The Life Of Jacob

[00:00:00] Greetings in Jesus' name. It's a pleasure to be in the house of the Lord. Although sometimes I get to the place where if I would talk of myself, I would say I would have liked to stay home. [00:00:35] But I can honestly say I'm still glad that I had the courage to come and it wasn't that I was debating it. I was sure that I was going to come. After a week of doing different work at home and not just that, but also hearing news from different places, hearing things that are not so pleasant, [00:01:11] then sometimes I have to admit I get to the point, where is this all going to take us to? I don't know if you ever, ever struggle with that. Seems like the world is getting darker and darker and things are getting worse and worse and it seems like it gets closer to, well, going back a little bit, when we hear or see things or listen to the news or whatever [00:01:47] And we see negative things happening in this world. It used to be it was just people we didn't know. I don't know if you ever thought about that. It seems like today it's getting pretty close home. There's people that are affected in one way or another, be it persecuted, or be it living in sin, or be it ending their own lives. It gets closer home. It's only, I don't know, I would say probably about three months ago [00:02:22] when a fellow committed suicide. That was, well, we knew him all our life, basically. And yesterday that happened again. Somebody even closer. I wouldn't say that, I mean, we haven't known them here the last couple of years, but a fellow, a 25-year-old boy, decided it was time to take his life, and he just did it. [00:02:57] Somebody, I knew his dad as long as I remember, and went to the same church. Then when I hear that kind of thing, what else are we going to get? When I think about the persecution, having lived in Mexico for so many years, I've been in the area, the film that we saw, I recognize some of them places, but especially probably that one church building we saw there. [00:03:31] Been there in the area, they told me it was dangerous there, But really think, is it really true that it's that close? Even the people that we work with today, they're talking about not exactly this film we saw, but that sort of thing. And we live here in an area, in this state, where we say, well, we don't have that kind of thing. How do we feel? Are we just relaxed? [00:04:06] We're not affected by this. I feel the Lord has been talking to me through the lives of some Bible characters. First of all, for some reason, the Lord was speaking to me about the life of Joseph, How he lived in a place where it seemed like a lot of evil was going on. [00:04:37] All kinds of different things happened around him. He was treated wrong and finally he was sold instead of being killed. And then I went back thinking about how did his father, Jacob, feel about all this. Did he listen to what God was talking to him through the circumstances in his life? So I decided, I felt that the Lord wanted me to talk about Jacob's life. [00:05:13] For some reason, I have to admit, even if I didn't experience what he did, But there's a lot of similarities that he experienced, that I have experienced in my life too, just in a different scale or a different way, but basically the same thing. Thinking about Jacob, I don't know what the first thought is that comes to your mind when you think about Jacob. Jacob, who was... [00:05:46] Sorry for that. Jacob was a father, as a lot of us are. [00:06:20] He had probably more boys than any one of us has. Went through a lot of different things with his family. But for some reason that was not the thing that I always thought of when I was thinking about the life of Jacob. I usually thought about Jacob being the fellow that talked with God. He laid on that stone there when he went to his uncle's place. [00:06:54] How he saw them angels going up and down the ladder and it was just all nice, good stories. I mean, I would have liked to be there. Then when I studied his life, I started to realize that was not exactly his life. That was one experience he had. All the other things that he was involved in wasn't like that. We read about Jacob, how he was born, and how his mom and dad, mom favored him and dad favored his brother, his twin brother. [00:07:41] We read about how Jacob's mother with him betrayed his brother or got together, his mother and son got together and planned how they would be able to get the blessing from his dad. So of course he had to lie to his dad in order to do that. And before that even had happened, he had stolen the birthright from his brother in a way that, well, he kind of did it openly. [00:08:23] Esau also was at fault there, but still he should have known better than that, that he wouldn't do it that way. And with all the different things that he had experienced in his early years, he had to flee for his life. Because of his brother got so angry at him and decided he was going to kill him. So he fled for his life. And I don't know, something that I just noticed while I was studying this, the life of Jacob, [00:09:00] it actually just about tells us the age of Jacob, what he had when he fled. If we go through the chapters and read, we have to read quite a few chapters to get the story, but it's talking about that he most likely was already in his 40s when he slept there and had this rock for his pillow. Just to think about at that age, at 40 years old, what all did he live through and just a couple of things that are recorded in scripture. [00:09:40] I imagine there was probably a lot more than what we hear of, things that he went through and I would, looking at this, going to Genesis chapter 28. Thinking about who he was, how he lived, how he betrayed his brother and lied to his father and so on. With that type of a character, he must not always have asked God to lead him. [00:10:15] Although he wanted to be a man of God, I don't think that he had denied God. It wasn't that he didn't want to serve him. And that's where I see myself and I sometimes wonder how many of us have that same feeling. Yeah, of course, we want to serve God. We want to be Christians. Same way as Jacob wanted to be a man of God, well, we want to be men of God. But we kind of have that in the back of our mind. [00:10:51] We have other things that we look for more, that are more important than that. It's just what seems like that Jacob was running after things of this world, even with wanting to be a godly man, but still other things seem to be more important to him. In Genesis 28, verse 12, It says, And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder sat up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. [00:11:30] And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest. To thee will I give it and to thy seed Thinking about here when he lay down to sleep here on this rock He was fleeing for his life [00:12:00] He was trying to find a place where he could rest a little bit And here the Lord comes to him in a dream And is talking to him God hadn't given up with him, even with his different things he had been through already. The first, I like to put it, the first 40 years of his life. God hadn't given up. God had promised his father and his grandfather to give this land to their descendants. [00:12:39] and Jacob was one of them. God was not giving up on him even if he wasn't really looking after God. Even if he was looking after blessings. To me it just seems like he was looking after the blessing, not after God. Although the blessing was a good thing. Then here in verse 15, [00:13:14] And behold, I am with thee, and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest. God is telling, in his dream he's having, God is telling Jacob, He's going to be with him, and keep thee in all the places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again unto this land for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. [00:13:49] And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven. Here we see what I was just saying, that when he woke up, he said, this must be the place where God is. Like if he hadn't thought about, when he laid down, that God was with him. Isn't that exactly the way we are often? We go somewhere, and we go all by ourselves, somewhere alone, out, wherever we go, be it at work or be it at some other place. [00:14:29] Where we end up, we're there and we're alone. We feel alone. And all at once God comes and speaks to us. And all at once we think, oh, God is here too. I don't know if that has ever happened to you, but I have had that sort of experience so often. Feeling kind of alone. And here it says Jacob, he was afraid. When God started to speak, I think he had actually a fear. Here, my life, I haven't been living the way I should. I'm actually running for my life here because I betrayed my brother. What do you think he thought? Why did he fear when God started to speak? [00:15:15] The good thing here is that I think that he had a desire to follow God. It wasn't that he threw God totally to the side, but he was kind of having him probably in second or third place. He had other things that he was looking at. And here God is calling him that he's going to go with him. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I know it, and I knew it not. [00:15:52] He basically, he plainly says it. He didn't even know it. He didn't even think about it. And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of that city was called Lutz at the first. [00:16:24] that in verse 20 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 and raiment to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace then shall the Lord be my God what I would like to notice here what kind of a vow did he make here He said, if, if God is going to do His part, it wasn't really that He was going to do His part. [00:17:01] It was, if God is going to do it, then I will serve Him. It seemed like if He was, yes, I want to serve Him, but I'm not too sure. He wasn't so sure how is it going to fall out, come out. And He has all sorts of things. He wants to go back. Of course, he wanted to be with his father, with his mom probably. If God was going to bring him back in peace, then he's going to follow God. [00:17:37] He didn't say that he didn't want to follow God today, but it was kind of if God also would do his part. How often do we do the same thing? If God is going to, we know that he's going to do the right thing. And Jacob knew that too. Jacob knew that God is going to keep his promises. But like if he was doubting, we see that he was telling God, God, if you're going to hold, if you're going to keep your promises, yeah, I'm going to follow you. [00:18:13] And it seems like God accepted that. That was it. The thing that touched me. Even making a decision that didn't sound quite right, it seemed like God accepted it. Then in verse 22 it said, And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house, and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee. I see two things that Jacob did here. [00:18:44] He said, if God is going to bring him back home, and if God is going to keep his promises, then Jacob is going to call God his God. And if that's going to happen, and you're going to blast me, then I'm going to give you also the tidings. He told him, okay, this is what I'm going to do. And I just had to think, well, that's so much, just so alike of what I have done so many times. [00:19:20] That I kind of put out, if, if this is going to happen then, then I'm going to do it. It's not that I am persuaded to do what I'm supposed to do. And even at that point, even with Jacob making that type of promises, that type of vows, God was still true. He did not leave him there. When I thought about how many times have I failed the Lord and half-heartedly told him things [00:19:53] and God was still faithful. He kept his end. He did not let his promises go. When God says I'm going to bless you, he's going to bless them. We see that Jacob had lived, I would like to call it a selfish life. [00:20:26] Everything kind of for himself and he wanted to be maybe the boy at home. Although he wasn't really the firstborn, but he had gotten the rights of the firstborn. He had his mother, seemed like he had his mother behind whatever he did. She would encourage him. But then what we see here, with that type of life he lived, God also has said in his word that when whoever does wrong, like we read in Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, it says, [00:21:24] Whatever a man soweth, that's what he will reap. We have other verses that would say the same thing. And Jacob also had to experience that. He was living a life that God wasn't honored by his life. And God also kept that promise. That's what he had said, whatever a man soweth, we know the Bible does teach that there are consequences for our sins. [00:22:02] and even after Jacob had this dream there and in other words to say spoke with God through a dream he still had to face the consequences of his life and I think we see that after he got to his uncle's place there and he got married and so on and had his family And although God did bless him with a family, with actually a couple of wives he got, just to think about the way his father-in-law betrayed him with his wife. [00:22:51] He was, in other words, well, he fell in love with Rachel, and the father thought, well, that's not the way we're doing it. The oldest one is getting married before the younger one, and he, the father-in-law gave him the older one, the one that he hadn't wanted. I'm sure that was a very big disappointment for him. but don't you think it had to do with because that's the way he did [00:23:21] he treated his brother God knew how to do it then in the other things that Laban did with him and then we read about how how Laban's sons are Jacob's son-in-laws, how they got upset with him and they hated Jacob because Jacob was so blasted and they were actually saying that Jacob was stealing the son's cattle and so on. [00:24:09] Then we also have the story in Genesis chapter 30 where Rachel seems to be, well she didn't have children the first number of years and so Rachel starts to talk to Jacob about it and so on and here Jacob gets angry at her and all sorts of things we find what Jacob did. Even after having had contact with the Lord and made a vow that he's going to serve him. [00:24:49] Does that sound familiar with us? Yes, I'm persuaded. I want to follow God. I want to be a Christian. But how often do I act like he did? Then later on when he wanted to go back home he thought well the Lord was telling him or he wanted to go back home to his father's house and he gathered his wives and children and animals [00:25:23] and what all he had and here during the process Rachel stole her dad's gods without him knowing it. And then his father-in-law gets upset with him and probably has, well, he had a reason for it. And he had to face all this. Then when he, in chapter, Genesis chapter 32, and I'm not going to read that, but [00:25:56] So, he finally comes to meet his brother, Esau, and he sends people ahead and they come back and tell him how he comes with 400 men, in other words to say an army, well they're just going to wipe him out. As his brother had told him, and I couldn't exactly find how many years there was in between, but there was 14 plus years, I'm not sure exactly. [00:26:29] 14 plus years that he had been there with his uncle and got married and had his children and so on. He figured, well, my brother is probably not as angry anymore. And here when he hears that he's coming with 400 men, why will he come with 400 men? And it seems like that's where Jacob broke down totally. And there again, I could see it again. How often, how often does the Lord have to talk to me or to you until we finally say, I will give it up. [00:27:11] I'll just surrender. I'll just surrender. Totally. In Genesis chapter 32, we read about how he was finally willing. He said, I'm willing to give. I'm willing to meet my brother. It took him many, many years until he finally was ready to face his brother and say, [00:27:47] Here it is. I am your servant. And looking at it, when Esau came, when they were going to meet, I understand that Joseph went, separated himself, and I would like to call it he went to pray. I'm not sure what he actually did, it doesn't say that he went to pray, but he went and it says the angels of God, of the Lord came. [00:28:20] Then he started to struggle there with one of them. Whatever that kind of a struggle, well what kind of a struggle it was, it seemed like they were actually wrestling physically. But I think there was more involved than just the physical wrestling. Where he finally broke down. Jacob finally broke down and said, I'm yours, Lord. And here he didn't have any more if. [00:28:52] If you're going to bring me home. It was just, I'm yours. I'm willing to do. I'm willing to go. So, he was willing to give. He had said, he had told God, 14 years before this or more, that I'm going to give you my tithings, if this and this and whatever. It doesn't say that he ever gave tithings, until a number of years later, all at once he said, yes, I'm willing. [00:29:25] And he started to separate his animals and wondered, well, how much is my brother going to take until he's going to be satisfied? And I think, by reading this story, I do believe that he was willing to give him everything. He was willing to give what it would take. And that's what I felt the Lord was telling me, and I wanted to bring this out. Let's come to that place where Jacob came to. [00:29:59] Be willing to give everything we have. Another thing what we notice here is that him being brave and I can do it, I will make it. He had to depend on the Lord. And when he departed there with the angel he struggled with, He said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. In Genesis 32 verse 26, that's where it's at. [00:30:36] That was the end of that struggle. He said, Lord, I need your blessings. I need you. Have we come to that place where we can honestly say, I myself can do it. I need you. If you're not going to fight for me, I'm not going to make it. Whenever we come to that place, first of all, that's where we should come to, but as long as we're struggling ourselves, we're going to fail. [00:31:11] But whenever we will come to the place where we will say, Lord, I need your help, then he is going to help us. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this story here in the Bible for Jacob. The different things that he experienced are so much like the life that we live. Lord, would you just help each one of us here that we would be able to come to the place where we will be able to render everything and surrender ourselves and say, [00:31:48] Lord, I need you. I need your help in order to go on. Lord, would you just bless us in that and help us to look up to you. Will you help us also to encourage one another that we could all together serve you and glorify you. Also at this time we ask that you would bless also the food that's prepared. Would you just bless that to our bodies in Jesus' name. Amen.