BETTER LATE THAN NEVER (GENESIS 28:10-29:13)
A Chinese fable tells of the owl’s flight to the east to escape its neighbors, who were increasingly tired and vocal of the bird’s incessant noise in the night. As it was packing, the owl met a pigeon, which asked: “Where are you going? Why are you in such a hurry?”
The owl answered tersely, “I’m moving to the east.” The pigeon asked again, “Why are you moving there?” The owl moaned, “Because people here all complained about my singing. They cannot stand my hooting. I am going to move east so that they will have no reason to complain anymore.”
The pigeon then frankly told the owl, “Moving to another place is a good idea only if you change your voice. If you don’t, the people in the east too will complain about your singing.”
Kevin McHale, the legendary Boston Celtics basketball great, explained why troubles often follow many NBA players that discover newfound wealth: “I don't think basketball is the answer to all problems. If a guy comes into the league with a ton of problems, and they pay him half a million dollars, then he's a millionaire with a ton of problems.” (Los Angeles Times 1/3/93)
Jacob made a bad name and a horrible life for himself when he deceived his father (Gen 27:35) and angered his brother (Gen 27:45). The first act of deception in the Bible was not committed by the serpent (Gen 3:13), but by Jacob (Gen 27:35). The English word for Jacob’s and the serpent’s act of deception is similar in NIV but the Hebrew text technically used the word “beguiled” for the serpent’s actions and “deceived” for Jacob’s. The conniving, selfish Jacob appeared to be leaving his problems behind, but he was just taking his troubles elsewhere, transferring them to others and prolonging his agony. Jacob’s mother had sent him 500 miles away to Haran, where her brother lived. The sober Jacob had a lot of spare time to reconsider his ways. Though it took leaving his town, his family and his past behind for Jacob to mend his ways, he was a truly changed man by the time he reached Haran. It was better late than never!
Why is a changed life better late than never? How are people changed and transformed from the errors of their ways? Is there hope for cold, calculative, and crooked people like Jacob?
Comprehend God’s Providence to You
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 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. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 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.” (Gen 28:10-15)
God works in mysterious, marvelous and miraculous ways.
A friend who was a seminary professor in Hong Kong was actually converted watching the controversial, ultraliberal, and blasphemous movie “Jesus Christ Superstar.” When asked to share his testimony, he wrote: “In September 1978, when I was in a very desperate and low state of mind, I went to the Ocean Theatre to watch a movie called “Jesus Christ Superstar”. The Spirit of God spoke to my heart powerfully through that movie! As I looked to the life of Jesus, I found that Jesus loved me so much. I strongly felt that I was a sinner, Jesus still loved me and died for me on the cross. I still remember a shot showing Jesus' painful look as he was hanging on the cross, but all of a sudden, Jesus prayed, “ Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). I was cut to the heart by this prayer and my tears came out as much as it could. I accepted Jesus' love and forgiveness deep down in my heart. Praise God! He saved me by this unusual means and through this unexpected incident.” (Via email 8/13/00)
Jacob’s ladder was God’s brief but deliberate disclosure of His active involvement in the world, His avid interest in human affairs, and His astute intervention into people’s lives. Jacob was tired, lonely, and forlorn when he stumbled into Bethel. He had no company but the sun for his trip, no place but the ground for his body and no pillow but a stone for his head, but he experienced God’s peace in a personal and poignant way. The door at home, to his family, and to Beersheba were slammed shut but the window of heaven was wide open to him. God literally threw down a ladder of hope to a down and out Jacob, who was mired in a pit of his own making. It was an invitation for Jacob to have a personal, vertical and special relationship with Him.
For a preview and in a snapshot, God made apparent, available and accessible His presence, promise and providence to Jacob in a powerful and unmistakable way. God confirmed to Jacob his destiny as the heir of God’s promise to his forefathers, to his descendants, and to the world. He reiterated to Jacob His promise to Abraham and Isaac, relayed to him the prosperity of his descendants and reassured the fearful patriarch of His presence in the dangerous journey. The verb “spread out” (v 14 “parats”) occurs for the first time n the Bible.
Strangely, unlike His other appearances to Abraham and Isaac, God spoke to Jacob only in a dream. God had spoken audibly on a few occasions to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham (Gen 12:1, 13:14, 15:1, 17:1, 18:1, 22:1), and once to his father, Isaac (Gen 26:24). Abraham even dropped to his knees and fell facedown at the appearance of God (Gen 17:3). Wouldn’t God’s dramatic and glorious self-disclosure be a surefire way to change someone for good?
God, however, is wise, righteous and sovereign. God’s appearance in a dream was clear enough for Jacob to understand, but not necessarily convicting enough for him to change. He had made initial contact with the patriarch, but the rest was up to Jacob. God did not force a change in Jacob’s life through a glorious and dramatic appearance. He gave Jacob the leeway, the motivation, and the opportunity to make a change and make things right for himself. Jacob was the first person to inherit God’s wonderful promise: “I will not leave you.” (v 15, Josh 1:5, Heb 13:5)
Change Your Perspective of Life
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” 18 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. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 20 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 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 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.” (Gen 28:16-22)
When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, probably the greatest college basketball player ever, was a Laker, he was often cold to even his own teammates, so much so that they called him “The Brother from Another Planet.” Outsiders were given worse treatment. They could stand right alongside him without being acknowledged.
A sportswriter noted that the difference between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and another Laker player is that when you ask another player, “How are you?” his reply is usually: “Fine, how are you?” but when you ask Kareem, “How are you?” his reply is: “Fine.” Despite his fame, his icy relationship with players and management complicated and hindered his efforts to further his coaching career after playing.
George Washington Carver, the famous American innovator, said: “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.”
Jacob was a changed man, with a new attitude and perspective on life. The way he viewed things and the values he cherished were different. Previously he used God’s name in vain and took Him for granted when he lied without batting an eye to his father: “The LORD your God gave me success” (Gen 27:20). God was in the second person and a second-hand experience to him. The previous actions of Jacob made God out to be a laughable, usable and disposable Divine Being.
The transformed Jacob vowed to make a change. He was the first person in the Bible to make a vow (v 20) and called God “my God” (v 21), but his vow was not designed to manipulate God or twist His arm anymore. God had already made an unconditional promise to Jacob to watch over him and bring him back to this land (v 15). Jacob needed not do anything in return, but he offered to God an altar (v 18, Gen 35:3), a tithe (v 22) and a commitment. Jacob did not ask for what God was not willing to give, which was His presence, care and guidance (v 15), including his safe return to the land. Instead of relying on his abilities, brains and charm, he began to rely on God to supply His needs and be his witness.
God promised to give the land to Jacob (v 13), but Jacob had no such grand ambition. He humbly settled for food to eat and clothes to wear (v 20). Jacob asked but for the basic necessities of life. Trumping his brother, inheriting the land and succeeding in life were far from his mind. He recognized that his life was in God’s hands and his possessions were God’s to give (v 22). Mercy, and not merit, was on his lips. Survival and simplicity, and not success and strength, were what he sought. Peace, and not possessions, was his priorities.
More importantly, for better or worse, he vowed to return to the Promised Land God spoke about in the dream and to face his angry, raging, older brother, who was awaiting him. True to his word, Jacob not only returned to Canaan after his sojourn in Haran (Gen 31:12-13), he resided in Bethel, where God appeared to him, for a while after his daughter was violated at Shechem (Gen 35:1-3). Bethel was indeed God’s shelter and sanctuary to his family, a place of refuge, rest and recovery (Gen 31:12-13, 35:1-3). To his credit, Jacob was the first person in the Bible to conceive of a house of worship, to build the “house of God” (vv 17, 22).
Care for Others Before Self
1 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. 2 There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We're from Haran,” they replied. 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?” “Yes, we know him,” they answered. 6 Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?” “Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 7 “Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.” 8 “We can't,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” 9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. (Gen 29:1-11)
One day, as a minister sat in the office of his church to meet anyone who might have spiritual difficulties, only one person came. “What is your difficulty?” asked the minister.
The man answered, “My difficulty is the ninth chapter of Romans, where it says, 'Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.'“ “Yes,” said the minister, “there is great difficulty in that verse; but which part of the verse is difficult for you?”
“The latter part, of course,” said the man. “I cannot understand why God should hate Esau.” The minister replied, “The verse has often been difficult, but my difficulty has always been with the first part of the verse. I never could understand how God could love that wily, deceitful, supplanting scoundrel Jacob.” (Illustrations of Bible Truths # 313)
The new Jacob was friendly, helpful and, more importantly, real. He gently addressed strangers as “my brothers” (Gen 29:4), politely asked about his uncle’s welfare and earnestly interacted with people. Jacob not only longed for relatives, he even cared for sheep! The transformation was refreshing and rewarding. Previously Jacob did not have much to do at home, but presently he was up for the challenge away from home. His education was right on target when he went over and “rolled” the stone away from the mouth of the well and “watered” his uncle's sheep (v 10). He had taken over the roles of “rolling” the stone and “watering” the sheep (v 3), activities that belonged to the eastern shepherds (v 3). For a change, he readily helped strangers and relatives alike without being asked, worked for free without any introduction and wept like a baby without mother’s coaching. Tears that he held back broke like a dam when he saw a relative.
Jacob broke down in the most unusual, foolhardy and involuntary way. He who had never expressed remorse to his only brother or concern for his aging father cried at the first sight and discovery of a distant relative. Relationships were now more important to him now than riches. Previously only his brother Esau wept Gen 27:38), but presently the hardness and haughtiness of heart in Jacob gave way and broke like a dam.
Many Bible commentators, students and readers doubt if Jacob’s transformation in the passage was genuine or meant. The education of Jacob was not complete, but it was off to a fair, if not creditable and meaningful, start. From now on, his priorities were God first, family and others next, himself last.
Conclusion: Have you truly received Jesus Christ into your heart and confess Him as Lord and Savior? Do you know Him as the Creator heaven and earth, the mediator between God and man, the salvation of Jews and Gentiles? Won’t you turn from your sin and self, turn to Him, and turn your life around?
Matthew 5:23-24 says, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Are there people in your life you have to make amends and mend fences with? Have your selfishness, self-importance and self-righteousness become a stumbling block and a sore point to others? Has God made a difference in your life? Have you made a difference to others?
Victor Yap
Bible.ryl.hk (Grammar Bible)
www.preachchrist.com (Sermons)
