# 260 Jacob's Ladder

The Book of Genesis

Day 260

Ge 28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.  11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.  12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.  14 "Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.  15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."

Quite a pilgrimage for Jacob. Just think of all he has been experiencing lately! His brother has sworn to kill him. His parents are pressuring him to find a bride, and now he is on his way to a strange place with nothing but a rock for his pillow.

It is here that he has the famous dream that we have heard about since our earliest days of Sunday School.  It is called “Jacob’s Ladder.” Angels ascending and descending on this ladder that has been set up bridging the gap between heaven and earth. God uses this dream to express His desire to be connected to Jacob, and of course, you and I as well. Jesus uses this story  to point out that He is the way  for man to connect with God. He is the ladder!

In Joh 1:51, He says to Nathaniel, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." Did you notice how He substitutes the “ladder” with “the Son of Man?”

Just a little on the title of “The Son of Man.” The Son of God was the divine name of Jesus, Son of David was His Jewish name, and the Son of Man was the name He used to link Himself to the earth (mankind) and His mission . His mission was to bridge the gap between sinful man and a holy God. This vision of Jacob’s was a sign of things to come! Things that connected him to the blessing of Abraham, and God used this vision to assure Jacob that he and his seed would indeed  be the vehicle of that blessing.

The presence of the multitude of angels assured Jacob that no night of loneliness, no time of desolation, would be so dark that God’s angels would not be able to find him. No pit of trouble so deep that God could not reach him. All he had to do was look to the Son of Man….Jesus…..the Ladder.

As God the Father soothed and assured Jacob with this vision of the Ladder, so  too are we assured. For Jesus has said that He will never leave us and the very angels of God are always at hand ministering to our needs. Speaking of angels in Heb 1:14 the Holy Spirit assures us, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”

What comfort to know that even as Jesus bridges the gap for us between heaven and earth, His angels are with us along the way.

# 259 Pleasing Men Rather Than God!

The Book of Genesis

Day 259

Ge 28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram.  8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac.  9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.”

Esau. I think we all know people like Esau. In fact most of us have likely acted impulsively at one time or another in our lives. We do things without thinking them all the way through. Our actions, (good or bad) have consequences.

In this case, Esau sees that Jacob leaving home to find a bride, (that was not a Canaanite) pleased his dad. Esau wants to please his dad and so he takes an immediate, (but not thoroughly thought out step) of marrying someone from Ishmael’s family.  “Hey at least she’s not a Canaanite.!” Isaac and Rebekah had made it plain that they were not thrilled with Esau’s other two wives. But all Esau has done, is sinned again against God as he takes on a third wife. (Polygamy is a sin!) Poor Esau, he keeps trying to do things that he thinks will please his earthly father, but he has no desire to please his heavenly Father!

I think we are guilty of this same mistake as we do things in order to fit in. An example might be those times we use crass language in order to “fit in with the boys.” I’ve got news for us guys (and gals) in this matter, we are sinners enough to “fit in with the boys, (or girls) ” we don’t need to foul up our language to prove it!

Eph 4:29  says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

And in 1Pe 1:16 we read, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Remember, in the matter of pleasing others, we must always seek to please God first!  Paul, writing in Ga 1:10 says, “or do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

Let’s slow down our impulsive tendencies and seek first to please God in all we say and do.

# 258 Blessing and Responsibility

The Book of Genesis

Day 258

Ge 28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.  2 "Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.  3 "May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;  4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham."  5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 

To Isaac’s credit here he doesn’t sit around and mope about the way things have turned out concerning the blessing he inadvertently bestowed upon Jacob. Once that irrevocable blessing was bestowed, he went all in with it!

He starts out by charging Jacob to find a bride among his brethren. (This is the equivalent of the charge to Christians to marry fellow believers. 2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?)

Isaac BLESSES and CHARGES Jacob at the same time, and that should help us make the connection between God’s blessing and responsibility. God doesn’t bless us in order for us to live irresponsibly.  The Parable of the Prodigal Son comes to mind here, as does the Parable of the Talents.  God gives us grace, that we may invest it in others. (His preferred way of investing in His kingdom) We are not to fritter it away on ourselves as the Prodigal son did!

To “fritter” away God’s grace is to receive it but then not be gracious to others, or to continue living as you please, or to be content to live as a spiritual babe, living on the milk of the Word, rather than moving on to the meat. Heb 5:13 says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.  14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Grace is given by God to be spent by us for Him, His kingdom, and His glory! 1Pe 4:10  says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

God’s grace is truly amazing, but don’t sit around gawking at it! Employ it in your own life as God gives you opportunity!

# 257 What A Mess!

The Book of Genesis

Day 257

Ge 27:41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, "Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 "And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, 45 "until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?" 46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

Esau is so furious with Jacob that his heart is filled with hatred and he starts planning to kill his brother. He knows that would break his father’s heart, so he plans to wait until Isaac passes away and a proper time of mourning has been observed.  So how do the words of Esau’s heart, find their way to Rebekah’s ears? 

I can picture the scene: Esau, out with the boys, quaffing a few adult beverages, or maybe grousing about the house with his heathen wives, and saying things like: “Just wait till dad dies, I will kill that no good lying brother of mine, then we’ll see who’s inheritance it is!”

Well, that’s speculation on my part, but the word does get out and Rebekah (who is very good at eavesdropping) gets wind of it and takes immediate action.

Esau had the bitterness of Cain and for pretty much the same reason. Cain’s offering was refused by God because of his attitude toward God, and Esau’s attitude toward God was similar. Both were older brothers of young men who were recipients of the Lord’s favor and it infuriated them.

But unlike Abel, Jacob removes himself from the scene and flees to uncle Laban’s house in Haran. Rebekah encourages him to go there until Esau cools off and he forgets what Jacob did to him.

Have you noticed something here? Rebekah has removed “we” from the equation of wrongdoing and puts all the blame on Jacob! Whatever happened to “Let your curse be upon me, my son.” That we heard her say back in verse 13?  Obviously, it’s gone, and again a reminder for those of you who face peer pressure to do ungodly things. When you get caught and push comes to shove, you can count on one thing. Those who put you up to the wrongdoing  with their empty promises will be long gone, and they will be pleased to allow the finger of blame to be pointed squarely at you.

So Rebekah urges Jacob to leave, because if he stays she will have nothing left. Isaac will be passing away soon, Jacob would be dead, and Esau would have to flee as a murderer! Even in sending Jacob away she resorts to scheming as she approaches Isaac and urges him to send Jacob away under the guise of finding a suitable wife.

She and Isaac didn’t agree on much but they both agreed that Esau’s unbelieving wives were a grief to them. Playing on that grief, she had no problem convincing Isaac to send Jacob away.

This whole situation has turned into a royal family mess! All because Rebekah did not wait on the Lord and took things into her own sinful hands. But, as usual, God, in His mercy,  will take this mess and turn it into a message. Jacob’s trip to Haran will ultimately result in the birth of the nation Israel!  Stay tuned!

# 256 Don’t Zero In On Their Faults!

The Book of Genesis

Day 256

Ge 27:36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?" 38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me-me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck."

Prophecy is amazing! All these things pronounced upon Esau by Isaac came to pass. Just as Isaac’s blessing let Jacob know what was in store for him, so does his blessing of Esau!

The descendants of Esau  are known as Edomites in the Bible and they indeed did inhabit a rich fertile country to the south of Judah. They were a people who lived by the sword. It was Edom that refused to let Jacob’s descendants pass through their land on their way to the Promised Land. They flat out told them in Nu 20:18, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword."

 Later, King Saul would make war against them, and later still, David would actually conquer them, and they would (as the blessing stated) “serve their brother Israel.”

In the end, Edom threw in with Babylon and helped overthrow Judah, and God pronounced a special judgment against them in the days of Ezekiel.  He said in Eze 35:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,  2 "Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (a mountain located in Edom) and prophesy against it,  3 "and say to it, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, And make you most desolate;  4 I shall lay your cities waste, And you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.  5 "Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end,”

This hatred started here with Esau and was never totally resolved. Esau never did see and come to grips with the fact that God intended the blessing of the firstborn for Jacob all along.The reason he couldn’t see it was because all he could concentrate on was the trickery of Jacob. He and his descendants were never able to let go of that root of bitterness, and in the end it cost them dearly….they became a desolation.

Unforgiveness going on in your life? Stop focusing on the faults of those you choose to not forgive. Rather look for the positive, and let those positive things open the door to dialogue, and let that dialogue lead to forgiveness and restoration through Jesus Christ

# 255 Grace, Forgiveness, Repentance

The Book of Genesis

Day 255

Ge 27:36 And Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!" And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?" 38 And Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me-me also, O my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck."

 It’s easy to read this account in Scripture and forget the original prophecy concerning these two boys. God said from the get-go that Jacob would be the one who would rule over his brother.  God sees, God knows, and God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy.  God used His selection prerogative in the case of Esau and Jacob to teach us about His elective grace which we read about in  Ro 9:11,12  (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),  12 it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger."

God’s omniscience (all knowing) is not to be overlooked here either, and quite frankly it is too much for our finite minds to comprehend. He knew Esau would be a profane (godless) and unrepentant man, just as sure as he knew Judas would be the unrepentant traitor of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Well,” one might say, “if that’s the case why bother, God already knows my end.” Yes He does…..but you don’t, and that’s the key. As long as you have breath in your body, you like the thief on the cross, have the opportunity to join Jesus in Paradise.  You CAN know your end! It is not God’s will that any should perish, and that includes you! Your answer to where you will spend eternity is found in the Word of God! 1Jo 5:13 says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

 Let us learn from Esau, lest we disqualify ourselves through a heart that has been hardened by unforgiveness. Speaking of Esau in Heb 12:14-17 we read, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; 16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

Note the reference to the “root of bitterness,” and understand how important it is for us to learn to forgive others.  Esau held on to his root of bitterness with Jacob and “he found no place for repentance.”

Jesus said in Mt 6:15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

There are two kinds of repentance. True repentance in which the Holy Spirit produces godly sorrow over our sins, and false repentance in which the sorrow is only produced because we have done harm to ourselves. This was Esau’s major problem, he was not very much concerned about godly sorrow as he was about his own personal sorrow.

True repentance is a gift from God.  Don’t mess with it! No matter your sin, join with David after he was confronted by Nathan with his sin and agree with God saying, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And ask the Holy Spirit for help with any and all issues of unforgiveness in your heart.

# 254 The Irrevocable Promises of God

The Book of Genesis

Day 254

Ge 27:30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.  31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me."  32 And his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" So he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."  33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, "Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him-and indeed he shall be blessed."  34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me-me also, O my father!"  35 But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing."

This is such a sad and tragic scene isn’t it? One can picture Esau on the hunt, capturing his game, painstakingly preparing it just the way his father (hunting buddy) liked it. What a joyful task as he not only anticipates pleasing his father, but also as he anticipates receiving the blessing due the firstborn. He brings the game in and asks his father to eat of it and bless him, but something is terribly wrong!

Isaac, realizes he has been had by Jacob and he begins to tremble exceedingly. Why? What’s the big deal? Can’t you just say oops! Cancel the first blessing and make up a new one for Esau? Easier said than done in the culture of the day because deathbed bequests had legal force in ancient Eastern Law, and even more importantly, Isaac realized that as the heir and steward of God’s covenant blessing to Abraham he had solemnly transmitted that heritage to Jacob.

In this instance, what he had spoken, he had spoken on behalf of God. It was, like all of God’s promises, irrevocable. Nu 23:19 says,  "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”Further in Ro 11:29 we read, “ For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

With passages such as these, we begin to get a feel for the power and the immutability of God’s Word. This same power and truth is at the disposal of those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ today. It’s in His Word awaiting to be discovered by you and I, and all others who open their hearts to the Savior. Open Your Bible and open your heart to receive the irrevocable promises of God!