Monday: On the Run
Read Genesis 28:10-17. What is the context of this story, and what does it teach us about God’s grace for those who, in a sense, are on the run from their sins?
In his dealings with the rest of the family, Jacob, with his mother’s help, had fallen into cruel deceits, and now he’s paying for it. His brother is breathing violent threats against him, and he’s become a fugitive, headed toward his uncle’s place in Haran. Everything is unsettled and scary.
Image © Elfred Lee at Goodsalt.com
One day Jacob trudges into the dusk, and then the dark. He’s in the middle of nowhere, with only the sky for a roof. Finding a stone for a pillow, he falls asleep. But sleep’s blank unconsciousness is soon interrupted. The famous dream comes, and the ladder, or staircase, that he sees rests on earth and stretches to heaven. Angels are ascending and descending on it.
Then he hears a voice say, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham.” The voice goes on to repeat promises Jacob is familiar with from the family lore. Your offspring will become great. They will be a blessing to all the families of the earth. “Know that I am with you,” the voice continues, “and will keep you wherever you go, … for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” ( Genesis 28.15-16). What’s happened here is “awesome.” He’ll never forget the place, and he gives it a name. Then he vows lifelong loyalty to God.
| What can we learn from this story about how God, in Christ, is seeking to reach us despite our sins? Again, why must Christian education keep this principle at the forefront of what it teaches? |
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The daily lessons so far this week resonate with those of us who are Christians and who have had the experience of sinfulness and the joy of discovering that God still loves us and welcomes us back as family members. My concern is that our focus on this experience, important as it is, does not fit the majority of the folk we meet daily. Secular folk have little concept of sinfulness. I don't mean that they do not have moral standards, but they don't have the Christian view of sinfulness that comes with breaking those moral standards. They do not "hide" and are not on the "run" because they do not associate guilt with doing (or not doing) those things that Christians associate guilt with.
One problem that we have when trying to convince secular people that Christianity is important is that we often try to make them "feel guilty". Why should they join a church where they are told that they are sinful and need to repent all the time?
Part of the issue is that Christianity has long been associated with scenes of the torture of the wicked, like Dante's "Inferno" and that has made the background against which much of Christianity is still judged today by the secular mind.
I come back to the fundamental question: How do we translate to the secular mind the Christian experience of discovering sinfulness and then the joy of grace and forgiveness? Is there some way we can offer the invitation to our secular friends:
That's a great question... Actually I'm doing a paper along this topic. It's more about how being a christian make you happier in life than being a non christian. I know you are happy in this world, but I can show you TRUE happiness that will last forever
I believe that if we lift Jesus "above the earth", He will in fact draw all men to Him. Most will reject the drawing for the same reason they did when He walked among them, being unwilling to surrender. But as Jesus also taught, they will be convicted by the Holy Spirit of "sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment".
This can only happen if we are faithful to demonstrate in our lives the law and the gospel, and fulfill the commission to be His witnesses to "the uttermost part of the earth", and that "repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name among all nations"(Luke 24:47).
Those who reject religion know more than they acknowledge, and many have only rejected bad religion which is everywhere, you know, a God who is angry, who will torment the eternal souls of the wicked forever, who's "believers" have started most wars and have abused their fellow man in the name of "Christ".
All know they have sinned, but have not clearly seen the true Remedy in Christ. Still, most will reject the gospel, yet our commission is to be faithful in our appointed work. This command comes with the expiration date of probation's close.
If filled with the Holy Spirit, and by this power we faithfully uphold the law and gospel, all will be convicted, and some will "repent and believe the gospel". Our lives must reflect the goodness of God which leads to repentance if we are to have success. Israel was to win the nations to the Truth as they would demonstrate it at the crossroads of the world, but that never took place throughout their history, and in fact, Paul wrote that the name of God was blasphemed among the nations because of their unrighteousness.
What are we telling them about God today?
Although the Jews of Christ's time were not technically "secular," I believe they still had "the secular mind."
So we could consider the question of how the people of Christ's time and ministry saw their sinfulness. That seems like serious food for thought.
Not to mention Naaman, Nineveh, Decapolis, the Roman centurion, the Canaanite woman, the woman at the well, and the jailer at Philippi. Just a few of those we are more familiar with. Even those of Caesar's house.
To answer the question: “What is the context of this story?” , I am answering a bit light-hearted when saying: “you end up laying in the bed you make for yourself!” Jacob was certainly afraid of Esau after “he came with subtilty” to deceive their father; but it did not end there – Gen.27:35 KJV.
In this account, it appears to me that God works in wonderous ways. Esau received the blessings of the earth’s abundance and dominion through the sword, but without the blessing of authority over his tribe/brethren – Gen27:39-41 KJV. Jacob was given the blessings of the earth’s abundance including the dominion through authority over his tribe/brethren – Gen.27:28-29 KJV. Did God know the deeply held intentions of Jacob’s heart, even though he gave in to his mother’s deceptive ways?
Jacob had to earn the birthright’s true blessings in the eyes of God; God does not let Jacob ‘off the hock’ unless HE determines that it should be so – Gen.32:24-39 KJV.
This ‘wrestling’ is what I want to focus on. Jacob wrestled toward which outcome? Gen.32:27-28 KJV – “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Jacob asked Heaven’s blessings; his father’s blessing was good for the earthly dominion over those within the tribe, but his birthright included a blessing extending outside of his tribe – he wanted God to accept and entrust to him to carrying out of the care over the chosen people which were to also come from his loins – and God gave His blessing! And from then on God was no longer only the God of Abraham and Isaac, He became the God of Israel – Gen.33:20 KJV.
What does this mean for us - we are now children of God!? Have we made God our personal God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, wrestling with Him until we are sure in His embrace and living by Faith, enjoying the blessings and participating in the responsibilities of those who are of the Father who loved us in the Beginning?
Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, the base resting on the earth, and the topmost round reaching to the gate of heaven, to the very threshold of glory. If that ladder had failed by a single step of reaching the earth, we should have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame, that we through taking His nature might overcome. {DA 311, 312}
Today's lesson brought to memory stories of prison inmates escaping from prison. The latest story is the Ugandan one that happened about a month ago where 210 inmates escaped from prison half-naked. They had to remove their bright coloured yellow uniforms because they did not want to be easily spotted. Some were caught but the rest are still on the run.
Jacob was guilty but he did not strip off his clothes so he would not be spotted. He had the famous dream where God told him he was going to be with him and his seed will be as the dust of the earth. Contrast this to the inmates. If they have an encounter with the Lord, they will return to the prison rather than being continuously on the run.
Our situations may not necessarily be like the Ugandan prison inmates or Jacob, but we are also on the run. Question is, what are we running away from? If we stop for a moment, we may like Jacob take a rest, as he lay his head on the stone, and have an encounter with the Lord.
Stop, hear the Lord talking to you. He knows you are on the run. He wants to remind you that he has promises to bless you and to give you an expected end Jeremiah 29:11
Amen🙏🙏
I love the picture that we hear and see in today's study guide. Jacob is separated from his father, and feels like he is separated from the God of Abraham & Isaac as well. But the LORD comes to him in a vision and confirms his promises and says I will be with you even though you are leaving the promised land, I will go with you and I will bring you back and you and your seed will be a blessing to the whole world. The same promise God made to Adam & Eve. The LORD shows Jacob there is still a connection between humans and heaven with the staircase. Our artist of today's picture, if you look carefully, shows that this connection foreshadowed the cross as the ultimate solution to the separation.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3
On the Run
Many times it is difficult for me to relate to things without some form of bias. Although all humans have some form of bias or the other. I knew the story of Jacob from the beginning to the end as it was related to us in the bible and EG Write writings. So I am looking back at the event. Jacob, at that point in his life didn't knew the end of the story.
Family Drama-
this is one of the perfect family drama for our times that did not end up well as they all do. Do we have our own family drama. Grandfather/sons/wives/children/grans/inlaws and outlaws. Fighting for lands, properties, wealth, belongings, money, etc, etc. This one began and appears simple but took to the worst.
But what I knew its the saying-'fight or flight for your life'. At this time though Jacob was a home boy he knew how to fight. He was not only running for his life but he fled for his life after his deceitful plans failed. Remember, we studied God eyes are always on us beholding the evil and the good. Did Jacob knew and lived those words. No!!! He tried to gain by deceitful ways what was truly his brother's belongings, the birthright. That thing that belongs to the elder/est son of the family. To him the birthright was too good for his brother, although God would have given him it at his own time Jacob tried to hastened up the hands of God to his own detriment.
Are we trying to hastened up the hands of God because he is acting too slowly for us and in our own situations? We saw the consequences of sin and its long lasting effects not only here but throughout his life.
Though we are forgiven of our sins, sins has consequences and bitter, heavy ones. To many, many who lived in sin, then repented, we still have to deal with the consequences of our sins. Look at the families from Jacob and beyond his generations- deceivers and being deceived, fugitives and vagabonds, they had it all in their generations. Sin has its long effect despite Jesus forgives, cleanses and restores.
Solution- wait on the Lord despite his hands appears to be moving too slow for us.
What I have done, looking back to somethings if life I cant turn back the tide of life but I distance myself from many things within the family. Depending of Jesus daily to supply my needs from day to day.
Thank God for the rescue in the time of trouble! He is always near! We need to have faith on Him!
Verses 13 14 & 15 look like God approved of what Jacob did. Nowhere is there any condemnation for the deception. Instead a blessing. No confession on Jacobs part. Interesting.
Hello Bud – you touch on the same point which also caught my attention. Jacob had a dream, Gen.32:24-28 KJV describes the blessing, the fulfillment of the dream.
In v.26 Jacob says: “…I will not let you go, except thou bless me”, and in v.28 Jacob is told by the one who wrestled with him that: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a *prince* hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jacob earned his ‘power’ and 'standing' with God.
Jacob is from this point forward the ‘called one’, the Prince with whom God continues the covenant first established with Abram, and carried through Issac to Jacob: “Israel” .
The meaning of ‘Israel’:” “(Yisra`el, meaning “one that struggled with the divine angel” (Josephus), “one who has prevailed with God” (Rashi), “a man seeing God” (Whiston), “he will rule as God” (Strong), or “a prince with God” (Morris), from Hebrew “prevail,” “have power as a prince”). While he is still called Jacob in later texts, his name Israel makes some consider him the eponymous ancestor of the Israelites. “ (From Wikipedia – Jacob - ‘Journey back to Canaan’)
Between the dream and the blessing was the wrestling with the ‘man’(v.24). I believe that Jacob knew of the real blessing contained in his father Isaac’s blessing originally meant for the firstborn; this was God’s covenant of faith with Abram to bless him and his offspring – Gen.12:2,3 KJV. God allowed the deception, but He needed to proof Jacob’s desire befor becoming the vessel to fulfill His promise.
Hi Bud, good question! This is a revelation of the Good News, while we were still sinners the LORD died for us Rom 5:8. Even though Jacob had done wrong the LORD came looking to rescue him, and to restore their relationship.
The LORD had made a Covenant with Abraham and then Isaac and though the birthright to Jacob, here He was reminding Jacob and in a way asking him if he, Jacob, would continue to love, obey and worship the LORD.
Jacob's vow in verse Gen 28:20 at first reading might sound like he was bargaining with the LORD, but I believe he was repeating his understanding of the covenant and accepting it.
The covenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob is a subset of the Everlasting Covenant which is :
I will be your God - to guide, protect and provide
You will be My people - to love, obey & worship Me
and I will dwell with you - be your soulmate
Might the 1 Samuel 16:7 principle be of relevance here to Bud's keen observation?
At Lyn's suggestion I read Patriarchs and Prophets chapter 17 and found an insight to Jacob's spiritual character, his strengths and weaknesses and his remorse for the deceit.
Very interesting comments but no mention that Jacob was led to deceive his brother by their mother. This should remind us a parents that we must always allow God to direct us if we do not both them and us to suffer regrets. There is no record that Jacob ever saw his mother again. God promised to be with Jacob but for years he was still in fear of his brother. Wrong actions by parents may cause us live in fear of the consequences . This should cause to seek God’s grace.
Horace you made a powerful point. Life is not only about the spiritual but the physical connections we have with our own families. All the deceitfulness in some families, mothers siding with some favorite child/children. All is plain open to the eyes of God. His mother got sick and died and he was never able to bury her because he was afraid of his brother. Esau vowed to kill him.
How sad was his years of constant mental torment.
Hi Saints,
Here's part of what I will be saying to my Sabbath School class about Monday's lesson. What do you think?
Many Bible Scholars have said that when it says “the Lord” spoke to His people in the Old Testament, it was the Son of God, Jesus that spoke. Therefore, it was Jesus that said to Jacob, “the Lord God spoke to Jacob, 'I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac'; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants."
This leads us to our next question on Monday's lesson: “what does it teach us about God’s grace for those who, in a sense, are on the run from their sins?” When Jacob had the vision in Genesis 28, he was 'on the run from his sins', his sins of lying to his father Isaac, and stealing his brother Esau’s birthright. Many of us will say, “well, that was God’s will anyway for Jacob to have the birthright and lead God’s people”. But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that 'Jacob sinned'. In my opinion, God is illustrating to Jacob and us what He will do through the Messiah. This vision and Jesus' answer is the foreshadow of God’s grace, a foreshadow of what Jesus would ultimately do for His people. God showed Jacob, that even though you sinned, I am giving you My Grace, and I’m going to give you and your descendants this land. You and your children will come back and inherit this land.
Then the Lord God also told Jacob something else, verse 15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land”. Does that sound familiar? “and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:30. And this is reason why I believe it is Jesus speaking to Jacob in the Old Testament; it has the same speaking style and pattern.
Let me know what you think. I like constrictive criticism, but don't be too harsh.
Be blessed everyone.
Hi Toni,
I know that what you are saying is a fairly popular interpretation, but I wonder sometimes if we bend over backwards to give the members of the Godhead jobs in the Old Testament. Does in make a lot of difference if we just say that it was "God" in these passages? Could it be that the Godhead acted in unity, rather than just one part of the Godhead?
I think that the New Testament does a find job of discussing the roles of the persons of the Godhead, but I am not sure that we need to extrapolate back to the Old Testament to create a sort of job differentiation there. I do not see the Godhead getting involved in a job demarkation dispute. They work together as one, always.
Just something to add to the discussion.
Yes, Maurice I agree with you. It doesn't really matter who, or which member of the Godhead was talking in the Old Testament, as long as it was God talking to His people. Also, I changed my statement above, from what I wrote originally. Here's what I wrote original, the first paragraph:
Many Bible Scholars have said that when it says “the Lord” spoke to His people in the Old Testament, it was the Son of God, Jesus that spoke. Instead of presenting God as the triune God, three members of the Godhead, as in the New Testament, God decided to simplify it and just say, “the Lord God spoke to Jacob", 'I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.'”
Also, I wrote my short story about my childhood experience, for the viewpoint of being a Girl named "Toni". Please go back and read it, it will give you a little laugh.
Thanks for the support and comments. I told one of my Elders of my church tonight, "the more I study God's word, the more I realize how much I need to learn, or need to study more". So, I want to stay humble enough to learn from anyone, who is making sense, or supported by God's Word.
Toni- you can read one of Mrs EG White book: Patriarch and Prophet, ch 17. It is explained beautifully there for you.
Thanks.
Jacob's story is just an older version of the prodigal son isn't it? God drew near with promises, and Jacob became Israel as a result of the transformation that took place in his lifetime of trials while clinging to those "exceeding great and precious promises" which came as he stopped for the night at "Bethel" on his run from trouble.
As with Adam, and every child of Adam's, God is asking "where are you?!" Not to condemn, for we do that ourselves well enough, but to fix us and welcome us back.