BiblicalMastery Buddy's bible blog

Lesson 26

Jacob’s Encounter with God

Genesis 28

Me-

One of the lessons I have learned over the years is that no matter how hard I might try I cannot hide from God. Sometimes I might think I don’t want Him around especially when there is conflict in my life.  At those times I in effect am telling God that I can handle the situation myself.  Usually my way of taking care of it is trying to avoid facing it.  I do not like conflict and will do everything I can to pretend that it does not exist or it is someone else’s problem.  I can identify with Jacob as he tried to run away from his problems. Eventually, God will cause me to have to face Him when I have sinned or made bad decisions.  He uses my conscience to let me know when I have strayed.  The Psalmist definitely had it right when he spoke of the omnipresence of God in Psalm 139. 

I can take comfort in the fact that God does not leave me where I am but, desires for me to have an ongoing relationship with Him.  Therefore he works in my life through His word, events in my life and others to let me know how much He truly cares for me.  I am glad that He will only let me go so far before He draws me back to Himself.

We-

Churches quite often do not handle sticky situations very well.  We will do everything in our power to avoid dealing with issues. The main reason is do not want to hurt any person’s feelings.  How often have churches put up with someone who is always negative and complaining.  We so often say that is just the way that person is so we pay no attention to him or her.  Allowing this kind of behavior to continue is both disruptive and divisive.  We cannot carry on the work of the Lord unless we are united in on mission and vision.  Of course there are ways that of dealing with the situation that can make it worse.  We must always handle all conflicts and personalities in a Christ like manner.  Although expedient Isaac’s family did not truly resolve anything by their actions, but just sweeping it under the rug.  The current term that is used is “To kick the can down the road.” 

God-

Genesis 28:1-2

In the event to be covered, once again a picture is painted of the personalities of Isaac and his two sons.  Although not mentioned Rebekah still influenced Isaac decision to send Jacob away.  She allowed him to avoid the conflict that surely would have taken place if Jacob had remained in the home.  He was more than happen to agree with her wishes.  Isaac called Jacob to him and blessed him again.  He then gave the command for Jacob not to marry any of the women of Canaan.  His instructions were for Jacob to go to Syria and marry one of Laban’s daughters.

1. In what ways was Rebekah still in charge of what went on in the family?
2. What does this say about the personality of Isaac?
3. What are the real dynamics behind the decision made by both Isaac and Rebekah?
4. Why was Isaac more than willing to comply with the request of Rebekah?
5. How does this indicate that Isaac was not aware of Esau’s threat?
6. What would this mean for Jacob?
7. Why would he be more than willing to obey his father?

Genesis 28:3-5

After all that had occurred Isaac prays for Jacob.  He asked that God fulfill the covenant promised to Abraham.  With the blessing ringing in his ears Jacob was sent away for his journey to Paddan-aram to the home of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. By leaving, he would certainly avoid for the time being the wrath of his brother. 

1. Why did Isaac now call on the name of God?
2. What did his prayer include?
3. How did the details match up with what God had promised to Abraham?
4. Why was the journey important to Jacob at that point?
5. What can be seen by the fact that Rebekah was no longer mentioned?

Genesis 28:6-9

Esau must have been listening to the conversation between Isaac and Jacob.  How else could he have known of the command for Jacob to take a wife from Laban’s household and the blessing given to him? He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his father and departed for Syria.

Jacob was gone so Esau could no longer do anything to him.  He could however still take out his hurt, anger and frustration on his parents but doing the very thing they had kept his brother from doing.  To pay his mother, in particular, for her role in the deception he went to Ishmael and took a new wife named Mahalah.  This man who lived according to this world further disqualified himself from receiving the blessing of God by marrying someone from a godless family.

1. Why would Esau eavesdrop in on the conversation between Isaac and Jacob?
2. What does his response to that conversation say about him?
3. Why would he do anything else to alienate himself from his father and mother?
4. How did his actions show that he was disqualified to receive the blessings of God?

Genesis 28:10-11

 

Jacob who had received the blessing of his father that included all of the promises made to Abraham left home with nothing.  As the sun was going down he had to use rocks as a pillow.

1. At that point what had Jacob gained by all of his deception?
2. What had he lost, at least for that present time?
3. What kind of future did he have?
4. What guarantees did he have that he would be accepted into Laban’s home?

Genesis 28:12-14

Even though he was alone, God had not forgotten him.  The picture he saw was of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it.  At the top was the Lord. His words could have been, I know all about you and what you have done. In a way, by identifying  Himself as the Lord, the God of Abraham and his father Isaac, He could have been saying, you have done it your way and what has it gotten for you.

Jacob needed to hear that it was only by God’s grace that any of the promises made to Abraham and now to him could be fulfilled. His first promise to him, who at that point had nothing, was that he would possess the land on which he was resting. Then once again, all of the covenant provisions previously given were now spoken for Jacob’s benefit.  Like Abraham before him he received the message while still a single man without descendants. 

1. What does the appearance of the angels and Lord indicate to Jacob?
2. Why did God identify Himself to Jacob as He did?
3. Why would God even bother with Jacob?
4. What does it say about Him?
5. Why were the promises important to Jacob at that moment?

Genesis 28:15

There was one more promise to be made.  God told Him that Jacob could depend on God being present with him no matter where he went.  His promise would last as long as it took to accomplish everything that He had said.

1. Why was the last promise as important or more so than any of the others?
2. What did the promise entail?
3. How is that promise still in force today?
4. When might it be completely fulfilled?
5. How long can we expect for God to hold up His end of the deal with the nation of Israel? 

Genesis 28:16-17

To Jacob what had happened was more than a dream it was the reality of God presence in the very place where he had camped out.  It is interesting that Jacob was not aware of God.  He had been so wrapped up in his own agenda there was no place for God.  God had made Himself known in a real way to Jacob.  Before he proceeded with his journey on his own terms, he needed what God had planned for his life.  Jacob was to become the keeper of the covenant and had to be aware of what he could expect from God which would affect the way he lived from that point on. 

His response to the appearance of God was one of reverence that he had never displayed before in his life.  The words “How awesome is this place,” took the place full of sand and rocks and raised it to the level of a holy place.  He called it the “The house of God” which is the way into the throne room of God.  What a picture of the Son of God who became the way of entering into the very presence of the Father.  

1. Why would Jacob sense that what had happened to him was more than a dream?
2. Why was Jacob not aware of God’s presence in that place?
3. Why did God choose that time and place to reveal Himself to Jacob?
4. What did the writer mean when speaking of the fear Jacob had of God?
5. In what way did Jacob see the House of God as the gateway to heaven?
6. How does Jesus represent this idea?

Genesis 28:18-19

Jacob recognized the spot as extremely important by creating what could be considered a small altar for incense using the stone upon which he had slept.  He then renamed Luz and called it Bethel to recognize it as the House of God.

1. Why did Jacob take the time to set up a pillar/altar on the spot?
2. Why use the stone on which he had slept to make the pillar?
3. What does the word Bethel mean?
4. What did Jacob want to remember?

Genesis 28:20-22

What a difference between the words of God and those of Jacob is seen in these verses.  God made unconditional promises while Jacob tried to negotiate with Him.  He stated that God would be his God if He protected him in all the places he would be going.  If as He promised Jacob would return to the land of Canaan then he would serve Him and give him a tithe.  His words indicated that what Jacob would do was conditional. It all depended on what God would do for him.  God did not attach strings to His promises.

1. How did the words of Jacob differ from those of God?
2. After all that had occurred why did Jacob believe he had the right to negotiate with God?
3. How often have you tried to negotiate with God?
4. What kind of vows have you made that you have not fulfilled?

You-

• If there is conflict going on in your life be willing to face it.
• Seek to never be the source of conflict in your family or church.
• Do not avoid or run away from problems.
• Eliminate those things that distract you from truly sensing God’s presence in your life.
• Do not make vows that you cannot keep.
• Never make your love conditional on what you would have God do for you.
• Learn to stand in awe of God as you behold His glory.

We-

There are two aspects of the lesson that are important for all of us in the church.  We need to understand that even though conflict will come we must be part of the solution and not part of the problem.  We will be able to do this only if there is a genuine effort to stop it before it becomes embedded in the life of the church.  If we seek God’s direction He will give us the answers we need.  Let us trust Him and never try to deal with a situation in our own power.

If we desire to hear God we must establish the kind of environment where He can be heard and worshipped.  Jacob did not know God was present in that place because he was too busy thinking about himself and his own agenda.  Let us stop, slow down and realize that to accomplish anything for the kingdom we have to be still in our spirits so that we can truly hear what He is trying to say to us.  If we will change our attitudes and get out of the way God will truly provide resources to grow His kingdom through the church.

 

Additional notes:

RT-In meeting God at Bethel in such a personal way, Jacob had to decide what his relationship with Father would be.  No longer could he depend on the fact that God was the God of Abraham and Isaac but was now to be his God also. (Gen. 28:13)

BL-  In  Genesis 28, Isaac, sent Jacob to Rebekah’s brother’s home in Paddan Aram (today’s Syria).  Rebekah had complained that living near Esau’s Hittite wives is killing her, so she urged Isaac to sent Jacob to Laban’s to find a wife.  Isaac does so, imparting the blessing to Jacob that God first gave his grandfather, Abraham.  The blessing promises that from Jacob will come a “community of peoples” and that these descendants will inherit the land that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 13:14-17. (Although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never saw this promise come true in their own lifetimes, it has been partially fulfilled in the establishment of the nation of Israel-with more land to come in the future!)  Christians, too, have a part in this promise-God had told Abraham in Genesis 12 that through him, all nations on earth would be blessed-and we have received a spiritual heritage and the greatest blessing of all through Abraham’s descen!
dant, Jesus Christ!  (This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 11 when he speaks of the Gentiles being “grafted in” to the tree of the Abrahamic covenant.)
    In vv. 6-9, Esau adds to his “harem” by marrying a daughter of his half-uncle, Ishmael.  Whether he did it out of spite or out of a desire to please his father (perhaps thinking that a relative was better than taking another Hittite woman), the result was the same.  Esau proved once again that sensual pleasures, rather than spiritual things, were what mattered most to him.
   In vv. 10-15, Jacob, exhausted from his travels, lies down and dreams of a stairway that extends from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending its stairs.  At the top of the stairway, he sees the Lord, who says, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.”  The Lord goes on to reiterate the blessing He has given Abraham, promising fruitfulness, land, and a blessing for all the peoples of the earth.  Then God adds a new point.  In v. 15, He tells Jacob, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
   When Jacob awakes in vv. 16-17, he says in wonder, “Surely the Lord was in this place, and I was not aware of it . . .How awesome is this place!”  Why was Jacob so amazed by his dream?  It may be hard for us, who have been taught that God is everywhere, to understand Jacob’s amazement-but Buddy pointed out that in ancient times and religions, people associated gods with a certain locale.  In Jacob’s case, he probably believed that God was approachable only where his parents and their relatives dwelled.  Yet here was God, out in the middle of nowhere, identifying Himself not only as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but also as Jacob’s PERSONAL God!  Jacob might be friendless, tired, discouraged, ashamed, lonely, and confused about his future-but God was right there with him, no matter where he went.  No wonder Jacob was blown away by this revelation!   Jacob had it half right-he DID have an awesome experience-but it was God, not the place, that made it awesome!  Have YOU ever had a personal encounter with the living God?  He’s real-and He wants to be your God, too.  Ask Buddy or Al how you can know Him personally.  And if you do know Him as Lord of your life, when was the last time that you and I thanked Him for being faithful, even when we are not?  Lastly, Buddy asked how we can make Bethany Place into an “awesome” place-a place where we can introduce others to this wonderful, personal God Who loved us so much that He became flesh and died on a cross in order to draw us to Him!  That news is too great NOT to share! 

BL-We studied Genesis 28:18-22, which outlines Jacob’s response to God’s great promise to watch over him and make him into a great nation.  Buddy began by asking us why it was so important that God made Himself known in such an intimate way to Jacob.  Class members came up with several reasons, including:  God reveals Himself to us in times of the deepest valleys in our lives;  God gives His children encouragement when they need direction; and that God seeks US out wherever we are, even when (especially when!) we are sinful and lost, as Jacob was. To put it simply, Jacob was a recipient of God’s grace and mercy!
   However, Jacob’s gratitude was rather underwhelming!  In vv. 20-22, we saw him making a deal with God-“If God will be with me and will watch over me . . . and give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God . . .”  Buddy called this “foxhole faith,” the kind that says, “If you get me out of this mess, then I will make you my God.”  However, God doesn’t work that way!  God says, “If you will obey Me and follow Me, THEN I will bless you!” The problem with Jacob (and with so many of us!) is that he laid out his own agenda and then asked God to bless it.  He wanted God to be his “sugar daddy,” not his Lord. He desired tangible blessings, things he could touch and enjoy right now.   But God already HAD an agenda planned for  Jacob, one that went far beyond Jacob’s immediate wants, or even his immediate future.  God planned to make Jacob into a great nation–and all He required of Jacob was faith!
  It sounds simple, doesn’t it-to just trust God to handle our future!  But sometimes it seems so hard to hand Him the reins!  Is there an area of your life or mine where God is asking us to trust Him?  Listen to Jeremiah 29:11-“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”  His plans are far, far better than any you and I can ever come up with on our own!  Hopefully it won’t take us as long to learn that lesson as it did Jacob!
  In chapter 29, Jacob makes it to Haran, where he meets Rachel, Laban’s daughter.  He falls in love and agrees to work for Laban for seven years in exchange for the privilege of marrying her.  However, on Jacob’s wedding night, Jacob the deceiver meets the master of deceit!  Laban, looking to unload his older and less desirable daughter, Leah, sneaks her into the marriage tent in place of Rachel.  The next morning, when Jacob discovers the deception, he is furious–but he agrees to work for Laban another seven years if he can marry Rachel the following week. 
  Leah realizes that Jacob doesn’t love her, and God has pity on her.  He enables Leah to give Jacob four sons, while Rachel remains barren.  When Leah bears the first three boys, it is obvious from their names that she is desperate to win Jacob’s affection; but by the time she has the fourth son, she names him “Judah,” meaning “praise the Lord.”  Finally, she is learning to depend on God, not Jacob, to find fulfillment as a woman.  Leah, too, is learning some painful lessons about trusting God!  However, her fertility and Rachel’s barrenness have set the stage for yet another round in the continuing tale of the “Ultimate Dysfunctional Family!” 

RT-If there was one positive from this whole episode was that it helped Jacob break away from his past and to get a new start in life.  To have stayed in Canaan would have only been a constant reminder of what he had done and caused a tension between Isaac and Rebekah. (Gen. 28:1-5)

UE-Isaac blessed Jacob who had deceived him as he was being sent off to Syria to protect him and to find a wife. (Gen. 28:3-5)

M-The one thing that Esau could do to inflict hurt on his family was to take another wife from a heathen people. (Gen. 28:8-9)

UE-Even though Jacob had done wrong, God saw that he would be one through whom the great nation would be built.  This shows that God will use all kinds of people to carry out His purpose. (Gen. 28:13-15)

RT-Jacob is one of the best examples we have in the Old Testament of God’s grace.  God constantly had to deal with Jacob, who at different times could be described as:

1. Grabber
2. Deceiver
3. Liar
4. Selfish
5. Arrogant
6. Disrespectful of others
7. Manipulator
8. Weak

His decisions were always getting him into one jam after another. His family life was a disaster.  Ten of his sons hated their brother. One had a relationship with his father’s concubine.  One son even had a sexual relationship with his own daughter-in-law.  Jacob not only deceived his own father but his father-in-law as well. God still loved him enough to wrestle with him to bring to him a new revelation of who God was.  Jacob played his hand and God called his bluff and he became Israel.

E-As He had done with his grandfather, Abraham and his father God affirmed His covenant with Jacob.  This time He spoke of being the God of both Abraham and Isaac.  Once again one of Abraham’s descendents was told that the family would possess the land of Canaan and there would be so many descendents that they could not be counted.  Also through those born in the line of Jacob all nations would be blessed. God specifically promised him that He would:

1. Be with him
2. Keep him safe wherever he went
3. Bring him back to the land of Canaan
4. Not leave him until He had done all He promised

Jacob’s response to the dream was as follows

1. He awoke afraid because God was in the place where he had slept.
2. He was overcome with awe at being in the house of God and at the gateway to heaven.
3. His first act was to set up and altar and pour oil on it
4. His name for that holy place was Bethel which means house of God.
5. He made a vow.  This was true to his nature as a wheeler-dealer.  It followed these steps in the process.
   1. If God would be with him as He had promised
   2. To keep him on his journey
   3. Provide sustenance for him
   4. Provide clothing to wear
   5. Return him safely back to his family and home, then

(1)   The Lord would be his God

(2)   The stone he placed there would be God’s house

(3)   He would tithe                                                                                                          (Gen. 28:10-22)

GC-The promise made to Abraham and Isaac was now given to Jacob.  God was going to give him the land on which he stood as his possession forever.  Through him God was also going to bless the world.  It seems strange that God was speaking to a deceiver and liar in this way.  God however was going to bring changes in Jacob that he would not have understood at that point in his life.  What does this say about grace?  Who would be the recipient of the glory when all of this took place?  How much of it did Jacob actually bring about himself? (Gen. 28:13-15)

RT-In the encounter with God at Bethel in such a personal way began to shape the kind of relationship he would have with the Father.  His bargaining with God showed his faith was in its infancy and would need to be fleshed over the years as he faced many trials.  No longer could he depend on the knowledge that God of his ancestors but not was to be his God also.  He would have to take responsibility for his actions in regard to that relationship. (Gen. 28:13)

GC-There is a time in every person’s life when he confronted with god in a real way.  Jacob’s response as ours should be one of reverence and total awe of Him.                (Gen. 28:16-17)

GC-”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” When we are in His presence, we are to respond with awe and reverence.                                                                         (Gen. 28:16-17; 42:18; Job 28:28; 37:24; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 14:2; 15:33)

RT- The call of God is two-fold.  First it is a call for action on the part of the individual (obedience).  Then there is the promise that God will make the call result in fruitfulness (covenant). (Gen 28:13-15, 20-21)

M-When truly confronted with the Lord we are brought to a time of decision.  The one Jacob made was made was conditional.  He asked God to provide for him and if He did Jacob would return a portion back to Him but even more important than that he would call the Lord as his God. (Gen. 28:20-22)

WM-In spite of all of the promises God had just made to him, Jacob could not overcome his personality traits and tried to make a deal with Him.  A person who is enslaved to his ambitions as Jacob was cannot hear the voice of God and be free.  (Gen. 28:20-22)

GC-Jacob as was his practice placed conditions on his commitment to God.  His conditional promise occurred at the beginning of his pilgrimage with God.                  (Gen. 28:20-22)

RT-The call of God comes to each and all but there must be a response by the hearer before God will act. (Gen. 28:21-22)

GC-Jacob promised to tithe when he had nothing at all. (Gen. 28:22)

C-When God appeared to him on his journey, Jacob changed the name of the place from Luz to Bethel, the house of God. (Gen. 28:19)