Genesis 35 God told Jacob to go back to Bethel.. the place where he met God before.  So, this time Jacob prepared his family.. " Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone." 

God met  Jacob once again and gave him the promise of a nation and "a company of nations".. the land that was promised to Abraham and Isaac would be his.  Jacob set up a pillar to commemorate this encounter with God.  But then.. he left.  He traveled towards Bethlehem... and on the way, Rachel went into labor and Benjamin was born.. but Rachel died. Things did not go any better after he arrived at a place called "Eder"... for Reuben, his oldest son, took Bilhah, his father's concubine/wife and slept with her. 

 Jacob and his family traveled on to Mamre, where his father Isaac still lived.  Isaac was 180 years old when he passed away. Both Esau and Jacob buried Isaac in the same cave where Abraham and Sarah and Rebekah were buried. 

Chapter 36 tells of Esau's decision to move his family and belongings away from Israel. He became the "father of the Edomites".. The nation of Edom was located to the south and east of Israel. Most of this chapter names the descendants of Esau, those that ruled over many generations in that land.  In our day, this land is within the area we know as Jordan. 

Father in heaven,  You chose Jacob and You blessed him greatly.. but his life was not easy. It seems that every time things started to settle down.. something happened that caused more grief.   The trials would continue through the rest of Jacob's life.. and yet, we know that You were with him til the end.  Did he count it all joy?  Did he draw nearer to You through those times?  Thank You for his testimony of Your presence in his life and for Your answers to his prayers.  May we learn from this.. how to persevere and how to keep on trusting You through the difficult times in our lives. Be with us.. wherever we go.. we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. 

This is the text for the podcast aired earlier this month.. hope you don't mind a repeat!

  Psalm 9 is a song of Thanksgiving.. in particular, David is thankful that God is just.  His justice will not ever be thwarted.. it will never be perverted.. it will always be perfect in every way.  Like David we can say, "I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart." 

On this Thanksgiving Day holiday, many people will sit around a table and tell what they are thankful for.. family, jobs, a great meal... maybe some will go further and say are thankful for their "blessings" and some will be thankful even for their struggles.  But, what will be missing from many of these statements of gratitude will be the  Person that these thanks should be addressed towards.. We give thanks to the Lord!  For all things come from Him.. every breath, every heartbeat, and yes, every blessing. 

David tells exactly what he is thankful to God for... "I will tell of all Thy wonders.. I will be glad in Thee.. I will sing praise to Thy Name, O Most High.” (v1)    What he is most thankful for is God, Himself.  God, who is worthy of praise and exultation, for He:

Turns back the enemies.. (v3)

 He maintains the righteous cause..(v4)

He rebukes nations..(v5)

 He destroys the wicked..(v5)

 He blots out the names of those who do evil. (v5)

The Lord "abides forever".He has established His rule of justice.He will judge "the world in righteousness;"His judgement will be done with equity. (v8)

The Lord makes Himself a shelter for the oppressed.He is a stronghold when there is trouble. He is trustworthy. He will never forsake His own. (v9-10)

For all these reasons we give thanks. We will never be alone, never forgotten, and never too far away from Him that He will not hear our cries.  Our God is gracious and loving and just. 

Father, we give thanks to You with all our hearts!  Yes, we are thankful for the things right before us.. our homes and families and blessings, but, even more, we are thankful for You, the Most High God, who never fails, Who is perfectly just, and Who has provided such a great salvation for those who call upon the name of Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, who rose again, and who sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high forevermore! Glory and praise and thanksgiving to You, our Savior and King.. the righteous Judge ..  amen. 

Genesis 33  Jacob "lifted his eyes and looked and behold, Esau was coming and four hundred men with him.."   Jacob was still unsure of Esau's reception.. he had done all he could to provide a way.. but seeing Esau and his 400 men had to be intimidating.  But, when he came before his brother, humbly.. the reunion was so much more than either of them could have imagined.. " Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept."  ( v4) 

Both sons of Isaac were able to put the past behind them to some extent. Yet, Esau went back to Seir and Jacob ended up in Shechem. 

Ch 34  Things did not go well in Shechem. The prince of that area saw Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, and took her by force.  He wanted to marry her but he went about that in a violent, ugly way.  When her brothers, Simeon and Levi,  found out what had happened they were angry.  They practiced some deception of their own.. convincing all the men of the city to be circumcised so that they could intermarry, but then when their defenses were down, they went in and killed all the men of the city, took everything they could, and rescued their sister from Shechem's house.  

Jacob knew that this was going to stir up all kinds of problems from the Canaanites. So, under the Lord's directions, he moved his family to Bethel.. back to the place that he had met the Lord when he first fled from Esau. 

Jacob's life and the life of his children were far from perfect.. they were a mess, frankly.  Kind of like the rest of us... Yet, the Lord chose to continue his covenant with Abraham through Jacob.. now Israel.  A new nation was coming into existence through these messy, imperfect people.  This nation, God would call His own. His plan had not changed.. His purpose would still be accomplished.  So thankful for a God who deals with us in our messes and still works His will through our lives.. He is so good to us!

Father in heaven, thank You for all the grace that You continually pour out upon Your people.. even when we mess up, even when things don't look so good.. You work all things for our good.. for us that are called according to Your purposes.  Keep us in all holiness and righteousness, Lord God. Help us to walk in truth and in love, to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.. for it is in His name that we come before You. Amen. 

 Genesis 32   Jacob and his family traveled from the north back to the place he was born.  The journey was similar to Abraham's journey from Ur.. bringing him to the place that God chose for him.  Jacob knew that he would need to face his brother Esau, so he prepared for that, not knowing what kind of reception he would have... Jacob's prayer shows us his heart.. " O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who didst say to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives and I will prosper you.' I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which Thou hast shown to Thy servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan and now I have two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother.. " 

This side of Jacob we have not seen before this.. his humility, his vulnerability.. his dependence on the Lord.  Jacob sent gifts before him to appease Esau.. and he separated himself from his family, so that they might be spared, even if he was not.  When Jacob was alone, he had another encounter with the Lord.  This one was called a wrestling match. Jacob was desperate for the Lord's blessing, so he would not let go until a blessing was given.  Here his name was changed from Jacob.. to Israel.. "striver with God".

Father in heaven, You keep moving Your people back to the heart of Your land. You moved Abraham, You moved Jacob, and later You  moved a nation of people out of Egypt.. and later on the exiled back from Babylon.   In our day, You are stilling moving Your people.. out of the dominion of darkness and into the Kingdom of Jesus... into the place of Your heart's desire.  Move us deeper in and further up.. as C.S. Lewis wrote.. into the Tableland of Your Presence.. the Higher place which is solid ground, as the old hymn reminds us.  Lord lift me up! Draw me closer. Come and fill Your church with Your Spirit so that we are ready for the journey set before us. Thank You that You will not leave us alone, but You are faithful in all Your ways, to bring us to the eternal dwelling place.. Home.. with You forever. Amen! 

 Genesis 30-31  Jacob had 4 sons by Leah.. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.  Then, Rachel, jealous and barren gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob to provide children for her.. Dan and Naphtali were born from this relationship.  Then, Leah gave Zilpah, her maid to Jacob to produce more children and she had Gad and Asher. Leah was able to have 2 more sons and a daughter.. Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. Finally, Rachel was able to have a son and named him Joseph.  11 sons and 1 daughter later.. Jacob is ready to leave Laban's house and go back to Canaan.  

But, first he needed to work out his wages from Laban.  After 20 years he had nothing of his own, so he made a deal with Laban that he would take all the striped and spotted goats and all the black sheep.  He separated his flocks from Laban's and managed to gain much wealth.. "so the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys." 

All this lead to difficulty with Laban and his relatives. So, Jacob took his wives and his children and his flocks and left when the Lord said, "Return to the land of your fathers and your relatives and I will be with you."  The Lord spoke to Jacob and he also spoke to Laban, so that they ended up parting ways.  They established a covenant at Mizpah.  

20 years away from home.. away from Esau...  Jacob returns a wealthy man with 4 wives and 12 children. Is he a changed man? Perhaps not yet, but he will be. "Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.. "( 32:1) God was orchestrating all of this according to His plan and purposes.  Jacob clung to God's promise to be with him.  

Father in heaven, we also cling to Your promises to be with us and to keep us.  You are our help and our strength. You bring us into families and provide for our welfare just as You did for Jacob.  May we not be afraid of what lies ahead, but remember that You know where we come from and where we are going.. and You are with us all the way! Thank You for the grace of Your Presence and guidance in our lives. Let Your will be done as we walk along the way that You send us.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

 Genesis 29  Jacob met and fell in love with Rachel.. so much so that he worked 7 years for Laban so that he could marry her.  Yet, when it came time for the wedding, Laban deceived Jacob.. by putting Leah in Rachel's place.  Jacob did not even know until the next morning.  

Leah was the oldest daughter and Rachel was the beautiful one.  Leah was unloved compared to Rachel, but she also was able to produce sons for Jacob.  Reuben, "because the Lord has seen my affliction" ;  Simeon, " Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved"; Levi.. "Now this time my husband will become attached to me"; and then Judah.. "This time I will praise the Lord".   

Although Leah was not favored by Jacob, she was favored by the Lord. Grace.. poured out on an unloved wife... brought her to a place of favor as she was seen, heard, and comforted by the God who loved her.  

Father in heaven, sometimes life seems so unfair. But, even when things do not go as we want.. You have a plan and You are good.  May we learn from Leah.. to persevere.. to know that no matter what.. You see us, You hear us.. and Your plan for us is good.  May we join with Leah in praise to our God who loves us more than we can imagine!  If only Leah could have seen back then.. Jesus, the Lion of Judah!  How much more would she have rejoiced! Thank You for the kindness that You show even to the least of us.  Amen!

 Genesis 27-28:9  Jacob, the deceiver.. the supplanter.. took the birthright of his brother Esau for a bowl of soup and now would take the blessing of his father Isaac by deception.   Jacob and Esau would have been in their 40's when this happened. Esau already had two wives, but Jacob had none.  Isaac was blind and thought that he would soon die, so he sent Esau to hunt and bring back some wild game for him to eat.  It would be a special event.. to bless the oldest son. 

But, Rebekah had a different plan and commanded Jacob to impersonate his brother.  He willingly took part in this scheme and received the blessing of the oldest son.  

This whole idea of the blessing is interesting.. . Was it like a last will and testament?  Legally binding? The blessing spoke of abundance and power and authority over the family..  When Esau came back and attempted to get a blessing, Isaac had no more to give... Esau realized that he would lose everything and he wept.  He swore to kill Jacob after their father had died. 

So, Rebekah begged Isaac to send Jacob back to her family in Paddan-aram, so that he could find a wife from her family.  And so, this is what happened.  Before he left, Isaac said to him, "And may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you; that you may possess the land of your sojourning which God gave to Abraham."   

Isaac accepted the fact that Jacob would be chosen to inherit the land.. even though he had always preferred Esau.  God had told Rebekah before the sons were born that this would be the outcome. Isaac finally knew it to be true, not by his choice, but by God's will. 

28:10-22  Jacob headed north towards Paddan-aram and spent a night at a place that he would call Bethel.. "the house of God". Here is the place that Jacob meets God.  He has an amazing dream of angels coming up and down from heaven on a ladder.. and the Lord standing above the ladder.  The Lord says to Jacob.. "I am the Lord the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants..." The Lord promises to be with Jacob and to bring him back to this land.. " I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you." 

Jacob built and altar in Bethel.. a pillar that he anointed with oil.. "And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house; and of all that Thou dost give me I will surely give a tenth to Thee."  

Father in heaven, we see You grace extended even to one like Jacob who deceived his own father and ran from his brother.  You had a plan for Jacob from before he was born.. and You alone could bring him to be the man that he would become.. the father of a nation.  Thank You for showing us this place where Jacob met You, where You reached him and he came into a true relationship with You.  Thank You that You do the same for each of us who come to faith in Jesus.. You reach out to us and draw us into a true relationship through Jesus Christ, Your Beloved Son.  How marvelous is Your grace!  How wonderful Your works. Be glorified in our lives, Lord God, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.