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Genesis 27:1-28:22 Key Verse: 28:20-21 God Meets Jacob at Bethel. "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 toe at and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's hose, then the Lord will be my God." In Genesis, God is called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God called one man Abraham and made a covenant with him. God promised Abraham would be the father of many nations and the source of blessing for all people. Isaac was a quiet and passive person, but God renewed with him the covenant of Abraham and blessed him. In this lesson, we meet Jacob, the son Isaac. In the time of trials and hardships, God met him on the wilderness and blessed him as the second successor of Abraham's covenant. Jacob made a personal relationship with him and began his life of faith. I pray through today's message we may meet the God of Jacob and renew our commitment to him. 1. Jacob gets Isaac's blessing Isaac was old and became blind. He felt that he would surely die soon. So he asked Esau, his favorite and eldest son to go hunting and to prepare some tasty food for him. He would eat it and then give Esau his blessing before he dies. Rebekah overheard Isaac speaking to Esau. She knew that the blessing of the firstborn belongs to Jacob, not Esau, because this was God's word to her when the two boys were in her womb. God said: “The older will serve the younger.” So she called Jacob immediately and coached Jacob to pretend to be Esau and get his father's blessing. According to Rebecca's advice, Jacob dressed in Esau's clothes and put goatskin on his arm and neck. He took the delicious meat dish and bread that Rebekah had cooked, and went to his father Isaac. Isaac was a little suspicious, because his voice was not Esau's, but he believed Jacob's words and blessed him. In vs. 28-29, Isaac said, “May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness ---- an abundance of grain and new wine. / May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." As soon as Jacob left, Esau came in with tasty venison steaks for his father. When he learned what Jacob had done, he was furious. He decided to kill Jacob. Isaac also trembled violently when he found that he had blessed Jacob in fact. But he did not change his mind. He stuck with his blessing, saying that Jacob would be blessed indeed. Certainly Rebecca had already told him about who God had chosen as the blessed. Isaac forgot it and almost disobeyed God's will. But now Rebecca's words occurred to him and he repented his spiritual blindness. Jacob had to leave his house since his brother was looking for him. Before he left, Isaac blessed Jacob again. He confirmed him as the successor of Abraham's covenant. Look at vs 3-4. "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 live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." We don't know why God chose Jacob, not Esau, as the successor of Abraham's blessing. It must belong to God's sovereignty. However, what we clearly know is that nobody can change God's plan. His plan is necessarily accomplished by any means. God's plan for Jacob might seem to fail at first because of Isaac's spiritual blindness. But it was completed in the end through Rebecca's faith and wisdom. Jacob received the blessing to be a new partner of the great covenant with God. 2. The God of Bethel Jacob left Beersheba and started for Haran. The sun set and it began to grow dark. Jacob was exhausted after the long journey. He took a rock for a pillow, and lay down under the stars. He was sad, because there was no one with him. He was fearful because his brother might be following him. He was blessed as the successor of Abraham's covenant. But the reality was far from blessed. He was just a lonely wanderer and miserable fugitive. However, in this time of adversity, God who had chosen Jacob came to meet him. In his dream, Jacob saw a stairway resting on the earth. Its top reached heaven and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. Above it stood the Lord. He introduced himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. He promised him the land, and descendants like the dust of the earth. He said, "All peoples on earth would be blessed through you and your offspring." In his house, his father, Isaac blessed Jacob. He said Jacob would succeed Abraham's covenant with God. Now in the wilderness, God himself appeared and appointed Jacob as the new partner of the blessing covenant. In addition to this glorious blessing, God promised that he would solve Jacob's immediate problem. God promised that he would go with Jacob to Paddan-Aram and bring him back home safely. Verse 15 says, "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." Jacob woke up. He couldn't sleep the rest of the night, because an awesome fear filled his heart. God is really alive. So far, he knew God in the story his parents told him. But now he experienced God as a real being. The next morning Jacob took the stone he had used for a pillar and poured oil on it to sanctify the place. He also named that place "Bethel", which means a house of God. There were no big buildings or wonderful houses there. But any place where God lives and meets a human being was the house of God. 3. Jacob's vow God came to Jacob and assured that he would be blessed with Abraham's covenant. Also God promised that he would take care of Jacob to the end. Then, what was Jacob's answer to God's blessing and promise? Look at vs. 20-22. He said, "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 house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." Jacob made a vow, which is a promise to do something in return for God's grace. Then what did Jacob promise? He promised God that if God would indeed solve his immediate problems as he said, then God would be his God and he would give him a tithe. Jacob's vow was not so spiritual. It was childish. He did not say anything about God's calling to be a source of blessing in his salvation work. He was not interested in God's grand plans such as numerous descendants and the vast land. He only responded to God's word to solve his own urgent food, clothes and security problems. However, with his vow, Jacob had begun his life of faith. For the first time, he made a personal relationship with God. He no longer called God as God of Abraham, and God of my father. He no longer lived on the borrowed faith of his parents. God became his own personal God who would solve his urgent security problems. His faith was weak and small like a mustard seed, but it was his own. God did not reject Jacob's childish response. Rather, so that he might be Jacob's God, he kept his promise; he satisfied Jacob's practical needs and brought him back to his hometown. Jacob himself forgot about his vow later, but God remembered it and led his life based on it. Thanks to this great love of God, Jacob got out of his first childish faith and grew as a spiritual giant who could bless others. When I was a student at my first University, my life was a total chaos. My headache I had long suffered was getting more and more severe. I could not read even a few pages though sitting at the desk for a whole day. I wanted someone to understand my pain and trouble. But I was always a outsider who nobody cared about. I failed in adjusting myself to every society I joined and was always all by myself. I wandered here and there, looking for something really important and meaningful. However, I could not find out what really satisfied my soul. All things felt void and meaningless in the end. It was in such deep trouble when I went to CCC summer conference. (CCC is a famous Christian student society.) I didn't even know what the conference was. But I expected there might be someone almighty and he would solve my problems. For the first two days, I didn't understand at all what they said. However, on the third night, I confessed Jesus as my savior, based on the messages I heard. "Lord, forgive me. I have not believed in you. I hated people for a long time. Now I accept Jesus as my savior. Please come into my heart and my life, and be my master." After the prayer, I came back to my tent. On the way back, I had an mysterious experience. I felt some warm wind blow me. Then a great, mysterious joy went up from my deep heart. It was a joy I have never expected and experienced. I was so joyful and happy that I could not help testifying my experience to other attendants. That night I met my God for the first time. God called me and met me when I was on the lowest point in my life. Since then, God has led me as my master as I prayed. I did not know much about God and his words, even though I confessed my faith. I even left the church several times and did not attend the worship service. However, God remembered my first confession and worked for me. I was sick, so I thought my life would go bankrupt. But God provided me with all necessities. I completed my study at two universities and got a stable job. I got married to a woman of faith and became father of two sons. God also blessed me with spiritual things. At first, I was a spiritual novice, so selfish and so self-centered. But God raised me up to be a source of blessing for the campus. He used a patient with severe headache as a messenger for the worship service. In today's lesson, God came to meet Jacob in deep trouble. God planted his vision in Jacob' heart and promised to be with him. Jacob responded to God by making a vow, even though it was not so spiritually mature. God accepted his vow and would raise him to be a blessing for all people. I am sure all of us have a point in our life when we meet God personally. We have our own Bethel where we experience God as a living being. At that time, with great joy and happiness, we made our vow to commit ourselves to God and his work. This time I pray we may remember the great joy when we meet God for the first time. I pray we may renew our vow to God and recover our commitment to him. God raised Jacob to be a source of blessing, even though he was a spiritual child. I pray the God of Jacob may be the God of us. I pray God may also raise all of us as a source of blessing for the lost students on the campus. ■ The message above is based on Mother Barry's message on Chicago UBF website. |
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