Isaac has twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Right from the beginning, Gen 25 tells us they were very different.
• Esau a skilful hunter, always out in the open country, and Jacob staying in the tents, a homemaker.
• There was rivalry between them, right from the start. Genesis records two accounts of Jacob cheating his elder brother Esau.
The first in Gen 25 when he cheated him of his birth-right. And the second in Gen 27 disguising as his elder brother he got the father’s blessing.
Now Jacob has to run. Esau held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him (27:41).
• We are going to read what happens while he was on the run. [Gen 28:10-22]
Jacob experiences God in these 3 ways and so will we. (1) God treats us with grace, always with grace and never by merit. (1) God comes to us to assure us, of His presence and promise, and (3) God wants to give us His blessings.
God came to him and said He will bless Jacob! This is quite unthinkable.
1. God Treats You with GRACE
Jacob is far from good. He is a schemer and a deceiver. He lied to his father and cheated his brother.
• But he was hungry for God’s blessings. Ironic, right? It’s like a “holy greed”.
• Genesis 25 tells us of the two hungry brothers – one hungry for food, the other wanted the birth-right (because of the blessings).
• Esau was overwhelmed by his immediate, physical hunger. He wasn’t bothered about anything else.
• Many are like Esau today. They are hungry people, but only for the immediate and physical satisfaction.
Jacob, on the other hand, craves for God’s blessings. He was determined to get it. He wanted the birth-right.
• He wasn’t good, but he wanted God’s blessings. In Gen 27 he finally got the chance and seized the father’s blessings, posing as Esau.
• This is hard for us to accept. He does not deserve it. Yet he got it. And we read in Gen 28 that the Lord came to him and said he will be blessed.
How can it be? Yes, how can this be? We are not too far from Jacob, actually.
• We are not good, and yet we want God’s blessings. We know we do not deserve it, but we are asking God to bless us. That sentiment is the similar.
• Jacob was blessed, not because he was good, not because he deserves it. He was blessed because he WANTED it!
• He was blessed because of God’s grace. Nothing he receives comes by merit. Nothing.
Nothing we receives from God comes by our merit. Nothing.
• All that we are enjoying from Him today are the gift of His grace. No one earns it. Not Jacob, not us.
If you have been reading through Genesis, you would have gotten this picture by now. No one is good.
• We see in Abraham and Isaac families – incest, immorality, cheating and lying; sibling rivalry, disharmony in the family; Lot offering his daughters to men; Sarah despising the maidservant Hagar.
• Further on we read of her brother Laban (where Jacob fled to stay with) cheating Jacob, giving him the older daughter in marriage instead of the younger one. And in Gen 34 Jacob’s sons killing all the males in the town because someone raped their sister.
Why can’t we have something neater and nicer, something easier for us to shallow?
• Genesis portrays human life as it is, in its most authentic form. No camouflaging. No cover up.
• Even for the people of God, who supposedly knows Jehovah God, we see immorality and sin!
• The truth is, man is far from good. This is a fallen world. And this is what a fallen world looks like in real terms.
But God is not ready to discard it. He did tried to renew it once, through Noah’s flood in Gen 6.
• God is determined to save the world from sin. God is seeking to redeem man. And this is His plan, to save the world through Abraham and his family.
• By grace, Jacob will receive His blessings. By grace, his name will be changed to ISRAEL (Gen 32:28; 35:10) and God will bring salvation to this world.
2. God ASSURES You with His Presence and Promise
[Illust: Difference between insurance and assurance. Insurance, you pay premiums. Assurance comes from God, no premium on our side. Jesus paid in full.]
Jacob was all alone running from home, but he was not alone. He ran because he did wrong and his brother wanted to kill him, yet God assures him He is with him.
• That’s grace. God is gracious. How gracious must He be before we can truly trust Him?
• Jacob needs to travel some 800km to his uncle Laban’s place in Haran. He is not like his brother Esau who loves the open country. It was difficult for him. He has to sleep with a stone pillow.
But God CAME to him. He came to him in his dream. He saw a stairway reaching to heaven and there above it the Lord is standing, and spoke to him.
• When he woke up, he called the place, BETHEL (meaning, house of God) because there’s where God met him.
• Gen 28:20-22 “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 21so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22and 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.” That’s precisely what God did!
This is the turning point of his life. God came to him. God reached out to him.
• It has always been that way, not that we seek Him but He comes for us. Not that we are good, but He is good.
• Jacob did not do anything that deserves this divine visitation. It is not necessary. It is the grace of God.
3. God Wants to Give You His BLESSINGS
This is the only picture I get from the Scriptures.
Don’t be overwhelmed by your mistakes or the wrongs that you have done.
• You may be feeling alone and out in the open, having to sleep on a stone, like Jacob, but the truth is, God is watching over you.
• He will find you, if you allow yourself to be found. Jacob did not find God. He was found by Him.
• Open your eyes and you’ll see Him. Open your ears and you’ll hear Him. He will help you, not by merit, but by His grace.
When Jacob finally returned after 20 years, he tells Esau: “God has been gracious to me…” (33:11) He became very rich.
• As the Lord promised, He was with Jacob wherever he goes and His blessings followed him.
• Even his uncle Laban testified that “the LORD has blessed me because of you.” (Gen 30:27)
What did Jacob do to earn this? Nothing. It is purely the grace and love of God.
• Nothing has changed today. We are enjoying God’s grace today. Don’t TRY so hard. Just relax and enjoy Him.
• Learn from Jacob – thirsts for God’s blessings. We need Him!
Jacob’s thirst has not wane even after 20 years. He started off cheating his brother’s birth-right and his father’s blessings. He wanted it desperately.
• 20 years later on his return trip, when was left alone by himself in Gen 32:22-30 he met the Lord (angel of the Lord) and wrestled with him, until daybreak.
• Gen 32:26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
• He has not changed. God’s blessing is a priceless thing to him. That thirst is admirable and something for us to emulate!
God is a God of blessing. In Jacob’s own words: “I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.” (Gen 32:10b)
• He returned with a big family, with flocks and herds and camels. “I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants.” (32:5)
• Look at the gifts he was prepared to give Esau when he returns (Gen 32:14ff.)
Thirsts for God’s blessings. Crave for His blessings above all else. We are echoing His heart’s desire when we pray for His blessings.
• What really distinguishes Jacob from Esau? Jacob treasures God’s blessings, while Esau undermines it. The Bible puts it, “Esau despised his birthright.” (25:34)
• May that never happen to us. We need Him. Let us thirst for His blessings.
Let me close with this observation - Jacob had 2 recorded encounters with God.
• When he was running away from Esau, all alone and troubled, God met him (Gen 28).
• Then he saw in his dream a stairway reaching into heaven, with the Lord standing above it.
• He was far but he received the Lord’s assurance that He is with him and will bless him and his descendants.
• He met the Lord there and called the place BETHEL – the house of God, the place I met Him.
When he was returning to meet Esau, all alone and troubled (not knowing if Esau will forgive him), God met him (Gen 32), as the angelic man.
• It was not like a dream, but more real, as an angelic being right before him.
• This time around, the Lord was not afar off but wrestling with him.
• Jacob was still seeking to be blessed, unwilling to let go of the chance. And he received it.
• He called the place PENIEL (face of God). He met the Lord face to face.
Jacob has drawn closer to God, literally in this experience, but more importantly, I think, spiritually.
• He is a changed man. He has tasted the blessings of God and understood clearer His will for him and his family.
• Israel was born. God will bless the world through him. He is blessed to be a blessing!
