GENESIS 28 A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP In the unfolding history of God's dealing with this family, I saw Rebekah, the mother, make plans to bring some peace to a tense family relationship. Isaac could only hear what was happening around him, so when his beloved wife suggested a way to preserve the life of her youngest son and at the same time restore some order to a home disturbed by two unbelieving daughters in law, Isaac took the responsibility of sending Jacob away to find a suitable wife. Esau knew his two wives didn't fit in the family, so he married a cousin hoping to please his parents.
Once things get out of order in a family, it is not long before they pass the point of no return. Inappropriate behavior, self-will and favoritism have a way of dividing a family. When things become divisive among family members, it is time for things to change. The journey of Jacob for the 400 miles to Haran, would have effectively stopped the threat of violence and on-going anger from Esau. The tense peace that would follow, would give Isaac and Rebekah some relief.
The thrust of the family history now follows the life of the youngest son, Jacob. Through him God was going to bless the nations and send the Promised One to bring men back to God. But every person who is accepted by God must have a personal relationship with God. One cannot live spiritually on the faith of a famous grandfather or a father. It is fine to hear wonderful stories of faith and blessing from our forbearers.
That has to do with how God dealt in grace and mercy with them and we can learn from those accounts. There comes a time, however, when each person has to become part of the story of God and man him self.
The past is past. Now you are making your own decisions and traveling your own course through life. The God of your fathers wants to be your God too. He has left the evidence of the personal relationship He had with those before us, to be a testimony to you. Interestingly, God does not deal with everyone in the same way. God met with Abraham in a distant country where it was obvious there was no fear of God or interest in the spiritual life of the nation. God repeated on several occasions his promise of blessing to others. The Lord dealt with Isaac during a time of famine when survival was the concern, and Isaac obeyed God's will. He too was given the promise of the blessing of God.
Now one night, about 60 miles from home, Jacob lay down to sleep in his flight from the anger of his brother. When God appeared to him at Luz, he never forgot it. There he met the Lord. There he saw the glory of God. There he saw the link that God has with people on earth. There he learned "There is a way back to God from the dark paths of sin." To meet God is to know God. To know God is to have the gift of eternal life. To have received eternal life as a gift from God is the beginning of a personal relationship with Him that lasts forever. Every event and choice in life from then on affects that relationship. Obedience and faith bring meaning and satisfaction to the relationship. Self-will and ignoring the will of God makes that relationship a source of embarrassment and discontent. Relationships that work best are built on mutual recognition, mutual trust, mutual goals and a friendliness between the parties involved. The idea of independence and the maintaining of a personal relationship with God runs contrary to the facts. I can't have a relationship with another person and still do my own will regardless of theirs.
I saw in my mind that Jacob had formed that relationship with God, and it changed his whole outlook on himself, his life, and his future. Now, instead of God not being in his thoughts, God is always there. He was no longer a passive observer of the faith of his fathers - he was a participant in the life of faith himself. Now God was real to him personally. He knew God had met with him at Luz, so to him from then on, it was called Bethel, the house of God. He had been to the house of God and had become acquainted with God there.
Jacob took action to show proof of the forming of that personal relationship. He erected a pillar of the stones he had used as a pillow and made a vow there. He made a pledge of his future to God because of that experience. Any personal relationship follows a similar pattern. When one meets God, they know Him. They may not have an experience like anyone else because it is personal. But they have been in contact with God and life no longer can be lived independently and for only self-interest. I know about this because I have experienced this. Life begins anew when we meet God for the first time. From then on it takes the upward course of a personal relationship with God, rather than a downward course of a personal relationship with sinful people like ourselves.
God knows me and I know Him - even me!
When one is awakened by the Spirit of God, and faces a personal encounter With the God of the universe who wants to be personally found in the center Of your life and the future yet unknown, that is a special time. Because the Lord God Himself has made you an object of His mercy and grace divine.
To be stopped on the road of self-will and independence to listen to God's own voice - Makes the events of that moment in life all important, it is then we make a choice That changes our life and destiny too, and the consequences we will live with forever. It is not a time of decision we can put off, really, it is now or never.
Whether one's head is on a pillow of stone or on one filled with down, Isn't really the issue involved at such a time, it is really whose leadership I own. If I intend to keep control of my life in my own sin-polluted hands, Then all I can expect as a result of living is to do the best I can.
And I know the best is not good enough to live by or even die by. The best I can do leaves me short of God's glory, and still I would wonder why I am here, where I am going, and what is my real purpose in life. There would never be given the answers I seek, and I would still be a child of the night.
When in the course of life, one stops, perhaps unexpectedly to think. Then we find God is waiting with promises ready to you to bring. He wants you to trust and believe that He wants the best for you. The purpose of meeting Him, is for a relationship to be formed, and to it you will be true.
To know God is to love Him, to love Him is to care for things that are close to His heart. It is often surprising how quick this relationship comes; we remember when it actually starts. Because life is different when we know the Lord, and His truth has entered our being. Our faith and hope are in Him alone, we know Him even without Him seeing.
The evidence is there of a relationship thus made; we see God in everything around. We recognize His voice when we read His Word, and when our thoughts are full of the silent sounds Of God speaking in the soul, to lead and to guide, and the Holy Spirit shows the way To conduct life in fellowship with the God of relationships who guides us every day.
It is not some light-weight experience we can take or leave with the God we came to know. The personal relationship has many facets in a believer's life to show That there is reality there, old things pass away, a new creation then begins To show itself by attitudes and actions as we live life in fellowship with Him.
"Father, I thank Thee for not getting too impatient with me when I have taken things into my own hands - and have failed. I thank Thee for maintaining this personal relationship with this feeble human child. I pray others listening to the Gospel being preached would seek this same thing from Thee today. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."