Hillcrest in Abilene
has spent eight weeks this Fall studying the book of Genesis. Our
resource person for our study has been Dr. Kilnam Cha, who teaches in the Bible
Department at ACU. Kilnam has wanted us to focus on the overall message
of Genesis—how it fits into the Pentateuch and the rest of the Bible.
Genesis needs to be understood in its Ancient Near Eastern
background. After creating a world that was ‘good’ and creating man in
‘His image’, sin ruined the goodness of God’s creation. To deal with the
sin problem of this world, God chose Abraham and his descendants as the solution
to the problem of sin.
Jacob’s story in Genesis 25-36 is an interesting link in
God’s blessing of mankind through Abraham’s offspring. There are four stages
to the life of Jacob. Genesis 25:9-28:9 reveals the need for transformation in
Jacob’s life. Jacob was deceitful (his name means ‘he deceives’).
Twice, he took advantage of his brother, Esau. (Stealing the
birthright and stealing the blessing before Isaac died.) He was Rebekah’s
favorite and Esau was Isaac’s favorite, so this was not an ideal home.
When Esau realized that Jacob had deceived him, he vowed to kill Jacob.
In the beginning of the Jacob story, Jacob needed transformation in his
life. He needed to trust in God, like his father Isaac and his
grandfather Abraham had trusted.The second stage of Jacob’s life is a transforming period of his life. He spends 20 difficult years with his father-in-law, Laban. Despite the unscrupulous nature of Laban, God blesses Jacob. Genesis 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. It dawns on Jacob that Yahweh (who had blessed his father and his grandfather) had also taken care of him, and THIS IS TRANSFORMING.
The third stage of Jacob’s life is the unusual account of
‘his wrestling with God.’ At the end of that experience, Jacob
says, “I saw God face to face, and yet my
life was spared.” Because of Jacob’s experiences, the fourth stage of
his life reveals a transformed man. His name is changed by God from Jacob
to ISRAEL .
Secondly, Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with
you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come let us go up to
Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my
distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone” (35:2-3).
Thirdly, he becomes an altar-builder, like his forefathers before him.
He erected an altar at Shechem and called it “El Elohe Israel ,” i.e.,
“God [is] God of Israel”.
The story of Jacob reminds us of two very important lessons.
First, God always works His plan with imperfect humans. Jacob was
not perfect/righteous/sinless by any means. He was deceitful. He
was a schemer. He was selfish. He needed to be TRANSFORMED.
It took years for the transformation to occur. There is an old song
that says, ‘He’s still working on me, to make me what I need to be. It
took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and
Jupiter and Mars, how loving and patient He must be, cause He’s still working
on me.’ Secondly, the faith of Abraham and the faith of Isaac did not
automatically transfer to Jacob. Jacob had to ‘come to faith’ on his own.
It is the same for us all. We do not automatically have the faith
of our ancestors, and our children and grandchildren do not automatically
become people of faith. Each of us must individually encounter God and
accept Him in our lives.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness.
Help us to be transformed by your love and patience towards us.
Help us like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to trust You with our lives.
Terry Brown
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