12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father [forefather] and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 And your offspring shall be as [countless as] the dust or sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and by you and your Offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed and bless themselves. [Gen. 12:2-3; 13:16; 22:18; 26:4; Acts 3:25-26; Gal. 3:8, 16.] 15 And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you. Genesis 28:12-15 AMP
Jacob is a very interesting story and individual, so much so that as I start to write this I am already contemplating whether this will be a 2 part message. Each time I think of him I have to consider whether to call him Jacob or Israel, whether to view him as the trickster that many people label him as, or the man of faith and conviction that God used to give birth to the 12 tribes of Israel. The verses above are very important because it marks the 1st encounter (written) that God has with Jacob, and it comes at a very interesting time in his life. Jacob has just deceived his father, Isaac, at the direction of his mother, Rebecca, to steal his brother Esau’s birthright as the firstborn son. That is a whole nother story, but I mention it because as a result of that event, he is now on the run for his life from Esau, and for the most part he is isolated and alone, but it is here where God chooses to introduce himself to Jacob, make or extend a covenant with him.
Side bar: Did God choose to bless and make this covenant with Jacob because he had received the firstborn blessing from Isaac (Genesis 27), or had God already preselected Jacob for this blessing without regardless of whether he received the firstborn blessing or not?
God chose to visit Jacob in a vulnerable place because I believe that God saw that he was at a crossroads and needed an affirmation, reassurance, or faith boost to continue on. So what can we get from what God said to Jacob?
- Said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father [forefather] and the God of Isaac. God is familiar to each one of us I believe, and in Genesis much like the rest of the Bible, he always presents himself with familiarity and an introduction with his pedigree. I’m sure that Jacob and Esau were familiar with God based on their father Isaac who had had his own personal encounter and relationship with God. Starting with Abraham, God had introduced himself and established a covenant that he would bless them with numerous descendants, wealth, and land that currently was being occupied by another group of people. Jacob I’m sure had already heard of this covenant between God and his father Isaac, as well as grandfather, and so he would he could trust in the hearing of a familiar message. God here is establishing a personal relationship and covenant with Jacob that is actually a continuation of the one that he had already formed over a century before with Abraham.
- By you and your Offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed and bless themselves. God had made this same declaration before to Abraham and Isaac, so this statement shouldn’t come as a surprise to Jacob because it is one that I’m sure he had heard before about the blessing and favor God being on their family. I believe that this statement from God would have carried greater weight to Jacob than to the previous two because given that he had just experienced robbing his brother, deceiving his father, and was the 2nd born which in their culture and time had little to no claim over family inheritance compared to firstborn; he would be surprised that God was choosing him to bring about his covenant through. I’m sure his question for God at that time was how can I be blessed or bless anyone else when at the current moment I have nothing, and have no idea what is in my future. God, how is this going to happen?
- For I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you. God is committed to his promises made through his word, and according to God his word will not return to him void (Isaiah 55:11). This declaration was important in that Jacob needed some assurances to reassure his faith in this time of crisis and instability. God has no problem proving himself because he alone is capable of fulfilling his promises, so you have no one and nowhere else to go to for help or as an alternative except for God who made the promise to you in the first place. God is a finisher, but even more importantly, he’s faithful…..even when we aren’t, so he will always complete what he started and/or promise. When God makes us a promise, it is our duty to believe it and continue to develop our faith so that we won’t grow weary and fail to receive all that he has provided for us. This promise came at the start of Jacob’s real journey, but for him he probably believed that he had just experienced all that he could handle, yet here God was giving him this big promise/message when Jacob was in a difficult position.
I want to have a part 2 on Jacob to look at the 2nd encounter that Jacob has with God
Reflection Time
Has God ever visited you in a time of desperation, need, isolation, or some other time of adversity? Is it difficult for you to trust or believe God’s word when you are not well or things seem bad? What would you do or say if God was to visit you and give your a big dream, plan, or promise? Do you have anything or anyone other than God that you look to for direction or assistance in times of trouble. Do you have the faith AND endurance to walk with God until he fulfills his promises to you?
