| "Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it" Gen 28: 12 "So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while". Gen 46:29 | | Jacobs life is one of the most tumultuous in the whole Bible. It starts off as a single man who steals his father’s blessing, then marriages and children and finally becoming a nation Israel. The modern nation of Israel is nothing but Jacob’s family. We take 4 places where he encounters God. | 1. Bethel: Jacob steals the blessing and is on life threat from Esau. So his mom and dad send him off to the mom’s household to marry and live there. Bible tells us that as he journeyed, he had to break journey on the road, not a city or an inn, but in the middle of nowhere. Those who undertake road journeys know this, the pressure of getting to some hotel or lodging place before sunset. Sadly he didn’t have a car, leave alone google maps. So he just lay down in the wilderness in a solitary place, made a pillow or stones and mud and pulled a bedsheet over him. Here God’s Presence comes over him in his sleep. He sees a ladder set up from where he is, stretching to the Throne of God and sees the Lord seated on the throne taking care of him. Homeless, but home in Christ. Orphan, but fathered by God Almighty. Lonely but in the Presence of God. Unsafe, but safe in the arms of Jesus. That night God appears to him, promises to give him the land, multiply him and says, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Gen 28:15. | 2. Peniel: So he journeys on from there, reaches Paddan-Aram. Here he meets Rachel at the well, goes home to Laban and family,, gets employed there, marries Rachel and Leah. Years pass by, God multiples him, takes care of his own flocks and wages and then tells him to get up and go back to his country. So there at Jabbok, he is meeting Esau the next day. News comes that Esau is coming with 400 armed men. Then he sends away the entire family to cross the ford of Jabbok, and is left alone as he perhaps wanted to spend time in prayer. As he is praying, a Heavenly man meets him and wrestles with him. It was not a physical wrestling so much, but as Prophet Hosea tells us “He struggled with the Angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favour.” Hosea 12:4. This was a night of complete repentance, where God was calling Jacob to account for his sins. Then as he confessed and pleaded for his life and his family, Jesus Blesses him and gives him grace to meet Esau. What was a fearful meeting which could have ended in murder, becomes a time of reconciliation and peace. What a Jesus we have! At Peniel, Christ even changes Jacob’s name to Israel. That is where the name of the nation comes from. Even today it is know by that name – Israel. |
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