Read: Genesis 28
This chapter
starts off immediately from where the previous left off. Rebekah sees the need for Jacob to leave
because of the anger of Esau, so she comes up with a plan. She suggests to Isaac that Jacob take a wife
from her relatives. Isaac agrees that
this is a good idea and sends Jacob to his mother’s relatives to find a
wife. Before Jacob leaves Isaac gives
him the blessing of Abraham (v. 4). This
time Jacob receives the blessing on purpose with his father fully knowing whom
he was giving it to. When Esau heard
that Jacob had gone to Paddan Aram to find a wife, he realized how displeasing
it was that he had married pagan women.
He saw how marrying a relative of Abraham was a better choice so he took
another wife from the line of Ishmael.
His intentions were good but he still hadn’t figured out God’s
ways. Ishmael was not to inherit
Abraham’s promise. Esau was trying hard
but it was too late and he still missed the mark. His offspring with this woman would not be
part of the divine promise. He did all
of this to desperately try to please his father, not to please the Lord.
On his way
to Haran, Jacob had an interesting dream about a staircase reaching to heaven
and angels ascending and descending on it (v. 12). Above the staircase was the Lord who spoke,
passing on the blessing of Abraham to Jacob.
God gave Jacob and his descendants the land which Jacob was lying on (v.
13). He promises to bless all nations
through Jacob’s offspring, a foreshadowing of the Messiah (v. 14). God then promises to be with Jacob, to watch
over him and bring him back to this land.
God will do what He says He will do (v. 15)! The primary purpose of this dream was to show
the sovereignty of God by which he watches and regulates all things on earth
and to confirm the covenant with Jacob.
When Jacob
awoke he knew that something divine had happened. He took the stone that was his pillow and set
it up as a pillar (v. 18) and called the place Bethel (v. 19). Then Jacob made a vow and acknowledged for
the first time that the God of Abraham and Isaac was his God. The full acknowledgement would come only
after his safe return from Haran. He
also pledges to give God a tenth of all that God gives him.
God
established a regular tithe in order to provide for those who devote their
lives to ministry and therefore cannot provide for themselves in the
marketplace. Being instituted by God
Himself it can be seen as reasonable to devote a portion of our earthly goods
to those who give of their time, talents and strength to watch over, labour for
and instruct people in spiritual things.
Without the regular tithe of the people of the church how else is the
church to pay its bills? The church
should not have to beg for money - the people of the church should willing give
to the place where they are fed and where they experience godly
fellowship.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Esau
took a wife from the line of Ishmael in order to please his father, without
inquiring of the Lord. It’s easy to be
hard on Esau but in reality, many people struggle with people pleasing. It is God we are to please, not man. Ask the Lord to show you a recent example of
when you made a decision or a maybe even a comment in order to please someone
rather than God. Dialogue with God about
this. Ask Him to show you what motivates
you to please people in this way? What
is the root of this behaviour? Then pray
through what He shows you.
2. The
primary purpose of Jacob’s dream was to show the sovereignty of God by which He
watches and regulates all things on earth and to affirm the covenant with
Jacob. God is in control! This is a good thing because we can trust
Him, His love and His faithfulness. He
brings His purposes to completion. All
things are under God’s rule and control and nothing happens without His
direction or permission. Praise and
thank God for these things. Ask Him to
impress these truths deeper on your heart and to grow you in a firm resolve to
trust and follow Him.
3. God
meets with and reveals Himself to His followers. God is a relational God! We have so much to thank and praise Him for
in this regard. Ask God to show you
areas in your life where He has met and revealed Himself to you! Praise and thank Him for these things.
