For the past three weeks we have been reading through the stories of one of the first families in the Bible – Abraham, Sarah and their children. We’re going to be sticking with these stories into the third week of August. But the stories we read on Sunday skips over large sections and our guest preacher next week is choosing to preach from Romans, so I encourage you to find some time to take a look at Genesis in the middle of the week – especially the parts in between what is listed in the bulletin.
Last week we focused on the story of Jacob and Esau’s birth and the strife between them, which began even as they were still in Rebekah’s womb. We left off when the two brothers were still young men, and Jacob took advantage of Esau by trading a bowl of stew for Esau’s birthright. Today we pick up at a point after Jacob ran away from home. I suspect it will be helpful, however to remember what led Jacob to flee his home and his family.
If you go through Genesis chapter 27 you will find there the tale of how Rebekah helped Jacob to trick old, blind Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing he meant for Esau. When Esau discovered the trick and learned from his father Isaac that what had been done could not be undone he was inconsolable. From Esau’s perspective Jacob had taken away everything he had and so Esau plotted to kill his brother. Rebekah couldn’t bear that; so she convinced Isaac to send Jacob back to her hometown to find a wife, hoping that this venture would keep Jacob safe from harm.
So here we have Jacob, the trickster, running away from home. How ironic that the very inheritance he thought he wanted was now, because of his impatience, and deceptive actions, because of his own lack of trust in God, now his inheritance was farther from his grasp than ever. After all, the covenant blessing the Lord gave to Abraham’s family was to live in the land of Canaan, and to make them a great family. Now Jacob had to run away, and the family of four was breaking up.
Along the way to his uncle Laban’s home, Jacob stops to rest for the night. There are apparently no hotels, or campgrounds in Beersheba, so Jacob looks around and sees a stone to use as a pillow and he slept under the open sky. And he dreamt of angels. Today we are confused about angels, we see them around a lot, especially at Christmas, and they are either beautiful women, or cute kids with wings. But the angels of the Bible come in all shape or sizes, and what is important about angles is their job – they are all messengers of God. When God seems distant, angels serve as the go-betweens, or the postal workers between God and human beings.
But the next thing Jacob knew God was not even distant any more, but standing right beside him. And God spoke to him, much in the same way he spoke to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. Only now that Jacob is helpless, running away in fear and shame, now when Jacob least feels deserving of, and least expectsGod’s blessing, our gracious God offers Jacob his own blessing, his own promises. One of my favorite Christian authors, Madeline L’Engle, has written that our God is not a forensic God. While God cares deeply about justice, the stories we have in scripture show over and over again, that for our God, justice is not about getting what we deserve. Jacob’s behavior toward Esau was deplorable. In human courts he would sentence him with severe penalties to pay for his actions. But God’s justice is tied to grace and mercy and lovingkindness so that now, when Jacob least deserves it, now when he’s finally so scared that he’s stopped trying to grab anything, now the Lord makes six, gracious promises to Jacob.
First he would be given the land of Beersheba. Second this gift was also for his offspring – which meant the promise of children. Third, his children would be like the dust of the earth, spread into every corner. Fourth, Jacobs descendants will bless all the families of the earth. And fifth, the Lord promised to be with Jacob, not only in Canaan, the Promised Land, but wherever he went. Finally, God promises Jacob, that even though he seems to be moving farther away from his inheritance, God will guide him like a shepherd until all God’s promises are fulfilled.
What interests me in this story today is Jacob’s response to all this. Here he was, raised in the faith of his parents, heir of the covenant with the Lord, yet Jacob doesn’t talk to God. When he sees the angel messengers running up and down the stairway to heaven, he doesn’t use them to send God a message. And when the Lord then comes right beside him and makes these wonderful promises Jacob doesn’t even say “thank you.” God is right there and Jacob doesn’t talk to him. In fact Jacob doesn’t even trust God’s gracious gifts.
Instead he makes a vow, “If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I’m setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father’s house, this God will be my God” (Peterson). Have you ever had times in your faith life when you were like Jacob? I have. Rather than thanking God for the blessings we have, rather than accepting the promises God has given us, we challenge God to give us more! And to top it off we don’t even trust God enough to enter fully into the covenant. If you bless me God, then I will trust you. If you do what I ask, then I will believe in you. What a strange way we behave. Imagine a person you don’t know very well saying, “If you do many nice things for me, then I’ll be your friend.”
Now some might look back at this story and challenge me, saying, well Jacob might not have spoken to God, but look, he built a shrine. He took the stone and set it up, consecrated it and called it the house of God – the Beth-el. Doesn’t that count for something?
It seems to me, this is the source of many of the problems we have in our churches today. We have a lot of Christians, a lot of heirs to the kingdom of God, who have spent far too much time working to set up houses of God and keep them in good repair. Many congregations spend so much time on fundraisers, suppers, fairs, bake sales, and capital campaigns. Granted most of them do this because sometime in their lives, they have encountered God and said like Jacob “surely the Lord is in this place – how awe inspiring.” So they try to make and keep a building that will capture God; that will seem like the gate of heaven, a place to remember God.
But if this is where our activity ends as people of God, then we have missed the mark. The very act of trying to build and maintain a stationary place to meet God can become just another way to run away from God, if we let it be an excuse for, or a substitute for developing a personal relationship with our Lord.
It took Jacob another 20 years before he finally got around to developing his relationship with God. You can read about those years with Laban on your own, and in two weeks I’ll share with you the story of Jacob finally coming home. But we don’t have to wait for that to start, or strengthen our own personal relationship with the Lord. Paul’s letter to the Romans can help us.
Just as the Lord promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, we can be sure that when we are in the Spirit of God, when we let that Spirit lead us through life, then we are God’s children, heirs to God’s blessings. Since God is with us wherever we go, we can be in constant communication through prayer. And we need to constantly talk and listen to God if we want God to direct our steps. We can pray on the bus, or the T, we can pray when we are trying to make a decision, we can pray when we see something delightful, we can pray when we need a particular gift of the Spirit like patience, or kindness because the person in front of us is giving us a hard time. And then we can also take time to reflect on how God is indeed answering our prayers, and directing our paths.
Most of all we can cultivate our attitude toward God as one of our favorite persons, whom we love and trust. When I was a little girl my family was quite traditional, Mom was home with us, and Dad drove away to work. At suppertime, when we heard the car pull into the garage, Dave and I would become very exited, we’d hide behind the kitchen door, and when Dad came up the stairs we’d jump out and shout “Daddy’s here! Daddy’s here!” The Aramaic word for Daddy is Abba. Paul tells us that when we cry out to God, “Abba! Daddy! Father! it is the Spirit of God bearing witness with our own spirits that we are children of God.” When we are in right relationship with God we have that same excitement and joy about spending time with God, that same trust and hope that children have when a loving adult comes through the door.
My prayer for us, as heirs to the covenant, is that we see it for what it really is. Our covenant is based on our relationship with God, not as servants preoccupied with all the business of church, but as children of God. May we draw nearer to God every day, and every time we gather. May we share with one another what God is doing in our lives, how the Spirit of God is speaking to us, answering our prayers, blessing us, and leading us, day by day. And may we broadcast that good news beyond these walls until all the families of the earth are truly blessed.
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