was the son of Isaac and Rebekah did not mean that he had a personal relationship with God, though I not saying that he definitely didn't. Sometimes, his actions did show that he didn't seem to consider God's direction for his life.  Verse thirty-five declares, Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.  Esau's choice for a wife brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 26:12

Genesis 26:12 says, Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.  When  Isaac sowed his crops that year, he received a hundred fold return, and God blessed him.  It would seem that the LORD blessing Isaac was a separate issue than his bountiful harvest.  I don't believe that we should always equate material success with whether God is blessing us or not.  I believe that God blessed Isaac spiritually because of his obedience, as God will bless us.  Verse thirteen states, And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:  Then verse fourteen adds, For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.  I do believe that Isaac's material success, which was great, was because of his obedience to God.  If we are materially successful today, we need to make sure that we are obedient to God first and always.  We cannot allow material wealth to become the most important indicator of God's blessing.  The Philistines became jealous of Isaac, not because of Isaac's relationship to God, but because of his great wealth. Verse fifteen declares, For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.  This was done out of spite for Isaac because of his great success and their lack of it.  We should not be surprised if people around us attempt to tear down or hinder our success, especially if we are openly professing our relationship with God.  Verse sixteen says, And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.  Abimelech asked Isaac to leave, because Isaac was becoming too powerful.  Verse seventeen states, And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.  Isaac left where he was and went to the valley of Gerar to live.  As long as we know that we are still being obedient to God, sometimes it may be better to simply remove ourselves from a potential conflict than to stay and fight.  Verse eighteen declares, And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.  Isaac dug the wells that Abraham had dug and the Philistines had stopped up once again.  Sometimes, the people who do not believe in God may destroy what our ancestors have built for God, but we should never just abandon what they have done.  We may have to rebuild at times.  Verse nineteen adds, And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.  Just because the Philistines had stopped the well up didn't mean that there wasn't water there.  Even if people attempt to hinder our work for God today, they will never stop the flow of living water in us, as long as we remain faithful to God.  Verse twenty declares, And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.  Even though Isaac's servants had dug the wells again, the people of Gerar attempted to claim it.  We should not be surprised if those around us attempt to claim what have accomplished materially by following God's guidance as their own.  Verse twenty-one adds,  And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.   Isaac had the same problem with the second well.  Verse twenty-two declares, And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.  Isaac moved to another location and had a third well dug, and this time no one tried to claim it.  Isaac chose to find a place of peace instead of fighting for the wells.  Though we must never compromise our faith in God, at times we may be better off to simply remove ourselves from a potential fight, especially over the material things of the world.  Verse twenty-three states, And he went up from thence to Beersheba.  Then verse twenty-four adds, And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.  God appeared to Isaac that night and reassured him that he had no reason to be afraid because God was with him.  We have no reason to be afraid of the people of the world today, because God is with us if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-five declares, And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.  Isaac built an altar and worshipped God, and his servants dug another well.  We must never forget that God is with us, and because of this fact, we should continually praise to Him.

Genesis 26:1

Genesis 26:1 says, And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.  There was another famine in the land where Isaac lived, as there had been when Abraham was alive.  Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines for help.  We may at times face the same difficulties that our parents and grandparents faced, even if we are following God's will for our lives.  Verse two states, And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:  God instructed Isaac to not go to Egypt as Isaac had evidently thought to do.  We need to make sure that our plans are in accordance with God's will.  Verse three adds, Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;  God instructed Isaac to stay where he was, and assured Isaac that He would be with him.  Sometimes, when things get rough in life, if we believe that we are where God wants us to be, we just need to stay where we are.  God reassured Isaac and reaffirmed His promise to Abraham.  I believe that God will always reassure us when we are where He wants us to be.  This was the land that God had promised to Abraham.  Verse four continues,  And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;  This was a further reaffirmation of God's covenant with Abraham.  Through Abraham and his descendants, all nations would be blessed.  These were the people that God would work through in the world, culminating with Jesus Christ.  Then, God would work through those that put their faith in Christ.  Verse six concludes, Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.  Though Abraham was far from perfect, he did his best to follow God's calling.  God never failed in His part of the covenant, and He will never fail us today.  Verse six says, And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:  Then verse seven adds, And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.  History was repeating itself.  Like Abraham with Sarah, Isaac attempted to pass Rebekah off as his sister because he feared he would be killed if he said she was his wife.  In both cases, they ignored God's promise and attempted to find their own solution to what they saw as a problem.  We need to look to God for answer when we encounter a problem, whether real or imagined, and not look to our own abilities and understanding.  Verse eight declares, And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.  After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech caught Isaac in his lie about Rebekah.  This was not the same Abimelech from Abraham's day.  We can be sure that our lies will be come out eventually, if not by anyone else, then certainly by God.  Verse nine states, And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.  Abimilech asked Isaac why he had lied and called Rebekah his sister, instead of telling the truth that she was his wife.  Isaac said because he feared for his life.  We cannot allow fear of what may happen to keep us from telling the truth about our relationship to others and especially not about our relationship with God.  Verse ten asks, And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.  Abimelech basically asked Isaac how he could have done something that would have led one of Abimelech's people to into a sin.  Hopefully, no one will ever need to ask us the same question of how we could lead them into sin.  Verse eleven says, And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.  Abimelech put an end to Isaac's fear, though Isaac shouldn't have been afraid to begin with.  Isaac had God's promise, and all he had to do was trust God.  We today have God's promise to us, and all we have to do is live by faith in God's promise.  We are God's forever through our faith in Christ.

Genesis 25:24

Genesis 25:24 says, And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.  Rebekah had twins.  Even though she had been told that she would have two babies, she could only be certain after the fact.  Before stethoscopes and ultrasound, women were often surprised, not just by the gender of their baby, but also by the fact that they were having more than one child.  Verse twenty-five states, And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.  The first born had red hair and was named Esau.  By the fact that he was the first born, if only by minutes, Esau would have the blessings of the birth right.  We see this in royal families today.  Verse twenty-six adds, And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.  The second born was holding the heel of Esau, and was named Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.  As with Abraham, God did not immediately begin to fulfill His promise to make Abraham the father of a great nation.  We need to realize that when God makes a promise that we can be assured that it will happen, no matter how long we may have to wait on it coming true.  This is especially true of the second coming of Christ.  This promise was made to the first disciples, but it is still just as certain today, whether it happens in our lifetime or in the distant future.  Verse twenty-seven says, And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.  Esau and Jacob, though twins, were far from identical.  We are told that  Esau was a cunning hunter, and Jacob was a plain man living in tents, which I would assume means that he liked being inside more than hunting.  Verse twenty-eight proclaims, And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.  Isaac loved Esau more, because Esau brought him venison to eat, but Rebekah loved Jacob more.  Matthew Henry says Rebekah feeling this way was because of God's promise that the older would serve the younger child.  Verse twenty-nine says, And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:  One day, Esau came in from hunting and Jacob had some pottage ready to eat.  This was not a feast, but was simply food for nourishment.  Verse thirty adds, And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.  Esau made a reasonable request.  He asked Jacob his brother for some food.  If someone comes to us today, especially a fellow believer, we should be willing to help them if we can.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.  Instead of feeding Esau simply because it would have been the right thing to do, Jacob asked Esau to sell him his birth right.  We today should never attempt to take advantage of those who come to us for help.  Verse thirty-two states, And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?  Esau was more concerned with food right then than his benefits from the birth right in the future.  We should never allow physical or material things to come between us and our birth right as followers of Christ. Verse thirty-three adds, And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.  Jacob secured Esau's promise that he would sell Jacob his birth right for a bowl of porridge.  Too often, followers of Christ sell out their faith for some material thing.  I don't believe this means they lose their salvation, but they lose their joy of that salvation.  Verse thirty-four concludes, Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.  The deal was completed and Esau went on his way, having not valued or despising his birth right.  We, as followers of Christ, should never despise our birth right that we have through our faith in Christ.

Genesis 25:12

Genesis 25:12 says, Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:  We sometimes forget that Ishmael was also the father of many people or nations.  God had made a promise to Hagar, and He kept it.  Verse thirteen states, And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,  Verse fourteen continues, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,  And verse fifteen concludes, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:  Ishmael was also the father of twelve groups of people or nations.  Just because God choses to work through one person or group of people doesn't mean that others a automatically doomed because of where they were born or what group of people they were born into.  What made Abraham and his descendants through Sarah special was not a fact of physical birth, but was the fact of a covenant relationship with God.  As followers of Christ, the same is true of us today.  Verse sixteen says, These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.  Ishmael's sons prospered in the world.  Verse seventeen declares, And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.  Matthew Henry says that it does not say that Ishmael was full of years, so he may have died unexpectedly though he had lived a long life.  We are not guaranteed that we will live a long life, but we need to make each day and year count for God's purpose in our lives to the best of our ability.  Verse eighteen concludes, And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.  The descendants of Ishmael covered a lot of territory.  Verse nineteen declares, And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac:  Now we are given the descendants of Isaac, actually beginning with Isaac himself.  Isaac was the son of promise to Abraham and Sarah.  Verse twenty states, And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.  Isaac was forty years old when Rebekah and he were married.  We are not told how old Rebekah was.  Verse twenty-one declares, And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  Just like Abraham and Sarah, Rebekah and Isaac had difficulty in conceiving a child, though God had told Abraham that through Isaac he would be the father of a great nation.  Just because God makes a promise to our parents does not mean that everything will be easy for us.  Isaac asked God to give them a child.  He had to have that personal relationship with God and recognize God as being the One Who blessed them with a child.  We must have that personal relationship with God to claim His blessings and cannot be saved by our parents relationship to God.  God answered Isaac's prayer.  Verse twenty-two states, And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.  Rebekah was evidently having a difficult pregnancy, and she asked the LORD why this was true.  If we have difficulties in life as followers of Christ, we may wonder why.  The best thing to do is not to doubt God, but to go to Him with our concerns.  Verse twenty-three declares, And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.  God told Rebekah that she was going to have twins, and that the older of the twins would serve the younger.  This was not the normal case, but we need to remember that God is not limited by tradition or man made laws.