How to Pursue the Blessings of God (Gen. 28:10-22)

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: 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; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into 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. 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 pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 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: 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.

Introduction:

Is it not a noble thing to pursue God’s blessings? By all means, go after the blessings of God, but as one can see from the unfolding drama surrounding Jacob’s home, the real danger that each pursuant of God’s blessings faces is that of the undoing of his or her own family! The fabric of society is failing today due in large part to the failure of the family!

Gen. 27

The lessons to us from this drama

(1) The practice of favoritism destroys family unity.

(2) The end does not justify the means.

(3) The almighty God needs no help in fulfilling His promises.

(4) The telling of one lie calls for the telling of more lies.

(5) The acts of life often cannot be undone.

(6) The decrees of God cannot be frustrated. [Roy E. Gingrich, The Book of Genesis (Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing, 1998), 52.]

[Roy E. Gingrich, The Book of Genesis (Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing, 1998), 52.]

I. Mama Bear Plots to Protect Her Cub ()

A. The Threatening Thunderstorm of Looming Anger ()

Genesis 27:41 KJV 1900

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

Note - The destructive power of unbiblical anger

As we read this story, there is a danger that we will sympathize with Esau, the opposer of God’s revealed will, rather than with Jacob, the promoter of God’s revealed will. On the other hand, there is a danger that we will condone Jacob’s method just because it promoted God’s will. We must be careful to commend his desire but to condemn his method of fulfilling this desire. [Gingrich, 51.]

Note - The importance of a pure thought-life

Esau’s sin of hatred developed and grew in his thought life (“said in his heart”) to the extent that he wanted and plotted to murder Jacob. He was unsuccessful, of course, in murdering Jacob. But the point we stress here is that the thought of evil precedes the deed of evil. This is always the case. Our thoughts always precede our deeds. Our meditations become foul before our manners do. Wicked contemplations lead to wicked conduct. Esau’s thoughts of murder were leading to the deed of murder.[John G. Butler, Jacob: The Sower and Reaper, vol. Number Seventeen, Bible Biography Series (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 1999), 76.]

John G. Butler, Jacob: The Sower and Reaper, vol. Number Seventeen, Bible Biography Series (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications, 1999), 76.]

B. Seeking Cover from the Pending Storm of Murder ()

Genesis 27:42–46 KJV 1900

And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Gen. 27:42-46

Note - who told Rebekah?

Note - “comfort” - breathing heavily, console, repent...

Note - “a few days” - She’ll never see him again.

Rebekah’s attitude reflects a mild view of sin. Many are like Rebekah in that they do not comprehend the real cost and harm of sin. People often say about some sin, “It won’t hurt.” But that is the “few days” attitude about sin, and it is a tragically wrong attitude. In estimating the hurt of sin, most people only see the tip of the iceberg if they see that much; and so they play down the great seriousness of sin. Sin hurts us more than most realize. When temptation promises great gain and little loss, do not believe it. It is only a lie. It is the pleasure of sin, not the punishment of sin, that is only for a “few days” (see ). [Butler, 80–81.]

John G. Butler, 80–81.]

That Rebekah suffered in all those after-years is evident from the words with which she sent him away. Her plan was that he should tarry with Laban a few days only, and she distinctly declared her intention to send for him again. This she never did. We constantly attempt to comfort our hearts with the idea that we can manipulate the results of sin, so as to make them less hard to bear; and then we have to prove, through long and bitter experiences, that this is not so. There is only one moment in which we can save ourselves from sin, and that is before we commit it. [G. Campbell Morgan, The Analyzed Bible: The Book of Genesis, vol. 9 (New York; Chicago; Toronto; London; Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1911), 177–178.]

G. Campbell Morgan, The Analyzed Bible: The Book of Genesis, vol. 9 (New York; Chicago; Toronto; London; Edinburgh: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1911), 177–178.]

Note - Selfishness - “why should I be deprived...”

Note - Playing to dad’s disdain - “if Jacob” does what Esau did...

II. Papa Bear Plans a Wedding ()

A. Dad Counsels on How to Choose a Wife ()

Genesis 28:1–2 KJV 1900

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.

Note - The differences between what Abraham did for Isaac and what Isaac is doing for Jacob

Note - Connect the context of not taking a wife of the Canaanites

This charge is like the one Apostle Paul gave in which says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” It is the forbidden unequal yoke. God’s people are not to marry what the Canaanites represent in creed and conduct. The Canaanites were heathen in creed (unbelievers in our terminology), and they were corrupt morally in their conduct. If you want a good marriage with the blessing of God upon it, you must never take the inferior spiritually or morally. Marriage is no place to take something that is borderline, doubtful, secondhand, or tainted. The choice of your spouse is extremely important, for it will greatly affect your happiness, your service for God, and your character. Barnhouse rightly said, “A man can never be truly judged until you meet the woman he loves. One glance at her will reveal much of his character.” [Butler, 88.]

John G. [Butler, 88.]

B. Son Sent-Off with Blessing ()

Genesis 28:3–5 KJV 1900

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Note - God Almighty = El Shaddai (see )

There are important lessons in the scriptural record of this family’s life, and one of the most obvious is that the will of God and not the will of man will be established ultimately. The will of God is like an anvil. It is there for us to be conformed to, just as a bar of metal can be bent on an anvil and thus be molded into something useful. But if we do not want to be conformed to the wise and holy will of God, then it is like us beating a piece of wood against the anvil. It is the wood—ourselves—and not the anvil that will be broken. [James Montgomery Boice, Genesis: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 760.]

James Montgomery Boice, Genesis: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 760.]

Note - Abrahamic Covenant = Land, Seed, Blessing

Note - Jacob’s Obedience

This account is another remarkable demonstration of God’s ability to use the sins of men and women to accomplish His purposes and at the same time punish the sinners for their sins.

“What man intends for evil God utilizes for good.”673

[673 673. Davis, p. 238.

Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), .]

III. Angry Bear Rebels in Spite ()

Genesis 28:6–9 KJV 1900

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Note - Esau’s Spiteful Disobedience

Note - The Tale of Two Uncle’s

Note - The Lineage from Ishmael to Antichrist

I believe what is spoken here has huge prophetic implication. You see, God’s anger at the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, appears throughout the Old Testament—seen nowhere more clearly than in the Book of Obadiah, the only book in the Old Testament devoted to an indictment against a single group of people.

Why does God wage war against the Edomites? An Edomite named Haman sheds light on the reason, for in the Book of Esther, we read of his plan to annihilate the Jews.

Then, around the year 3000 b.c., a group called the Nabateans took control of the area where the Edomites lived southeast of Israel. Driven out of their homeland, the Edomites settled around Hebron—part of the West Bank today—and became known as Idumeans. Years later, when the Macabbeans rose up and overthrew the Syrians who had taken control of Jerusalem, the Macabbeans said to the people living in Idumea, “We’ll let you stay here only if you convert to Judaism.” So the Idumeans became Jews religiously, although they remained Edomites ethnically.

Around the year 47 b.c., Julius Caesar appointed Antipater—an Idumean—as governor of the region. Antipater was the father of Herod, and Herod being a family name, all of the Herods who followed were Idumean, including the Herod who ordered the death of every male child under two years of age in an attempt to kill the Babe of Bethlehem. From generation to generation, God declares, “I wage war against the descendants of Esau” () because from the very beginning there’s a spirit at work. It’s the spirit to destroy the Jewish nation and prevent Messiah from surviving. It’s the spirit of antichrist.

In the year a.d. 70, the Romans, led by General Titus, were positioned to destroy the city of Jerusalem. Josephus tells us 20,000 Idumeans were let in the city gates by the Jews because they promised to help fight the Romans. But once inside, the Idumeans turned against the Jews and slaughtered them. The surviving Jews scattered; the Idumeans migrated to Italy, settling around the city of Rome, where their descendants are to this day. Why Rome? Because through Herod, there was a linkage to the Romans.

According to , antichrist shall be of the people who destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Who destroyed Jerusalem? The Romans. Thus, the nationality of antichrist will most likely be Roman, but his ethnic background will be Idumean because prophecies throughout the Old Testament indicate that he will be linked ethnically to Esau. God is not capricious or unfair when He says, “I hate Esau” () because there’s a spirit which travels through Esau’s descendants directly to antichrist.

When is the day Esau will beat the yoke of Jacob from off his neck? I suggest it is the day antichrist rises to power and sets up his image in the temple in Jerusalem (). [Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume One: Genesis–Job (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 133–134.]

Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume One: Genesis–Job (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 133–134.]

Note - No wonder God’s said, “Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated...”

This great story teaches that when God’s people know His will they should not resort to deceptive, manipulative schemes to attain spiritual success but must pursue God’s will righteously. Every member of Isaac’s family behaved in a self-centered and unprincipled manner, yet God graciously overcame their sins. This reminds us that His mercy is the ultimate ground of salvation. [Constable, .]

Tom Constable, .]

IV. Baby Bear Makes His Bed at Bethel ()

A. Bedding Down for the Night ()

Genesis 28:10–11 KJV 1900

Note - a “certain place”

It is now a proverb among men that "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." When in the midst of the fire and the lions God delivered His Hebrew children. It was while Stephen was being stoned that God opened the heavens before him. It was when John was an exile in Patmos that the Revelation came. It was after the sun had set on Jacob's path that he saw the ladder. The valley of Achor often becomes the door of hope. [Dr. James Smith and Robert Lee, Handfuls on Purpose: For Christian Workers and Bible Students, n.d., .]

Dr. James Smith and Robert Lee, Handfuls on Purpose: For Christian Workers and Bible Students, n.d., .]

John G. Butler, 95.]

Jacob came to Bethel from a broken home. The peace and tranquility of the home he had lived in for nearly seventy years had been destroyed by sin. This forced him to flee for his life. Jacob, like Adam and Eve, was forced by sin to leave his original home. Sin is a wrecker of the home. Today our society is a junkyard strewn with the wreckages of marriages destroyed by sin. When the home is abandoned, as it is today by divorce and by doctrine (the philosophy of many is anti-home and anti-family), it is a sure sign of sin abounding. Sin destroys the home quickly. [Butler, 95.]

B. Dreaming of the Divine ()

Genesis 28:12–15 KJV 1900

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: 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; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Note - Jesus’ application of this to Himself & the importance of seeing Christ in the OT

John 1:51 KJV 1900

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Jesus took this figure of a means of access between heaven and earth, as a vivid foretaste of himself as the Way (). [Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1967), 170.]

Derek Kidner, Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 1, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1967), 170.]

John G. Butler, 104–105.]

The New Testament encourages us to find Christ in the Old Testament more than we do. Some commentators and scholars cannot see Christ in the plainest of typology in Scripture, but the New Testament will rebuke that attitude. In Jacob’s dreams we encounter two New Testament texts ( and ) that encourage our seeing Christ in the Old Testament much more than we do. Two other New Testament texts which encourage us to see Christ in the Old Testament are which records Philip telling Nathanael, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”; and which tells us that Christ, when with the two on the road to Emmaus on the day of His resurrection from the grave, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (). Christ is the key to understanding the Scriptures. Failure to see Christ in the Scriptures is failure to understand the Scriptures properly. [Butler, 104–105.]

Note - The Promise of God: Land, Seed, Blessing

Note - “I am with thee...”, “I will not leave thee until I have done...”

C. Perceiving the Presence of God ()

Genesis 28:16–17 KJV 1900

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 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.

Note - “Surely the LORD is in this place...”

Note - “…and I knew it not.”

Note - The House of God = Where God Dwells Among Men

Note - The Gate of Heaven = Jesus

D. Remembering the Place of God ()

Genesis 28:18–19 KJV 1900

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Note - The Importance of Memorial

Note - Pouring as a picture of worship

E. Experiencing the Transformative Power of God ()

Genesis 28:20–22 KJV 1900

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: 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.

Note - Jacob is not making a bargain with God

Note - Jacob’s Response:

If God Protects, then Jehovah is my God

If God Provides (food & clothes), then I’ll give Tithe

This is the second time the tithe (a tenth) is mentioned in the Bible. It was mentioned first in . These two mentions of tithing indicate that the practicing of tithing occurred before the giving of the Mosaic law. Those who want to excuse their poor giving by the fact that the tithe was only given to Israel have no Scriptural basis for their argument! We need to remember that the tithe is the starting point, not the finishing point in our giving. Even under the law, the tithe was not all the giving involved (). The New Testament exhortation to give never exhorts one to give a tithe. It exhorts one to give more. It exhorts to give liberally and sacrificially (; ; ). The amount will increase as our devotion to the Lord increases. [Butler, 114.]

We need to remember that the tithe is the starting point, not the finishing point in our giving. Even under the law, the tithe was not all the giving involved (). The New Testament exhortation to give never exhorts one to give a tithe. It exhorts one to give more. It exhorts to give liberally and sacrificially (; ; ). The amount will increase as our devotion to the Lord increases. [Butler, 114.]

The gift of the tenth was voluntary before it was commanded. It was to become a fetish with the Pharisees (); but the principle of proportionate giving is upheld, though unspecified, in the New Testament (). [Kidner, 170.]

John G. Butler, 114.]

Derek Kidner, 170.]

If God Returns (Jacob home), then this stone becomes God’s House

Conclusion:

Applications:

You Cannot Outrun God

God Keeps His Promises to His Own Hurt (His will is like an anvil…)

The Seed of Hatred - From Esau to Antichrist - No Wonder God Hates Esau!

The Wrong Way to Pursue God's Blessings: At the Expense of Your Family

God's Providence to Work Despite the Selfishness of Sinners

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