The Lord draws near to JacobReading: Genesis 28:10-17
All that he ever wanted in life belonged to him and yet it is as if he has nothing. Jacob bargained with Esau for the birthright with a crust of bread and pot of stew. With the help of his mother he duped his father Isaac beating his brother to get the blessing. Rebekah overhears Esau plotting murder and so devises an excuse for Jacob to leave home. Jacob mustn’t marry a Canaanite woman and so he’s sent to his uncle Laban to find a wife.
Jacob is between home and the unknown. Is he homesick? As the sun disappears over the horizon Jacob scrambles around for a place to put his head down on a stone pillow for the night. Hard reality hit home. For the first time in his life he was on his own. What would happen to him?
Drifting into sleep he saw a ramp rising up from the earth reaching up to heaven. Angels were going up and down. The LORD draws near to Jacob assuring him that the promise of blessing will be kept. Jacob wakes up and realises, “Surely the LORD is in this place - and I did not know it!”
Have you ever been in a place where you felt life as a rock hard pillow? Perhaps you chased hard after what you wanted in life even at the expense of others, making enemies and becoming isolated. Alone, you wondered if there was anyway back home...to mend fences…to pacify enemies…to regain God’s love.
Jacob discovered that God meets with us in the place of desolation. Even when we’ve thoroughly messed up and got it wrong, God comes to us. Heaven and earth mingle as angels bear words of grace and forgiveness. The gate of heaven is entered when we know we are utterly in need of God.
Prayer: Awesome! It blows my imagination to think that you turn up in situations where I’m convinced you are not. Lord, I thank you that when I’m on the run…between home and somewhere…all my certainties gone…frightened because I’ve burnt all my bridges and I don’t know who to turn to…you stay with me and keep your promise. Forgive me when I have wheedled the best for myself at the expense of others. Surprise me with your angels of mercy. Amen. |
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