In his many years of public service, Ted Kennedy had become a legacy in his own time.
He stood as a hero to liberals, not only as a counted vote for the left, but as one that led many of the great fights for liberals in legislation.
On the other hand, he was the poster child for bad government to those who held conservative views.
If you were a Republican, the lowest charge you could level at your opposition, was to say that he was just like Ted Kennedy. There were few if any that saw Kennedy as middle ground.
Kennedy, before his passing a few weeks ago, was the only man of his family to see the later years of life. One word that was used often when the media addressed Ted over these last years was the title of patriarch.
Originally, a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority over extended family.
A sort of ruler that helped guide the family. Today, it's more the idea of the leading male member in a family. A spokesman of the family if you will. The word comes from a Greek word meaning father. Ted indeed captured that role in the Kennedy family.
Ted had not always held such an honorable position.
His early life was marked with repeated questionable activity. Even some of his own family members seemed to be disappointed with his behavior.
Yet, even Ted's adversaries had to admit that Ted finally got his wild life under control in his later years, and that led to the bestowement of the patriarch title.
The Bible has patriarchs of its own. These early church fathers were not only believers that came before us, but held a important role in God's redemptive history. The redemptive history of God is painted with the wide brush stroke of God's amazing grace, working through chosen men.
From the very beginning God has shown grace to mankind. The mere act of creation alone is but an act of grace.
Not only is grace in the creation of man, but also it is found in the other blessings of creation that God made for man's enjoyment.
There was but one area in which man must obey God after creation.
He was never to eat of the forbidden fruit.
All other activities were free for him to do as he pleased. But from that sole law from God, disobedient man fell into sin. Though God was gracious with man, man desired to have more and disobeyed Him.
The first man, Adam, functioned as man's mediator for mankind but failed miserably in his task.
God could have left Adam and all of mankind to their own ways in sin and not enact the redemptive plan, but the very next movement we see of God was to seek out man in his fallen sin state.
Man, on the other hand, hid from God in his sin. This, too, was a act of grace on God's account.
"Where are you?" God asked Adam and after passing judgement on them for their sin, God went on to promise He would send a Redeemer for man.
Moses was another patriarch used by God as mediator.
The word mediator means go-between; as Moses said, "I stood between God and you."
Moses led God's people from slavery. Moses was not the promised Redeemer, but only a picture of the promised Redeemer.
Abraham, another patriarch, was given a covenant by God. A covenant is a contract or an oath, or bond.
God's covenant with Abraham was to make Abraham a great nation and all people on earth would be blessed through Abraham. This blessing to all the people groups of the earth was another promise of the Redeemer to come.
Abraham passed this covenant blessing on to his son Isaac.
Isaac was the next patriarch of the Bible. But an interesting thing happened to Isaac.
God promised Isaac a son that he too would pass the covenant blessing to, but added a strange twist to it.
God said that Isaac would have two sons, but that the older would serve the younger. This was strange because in that culture the older son was always the leader and the one who received most of the blessing from the father.
But God chose to change it around. This was God's work as we read in Romans 9:
11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Jacob was this boy.
Jacob was to be the next patriarch of the Bible.
But why?
Did God see something better in Jacob than He did his brother? Not according to the verse you read above. God chose Jacob because of something other than Jacob's goodness.
In fact Jacob, the great patriarch of the Bible, was a cheater, a liar, a blasphemer and a thief. All this despicable activity was going on when God allowed Jacob to receive the covenant blessing.
God could have stopped Jacob from having it, but God wanted him to have it, even though Jacob stole it.
So what in the world does this have to do with Ted Kennedy?
Well, I don't in any way mean to suggest that Kennedy was on the same level as Jacob.
Ted was a "patriarch" of a family, whereas Jacob's offspring did bless mankind with the promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
But both men had their sins that they must account for. Ted admitted as much himself. But it is very easy for me to point the finger at others when they are wrong.
I should say it is easy for all of us to do this.
To say this does not mean I feel Ted was right in his sins, or is it to say that we should let men off the hook when they sin.
In fact, we should call people down when they are out of bounds. But to Ted, there is nothing he can change now. God will deal with Ted as he will with all of us after death.
With the media and their use of the word patriarch in the last weeks, it did cause me to reflect on these great leaders of the Bible.
I stand encouraged that God can use a man like Jacob to pass along the redemptive plan.
A man that is looked at as a mighty Bible patriarch.
A man God chose not because of his own goodness, but chosen even though he was a sinner.
Chosen by God in His own pleasure to choose.
Then maybe, just maybe, God can use me, a sinner also, toward something good in His plan.