Genesis 28:10-22

Review

Good morning Trinity! I really enjoyed preaching last week, and preaching again this week. I know ryan has enjoyed the refreshing time off of preaching, and I really have to come to appreciate how much time and energy it takes week to week to produce a sermon and the powerpoint and ect.

Let’s review last week: Last week we saw how Rebekah Isaac and Esau responded to Jacob’s departure. Rebekah sent out Jacob based on deception lying and manipulation of God’s promises. Isaac sent Jacob out on a complete 180 turn, asking God to bless him and give him the blessing he recieved from Abraham and God. And Esau responded by doing what he always has done: despising God’s promises by doing what he thinks is best to reconcile a situation. In these three responses, God’s desire is for us to respond like Isaac, by returning to the lord and regaining faith in His promises. By doing this, we go all in on what God has for us, saying yes and amen by word of confession and with the life we live. We live in constant response to God’s promises. And we were left with the question, Are you all in on God’s promises?

And now this week, We see how Jacob responds to the promise, this covenant blessing passed on to him from Abraham, to Isaac, to now Jacob. Chapter 28 serves as the foundation of Jacob’s sojourning, his exile out of the family and land to find a suitable wife whom will come back to the land and family with him. But it’s not till chapter 35 in Genesis that Jacob makes it back to his family. A lot will go on between now and then, and today’s sermon will cover the beginning journey to Bethel and his awesome and fear inspiring encounter with God.

Intro

Have you ever been on a road trip and had no clue where you were going? Were you panicked? Were you anxious, lost, and searching for what to do? I remember traveling with my older sister once when we were in middle school. My sister is 11-12 years older than me and my brother, and other sister. She was taking us from Green Bay Wisconsin where she lived all the way to Illinois to where my grandparents lived for Christmas. Once we were in Illinois, she took a wrong exit somewhere, which you don’t want to do in Illinois if you don’t know where you are at, and she started to panic. It was her first time taking her younger brothers and sisters in the car on a long trip, and if you know my sister, everything has its place, everything goes where its supposed to be, and driving is very rigid, follow exact directions and do not deviate. Well, she accidentally deviated. I remember her being so confused, scared, anxious and worried. I think at one point she started crying too. And at the same time, the car heater wasn’t working well so the windows were getting all fogged up from the snow and cold outside. We actually used Mcdonalds french fries to wipe the fog off of the mirrors and windows, thinking the grease would fight the fog. It actually kinda worked! Thank you Mcdonalds! Eventually she called our parents and asked them for direction. Eventually we made it to my grandparents. But I just can’t help but remember how alone we all felt, without any direction as we sit in the car hoping that my older sister could find the way. I can’t imagine how she felt either, being only 20 or 21 at the time with her much younger brothers and sisters in the car driving in the suburbs of Illinois right on the brink of outskirts of downtown Chicago, worried that something bad could happen to us all.

We find Jacob in a very similar place as he starts his massive journey to the family in Paddan Aram. (Insert slide picture of his journey.) Jacob is sent out on a 500+ mile journey to find himself a wife, but most of all, protect himself from Esau trying to murder him. Jacob knows where he needs to go, but he is not prepared for what he is going to encounter in between. Just like my story of driving to illinois for christmas, he is alone, wandering his way to his destination with the threat that something could happen to him, and add on the fact that he doesn’t have faith in God. It’s interesting how Sets up Jacob this way. Inexperienced in faith and vulnerable.

Section 1

We begin at Jacob’s sojourning. He leaves Beersheba and makes his way north, where we find his 2nd or third night spent at Luz which will be renamed bethel. Let’s read ,

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 28

10 Then Jacob went out from Beersheba and went to Haran. 11 And he arrived at 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 slept at that place. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God were going up and going down on it. 13 And behold, Yahweh was standing beside him, and he said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you were sleeping I will give to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants shall 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 all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants. 15 Now behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. And I will bring you to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised to you.” 16