Genesis 28:15 & Genesis 29:1

We’re going to go back and reflect on one verse from yesterday’s passage, verse 15:

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

This promise is one repeated throughout scripture. I was ready to move on to chapter 29, but, thanks to Beth Moore, when I reviewed my workbook on this passage from her study, The Patriarchs, I realized I needed to stay here a minute longer. Just like Jacob, it takes us a while to figure out that God is indeed with us! Just as Jacob spoke of God in third person throughout most of his vow, we seem to get stuck in that same mindset when we pray and even throughout our days. Even though we know in our heads that God has promised over and over to never leave us, we don’t always act like we believe it, do we?

Beth Moore reminded me that we have God’s promises in black and white! We have the benefit of flipping pages and finding them staring us in the face. Jacob had the memory of his encounter, but not a Bible to hold in his hand and continually read. A couple of the passages Beth refers to are these, which she says even exceed the promise made to Jacob:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matt 1:22-23)


Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-20)

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim 4:18)

The last one reminds me that God has promised to take us through to the very end of our lives here on earth, then usher us safely into His kingdom. In other words, He will finish what He begins in us. This is the promise of one of my life verses, Phil 1:6.

. . . being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.


God KNOWS where He’s taking us! He WILL finish the work He has started in us. Do we believe it? Then it should make a difference in how we walk through our days! We should be modeling the confidence that these promises bring. Be patient! Through all of our highs and lows, He is working in us and through us to make us ready to meet Him face to face! That’s an encounter I can’t wait for!

How did this promise affect the way Jacob walked? Well, as we look at the first verse in chapter 29, we’re going to look at the Amplified Bible version (not because I’m so smart, but because that’s what Beth Moore recommended!):

THEN JACOB went [briskly and cheerfully] on his way [400 miles] and came to the land of the people of the East.

I LOVE that!!! I need to walk briskly and cheerfully this morning, or I’m going to be late for work!! Love to you all!

 

Genesis 28:16-22

In yesterday’s verses we read about Jacob’s dream, in which he saw a stairway to heaven (or “ladder” ). Angels were ascending and descending on it. In today’s verses we’ll see Jacob’s understanding of the vision of the stairway, and we’ll look at his reaction to this personal encounter with the God of Abraham and Isaac.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”. . .Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” (Gen 28:16-17,20-22)

Jacob awakens and is now in awe of this “random” place he chose as a stopping place on his journey. He recognizes that God was in this place, meeting him. Because of the vision of the stairway to heaven, Jacob decides this must be the “gate of heaven,” so he takes the stone he had been using as a pillow and sets up a memorial to God, anointing the rock with oil. (vs. 18-19) He calls the place Bethel, which means house of God. At this point in his new walk with God, Jacob seems limited in his understanding of God, but the new relationship is real. Jacob could not have known that the stairway was prophetic of Christ’s role as the one who bridges the gap between us and heaven, the One who even calls Himself the Gate (John 10:7)

Note that in Jacob’s vow there seems to be a slow transition of his awareness of God’s presence. Look at the many pronouns. At first there are lots of first person pronouns, as Jacob revels in the blessing God has promised him: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, the the LORD will be my God...

Then, after speaking of the LORD in third person throughout that, he finally realizes that God is still with him, and he addresses God directly at the very end of this vow: “. . .and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Look! There’s a model for tithing!

When Jacob speaks of his journey, I’m certain he is just thinking about this specific trip to find a bride (and to escape the wrath of Esau). But we know that he has only just begun his lifelong journey of faith in the God who will be called “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” In fact, the rest of Genesis is about Jacob and his family. I’m so grateful for this story of Jacob’s beginnings of faith, because it so encourages me! It will take many years to work out some of Jacob’s major issues, but he has begun the life of faith, and he has certainly found grace from a merciful God who loved this conniver just as he was - but who also loved him too much to let him stay that way! And so with us...

This morning was one of those when I woke up feeling so inadequate and overwhelmed - in fact, I had to really struggle to get into God’s Word this morning. Thank you, LORD, for drawing me here to be reminded that my worth comes from you alone. You use my inadequacies to show your strength and power and to demonstrate who YOU are to others around me!

 

Genesis 28:10-15

Jacob set off to find himself a wife, but in this encounter we read about today he found God first. This passage is a familiar Bible story and the subject of a chorus you may have learned in Sunday School as a child, “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. . .” I love looking at it with fresh eyes!

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Gen 28:10-15)

Notice that Jacob stopped when he “reached a certain place.” According to Beth Moore, this word reached could be translated happened upon. There’s a randomness here - it could have been any old place. There was nothing special about it. She points out that often we think we’re in a random place, when actually we are there for a divinely scheduled appointment with God! Haven’t you found this to be true in your life? To me, it’s what makes the Christian life such an adventure! If you are constantly wondering, “Who are you putting in my path today, LORD?” or “Where are we going together today, LORD?” you will find there are many such encounters ahead of you!

I hate change! But I have learned over my last 35 years of walking with Christ that whenever someone is subtracted from my life (so many dear, dear friends have moved in and out of my immediate area) or whenever God has moved me to an uncomfortable place, it is always because He has a plan! I’ve learned that there is no such thing as “random!” Certainly, this place is about to become VERY special to Jacob.

As Jacob tucks in for the night he has a vey vivid dream in which the LORD speaks directly to him. Notice first how God introduces Himself to Jacob. He could have thundered, “I AM the Holy, Omnipotent, Sovereign, Almighty God, Creator of the Universe!” That would certainly have been awesome! Instead, He shows Himself as the God of personal relationship: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.” He’s saying, “I know your grandfather, Abraham, and your father, Isaac really well. We are friends!”

Then, He affirms the covenant He made with both Abraham and Isaac to Jacob (just circle all of the “you” messages in these verses). Verse 15 is especially precious: I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to the land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” In other words, “Not only was I with your grandfather and your father, I am always going to be with YOU, Jacob!” And this is BEFORE Jacob has undergone ANY interior life changing. He’s in the middle of the run for his life, after having deceived his father! God’s promises are NOT contingent upon who WE are and what WE have done, they are contingent upon who HE is and what HE has done!!!

I love this encounter - that God revealed Himself and His purpose to Jacob through a dream when Jacob was not at all looking for God! This is how God first called me, through an amazing dream that was so vivid that I sat bolt upright in bed afterwards, filled with an overwhelming awareness of how much God loved me. And THEN I began my search for the Truth! I often pray that God will use a dream to reach someone I love who is NOT walking with or even wanting to walk with Him. Does anyone you know and love come to your mind who needs this kind of encounter?

Tomorrow we will see Jacob’s reaction!

Genesis 28:1-9

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. (Gen. 28:1-5)

At the end of chapter 27, Rebekah complained to Isaac about the Hittite wives of Esau, saying her life would not be worth living if Jacob also took a wife among pagan people. She knew exactly what Isaac would suggest: a trip to her brother Laban’s house to find a bride from among relatives. Sure enough, Isaac decides to send Jacob to look for a bride. Now, it’s interesting that Isaac sends Jacob himself, rather than sending a servant as his own father had done for him. I’m wondering if Isaac was hoping such a trip would toughen up Jacob. Whatever Isaac’s reasons, it is clear that God was in this plan, for He was going to meet Jacob in a very personal way on this journey.

I love that there never seems to be a particular way in which God deals with people. There isn’t a prescribed method of meeting God, anymore than there is a formula for healing or receiving a blessing. Everyone of us is unique and our faith walk with God is going to be completely different from those around us - even our children! We need to remember this when we watch our children struggling to come to their own place of faith. Their experience will not be the same as ours. It may be scary to watch them wander out from the safety of home, but God is with them as much as He was with us before we encountered Him personally. Our job is to teach them about God as children, model faith, both in success and failure, before them, and then to push them out the door to claim their own relationship with God. And we should do that with prayer and a blessing.

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. (vs. 6-9)

Here is an interesting picture of Esau, who remains clueless. He thinks that if he just takes a relative, instead of a Canaanite woman, as his wife, he will please his father and receive a blessing. He does not get that the problem is spiritual. So he tries to solve the problem by creating another one - he takes a THIRD wife! Yes, she is a relative, but through Ishmael, so not of the line of promise. In this case, three wrongs don’t make a right!

This reminds me of those who don’t know the LORD and who hunger for SOMETHING, but they don’t know what it is. They don’t understand that the void in their lives can only be filled by Jesus Christ. So they try to stuff it with other things: “Maybe I’m unhappy because of my wife - I’ll get a new one;” “If I just had a different job, my life would be perfect;” “I know I will finally be content when I buy that new house.” The problem is not that we need new things or people in our lives - we need the ONE Person who can change us from the inside out! WE need to be a new creation!

We’ll see tomorrow that this journey of Jacob’s will be the beginning of a new life for him!