From the Very Start
A Look at the Ancient Text of Genesis that speaks with Amazing Present-day Relevance
A little history as you turn to Genesis 28:
- Abraham receives 2 promises:
o Father of many nations
o I will give you this land
§ Struggles to doing things God’s way
- Finally, Abraham and Sarah have Isaac – the promised son
- Isaac marries Rebekah and they have twins: Esau and Jacob
o Esau is a man of the earth, a man’s man
§ He’s Daddy’s favorite
§ Sportsman, outdoorsman,
§ Turns out he’s kind of the all around dumb-jock
o Jacob is a little different
§ He’s Mom’s favorite
§ Hangs out around the kitchen
§ Always a trickster.
· Born grabbing the heel – in fact, that’s his name – the one who grabs the heel, who ‘hamstrings’ people
2 Key moments:
§ Extorts his brother Esau out of his birthright
§ Follows his mother’s instructions to trick his father out of the family blessing
· Esau is ready to kill his brother after Dad passes away
· Rebekah hears this and arranges for Jacob to make a quick exit – going to find a wife in her homeland.
Jacob’s Waking Dream
Genesis 28: 12-22
“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.” Genesis 28:10-11
As this account begins…
w Jacob is alone
o Notice no one is with him. Where is his family? Where are the man-servants, the maid-servants, the lads? Where are the donkeys? He’s alone. He’s got very little with him.
w Jacob is on the run from his blemished past
- His name alone must be terrible
- His passion is real, but his efforts are regretful
- His own frustration at not living up to his father’s expectation, his parent’s divided loyalty.
- There are very real unfinished issues here.
w Jacob is on the run from his broken relationships
- His father must be angry and disappointed at being deceived
- His mother must be worried about his safety and security
- His brother wants him dead.
How ironic – he’s grabbed the firstborn’s inheritance and the family blessing – but he can’t go home to claim it or fulfill it.
He stops for the night, and the only comfort he can find is a rock for a pillow. The rock is a fitting pillow isn’t it? Because on this journey he’s not finding any comfort at all.
Jacob is out in the middle of nowhere, unsure of how anything he’s ever wanted to come true in his future will ever happen. He’s had all these dreams and passions, all this ambition and zeal – and now, he’s on the run with only his questions, his worries, his doubt and his despair to comfort him.
Have you ever been there? Been that alone? Been that unsure of the future? That embaressed with your past? No one understands, no one’s been this way before? He’s out in the middle of nowhere – no motel 6, no traveling companions, no XM Radio.
Notice something else – he may hold the family fortune in his hands, but he doesn’t seem to have a hold on the family faith!
Notice his words in Genesis 27:20 –
[19] Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The Lord your God gave me success," he replied. Genesis 27:19-20
Jacob may have grown up in his father’s house, he may be the direct descendant of Father Abraham, but he seems to share little of their faith in God.
Jacob may be wide awake running around, trying to secure his future, now running away from his brother and from his past… His eyes may be open – but spiritually, he’s asleep and he doesn’t even know it.
He lays down his head, closes his eyes, and as best as we can tell, God speaks to him for the first time in his life.
Genesis 28: 12-15
God speaks to Jacob through a dream. In this dream God promises to…
- Fulfill His covenant through Jacob
o I’m going to follow through on my promises
o Through You I’m going to do this.
§ In one sense, Jacob’s ambition and passion pays off. He’s rescued the future of the family from Esau’s leadership. I mean, do you really want to trust your family name to someone who sells their inheritance for a bowl of soup?
§ You wanted, you got it
o This is the way God works. He fulfills his promises through broken, mistake-prone people.
o God still wants to fulfill promises and covenant in your life.
o The question is not where have you been. It’s where are you going – and who is going with you?
- Provide cover for Jacob
o You’re not alone anymore. I’ll protect you.
o I know you’re scared of Esau. I know you don’t know all the safety hazards on the way. I’ll protect you to fulfill my covenant.
o I’ll even start working to protect you from yourself.
o God promises to bring this protection to you as well.
- Stay committed to Jacob
o I’m not stopping until we get this done.
o I’m not giving up on you, regardless how this goes.
o I’m committed you to now – I’m not going looking for some one else.
o What must this have done to Jacob’s identity, self-perception and willingness to believe that God could actually pull all this off?
o God says the same to YOU.
§ I’m not giving up on you – I’m committed to the end!
Jacob’s response?
He is made aware of God’s presence
- Surely God is in this place.
- How would your perspective change if you were to suddenly realize that God is ‘in the house?’ How differently would you conduct business with God sitting at the desk with you? How differently would speak to your spouse if Jesus sat at your dinner table? How different would your dating be if you were to suddenly become aware that God is also on that date with you?
He is struck by awe of God’s presence
- Awe can be a powerful moment of change in our lives.
- Awe reveals to us that we are not the shiniest thing in God’s creation – nor are we even in the same league.
- Albert Einstein once said, “He who can no longer pause to wonder, is as good as dead.”
- Awe has a power to remind us of our own place in the grand order of things. Suddenly, all our accomplishments, all our talents, all our shiny medals, all our adoring fans no longer have the same sway on us they once had.
- Being struck by the awesomeness of God reorders our priorities.
- Being struck by the awesomeness of God reopens our hearts
- Being struck by the awesomeness of God recommits our souls
This is a Spiritual Awakening taking place
For too long Jacob has been running on auto-pilot – taking the family’s wealth and comfort for granted. He’s just assumed that everything is going work out. Or, perhaps even more telling, he’s assumed that if anything is going to happen, its going to be up to him to make it happen. So he’s taken the family future into his own hands.
Now, entirely alone, on the road running from his mistakes and from his family, Jacob encounters God. And God has to speak to him in a dream in order to wake him up.
And maybe God is working the same thing in your life as well. For too long you’ve walked around, done your thing with no attention to God’s presence or power in your life. You’ve worked hard and played harder, the entire time ignoring the gentle, constant love of God calling you back to him.
Perhaps you’re walking through a time of lonely travel, where the only comfort you can find is a rock for a pillow. And as you try to find some rest, God is interrupting your dreams to make Himself known.
Maybe God is trying to wake you up as well.
So what does Jacob do?
Ø Jacob marks the encounter.
“Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.” Genesis 28:18
Ø Jacob makes a vow.
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 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and 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.’” Genesis 28:20-22
And this is only the beginning of Jacob’s story!
Are you experiencing an awakening?
- From Darkness to Light
o In Ephesians 2, Paul talks to this young church about their spiritual awakening, going from darkness to light. Once you gave yourself over to this, but no longer… not now that you’re awake in Christ.
o Later in the same letter, Paul writes: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Ephes. 5:14 [NIV]
- From Sleepwalking in church to Walking in Faith
o Maybe you’ve been in church for the better part of your life, but its never really made all that much of a difference. You’ve heard the sermons on the flood, helped with the VBS projects on Jonah and you know all about King David and his slingshot.
o But if the truth were told, you are still spiritually asleep. You have no real personal contact with Jesus. You’ve never really stepped into the presence of God. You’ve had no experience with the awesome presence of God. And as you sit here this morning, God is trying to wake you up from your zombie state into something far greater than anything you’ve ever hoped or imagined.
So what do we need to do?
Mark the moment
Make a vow
