Bibledoorajar Follows Jacob as He Goes Out

     "Jacob went out from Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down to sleep." Gen. 28:10-11

      The exile is tired and weary and darkness has come upon him. He is alone and succumbing to sleep in a place away from his father's home. He has a dream; it is a confirmation dream of sorts for a lonely exile. The dream was God's superlative way of reassuring this unlikely and deceitful man that God intended to help him from His place of authority and power in Heaven. Here's the dream from Gen. 28:12 ff.

      "He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of the Lord were going up and down on it. Then suddenly the Lord was standing there next to him and He said, I and the Lord, the God of Abraham your (grand)father and the God of Isaac.
The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of just on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. Look, I AM WITH YOU. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I WON'T LEAVE YOU UNTIL I HAVE DONE WHAT I HAVE PROMISED YOU."

What a great confirmation to a sinful man. Here was the message: You have much to learn through many experiences but here is a promise you can cling to.

Bibledoorajar Praises God's Love

     Jacob has been forced to leave home, to leave Canaan, the promised land. This is something his father, the son of promise, never had to do. At this juncture, one wonders if Jacob can "live up to" the heroism of his grandfather, Abraham, the man of faith, and walk in sonship like Isaac who received completely from his father. But we will see that Jacob, though chosen by God to walk in faith and sonship will have to leave home and seek his aspirations in life. We can identify with him because we who learn to serve God have to also learn to love Him. But here is an important point in the story: For God, faith and sonship come first in the progression. We usually want to reverse things and say when we have completed the aspirations of our life, then God will make us his son. But this is never the order of God. We are his children first and seekers of a better knowledge of Him and His plans for us secondly. Just take a moment and remember this Divine Order. The gifts of faith and sonship are already ours. This heavenly order can easily slip from the conscience and have a terrible result as we encounter trials and tribulations in this life. For the most of us reading this blog, we have left home and have been making our way, struggling to keep our existence and find an identity for ourselves. There is no better story in the Word that describes this journey than that of Jacob.And although a leading character, Jacob is not the star. The star is, and ever shall be, His God.

"The Wanderer said:

One adequate support
For the calamities of mortal life
Exists--one only: an assured belief
That the procession of our fate, however
Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a Being
Of Infinite benevolence and power;
Whose everlasting purposes embrace
All accidents, converting them to good."

                          William Wordsworth

God says that one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. Perhaps we have much to learn from the story of this lonely exile.        

Bibledoorajar: On being chosen for servanthood

     Jacob has now left his nuclear family and is making his way in exile because of his sin. We will find that though chosen by God, this grandson of Abraham, will spend many years wandering, cut off from the land of promise. Like most exiles in history, we find that he will be mistreated along the way, sometimes very unjustly. But as promised, God will be with him and we will see all the many ways that He gives Jacob favor. It was God's intent to bring forth a Savior from this wild olive plant but it would need much pruning. Only the power of God could have made it happen. Jacob's experiences in life make a powerful story; at the end of it we will see Jacob acting as God's prophet and blessing the Gentiles.

     What knowledge did Jacob have when he left home that would give him hope? He for sure had been told how God in His sovereignty had moved in his grandfather's life and established the course of faith. He knew how his grandfather had miraculously secured a bride for his promised son. But until the choice he and his mother made, Jacob probably did not have too much experience with conflict and fear. As his story progresses we will see Jacob's development as an extremely good schemer in order to get earthly riches. He will have his troubles, yet he will be given a promise of a return to the promised land by God. He would have a long wait, but we will see it come to fruition.

"There's a lot of pain, but a lot of healing
There's a lot of trouble, but a lot more grace
There's a lot of hate, but a lot more loving
There's a lot of sin, but a lot more grace.

Oh, outrageous grace, Oh, outrageous grace
Love unfurled by heaven's hand
Oh, outrageous grace, Oh, outrageous grace
Through my Jesus I can stand".

                 Godfrey Birtill
   
As I travel on my journey in exile from the promised home, I often ask for God's favor. I can now recount times when it has been graciously given. What a great help He gives to his servants. There is great hope in outrageous grace!

Bibledoorajar Examines The Power of Circumstances

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

   
It is clear from the above verse that God's will is for us to give thanks in all circumstances. However, that does not mean that it is not sometimes difficult. However, God can say this can be done because of this declaration:  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverbs 1:9)

Rebecca determined a plan in her heart for Jacob and Jacob accepted the plan. It was a plan that led to a circumstance that must have been difficult for Rebecca. She never saw her beloved son again. I do not know if she was trying to please herself or whether she was trying to help God out.  But one wonders what her days were like following Jacob's departure. Did she ask God to help him continually or was she gloomy? Did she give thanks to God or was she overcome with guilt? What was her relationship like with Isaac and Esau? We cannot know because the record does not say. But the biblical record does show us clearly how Jacob took the circumstances of life in which he found himself and learned how to enjoy faith in God and His will for his life. But, as we will see, it did not happen overnight.

"It did not happen overnight" seems to be a key for our lives that "forces" us to live out Paul's admonition of being joyful always, praying continually and giving thanks in all our circumstances. By faith we endure as we trust God to establish His perfect will for us. I don't know about you but I am hoping I can walk out my part of this better in 2013!

"When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word, what a glory He shines on the way..."  John H. Sammis

Bibledoorajar Starts Anew

     Rebecca had used her forminable powers within the family to ensure that Isaac and Esau would not wrest the intended blessing from Jacob. The actions of the two led to Jacob having to flee Esau's wrath. God intervened and Jacob returned to the same land from which his grandfather Abraham had secured a wife for his son. If all the actions that had occurred at Isaac's house were to have merit, it would not take place in Rebecca's domain and it would not be without heartaches along the way. The wandering man, Jacob, would learn what it means to be a servant even as his father had learned to be a son. He would face times when he could not do as he wished and he would experience the long (and sometimes arduous) times of waiting. We will see him resort to applying his craftiness toward those whom he served. But there was one who learned obedience and Servanthood without craftiness and without relying upon Himself.

     "Therefore, since we gave a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in everyway, just as we are--yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
                                      
                                                   Hebrews 4: 14-16

Let us consider our great Servant and this a New Year and resolve to follow Him to the throne of grace for the guidance we will surely need. HAPPY NEW YEAR!