JACOB RETURNS TO CANAAN

Transcription

1 JACOB RETURNS TO CANAAN

2 SUMMARY OF EVENTS It was Jacob s deception of his father, Isaac, that enraged his brother Esau and sent Jacob running for his life. He may have slipped through his brother s fingers, but Jacob ran headlong into his conniving uncle, Laban. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying both of his daughters making him labor for an additional seven years for Rachel, the only wife Jacob wanted. When Jacob finally tried to leave his uncle, he knew he would have to outsmart him. It has been 14 years since Jacob fled to Haran to escape his brother and to find a wife (Gen 27:43 28:5). In that time, he had acquired two wives and had 12 children (11 sons and a daughter). Now, he was ready to return home. But for Jacob and his family to return to Canaan with anything more than the clothes on their backs, they would have to escape Laban. Jacob s years in Haran began and ended on notes of strife and deception.

3 Strife and deception characterized Jacob s life in Haran as much as it did his life in Canaan. But God was with Jacob as He promised (Genesis 28:15). When Jacob bargained with God at Bethel, he demanded that God provide his bread and clothing the bare necessities for survival. But God did much more than Jacob asked. While Jacob was in Haran, God made him a rich man and gave him many children. As He promised, the God of Abraham and Isaac blessed their descendant, Jacob.

4 LABAN IS BLESSED THROUGH JACOB

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6 JACOB FLEES LABAN The contention between Jacob Laban, and Laban s sons escalated.(gen. 30:42). God directed Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, promising He will be with him. Jacob called his wives together, and for the first time Jacob acknowledged God s hand in his life and credited Him for his blessing (Gen 31:4 13). The bargaining refugee from Bethel finally embraced the God who met him there.

7 JACOB FLEES LABAN Prior to this, Jacob had primarily looked out for himself, pursuing his own interests. Even when he made an oath to God, it was conditional on his own needs being met (Gen 28:20 22). Yet as Jacob turned a blind eye to God s work in his life, God continued to bless him. As Jacob s prosperity became evident to even Laban and his sons, it all seemed to click for Jacob; he finally recognized that God had been with him all along (Gen. 35:2 3). Despite Jacob s reluctant faith, God remained faithful.

8 QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION Have you ever questioned God during a long season of difficulty? In hindsight, what did that experience teach you about God s faithfulness to you? Jacob deserved his brother s wrath, but he did nothing to earn his uncle s meanness. What right and wrong responses can we learn from Jacob s interactions with Laban?

9 Rachel and Leah stood in unison for the first time in the story after hearing Jacob s impassioned words. Laban had been a bad father even the more a terrible father-inlaw, and Jacob s wives were ready to leave (Gen. 31:14 16). The family packed up and fled, and when Laban heard, he hurried after them. Just outside the land of Canaan, the two deceivers came head to head. Laban played the injured father: What have you done that you tricked me and have carried off my daughters like captives in a war (Gen.31:26)? Why did you run off secretly (hide your intention )to flee and trick me, and did not tell me so that I would have sent you away with joy and song and tambourine and lyre?(vs. 27.)

10 LABAN PURSUES JACOB Was Laban s response to Jacob sincere or disingenuous? (Gen. 31:26-28) What was Laban s accusation against Jacob?

11 Why do you suppose Rachael took the idols from her father What does tell us about her character? Rachel s theft of her father s household gods was particularly troubling on two accounts: Stealing was wrong, but idolatry was worse. Surely Rachel wasn t taking these idols in order to worship them, was she? To soften the impact of Rachel s deed, a Targum subtly substituted the word took for stole in the Aramaic version of Gen 31:19.* When the Jewish historian Josephus retells this story, he clarifies that Jacob had taught Rachel about the evils of idol worship, and that she took the idols to have a potential bargaining chip with Laban. In Josephus view, Rachel s act was strategic, not immoral. She knew the idols weren t for worship. She took them to have leverage over Laban.

12 Up to this point, the relationship between Jacob and God has been one-sided. Jacob sought wealth and safety for himself without asking for God s help, and God blessed Jacob s prosperity and protected him from Laban (Gen 31:9, 29). Despite Jacob s attempts to secure for himself what God had promised him (Gen 28:15), God remained faithful to His word by blessing and protecting the patriarch. God s faithfulness was not frustrated by Jacob s faithlessness. Paul writes about God s ultimate act of faithfulness in the face of human infidelity in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 1:18 2:11.

13 Paul demonstrates that all people have sinned against God by dishonoring Him and testing His patience. As a result, Paul writes that everyone has fallen short of God s glory (Rom 3:23). However, God kept His promises to the Jews (Rom 3:1 8) and, ultimately, to humanity in general, in His greatest display of faithfulness the death of Christ, which is for us (Rom 5:8). Paul also reminds us that God proved His faithfulness to us while we were still sinners and enemies of God (Rom 3:8 10). Together, the story of Jacob and Paul s words in Romans illustrate an important truth about God s character: His faithfulness is not contingent upon human faithfulness whether Jacob s or ours. At this point, Jacob is just beginning to recognize God s hand in his prosperity. He will eventually acknowledge that God has been with him throughout his entire life (Gen 35:2 3), but only after being wounded by God (Gen 32:22 32). As believers, we should learn to trust God s character rather than acting out of selfinterest. We should learn early on what it took Jacob many years to understand. For God has given believers a greater promise of His presence than Jacob ever had the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God Himself (Rom 8:1 17).

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15 GENESIS 32 Jacob took self-reliance a step too far: In his adolescence, he manipulated and deceived others to get what he wanted. When his own misdeeds caused him to flee from home, he even tried to manipulate God by making vows that were conditional on God blessing him (Gen. 28:20 22). Now, as a grown man with a large family and wealth to protect, Jacob faced a situation beyond his control: Esau, the brother who vowed to kill him (Gen 27:41 42), was approaching with 400 men. Desperate and afraid, Jacob humbly called out for God to protect him (Gen 32:9 11). He had literally wrestled with God, refusing to give up until God blessed him. Jacob emerged from this confrontation broken and limping, but with the recognition that he owed his life to God s deliverance (Gen 32:30).

16 JACOBS PRAYS TO GOD (GENESIS 32: 9-12) It is interesting that Jacob turned to his own strategizing first, and then prayed. He is portrayed as continuing to struggle to trust God first and foremost. The structure of Jacob s prayer is: address to God (v. 9); statement of humility (v. 10); petition (v. 11a), and motivation for divine response (vv. 11b 12)

17 Gifts to Pacify Esau

18 JACOB WRESTLES A new name is almost always the symbol of a new beginning. This is why adoptive parents are so excited when they finally have the adoption certificate; and why young women excitedly practice writing their fiancé s last name over and over. A new name symbolizes a new life! And this is what we see in Genesis In these pages, Jacob, the deceiver, meets God, the Redeemer and his life is completely and irreversibly changed. And, as a symbol of his new life and of his adoption into God s family Jacob gets a new name: Israel (32:28). Israel -one who struggles with God and overcomes!

19 JACOB WRESTLES Now remember, Jacob was chosen by God before he was born (25:23) God still needed to bring Jacob to a place in time when he would encounter God and be radically changed from the inside out. The same is true for us! If you are saved, it is because you, like Jacob, were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Peter 1:1 2). God has No grandchildren None of us was born a Christian or a lover of God. Therefore, each of us needs to encounter God in such a way that our whole life is changed. While we may not change our names, each one of us needs to be converted as Jacob was. For some of us, this has already happened. Jacob s encounter with God in these chapters might just serve as a paradigm for how God has already met us, or might someday do so.

20 STUCK! God place Jacob in the middle of a jam (rock and a hard place)- to get his attention. The jam Jacob was in was all of his own making. But God used it to allow Jacob to see how foolish he had been and how much he had offended him. Have you ever found yourself in a hard place? Sometimes God s appointed means of grace is to humble us (to get us stuck!) Perhaps you have witnessed how sickness, the loss of a loved one, a calamitous emergency, or a public embarrassment can be used of God to humble our hearts and to call upon his name.

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22 THE ENCOUNTER Genesis 32:10-Jacob was convicted of his sin. Does conviction alone solve our sin problems? Conviction alone did not solve his problems. He still needed God to intervene. God did (32:24 32)! (32:22 23)As night fell, Jacob sent his family away; he was alone. But, in his solitude, he was hunted him down! A man wrestled with him until daybreak (32:24). Who was that man? Well, in verse 30, Jacob tells us: I have seen God face to face. Jacob was wrestling with God himself! See Hosea 12:4

23 THE ENCOUNTER Notice how Jacob wrestled Intensely!!! He and the man wrestled until daybreak (32:24). What does that mean? Was Jacob wrestling against the Lord? No! Jacob was trying to wrestle FORGIVENESS and HELP from the Lord. Jacob was doing, physically, WHAT WE ALL DO, spiritually, when we EARNESTLY PRAY. He was PLEADING with God for MERCY. He was trying to wrestle it out of him: I will not let you go unless you bless me (32:26)!

24 THE ENCOUNTER WHY did God make Jacob wrestle all night? God could have ended the encounter any time he wanted. All he had to do was touch his hip and Jacob was crippled for the rest of his life. So the length of the bout wasn t because it was an even match. Why, then, did God allow Jacob to grapple so long? To see how badly he really wanted the blessing of FORGIVENESS AND HOPE. Jacob prevailed. Have you ever wrestled with God and prevailed!

25 HERE IS A REMINDER Undergoing the great change like becoming a Christian is not always quick and easy. It is NOT just a matter of repeating a prayer, making a decision, or filling out a card. True conversion often comes only after intense wrestling with God. A new identity in Jesus often comes only after a period of persistently praying like Jacob, I will not let you go unless you bless me.

26 THE CHANGE By the change in name to Israel, the passage announces that Jacob s moral character is about to undergo a metamorphosis. The great preacher, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was once asked, What does a person look like who has truly met God? Alluding to Genesis 32:31, he replied, He walks with a limp. After encountering the living Christ, Jacob was forever crippled both physically and in regard to his ego. He could no longer strut around arrogantly as he had done before. His pride turned to lowliness (33:3). His greed turned to generosity (33:10 11). His self-reliance had turned into worship (33:20).

27 THE CHANGE So we who are professing believers must ask ourselves: Have these things happened to me? Have my habits changed? Have I met the Lord?

28 THE ENCOUNTER Look closely at Genesis 33:20. Here we see Jacob building an altar to the Lord just as his father and grandfather had done. Why did they build altars? To offer sacrifices.

29 WHY DID THEY OFFER SACRIFICES? So that the blood of those bulls and goats could remind them of how much they needed a Savior. Jacob had finally realized that he needed someone to die for his sins. And Jacob had also finally decided that the Lord would be his God. Notice how, up to this point, Jacob always referred to the Lord as the God of my father Isaac. He never once called him the Lord my God. But now, in the naming of this altar, he did so. He called it El- Elohe-Israel, which means God, the God of Israel. His name was now Israel. And his God was now the Lord. Jacob finally began to worship the Lord.

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31 A CHANGED LIFE Again we must ask ourselves: Have these things happened to me? Is the Lord really my God? Have I realized that I desperately needed someone (Jesus!) to die for my sins? If the answers are yes, then, though we may not have new names, the Lord has granted us, with Jacob, new life!

32 A CHANGED LIFE??? Franklin believes gospel music should be in tune with the culture of the world instead of focusing solely on the church. These men have collaborated on one the most vile, demonic musical works anyone has ever heard of. These men have collaborated on one the most vile, demonic musical works that I have ever heard of. A Gospel album full of cussing? A project that changes the bible characters to make Mary Magdalene the mother of Jesus (which takes away the virgin birth and makes Jesus born of an unclean woman)? When I was sitting in the studio with Kirk, Kirk Franklin, and we re just going through it. I said this is a gospel album, with a whole lot of cursing on it, but it s still a gospel album, Kanye West said in an interview on Big Boy Radio. It s the gospel according to Ye. It s not exactly what happened in the Bible, but it s this story idea of Mary Magdalene becoming Mary. A project that changes the bible characters to make Mary Magdalene the mother of Jesus (which takes away the virgin birth and makes Jesus born of an unclean woman)? When I was sitting in the studio with Kirk, Kirk Franklin, and we re just going through it. I said this is a gospel album, with a whole lot of cursing on it, but it s still a gospel album, Kanye West said in an interview on Big Boy Radio. It s the gospel according to Ye. It s not exactly what happened in the Bible, but it s this story idea of Mary Magdalene becoming Mary.