Month: August 2022

Genesis 36:2, 3 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; and Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nabajoth.

Esau responded to God’s Grace and Promise by going the way of the unbelieving world around him. He had ”despised his birthright” and was tricked out of the first blessing from his father. Now he shows his unbelief in God and rejection of the Covenant by ignoring the wishes of his parents by marrying into the ”world,” which is at enmity with God’s Kingdom.

A whole chapter is given to the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, but they become enemies of the people of God, the children of the covenant. In this way the Lord is revealing to us that there are only two kinds of people in the world: believers in God through Jesus Christ and unbelievers, who live in a different world and are enemies of God and His children.

It may not seem like a serious offense to us, but it is a deadly sin to God. It is dangerous and death-dealing for the members of the Kingdom to marry those of the opposing kingdom. And just because it happens all the time does not make it OK. We heed the warning of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:14-16: ”Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…what partnership…what fellowship…what accord…what portion…what agreement…?” Unlike Esau, we are careful what commitments and entanglements we make with the unbelieving world.

Genesis 35:7, 14, 15 And he built there an altar, and called the place El- Beth-el, because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother….And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering thereon, and poured oil thereon.. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.

God had appeared to Jacob much earlier in his Ladder Dream, and Jacob named that place Bethel (house of God) at that time. Now he goes back to that place, builds an altar, sets up a pillar, and makes a thank offering. He repeats the name he had called it. In the ladder dream God renewed for Jacob the covenant He had made with Abraham and Isaac, and promised to be with him and bring him back to the land. God did that, and now Jacob responds.

Jacob remembers: faith brings up something God did for us the past and makes it active and operative in the present. So do we build an altar in our mind to remember, thank, praise, and worship the Lord. We go to the Cross in repentance and faith: we hear the Gospel again; we remember our Baptism and reapply God’s grace by faith; we go to Communion and receive it ”in remembrance of Jesus.” We may remember special moments in our life when God touched us, and even the places where it happened; but the ”memory” we always have wherever we are is the death and resurrection of Jesus for forgiveness and life.

And remember this: life is better when we do not remember, but we forget, our past and present sins. Instead, we remember the grace and goodness of God. Selective memory is helpful for spiritual health and wellbeing. This is not so easy in a world where the devil and our flesh are ever present to remind us how bad we are. So we build an altar in our mind to thank our good God for the Gospel. Good news lifts the spirit; bad news drags it down. Then wherever we are is a ”house of God.”

Genesis 35:2, 3 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.

As Jacob was settling his family into the Land of Promise with a renewed commitment to and a stronger faith in the God of the Covenant. The Lord had worked in him a pretty much completed faith. He was ready to respond to God’s goodness by dedicating himself, his household, and his descendants to the one true God alone. As head of the house he told them all to repent: put away all strange gods and make yourselves clean.

Then he called them all to worship the One God of the Promise. He built an altar for worship and thanksgiving to his God. He built an altar at Bethel, where God appeared to him and repeated the covenant given to his fathers with the addition that He would be with him until he returned to the land. God did all that for Israel; Israel responds with repentance, faith, commitment, thanks, and worship.

The head of the household, the patriarch of Israel, leads all those under his charge to repent, believe, and get clean before God. He has them all put away their gods, and replace misplaced worship with faith in the One True God of promise. Jesus, the head of our lives, calls us to give up our trust ”strange gods.” For us, these are the things we put our trust in that are not gods, demonic deceivers that want our devotion and turn us away from complete dependence on God alone. We know the false gods in our lives. Recognize these things for the strange gods that they are. Put them away!

Genesis 33:18-20 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-Aram, and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.

When Jacob finally returned to the Promised Land of Canaan and was ready to settle in the Land, he bought a piece of the land. This action was his response of faith in the Promise of God. Then to seal the deal with God, and to express his faith with thanksgiving and worship, he built an altar. He named it ”God the God of Israel.” Jacob personally received the Covenant Promise and made the God of the Covenant his God. By extension, he made that God the God of his descendants, also called Israel.

Jacob responded to God’s promises given by grace to Abraham and Isaac by solidifying his faith in the Covenant God. And he made the Lord the God of the nation that would bring blessing to all the earth. By staking a claim to the Land he was claiming the Lord as his God and the promise as a promise for him. Jacob was in essence ”confessing his faith in Jesus.”

This is also our response to the Gospel. We claim our place in the Kingdom of God. We confess Jesus, the fulfillment of the Land Promise, as our Lord. We make a place in our heart (where the kingdom is) for the worship of God. We thank God. We do this every time we attend church to hear the gospel, proclaim His grace in Holy Communion, remember our Baptism, open the Bible to see the Word, and pause for thankful prayer. Faith buys a piece of Kingdom (believes) and erects an altar (worships).

Genesis 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Jacob had sent his family over the Jabbok ford, and was left alone on the shore. Then a man wrestled with Jacob during the night until dawn. Neither one prevailed until the man (the Lord) touched Jacob’s thigh. The ”man” said, ”Let me go,” but Jacob responded, ”Not until you bless me,” Jacob realized that this was the Lord Himself with whom he was wrestling: v. 30, ”I have seen God face to face.”

After a lifetime of ”wrestling with God” Jacob has come to the point of simple faith and complete trust in the Lord. It took a while, and it wasn’t easy, but Jacob has finally surrendered to God’s will and believed His promise. No longer would he connive and deceive to obtain the Blessing. God had given him the Covenant Promise, and his part was to surrender to God and receive the blessing by faith. His faith was now so sure that he could ”demand” of God the blessing He already promised.

God blessed him there, called him a prince, and changed his name to Israel. The new name means either ”strive with God,” or ”God strives (for us).” Both are true: God has fought for us and won the victory over our spiritual enemies; and we argue and fight with God until we finally surrender to His way and firmly believe His promise. The Spirit has given us such a strong faith through the Gospel that we may be so bold as to demand that He grant the blessings of forgiveness and life, which He already guaranteed to us by grace because of the death and resurrection of Christ. We wrestle until we ”let go of self and let God” work out His promises. We may be left with a ”hip out of joint” as a reminder of God’s loving victory over the Self.

Genesis 32:2, 10 And when Jacob saw them (the angels of God), he said, This is God’s host, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim….I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant;; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.

As Jacob was about to reenter the Promised Land, and fearful of Esau, an army of God’s angels appeared to him. In his fearful state God showed up to give him comfort, protection, encouragement, and hope. Jacob saw the army of God and named the place ”two camps,” referring to his human entourage and the heavenly host. Esau was coming with 400 men, but Jacob had a host of God’s angels. The Lord showed him that ”there were more with us than with them.”

Jacob responded to this powerful vision of God’s love and blessing with the humble confession of his own unworthiness. When we see the overwhelming mercies of God, we too are driven to our knees in repentance and thanksgiving. When faced with the victory of the cross we realize that we ”poor, miserable sinners” are not worthy of a shred of mercy, but there it is in glorious technicolor in the gospel. We are so thankful for the undeserved mercy of God in Christ, that with the Lord on our side we believe that can face any spiritual enemy, and win peace.

We pray that the Gospel vision will overwhelm us into abject repentance and sheer thankfulness for mercy. Then God promises the courage and hope to move on. If undeserved mercies are shown to sinners like Jacob, then we can be certain God shows mercy to sinners like us. We respond to the gospel: I am not worthy of the least of all Thy mercies.

Genesis 31:44, 54 Now therefore, come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob offered sacrifice on the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread and tarried all night in the mount.

Laban was chasing after Jacob to bring back his daughters, his children, and his cattle. But before he caught up with Jacob, God came to him in a dream and said, ”Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Laban had evil intent to use force, but the God of Abraham intervened. We see the hand of the Lord guiding the whole story.

The response to God’s appearances to both Jacob (to leave) and Laban (to do no harm) was to make a covenant of peace, cool hostilities, and swear to non-aggression. They sealed this covenant by offering sacrifice and breaking bread together. This “party” was a foreshadowing of the NT Sacrament of Holy Communion. When believers partake of Communion in faith God shares the sacrifice (the Blood) of Jesus with them; and the members of the body of Christ break bread (the Body of Christ) with one another. The participants share the ”peace of the Lord” with one another. They make sure that they have apologized to and forgiven one another. This is our believing response to God’s grace and guidance in our lives: we love one another and make peace.

Genesis 31:17, 18 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

The Lord had appeared to Jacob in a dream, saying, ”Arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred (v. 13).” Jacob’s immediate response was to obey and do as God said. Rachel and Leah also responded in faithful obedience, saying, ”Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” It was helpful that his wives also believed.

Jacob had been in a ”foreign” land for twenty years now, deceived by his father-in-law, but God blessed him with wives, sons, and material goods. Now it was God’s time. lt may feel like a long time to Jacob, but God’s timing is always right. And just as God promised, the Lord was always with him. Although he had settled in and gotten used to making a home among his relatives, he knew he belonged in the Promised Land. Finally God said ”Go” and Jacob went. God also had worked faith in his family to be willing to obey.

It often seems to take a long time for the Lord to hear our prayers and fulfill His desires for us. But it is as they say, “God is not in hurry, but He is never late.” It is helpful for to remember that God is working something out in us during the waiting time. It may take a while, but just as God developed stronger faith and character in Jacob, we can trust Him to do the same for us. Then when God calls, we arise and go.

Genesis 30:23, 24 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.

Although they knew how babies were born, both Leah and Rachel acknowledged that the Lord was behind conception and birth. Children are a gift of God. Rachel had been barren for almost seven years, while Leah kept having sons. She prayed and asked the Lord. He finally answered her prayer: she conceived and bore Joseph. It wasn’t the mandrakes or human effort, but it was God who blessed. Jacob had said, ”God has withheld.” Leah had said, ”God has endowed me.” Rachel had said, when Bilhah bore a son, ”God has heard my voice and given me a son.” The text (v. 22) says, ”God listened to her and opened her womb.”

Rachel prayed. Rachel waited. God answered. Rachel responded. Rachel named her own son Joseph. Joseph means may He add, and sounds like the Hebrew word for taken away. She thanked God for taking away her reproach (being barren). She also trusted the Lord to add to her another son. This shows the real faith response of Rachel: God did it once; I believe He will do it again. Joseph was a special gift for which she was thankful, but her faith also said, ”God will add.” He heard my prayer, and He will be good again. And so it turned out: Benjamin was born six years later, though, unfortunately, Rachel died in childbirth.

We also respond to God’s grace with thanks and trust. We pray and look for God’s answers so that we may acknowledge the Lord in all our daily affairs, and thus we develop a deeper relationship with Him. When we pray and see the answer we know that the Lord is involved in our life. And He cares.

Genesis 28:20, 21 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, an raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace: then shall the Lord be my God.

Jacob responded to the Covenant Promise of God by vowing a vow and declaring that the Lord will be his God. When the Lord promised to be with him, to protect him, and to provide for him, so that he might come home again in peace, then Jacob believed God and swore that he would be with Him, that is, that He will be his God. God keeps His promises, and in faithful response, we vow to keep ours.

It is dangerous and wrong for us to make a vow, swear, or take an oath in uncertain or frivolous matters. ”Swear not at all.” It is sinful then when we break a vow (like Peter). However, there are three cases in which it is right and proper to make a vow: 1) in court, when we are required to swear to tell the truth, 2) in marriage, when we vow to be faithful until death, 3) in church, when we in Confirmation, or Ordination, or other instances, vow to be faithful to the Lord and His Word. God takes vows seriously and expects us to be faithful, to keep, and not break them.

God doesn’t need our vows, but we do, to remind us that we made a commitment, and with God’s help, we will keep it. We remember what God did for us in Christ out of faithful love. Then He leads us to respond in commitment. We renew our vows and seal our commitments every time we hear or read the Gospel, and believe it.