The God Who Sees and Speaks - Treasures of Faith - Week 6 Day 3

TODAY'S TREASURE

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.  

Genesis 28:15

Transcript

The God Who Sees and Speaks

Chuck and Sharon Betters

 Today’s Treasure

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.  

Genesis 28:15

Have you ever experienced family turmoil, conflict that not only causes tension but tears your family apart? If so, you will likely resonate with Jacob’s message. Last week, we saw how he and his mother deceived his father Jacob, and stole his brother Esau’s birthright. Instead of seeking reconciliation with his brother, Jacob, with his mother’s encouragement, fled for his life. Jacob deceived his father, provoked his brother, and was now fleeing toward an uncertain future. Alone in the wilderness with only a stone for a pillow, God met Jacob in a dream and renewed the covenant promises given to Abraham and Isaac. This was pure grace.

Jacob had not sought out God. He was not praying. He was hiding. And still, God found him.

In the dream, Jacob saw a ladder stretching between heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending. At the top stood the Lord, who declared, "I am with you... I will not leave you." (Genesis 28:13-15) These were not promises based on Jacob’s performance but on God's character.

Jacob woke up stunned. "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it!" (Genesis 28:16). He made the stone he was using for a pillow into an altar and named the place Bethel, the House of God. But still, his faith was conditional: "If God will be with me and watch over me... then the Lord will be my God." (Genesis 28:20)

Jacob saw a glimpse of glory, but he hadn’t surrendered. He vowed that, provided God kept His promises, the God of Abraham and Isaac would then also be Jacob’s God. 

He still wanted a deal. He wanted proof before he trusted completely.

When Jacob finally arrived in Haran, he gratefully accepted the hospitality of his uncle Laban. Jacob, ever the wheeler and dealer, agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for the privilege of marrying Laban’s daughter, the beautiful Rachel. Seven years “seemed like only a few days to him,” the passage tells us, so great was Jacob’s love for Rachel (Genesis 29:20). When the seven years of labor were completed, the young bridegroom enjoyed his wedding night with his new bride only to discover the next morning that Laban had beaten him at his own game. The veiled woman Jacob had married the night before was not the lovely Rachel but her older sister, Leah.

How ironic it is that Jacob’s anguished question for Laban carried the same accusation his father Isaac had once made against him, “Why have you deceived me?” (Genesis 29:25) Perhaps some appreciation of the pain his own act of deceit had caused his father came back to Jacob at that moment as he listened to Laban’s mealy-mouthed explanation for this ruse. What a shock it must have been for Jacob to discover that he had just married into the family of a man every bit as cunning and devious as himself. Jacob, however, refused to accept Leah as his only wife. Rachel was beautiful; Jacob loved her and her alone, and he intended to have her, no matter what. So Jacob agreed to work for Laban for yet another seven years in order to marry Rachel as well. It doesn’t take a genius to know Jacob’s conniving was a recipe for disaster.

Polygamy led to intense family conflict as Jacob’s obvious preference for Rachel proved to be a source of great grief for Leah and, eventually, great anger for Leah’s sons. Yet in tenderness and in response to Jacob’s obvious rejection of Leah, God gave her many children; indeed, she bore Jacob’s first four children—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah—whereas Rachel remained barren. Jealousy of Leah’s ability to have children erupted into a sinful and destructive competition between the two sisters. Rachel, in a maneuver reminiscent of Jacob’s grandmother, Sarah, suggested to Jacob that he sleep with her maidservant, Bilhah, and this woman in turn bore Jacob two more sons: Dan and Naphtali. Then, at Leah’s instigation, Jacob in turn slept with Leah’s own maidservant, Zilpah, who bore Jacob two more sons: Gad and Asher. Rachel remained childless while Leah gave birth to another two sons, Issachar and Zebulun, as well as a daughter, Dinah. Then, at long last, God graciously gave Rachel and Jacob a son, Joseph; finally, many years later, Rachel bore a second son, Benjamin.

Jacob, sadly, ended up following his own parents’ poor example of child-rearing by openly showing special love and preference for Joseph, the apple of his eye, the firstborn son of his beloved wife Rachel. That favoritism would eventually produce a severe case of sibling rivalry among the other brothers, a rivalry that would, in time, lead to terrible and destructive consequences for everyone in this troubled family.

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT 

We can only shake our heads in dismay as we watch Jacob’s story unfold. No doubt there is someone in your own life whose decisions make you want to grab them, shake them, and exclaim, “You’re headed for disaster. Don’t do this!” People seeking guidance for life decisions sometimes left Chuck’s office in seeming agreement with his direction. His counsel sometimes included specific warnings and clear reasons why they needed to say no to one pathway and yes to another. Later, we learned they rejected his advice, and like Jacob, they experienced untold pain and conflict. Laban manipulated Jacob into a life of conflict and pain that flowed over into the lives of his wives and children. Jacob’s emotions took precedence over integrity. Friends, are you facing a similar choice? In the multitude of counselors, there is wisdom. Seek biblical counsel and do the hard thing, trusting the Lord to protect you from unnecessary sorrow.

PRAYER

Lord, I confess that sometimes I want You to prove Yourself before I trust. Help me believe that You are always with me. Even in silence, even in suffering, help me rest in Your promises. 

MORE…

Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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