GENESIS 28 THE JOURNEY OF JACOB In Jacob’s life, as in everyone who God saves, there is a beginning that is unforgettable in its impact on the rest of our life. Jacob was a deceiver and supplanter up until this time in the account of his life.
Then after traveling sixty miles or so away from home at Beersheba, he came to Luz. He had only an indirect connection with God through his parents, but there had been no personal dealings with the Lord and no relationship with the Lord. Then there was the first meeting with God personally. After that first meeting at Bethel, there were a whole series of events and revelations that revealed his character that over time changed him from the man he once was, to the man God wanted him to be. But there was a starting point with God in the life of Jacob and he never forgot it.
The testing and training of a child of God is not done in four years of training at a Bible school or seminary. At those schools, students learn what the professors had previously learned and then are paid to pass on to others. Scripturally gathered assemblies are unique in this way in that there is on- going “Christian Education” weekly for a lifetime. A class or two on the Lord’s Day; a public Gospel message is given at least once a week; prayer and Bible study at least once a week – all of these beside special times when there are more meetings for learning, give time to learn and assimilate the word of God. We learn God and the wisdom and grace that is needed in the life of a believer during the whole course of our lifetime.
We begin with God when He saves us from our sins and their consequences, by His grace. The things we learn from God are those positive things which reflect the Person of Christ. A lifetime of spiritual training from God is His way of preparing us for the future service that awaits us in the eternal future. By the grace of God, people like Jacob who have unattractive personality traits who we try to avoid if we can, are transformed into people in whom the triumphs of God’s grace can be seen. We will never know what some of God’s people have privately experienced through their lives, but we do know that a life of faith in God has a start. The journey of faith begins at our “Bethel,” where we meet God personally and respond in confession with our mouth, the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord.
BEFORE THE JOURNEY Sent away, v.1-9 Isaac accepted the fact that God had kept him from carrying out his plot to give Esau the blessing of the first-born. He realized Jacob was the heir of the promise God gave to Abraham. It would have seemed right to him for Jacob to get a wife from the same place Rebekah came from. True, Rebekah was the one who made the suggestion, but as the leader of the home, it was Isaac who made the decision for Jacob to go to Haran.
Then he blessed Jacob again as a patriarch would do, asking the blessing of “God Almighty” to be on Jacob who did not know the Lord personally. He prayed for Jacob that God would make him a fruitful man who would have children to occupy the land God promised Abraham. It is important for believing fathers to let their children hear their names in prayer to God. Awareness of the fact that there is a God who rules over the affairs of men, is often made real to children when they are young. Bible reading and audible prayer should be a part of the daily life of every Christian family.
Isaac lived for many years after these events, but there is no further record of anything Isaac said or did for the forty plus years he lived after Jacob left for Haran. Failure in one major area of life can make it necessary for one person to be set aside and others carry on the work of God. Isaac had made a deliberate attempt to circumvent the blessing from Jacob to Esau, and he should have known better. To try to change God’s plans to suit ours, and to satisfy our will, is a serious sin and is doomed to failure.
On the other hand, if one is called to live a quiet life out of sight and out of the limelight of public opinion, a person can still be used by God and can glorify God. Our bodies and spirits are His. Those who are unseen and overlooked may be those people whose quiet labor, calm spirit and unseen devotion, have an effect on bringing honor and glory to God. Their unrecognized faithfulness is as important to God and His kingdom work, as those who are out in the public and are actively engaged in public service.
Rebekah was no stranger to subterfuge. She may have learned that from her father and brother. When she learned what Esau’s intent was after Jacob had received the blessing, her cleverness in making suggestions to get her way, led her to propose a scheme to get Jacob to safety from Esau’s murderous intent. By telling Isaac how the women of Canaan Esau had married caused her grief, and suggesting Jacob get a wife from her family connections, she dealt with two troublesome matters.
It is not wrong to make plans for our future or that of our children, but we cannot know what might happen on the way or even the outcome. Shrewdness can be a problem if we take it too far and become dogmatic and stubborn. As far as Rebekah’s plans, her favorite son would get an acceptable wife and she would hopefully have a daughter-in-law who would be a comfort to her in her old age. She couldn’t see the future and did not know she would not see Jacob again. Her plans were in the framework of God’s will, but the results were not likely what she had hoped for herself personally.
Rebekah was a very capable woman married to a quiet and peace-loving man. She had plans and projects like most ambitious and resourceful people who want to cover every base as they advance upward and onward. When people have that way about them, they take all the precautions they can, but there are always exceptions they had not considered. To think we are agents in control instead of servants under control, may bring bad consequences upon us. Those things could have been avoided if we had followed the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.
Jacob seemed to have become quiet after the family uproar. He listened first to his mother and then with equal acceptance, he heeded his father’s command to go to Haran. It would appear that when he left, all he knew was that he was to go there to find a wife. Likely all of them thought it wouldn’t be too long of a stay in Haran before he found a wife and was back again. He probably thought Esau would have gotten over his anger and desire to kill him.
God can intervene in our lives in whatever way and time He chooses. There is no pattern that He follows, because He knows each one of us by name, personality, temperament and location. We may never know the importance of one incident in our life, nor the impact it will have on ourselves and others, when God chooses to get our attention and reveal Himself to us.
As far as Jacob was concerned when he left hone, he was trying to avoid Esau’s anger, and was going to Haran to get a wife. God had far greater plans for him beginning with a personal contact with this heir of divine promise. That started a whole chain of lessons Jacob learned through the rest of his lifetime, and that changed his life completely. Sometimes with us, small events are the most significant ones in our whole life and we didn’t even know that when it happened.
Esau wanted to regain what he had lost by his careless and indifferent attitude toward God. Also, he wanted to regain some favor with Rebekah and Isaac, in a way that was acceptable to his heritage. So, again he acted on his own in an attempt to get ahead of Jacob. He thought that by marrying a daughter of Ishmael, he would be more acceptable to his heritage and get the blessing he wanted. It didn’t matter to him that Ishmael was not of the same genealogy or that Ishmael had been passed over as the divinely appointed heir of promise.
An unbeliever has no real concept of the value and power of spiritual life and spiritual realities. Some people try to do what believers do, hoping that will make them acceptable to God. At first it may seem a lot like the real thing. There may be outward evidence that appears to be the fruits of being born again. However, when something or someone seems like there is reality in their profession of faith, unless “old things” pass away and “all things become new,” there is no reason to think the change is a work of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual and moral changes are part of the evidence of the new nature that is implanted in a child of God.
To renounce sin and follow our Lord Jesus Christ means a person has had an inward change of nature. It is one thing to conform to the ways and practices of God’s people, and quite another to be a new creation in Christ Jesus. God has plans for every believer’s life that are not furthered by our plans and schemes. Dignity, peace and power to live for God comes from God. When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will recognize what a privilege it is to be able to do what God wants. It is our duty and responsibility to know God’s will and carry it out. God’s ways are far higher than ours and we are wise when we ask God to reveal to us His will and way for us.
God desires for us to know His will and plans for our lives. It is up to us to trust Him and obey His word. God is faithful to us and will gladly guide us into all truth. When we are willing to do His will, He will reveal His will to us. Faith makes us willing before we actually know that might be. We will know what is right as we walk step by step in faith in Him. Not only that, we will gain insight and knowledge in the things of God, when we fear Him and walk with Him in the light.
The Journey, v.10-11. Jacob’s journey to Harran to find a wife was very different from the journey Abraham’s trusted servant made to get Rebekah. Jacob had no camels, no entourage, no companions and no servants to do his bidding. He was fleeing for his life and had been sent on his way by his father. He had said his farewell to his loving mother and likely by the time had gone fifty or sixty miles, his feet were really dragging and he would have been feeling sorry for himself. On that four- hundred-mile journey that lay before him he would have lots of time to review his life up until that time.
He had little to show for his subtle deceptive ways. He had the blessing of the birthright and the parting blessing of his father, and that was all he had – but that was all that counted. He also had the murderous animosity of his brother and the fear that all he wanted may never come to pass. Often when we are low in spirit and are at the bottom looking up, is the best place we can be. It is in that place and state of mind and heart, we are willing to call upon the name of the Lord.
When young people step out on their own, they quickly have to face up to the fact that things they had been used to, had been freely provided for by their parents. They are also away from parental protection and guidance, and life is harder than they had expected when you are totally responsible for yourself. To leave the safety and security of loved ones and friends, is a crisis time in the life of any person. Most young believers have to face this kind of experience when they step out in faith alone, without anyone to prop them up. Sometimes they have no one to confide in for a long time, and if they are living a godly life, they begin to suffer persecution for their faith and commitment to live a separated life. The emotions during those times can overwhelm a child of God unless they have already committed themselves unreservedly to God. By establishing a godly pattern of living to which they are determined to stick to, they have the strength and power of God as the strong support they need, and the high tower of safety to which they can go.
The Dream, v.12. After several days of travel and meditation, Jacob’s feet may have been dragging, but he may have come to the place in his mind and soul to be serious about God, himself and life. Solitude has a benefit to those who are not willing to get side-tracked by what other people write in books about God or the Bible. When we begin to focus on the Person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and are not concerned about what other people’s opinions are, we are near the place God can get our undivided attention. Our own open heart will give the Holy Spirit the needed place to bring us to where we personally experience “God with us.”
When he was on the high stony ground a few miles north of Jerusalem, Jacob lay down to rest with a stone beneath his head giving him some comfort to his back and neck. While he was sleeping, a stairway that reached from earth to heaven upon which angels were coming and going in both directions, gave his mind a new view of the universe in which he lived. He wasn’t the center of this world-view. This gave him a view of things from God’s eyes, and God Himself was the focal point of it all.
By taking the time to focus our thoughts and spiritual intelligence on God, a lot of unknown things are opened to our understanding. There is a great gulf between us and God. There is a way to go from our earthly condition to where God is. There is a gate to heaven that can be open or shut. Some are on the outside and some are on the inside. Spiritual activity is going on all around us all the time even though we may not be conscious of it all the time. There is a way open to communicate with God that is open to “whosoever will.” The separation of our soul from God does not have to remain. God speaks in ways and words we can understand and has a plan for the life of those who believe in Him. There are different ways God speaks to different people, but “he that comes to God must believe that He is, and He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
The Revelation, v.13-15. The God of our fathers is the same God who wants to communicate with us. He reveals Himself as the same One and then expects us to believe on Him and listen to what He tells us. After God revealed Himself to Jacob, He gave a specific revelation about Jacob’s future. The land he was lying on would be his and his seed after him. God promised to be with Him – Divine Presence; keep him- Divine Protection; bring him back to the promised land – Divine preservation; and would not leave Jacob until the promises were fulfilled – Divine Promises.
The Response, v.16-17. When Jacob was aroused from his sleep, he realized God was right where he was, even though he thought he was alone. God had become personal to him. His father and mother had taught him about God, but now he had come to know God himself. He was far away from home and going farther, but God and heaven were near him. Everything changed from being “of the earth, earthy,” to being aware that where God is, is the house of God and the gate of heaven.
One who comes in repentance to God recognizing God is here and knows me, then experiences fear, awe, reverence and a sense of a whole new life being opened up before me. God is really Holy! I am nothing! God wants me personally in spite of who I am and has made a way for me to go to heaven through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. The things of God become “holy and reverent!” The journey onward becomes entirely different with quickened steps and an enlightened heart.
The Memorial, v.16-17. Whether Jacob had gone back to sleep in peace and rest is not specifically stated, but it seems like he was well-rested when he rose in the morning and consecrated the stone pillow to God. We will remember with grateful hearts and thanksgiving the time God in mercy reached down to us and saved us by His grace. Faith is not long in showing evidence of reality when our hearts are knit to our Lord as we recall when we first came to know the Gracious Father and our Redeemer/Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Growth of spiritual character leads us to doing what is right and just as the word of God and the power of God enables us to live out our new life in Christ in obvious ways. God inspires us to do His will and we reject the works of sin-polluted actions. A new nature doesn’t mean we no longer have a will of our own. It does mean that it will be our desire to please God and when we fail, we don’t wait to confess our sins and forsake that which has taken away our joy in the Lord.
The Vow, v.20-22. This is the first vow we read of in the scriptures. Jacob knew his need of God and in a sense, makes his own audible and personal commitment to live a life of faith. A life lived because of grace that has been given to us, does not mean we are sinless and perfect. It means that “the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” The promise to give a tenth of all to God, is not a small thing when a person prospers. If we have very little, a tenth seems quite manageable, but a tenth of a million is a very large and daunting amount to consider giving to God.
LESSONS FROM THE LADDER This event in Jacob’s life has a lot of lessons for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It teaches us much of the grace of God and reveals how willing and able He is to provide for us just what we need in spite of our sinful past. God’s grace reaches down to us through the Lord Jesus Christ and He saves us by grace through faith in Him. In mercy and grace the Lord Jesus is “the ladder to heaven for me.” We know God through our Lord Jesus who was found in fashion as a man. All we are and have comes from God through Him. It is by faith we see Him and learn from Him. he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the one and only connection of heaven to earth and earth to heaven. He came down from heaven and has ascended into heaven. Our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that no man has ascended up to heaven but He that came down from heaven. In other words, there is no self-made ladder of access to heaven. Jesus is the Only Way.
There is no other ladder like it because it unites the heavenly world of holiness and deity, with man on earth. It connects the eternal with the temporal. It rests on the earth defiled by human sin, and rises to the perfections of the throne of God. The One who is the Highest of the high and became the lowest of the low, makes possible the connection between us and God. He “suffered that He might bring us to God.” When a soul is awakened to the awfulness of sin, the grace of God becomes real when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
His eternal deity enables Him to connect with God on our behalf. His humanity which He took upon Himself, connects Him to us. In His sinless perfection as one “found in fashion as a man,” He is able to take our place, cancel our debt and bring us to God in a just way because He imputed His righteousness upon us. His suffering and death in our place, has canceled our debt. We are able to go to God because of His grace. As our substitute, he paid the debt of sin we owed so we can ascend to God because of that “Ladder” to heaven.
The “Ladder” also makes it possible for blessing to come down from heaven to us. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.” Our Lord Jesus is the One through whom our every need is supplied. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Because of him who is our Mediator, Advocate and Intercessor, our prayers are heard in heaven and the answers come down from heaven. Through this “Ladder” our petitions rise to heaven in a moment and are made acceptable by Him.
As we mount up step by step on this “Ladder,” we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. We go from grace to grace as our feet leave the dirt of earth behind and we ascend to our heavenly home. How thankful we are that we came to “Bethel” and learned that this “Ladder” is for our use. There is no ladder to hell. People are cast into hell. But as we ascend toward our heavenly home, we can see the face of God more clearly and hopefully will enjoy, while we are here, the journey upward, away from the darkness into the bright light of the perfect day.
If we find ourselves alone and wondering what is going to happen next, God meets us through His word and ministers to us in ways we can understand. His word reveals His character, His sovereign plans for us and what He has planned for the whole of His creation. His grace that is sufficient for all our needs, is freely provided for us to bring us through life and home to heaven. By His grace, He overrules our faults, failures, mistakes and forgives our sins. He may even use those chastening times to teach us to realize our limitations and our helplessness without Him.
Jacob learned that his schemes were as nothing when he realized how great God is for the first time. How wonderful it is that God is long-suffering in spite of the low level of spiritual life Jacob had. We don’t know much about God when we are first saved, but God, in patience, takes us despite our limitations, and reveals Himself to us a little bit at a time for our whole life.
God was long-suffering toward us before we were saved, and He certainly is afterward. Jacob only had a superficial knowledge of God before he got to Luz. Like God did with Jacob, He does with us and Luz becomes Bethel, “the house of God.” With patience, He stays with us through our spiritual infancy, and as we yield to His will, He helps us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth found in the word of God. He sticks with us through times when we are confused and encourages us in times of spiritual growth. He doesn’t leave us nor does He forsake us. What He promises, He always does.
GENESIS 29 - 30 JACOB BEGINS A NEW LIFE In the school of life there are a lot of things that can only be learned by experience. There are also things we knew that have to be unlearned. At Bethel, Jacob learned the Lord is near us when we are not aware of it. He learned that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and nothing is hidden from God. By the grace of God, he met the Lord by faith, and a new life started for him. For the next forty years, he was in the training school of God, learning how to live by faith.
A life of service begins. The first area of service Jacob started was fourteen years of faithful service for Leah and Rachel. His own deception caught up with him when he was deceived by a better deceiver than he. The first reward, although he didn’t consider that at first, was that Leah was fruitful and he had his first children by her. In a sense, his reward for service through Leah, was outward. The inward desires for emotional connection through his love for Rachel, was beyond tangible. Our affection for the truth and inward links with divine Persons are real in one who has been changed by God’s grace. Fourteen years of faithful service brought the blessing of God in more ways than he thought. God has greater plans for us than we can conceive in our minds.
The second area of service in which Jacob was constrained to be, had to do with the actual tangible things of life. Flocks and herds were gained; the outward things that are important for living come as a result of doing God’s will from the heart, faithfully day after day in a consistent and profitable way. Laban’s condition was that of a deceitful man who wanted to take advantage of a man of new faith in God.
However, the influence of a Spirit-guided person that God uses, no matter how new in the faith that person may be, makes those around him or her conscious of a real difference in them and to a certain extent, people may be uncomfortable to be too close to one who lives “godly in Christ Jesus.” Leah typifies the outward affections that are natural to people. Rachel shows us the principles associated with inward affections. We will embrace both, to a degree, but as a child of God matures spiritually, even though we are not completely rid of that which is of the flesh, our inward person longs to be more like Christ. A new creation in Christ Jesus is not really attracted to the natural interests of the world unless they continually grieve or quench the Spirit of God. Our new nature has spiritual desires that claim our hearts because we so appreciate being saved by God’s grace. We will never find rest until we find it in Christ alone.
Love for Christ cannot be “affected” for long. When love is real, it shows. If it is mere “affectation,” it will also show up to be only temporary. Real love has no time limits. Time doesn’t affect it because it is above time and it even overcomes adversity. The light of love that is in us becomes brighter, the outward show, yields to the inward blessings of grace, mercy and love itself. God, in His faithful love to Jacob, went way beyond Jacob’s limited love and desires, to give him fruitful love in Leah, inward affection to Rachel, and a spiritual love that passed the limitations of time.
The service of Jacob for Laban, for the flocks of unusual sheep and the herds of distinctly colored cattle, brought blessing to both Laban and Jacob. Jacob was where God wanted him to be, doing what God wanted him to do. When God is in control and we are willing to be guided by Him, even the outward, temporal things of life change so they don’t look like they once did to the spiritual mind. The Spirit of life in Christ gives us a whole new outlook on the things of time and sense. Jacob served God and God gave the increase.
Fruitfulness in service for God may come in many different ways. Jacob had children from Leah, Rachel, and their bondmaids. Each one of those women was different in personality and characteristics, but they were all brought to life by the life-giving Spirit. The Spirit of God blesses our own awareness of the differences in each person, although ineveryonee there are life principles. Some have lower principles for some reason and others live a life of higher principles. Leah’s first four sons had quite a number of similarities of character according to the names they were given. Rachel’s maid- servant’s sons, had a whole different attitude. The same was true with Leah’s maid-servant’s sons. After that Leah’s second group of children seemed to be different than the first ones. Finally, Rachel had children. Joseph’s name means “increase” or addition.”
If the only thing we get from our new life of faith is the fact of sonship, we miss the purpose of living and the power of God using us to bring fruitful service to Him. We are intended to apprehend that for which we have been apprehended by Christ. Our service for God as life passes, is both outward and inward. Both are valuable in God’s eyes.
The New Start, v.1. With new hope in his heart, Jacob left Bethel, likely with quickened steps that were anxious to know how God would lead him. The long journey would not seem so long now because of the revelation of God to him. The assurance of God with him would be like a light to his soul. He was like a newly saved person who “goes on their way rejoicing.” When we are enjoying our salvation and are in fellowship with God, the long journey of life doesn’t seem so long.
The Meeting, v.2-14. Jacob first met shepherds from Haran who were waiting to water their flocks. That is like so many who are influenced by the peer pressure of those around, to put off what needs to be done now. Then Jacob met Rachel! That changed everything! In his desire to be alone with her, his comment to the other shepherds was basically, “Why are you here waiting around instead of out feeding your flocks?” With alacrity and God-given strength, Jacob moved that heavy stone himself and watered the sheep of Laban for Rachel. She, in turn, ran to tell her father of the young man from far away.
When faith begins to become real to us, we will find many open doors before us as God moves us forward in His service. While others may wait and wonder what to do, those who live by faith, act in faith and claim the opportunities God opens up before us. Faith in God after He saves us brings other wonderful life experiences, events, and people into our lives. There will be people who come into our lives who are a delight to us and with whom we can share the common bond of life and faith.
Faithful Service, v.15-20. Faithful service for God, motivated by true love, is a wonder for all to behold who know that love is the prime mover in a believer’s life. “The love of Christ constrains us.” Time passes rapidly when love urges us onward. Love doesn’t really count time. Rather, it is that which promotes our hope and joy to be involved in faithful service. The longer it lives and labors, the stronger it gets.
Bitter Disappointment, v.21-30. Jacob, the past deceiver, was outsmarted by a greater deceiver than he. Jacob’s love for Rachel was real, so when the wedding night was over, his disappointment was real. However, there are times when our disappointments are God’s appointments. Before the lengthy marriage feasting was over, Jacob had two wives. He was being disciplined in the school of God in ways he never imagined. God was abundantly fulfilling His promises through His divine arrangement of things. God was also making Jacob conscious of the value of him learning to do the truth, as well as speak the truth. Past failures and attitudes do have a way of exposing our sinful nature.
Conversion begins a process of training that includes valley experiences as well as mountain-top experiences. The deep valleys of disappointment are needed to balance our nature and lead us on to maturity. The groans of disappointment make the glory of highlights so much brighter! The important matters of life are not in what we profess, but in how they develop our conduct and character. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I living out what I profess to be? Am I producing in my life what God intends, or am I a fraud?”
The providence of God takes an ordinary journey in life, and opens it up to a whole new vista and way of living. Small things seem important, and what may have started out as being rather mundane, become life-imparting opportunities. A chance meeting with an unknown person, a small request, a “teaching moment,” all become of major significance according to the providence of God. Ordinary circumstances lead to an extraordinary life.
The combination of circumstances that connect harmoniously, and are guided by the wisdom and will of God, brings peace to our souls. The blessings, joy and cheer of living for God, can be experienced every day to those who serve Him out of a true and willing heart.
The justice of God may surprise us as we consider the principle that whatever we sow, we reap. But how wonderful it is when we realize that, even though a deceiver is deceived, and the schemer is out- schemed; in God’s school, this is for our learning and our good.
In those times, the sufferings caused, are corrected by holy discipline that is not punishment. When we are chastened and trained, it is the wisest move we can make, to yield ourselves into the hands of the One who can make us a new and useful vessel out of marred clay. When the weakness is finally dealt with, we can be trusted with the blessings God wants us to have, even though we never expected them.
THE DISCIPLINES OF LIFE At Home. Jacob had a lot to learn at Haran about himself and other people. The deception in Laban’s home life was soon evident in Jacob’s home life. Having more than one wife was tolerated but it did not make life happy, because God’s intention has always been one man and one woman for life as the ideal. What began in Laban’s home, envy and jealousy, continued when two sisters were married to the same man. Both sisters had the same spirit about them so righteousness and holiness were not often seen by the children. Then add two more women to the mix, and there was likely constant turmoil in Jacob’s home.
Domestic happiness doesn’t come automatically, and the “happy ever after” idea is usually only in story books. It is God who makes the difference in that it is possible to live like “heaven on earth.” It is God who answers prayers; God who gives life and God who can change domestic tragedy into blessing. The principle of sowing and reaping what we sow, cannot be avoided, and long-lasting consequences will occur. When the home is not full of peace and evidence of real love, there cannot be a real good witness for God or even an attitude of helpfulness toward others in the family.
At Work. When Joseph was born, Jacob seemed to come to a turning point in his life. He had a desire to go home to the promised land, likely to make things right as best he could, and then go forward into the rest of his life and live it the way God intended.
He had enough of deception and subtilities. He wanted to get on with life without the constant underhandedness of Laban, and the increasingly critical comments of his brothers-in-law as well as the dark looks of his father-in-law. His sons were old enough to take some responsibility for the business of raising cattle and sheep. Jacob, in spite of his new nature, plotted and planned his retaliation for unfairness and was very successful at it. Jacob was still a crafty man and clever man, so he was at the mountains of Gilead before Laban even caught up with him.
In mercy, God was able and willing to help His servant Jacob go where He wanted him to go without any apparent obstacles. When God wants us to make a significant move in life, the principle to follow is, “As you go step by step, the way shall open up before you.” Our plans are not always God’s plans. Instead of the Messiah coming through Rachel, Jacob’s first love, He was to come through Judah, Leah’s son. God’s disciplines in life bring much greater benefits than our own plans. What we want may be good, but what we need may be better, and God knows what is best. The ways of God with us, deal with our needs, not necessarily with our wants.
Laban had learned from Jacob’s significant testimony the Lord was who had blessed Jacob with prosperity. He was an unbeliever, but he seemed to appreciate, or at least recognize the value of his association with Jacob. People often see and admire the testimony of the people of God, but they don’t want to admit to their need for God themselves. They want the social and business advantages of interfacing with Christians at church or in social settings, but they don’t want God interfering in their lives and the way they choose to live.
A Downfall. Jacob was a different man since he had met God at Bethel, but he was still Jacob. He was deceived by Laban many times in the twenty years he served him, but he also stooped to deception himself. He made himself rich at the expense of Laban. If all we saw was the human side of things, those events would leave a lot of questions in our minds as to the reality of Jacob’s faith in God – but the same could be said of us!
God’s view was that of patient waiting, of disciplining Jacob, leading him, and overruling his sins! How patient and merciful God is with us too! In spite of all the mistakes and failures we have, God is still working on us to bring us into the right way, for His purposes, not our own self-seeking ambitions. God is, has been, and will be, long-suffering with us. We dare not take Him for granted because whom the Lord loves, He chastens and forms us into what He wants one way or another.