Enter God. Up until now, the entire story of Jacob, who will become father of the 12 tribes of Israel!, nor his father or family, has been told without a single mention of God. Perhaps you find that odd, as I do. But how much of life is engaged on our own, without even a single glance to The One who gave that life, understands it, knows where it leads, and knows how to head off the problems sure to come? Now, without any invitation, but at a time when Jacob's soul was at its lowest point, when he's all alone with a broken past and uncertain future: (v. 11-16 ESV) Jacob came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
Imagine for a moment. You've blown up your life, maybe walked away from your wife and kids, or job, or ministry, maybe you've been in prison, bankrupt, lost your drivers license. Maybe you've lost a spouse, or been told a dire diagnosis. And you're alone, trapped in whatever small world you have left, so despairing that you don't even cry out to God anymore for fear that even He won't listen! Until you hear, “I am the Lord..."
We are so undeserving. The grace of God is beyond understanding. And when it falls on us, we are overwhelmed, or should be. This young man, Jacob, so desperate for a blessing just a few days ago that he connives a way to steal it, now receives a REAL blessing from THE ONE who can give it, and who gives it freely and without condition. God does not show up on the scene and say, "Well, son. I've been watching you, and you're a real mess, and I don't have much hope for you. BUT, IF you would do x and y and z, then I will pour open my storehouses..." No, you won't find that passage in the Bible. What you find is written above: "The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” It's pretty amazing stuff when you see the circumstances, who Jacob is, where he is...But God! The God who redeems, restores, heals, frees, and who promises abundant life.
The good news is that Jacob isn't totally clueless. He recognizes that God has appeared, out of nowhere. What follows so clearly shows the difference between us and God. (v 20-21) Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God." Compare this to what God had said to him. Do you see a difference? Notice the first word of Jacob's prayer to God. If. If you will do x and y and z, then....Now before we're too rough on Jacob, haven't we all prayed prayers like this? We don't know God, we sure don't love God, and especially we don't trust God! So we put Him to the test with some conditions. We figure that if He does show up and do what we expect, then maybe He's worthy of our attention. Pathetic, yes, but He's heard it millions of times! And notice what isn't here in Scripture: (time for the 'read what isn't in there' lesson) God does not speak again, "Nope, try again. No good." This may be heretical, but it seems that God receives whatever we are able to give Him. Another example is Jesus and John on the beach in John 21 where English translators mangle it, for Spanish and Greek have it, so why can't we? But when Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him twice, and twice Peter responds that he likes Jesus an awful lot...the third time, Jesus then asks, "Do you even like me very much?" (Or something very close to that.) Jesus accepts what Peter is able to give, and not force it.
What does this all have to do with the Battle for our Identity? There's one more part to come. Already we begin to see something here though: Things are not what they seem. Jacob had a pretty good idea of who he was, or so he thought. But when God shows up, everything changes. Deceivers are blessed, prisoners are set free, blind see, the hopeless given hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment