God’s Rogue is Found by Grace

Genesis 28:1–22 NASB95

1 So 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 Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 “May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he charged him, 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 Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth. 10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth 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 promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. 22 “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Introduction

We have made it to the 3 part of Jacob’s life, which is the actually spread out over 4 chapters.

We have talked about the story of his birth, how from the beginning he was a little heel grabber, and of the prophecy that was given to Rebekah.

We have the beginnings of 2 great nations in this rogue named Jacob, and this utterly secular man named Esau.

One of the things about the sovereignty of God in His dealing with men is the why.

I think that is something we can all relate to.

But another big one is how.

How is God to fulfil His promise to Abraham, when the next two generations are so messed up?

Part of why Genesis is written is to sho us exactly that.

The weaving of the tapestry of the plan of God, worked out through the lives of sinful men and women.

Since the two fraternal twins were born, their was a major bout of sibling rivalry going on.

This reached the apex when Esau, the favorite of Isaac, was to receive his blessing from the hungry patriarch.

Jacob, Rebekah’s favorite, stole it through deceit.

Not exactly great material to build a blessed and holy nation from.

But as we go through this narrative about the life of Jacob, this rogue that God has chosen, we will see how God can use the lumpiest of clay to create the most beautiful piece of pottery.

Today’s passage actually begins in the last verse of chapter 27.

And this is the transition point to this next arc of Jacob’s life.

Let’s look at what happened.

Genesis 27:41–46 NASB95

41 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban! 44 “Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” 46 Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Esau was so mad at Jacob, he threatened to murder him.

Rebekah heard this and immediately started making plans.

She told Jacob to leave until Esau forgets what happened.

Would you forget that your blessing was stolen?

Esau would, his care about it would soon be forgotten and his attention would soon be fixed on the next thing that he wanted.

Rebekah knew her son, and she knew that Jacob would listen to her.

Her problem was Isaac.

But she was a master at scheming and manipulating him, so she comes up with this complaint.

Esau married local pagan women, so she went to Isaac laid up in his bed.

She put the back of her hand on her forehead, and said woe is me.

I don’t know why, but I picture Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind when I think about this scene.

Her complaint works and Issac complies, as we’ll see.

As we go through this narrative, I want you to keep in the back of your mind, the big picture.

God is weaving and working, through these sinners, His ultimate will.

And through this all, God absolutely invades Jacob’s life with grace.

Let’s start at the beginning of chapter 28 and see how it works out.

Jacob Sent to Search for a Wife v.1-9

Genesis 28:1–4 NASB95

1 So 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 Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 “May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 “May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.”

This scene is kind of hilarious to me.

Maybe you can kind of relate to it.

We just saw how Rebekah went to Isaac, and complained that she couldn’t go on unless they send Jacob away to search for a wife from their native land.

Now we see Isaac call Jacob and tell him he must go away to search for a wife from his native land.

Like it was his idea.

And on top of that, Jacob already knew he was going to be called to go search for a wife, because Rebekah had told him that already!

It’s like a big circle of manipulation and dysfunction!

Hopefully if you can relate to this, it’s just in a small way.

But Isaac goes along with Rebekah’s plan, and blesses Jacob.

And he basically passes the promises of the covenant God made with his father Abraham down to Jacob.

Do you remember how unlikely this was from last time?

Isaac was trying to give the blessing to Esau, but God used the scheming of Rebekah and Jacob to make sure it went to His chosen man.

Then the author gives us Esau’s reaction to what’s happening

Genesis 28:6–9 NASB95

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he charged him, 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 Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan displeased his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and married, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Esau saw that Jacob got another blessing from his father, and still wanted one for himself!

So in his fleshly and secular mind, he tried to go his own way and follow the instruction according to his mind.

He went and married someone who wasn’t a Canaanite, but was the daughter of his father’s half-brother Ishmael.

And if you remember, Ishmael was born when his grandfather, Abraham, decided to follow instructions in his own way as well.

So again, the stark contrast is laid before us.

Everyone involved is a mess, but the difference is the hand of God.

So Jacob left, and went to Paddan-aram to his Uncle Laban’s home.

But something happens on his journey.

Jacob Sleeps and Dreams v. 10-15

Genesis 28:10–15 NASB95

10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth 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 promised you.”

On the road to Haran Jacob comes to a certain place.

And the Bible makes certain we know that the place is certain.

Verse 11 calls it THE place several times

Genesis 28:11 NASB95

11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.

This place would become a place Jacob would call Bethel.

Jacob must have been tired from his journey, to lay down and use a stone for a pillow.

He begins to sleep, and God causes him to have a dream.

He sees a strange thing in his dream.

What the NASB calls a ladder here is probably more like a staircase.

And going up and down on the staircase are angels going to and from heaven.

Do you remember the story of the tower of Babel?

What were they trying to do when they built it?

Reach heaven.

Here we have the counter to that.

Jacob wasn’t trying to reach heaven.

He was just trying to get the best sleep he could get with a rock for a pillow.

But on top of the staircase was Yahweh.

Yahweh made the staircase to come down to earth.

Do you see the difference?

We don’t build the staircase, it is built for us.

Yahweh stood above the ladder, and called down to Jacob.

Repeating the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac, now to Jacob.

Then he told him in verse 15

Genesis 28:15 NASB95

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 promised you.”

Amazing! Can you imagine how Jacob must have felt?

This was not necessarily a trip he was making for pleasure.

He’s basically running for his life from his brother.

But God promises to be with him, and keep him wherever he goes, but not only that, to bring him back to this land.

He won’t leave him until He has done what He promised.

God has sovereignly promised that the covenant would go through Jacob, and He was going to keep that promise until the end.

Can you imagine the confidence this must have brought Jacob?

This sounds a lot like the promise God made to Moses that is quotes by the author of Hebrews in Chapter 13

Hebrews 13:5 NASB95

5 …being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

But wait?

Shouldn’t we be offended by this outpouring of grace to such a rogue and scoundrel?

God’s Rascal: The Jacob Narrative in Genesis 25–35 Chapter 4: Grace that Is Greater than All Our Bungling (Genesis 28:10–22)

Henry Gerecke was a US Army chaplain who was asked to serve among the Nazis on trial at Nuremberg in 1946. He spoke German which was one ‘plus’ in a difficult ministry. He met with these men who would be condemned to death or marooned in prison; he questioned, counseled, prayed. He began ‘chapel services.’ Several of the men seemed genuinely repentant. Gerecke was no softee. He’d had much experience dealing with criminal types. Some of those he examined he admitted to the Lord’s supper. Near Christmas of 1945 Gerecke noted what looked like genuine change in the attitudes of Fritzsche, Schirach, and a couple of others. Even the arrogant and obnoxious Ribbentrop seemed to have cast himself upon Christ. Gerecke’s duties as an army chaplain ended in July 1950, and he continued in ministry until his death in 1961. After his death his oldest son found a thick file of letters stashed in a secret compartment of his father’s desk. They had been sent from all over the United States. They called Gerecke a ‘Jew-hater,’ a ‘Nazi-lover,’ and said he should have been hanged at Nuremberg with the rest of them. All the letters were written in the most hateful language imaginable.

Why was he shown so much hatred?

Because grace can be offensive to those who don’t understand how much grace they themselves need.

All of us are in need of the same amount of grace that those nazis needed, and that Jacob needed.

We are all Jacobs in our own way.

Jacob had done nothing to build this ladder, Yahweh built it for him.

Jacob wasn’t worthy of God’s promises, God made them of His own will.

But Jacob received them, and this changed him.

He woke up a new man.

We can see in his response that…

Jacob Surrenders to Grace v. 16-22

Genesis 28:16–22 NASB95

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. 22 “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

I was asked recently about what I would say to Jesus when I met Him face to face one day.

What questions I would ask Him and what would I like to know.

I told him that I wouldn’t be saying anything, I will be falling down and worshipping.

A holy fear comes over Jacob when he wakes up from this dream that Yahweh had caused him to have, and is amazed.

Wouldn’t you be?

When he went to bed on that rock pillow, he had no idea what he was going to experience that night.

Grace came to him as a complete surprise.

He wasn’t seeking it.

He wasn’t following a set of steps, or pillars, or sacraments to get to it.

His eyes were opened to it, and he believed.

How do we know he believed?

Genesis 28:20–21 NASB95

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God.

Because it changed him.

He stopped following his own schemes, and mad Yahweh his God.

And that is one thing about the grace of salvation that has never changed, that it is accompanied with the grace of sanctification.

As we get farther along in his story, we will see that it is not like he is made perfect from now on.

But the direction of his life has been reoriented.

He would take the stone that he laid on, anoint it with oil, and make a pillar out of it.

Not as an idol, but as a memorial to what he had experienced there.

Notice what the narrator tells us about the name of that place.

Genesis 28:19 NASB95

19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.

Jacob named it Bethel, or House of God.

It was called Luz before, and probably at that time.

But Jacob believed that it would be his one day, so the right of naming it was his.

This was an act of faith.

And this place would become very significant in the future of Israel.

It would be the future home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle until it was moved to Jerusalem.

This place had made an indelible mark on Jacob, he would never for get it.

And that is what saving grace does to us.

We re changed by the reality of God working in us.

Some the outward change is revolutionary, but all of us are changed.

Conclusion

Everything that God does for us is done out of the overflowing of His grace.

This journey, even though it started out to be another scheme for self-protection, would end up being the most important journey of Jacob’s life.

Jacob wasn’t going on a religious pilgrimage to find God, but in God’s timing and way, God found Jacob.

Remember that with the one’s you love and pray for, that grace can come at the most surprising times and in the most surprising ways.

And Jacob responded to the promises of God by faith, when he started this trip he had no idea that God was going to meet with him like this.

You never know what God is doing in your life or the life of others.

Make sure you remember Jacob’s ladder the next time life takes you on a trip you weren’t expecting.