The dog above was our beloved Dutch, a Rottweiler/Akita mixed breed that showed up at my husband’s workplace many moons ago when we lived in Kansas.
We also had two Pomeranians, Mikki and Bear, our indoor dogs prior to Dutch’s adoption into the family.
Mikki and Dutch got along. Bear, all twelve pounds of him, thought he was in charge, even though Dutch was at least five times bigger. Bear’s pride, though, got emotionally stunned one day when Dutch came running to greet my husband and sent Bear rolling like a soccer ball with an accidental paw swipe.
Later, when we lived in Oklahoma, Bear was barking at a passing dog along the fence line when Dutch came barreling around the corner, also barking. Bear panicked until he realized Dutch was coming as his personal bodyguard from whatever Bear had been barking about. From that point on, Bear accepted Dutch’s presence.
A few years later, when we had moved to South Carolina and were heading down the stairs outside our second-floor apartment, Bear experienced Dutch’s protection once again.
The neighbor on the lower level had just entered his apartment with his young boxer named Burger, who noticed Bear and whipped around to come to greet him.
Bear began barking, misreading Burger’s intent as a threat.
Taking Bear’s cue, Dutch ran down the stairs to get between Bear and Burger, almost causing my husband, who was holding both their dog leads, to fall down the stairs.
Upon reaching Burger, who was off lead, Dutch took his broad Rottweiler chest and pinned Burger against the wall.
Burger started peeing. In dog language, this means “I submit, I submit”.
Thankfully, Burger’s owner and us all understood dog language and knew no harm had been done.
What does this dog story have to do with submitting to a promised legacy and our passage of Genesis 25:11?
Read on to find out!
After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac, his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. (Gen 25:11 ESV)
Genesis chapters 12-25 focus on Abraham, Isaac’s father.
But this story is not just about Abraham. These chapters tell us about God’s promised legacy given to Abraham that Isaac is now inheriting.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”1 (Gen 12:1-3 ESV)
Describe Abraham’s promised legacy according to Genesis 12:1-3.
A little while later, Abraham questions God’s promised legacy because he and Sarah were childless. (See Gen 15:1-3.)
God responds:
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” (Gen 15:4-7 ESV)
Describe how these verses update the originally promised legacy.
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Gen 15:13-16 ESV)
What will happen to Abraham’s offspring?
How will Abraham’s life end?
The Lord closes this discussion by promising Abraham’s offspring will inherit a specific geographical area from certain people groups. (See Gen 15:18-21.)
God confirms his covenant with Abraham again and promises that the line of this promised legacy will come through Sarah, his wife with a son they are to name Isaac. (See Gen 17:3-22.)
As promised, Sarah gives birth to a son they name Isaac. (See Gen 21:1-7.)
Read our verse for today again:
After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac, his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi. (Gen 25:11 ESV)
How did God bless Isaac? (Review the passages above.)
What is significant about where Isaac settled? (See Gen 16:6-16 and Gen 24:62.)
Isaac is the promised son and designated heir to all that God promised Abraham. Choosing to settle where his half-brother had been born further establishes Isaac as the chosen successor of the promised legacy.
Review Genesis 22:1-19.
How might this experience with God and Abraham have prepared Isaac to accept the responsibilities involved in submitting to the promised legacy?
Personal Reflection Questions
What comes to mind first when you think about a promised legacy?
- Perhaps a family business you inherited?
- Maybe a family home or other wealth?
- Other?
Are you eager or reluctant to receive the promised legacy?
Look up the word submission in a dictionary.
Does the definition of submission match your initial thoughts about the word? Why or why not?
What benefit (s) does submission allow when receiving a promised legacy?
Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Eph 5:21 ESV)
What is the reason given for practicing submission in the verse above?
Who has provided you with a healthy, biblical example of submission? Describe how this person’s example has influenced you.
Describe what healthy submission looks like in any of the relationships you have below.
- Employer
- Coworkers
- Instructors
- Parents
- Siblings
- Friends
- Spouse
- Other
Consider Christ’s example of submission:
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phi 2:6-8 ESV)
Why is submission to God a priority for believers like Abraham and Isaac in the Old Testament and Christians today?
How do you practice seeking God’s will and doing it, no matter what?
Consider the following definition of a disciple: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.
Are you being discipled by another Christian? Why or why not?
Are you discipling someone else? Why or why not?
Back to the dog story.
Have you figured out how the opening story about our dog Dutch and the neighbor dog Burger relates to today’s verse?
Isaac was quick to obey whatever his earthly father or his heavenly father asked of him. He was and is a shining example of submission.
Both Abraham and God showed healthy authority over Isaac, even when the test of sacrificing Isaac seemed awry.
In the story of our dog Dutch and the neighbor dog Burger, I also see a healthy example of authority and submission.
Dutch could have attacked Burger. Instead, he pushed him against a wall with his chest without hurting Burger. A healthy approach of exercising submissive authority to prevent an escalation between Bear, the pom, and Burger, an eager to greet others puppy.
Burger could have reacted differently and tried to attack Dutch for pushing him against the wall. Instead, Burger’s peeing was dog language for, “I submit to your authority.” A healthy submission example of accepting a redirection.
Both dogs behaved in a manner that was appropriate.
Bear, the barking Pomeranian, was the one who was out of line in the story. He misread Burger’s intent.
Are you more prone to behave like: Dutch, Burger, or Bear in your relationships? Why or why not?
How does our ability to lead or react to others in submission impact our receiving or passing on our own promised faith legacy?
Share some examples in the comments.
Blessings,
Barbara Lynn
As I’m not a dog person I found your story interesting but I’m not too good at relating to this story. But like your thoughts on old testament men of God being in submission to God. Not very sure I do such a good job submitting to God’s will in my life.