When God Calls Your Name… Twice: Jacob
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 7/24/2016
Hearing your name called can evoke different responses depending on the circumstances. On the one hand, maybe you’re just getting off the plane after a long tour of duty, your eyes scanning all the faces in the crowd, then you hear the voice of your spouse or kids calling your name—it just fills you with joy. On the other hand, when you’re a kid and you hear your mother call you by your full name, you know you’re in trouble!
But how would you respond if God called your name not just once, but twice? As I mentioned last Sunday, God calls plenty of people in the Bible often by name, but I’ve only found seven times where God calls out someone’s name twice in a row—Martha, Martha! Saul, Saul! Moses, Moses!
In each instance, God wants—even demands—the attention of the person He’s calling. What follows is almost always a life-changing encounter with the God of creation. Last week, we began exploring these various stories when God called someone’s name twice. The first of which was Abraham. God called Abraham to remind him—and us by extension—that God must be first in our lives. Nothing and no one should take his place.
The next person God calls by name twice is Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. This encounter takes place in Genesis 46, so if you have Bible in your hand or on your phone, open it up to that passage.
And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.” (Genesis 46:2-4 NLT).
Now let me put this vision in context for you. Jacob is now a very old man with children and grandchildren of his own. Twenty-three years ago eleven of his sons faked the death of his youngest son, Joseph. They just came home from the fields one day brandishing a bloody coat, claiming that wild animals ate Joseph. As I’m sure you know, they actually sold Joseph in slavery. Midianite merchants bought Joseph, and then sold him at auction in Egypt. During those twenty-three years, through God’s providence and protection, Joseph went from a slave in Potiphar’s house to ruler of all Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh. Meanwhile a famine sweeping across the land forces Joseph’s family to seek food in Egypt. After a bit of theatrics and a tearful reunion, Joseph forgives his brothers and reveals that he’s been living in Egypt all this time. He tells them go home, get the whole family including their father Jacob and bring them all to Egypt where he and God can provide for them.
So Joseph’s brothers rush home and confess everything to their elderly father. Now try to put yourself in Jacob’s shoes for a moment. His sons just admitted to lying about Joseph’s death. Not only did they fake Joseph’s death, but they sold Jacob’s favorite son (a seventeen year-old boy) into slavery! And now they’re telling him that Joseph is not only alive, but the most powerful man in Egypt! At first, Jacob didn’t know what to believe. He didn’t think he trust his own children. Eventually, Jacob begins to believe their story and decides to make the journey to Egypt to see Joseph for himself.
But something holds him back. The Bible doesn’t say what the problem was, but it says that it drove Jacob to seek God. He made a sacrifice to the Lord, sought him out in prayer and worship, then waited for God’s reply.
But I think God’s response is very telling. After calling Jacob’s name twice—to ensure he had Jacob’s full attention—four words reveal the condition of Jacob’s heart: “Do not be afraid…” (Genesis 46:3). Do not be afraid! Jacob was afraid.
Maybe you can relate.
Fear is a funny thing. It has a sort of paralyzing property to it. Fear kept Jacob from taking the next step in his journey. And fear often does the same to us.
What’s your worst fear?
My son is terrified of zombies. But only at night when he’s supposed to be in bed. More than once I’ve given in to his pleas and promises. He’ll beg, Dad please let me watch this movie or play this zombie game. I’m big now. I won’t be scared. So I give in and he’ll be fine while we’re playing or watching. But then comes bed time. The light goes out. The house grows quiet. The foundation creaks. The wind howls. His thoughts race. And then he’s up all night with his fears… which, of course, mean I’m up all night with his fears. His fear keeps him from doing what he wants to do—which is sleep.
My wife is afraid of bees, wasps, hornets, horseflies, and just about any flying insect for that matter. I love telling a story from a few years back. Abby was just a baby, maybe a year old. Ashley thought it would be fun to have a picnic lunch in the backyard. She laid out a blanket in the grass and everyone gathered around in a circle. Ashley held Abby in her lap, when suddenly a bee buzzed by Ashley’s head. I’ve never seen her move so fast. She flailed her arms and kicked her feet. Little Abby went flying across the blanket and Ashley leapt to her feet, ran into the house and shut the door behind her, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Her fears kept her from enjoying a picnic.
I like to think my fears are more sophisticated than that. I’m not afraid of snakes or spiders or sharks. Rather, I’m afraid of failure: the fear of failing to provide for my family, the fear of failing to meet other people’s expectations, the fear making too many mistakes, the fear that my sermon won’t be any good or that I’ll get up here one Sunday and not have anything to say. Those are the kind of fears that haunt me.
What are you afraid of? A fear of public failure, unemployment, or heights? The fear that you’ll never find the right spouse or enjoy good health? The fear of being trapped, abandoned or forgotten?
In 1997, the Sunday supplement magazine USA Weekend ran a cover story entitled “Fear: What Americans Are Afraid of Today.” In a scientific poll, the magazine uncovered the things that U.S. residents fear most. The majority feared being in a car crash or getting diagnosed with cancer. Half of those surveyed feared inadequate retirement funds and having too much month left at the end of the money. A third of Americans were afraid of getting Alzheimer’s, food poisoning, or being the victim of violence. Of course, the list goes on. I doubt much has changed in the last twenty years, though we could probably add terrorism, mass shootings, and the upcoming election to the list.
You might have a fear of failure or rejection or public embarrassment. Maybe you’re afraid of being abused, abandoned, or alone. Every sunrise brings fresh reasons for fear. We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke; we fear the mole on the back, the new kid on the block, the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave. Some of us can sympathize with the Peanuts character Charlie Brown when he said, “I’ve developed a new philosophy. I only dread one day at time.”
“Fear is the big bully in the high school hallway: brash, loud, and unproductive. For all the noise fear makes and room it takes, fear does little good.” In fact, fear halts progress. That’s what it did to Jacob. His sons said, “Let’s move to Egypt. Joseph is a alive and well there. Plus they have food and land to spare!” But fear said, “Maybe we ought to stay put. Who knows what dangers await us in Egypt.” And so fear froze Jacob in his track. It stopped him from moving forward. That’s what fear does to all of us.
“Fear never wrote a symphony or poem, negotiated a peace treaty, or cured a disease. Fear never pulled a family out of poverty or a country out of bigotry. Fear never saved a marriage or a business.” Courage has done those things. Faith has done those things. But fear? “Fear herds us into a prison and slams the doors.”
Wouldn’t it be great to walk out? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if faith, not fear, was your instinctive response to danger—real or imagined?
God takes our fears seriously and wants us to overcome them. In fact, the Bible contains no fewer than 366 commands to “not be afraid” or “fear not” or “have courage.” That’s one for every day of the year, including Leap Year. The gospels list roughly 125 Christ-issued commands. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “fear not” or “have courage,” etc. The second most common command, to love God and neighbor, appears only eight times. So if quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously and he wants us to overcome them! So how do you and I overcome our fears?
The secret lies in God’s message to Jacob. Remember he said, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for… I will go down to Egypt with you” (Genesis 46:3 NLT).
Over and over throughout Scripture, God tells us that an awareness of his presence ought to purge our hearts of fear and imbue us with strength and courage.
• Moses told Joshua, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV).
• God himself repeats the instruction, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV).
• David said it to his son Solomon, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (1 Chronicles 28:20 NIV).
• God said it again to the people of Judah, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 43:5 NIV).
• The Psalmist knew it. “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.” (Psalm 118:6 NIV).
At our house, each of the kids has various chores to do. My daughter, Sarai, often has the chore of watering the plants outside. The problem is—the bees really like the plants outside and Sarai has inherited her mom’s fear of flying insects. She’s never been stung, but she’s afraid that she will be. So she refuses to water the plants alone. Every time mom tells Sarai to water the plants, Sarai tells me, “Daddy, I need you to come outside with me and watch me water the plants.” So I put my shoes on, walk outside, stand on the sidewalk and watch her water the plants. Fear stops Sarai from going outside and watering the plants. But knowing her father is with her, watching over her, gives her the courage to overcome her fear and complete her task.
God wants the same to be true for you.
Fear can be paralyzing. But knowing that God is with you and will never leave you wherever you go ought to give our hearts courage and confidence.
Paula knows all about that.
Newly divorced, almost penniless, and trying to raise two teenage sons—Paula wrestled with crippling fear. After several tragedies in her life, she developed severe agoraphobia and was afraid to leave her house. She knew she needed to support herself and her two sons. She loved to cook and felt like God gave her a talent for it, so she began to make sandwiches and other simple foods. With the help of her two sons, she found a few customers; but because she was so afraid to leave the house, she had her two sons deliver the sandwiches. But still she was successful.
Her business quickly grew beyond the size of her kitchen, and she now faced a decision. Would she stand still and stop growing, or would she confront her fears and step outside? Though fear constantly nagged at her, she recognized that cooking was a desire that God had placed inside of her. So, she decided to confront the agoraphobia that imprisoned her and accepted a job as a chef at a local hotel, and once again she experienced tremendous success.
Every day was a struggle at first. Every morning she had to overcome her fear of going outside. But she relied on God and trusted his promises. A few years later, she opened her own restaurant right in the heart of Savannah, Georgia. Paula’s restaurant was such a success that she eventually landed her own TV show, published cookbooks, and even had a role on the silver screen. Today Paula Deen is one of America’s most successful and accomplished television chefs, and it all started when she realized that God was with her and was greater than the fear that held her back.
So what’s holding you back?
What’s keeping you from moving forward?
Regardless of what it is—God is greater. And God is with you. His words to Jacob, Joshua, and Judah are his words to you: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 43:5 NIV).
Conclusion
In the end, Jacob responded in faith instead of fear. He packed his bags, moved to Egypt and experienced a heartwarming reunion with Joseph. He lived a long and peaceful life in the land of Goshen and most importantly, God was with him wherever he went.
The same can be true for us. If we’ll learn to trust in God’s presence and power and plan for our lives, we may never become fearless, but we can certainly fear less.
Next week, we’ll explore another tale when God called someone’s name twice.
Invitation
In the meantime, I want to invite you to take your fears and lay them down at the feet of Jesus. He stands ready to embrace you and fill your heart with courage and confidence. In the words of hymn writer, E.A. Hoffman, “What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms” of Jesus? Lean on him today, while we stand and sing. Let’s sing together.
