2 Jacob to Israel a life transformed

Over the next few weeks I want to re-publish a series that I wrote a few years ago on the man Jacob. We will call this series "Jacob to Israel a life transformed" We will start in Genesis:27 and go through to Genesis:35 and look at how God transformed a man from himself to Himself.

So as we move from Genesis 27 we find that there is still a scheme being executed between Rebekah and Jacob and now as we enter Genesis 28 Isaac has been included in the scheme and is called upon to bless Jacob and send him away to his brother-in-law Laben to acquire a wife.

The blessing that Isaac gives Jacob is words of encouragement, he is empasising that God wants to bless him and interestingly he blesses him with the promise given to his father Abraham, that 'in him all nations of the earth will be blessed'. Issac recognises or God moves in his heart to bless this wayward son with a promise that “all the nations of the earth will be blessed”. God is not limited by our behavior, He does not give out blessings for good deeds, He blesses because of His justice, He can’t do anything else, and here we have a clear picture of that justice in Issac. We are not given any indication that Jacob sort to do good, it appears that he and his mother were only out for them selves, yet I believe there was something in the heart of Jacob that wanted to pursue righteousness yet he, like most of us, sets out to manipulate circumstances and situations in order to try to acquire the blessing outside of the acceptable way of acquisition. Gods blessing can only be given by God in His time. God wants to find people who are willing to pursue the quest and believe the promise of salvation and recognise that it is God who causes us 'to be fruitful and multiply'. There is nothing that we can do to merit Gods favor, yet God loves and cares for us by His mercy and acts by His justice. Here in this story we find Issac blessing Jacob even though he has deceived him and robbed his elder brother of his birth right. There is something here which makes us think about the mercy of God, a father who continues to love and care for our well being despite our failings. He loves us beyond that which is reasonable. The heart of God is that we 'inherit the land in which we are a stranger' Genesis 28:4. God wants us to possess all that He has promised, not just the things that we think we are able too, but all that He has in His completeness. 

I have often wondered how Jacob approached Issac on this occasion after deceiving his father and robbing his brother. He must have felt completely unworthy to kneel before his father, who notice in Genesis 28:1 'called him' to himself, Jacob did not come pleading for forgiveness, Isaac decided to forgive no questions asked, this is exactly how God deals with us, He calls us to Himself for His own sake. Jesus says 'no one comes to the Father except the Father call him'.

I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is Issac that calls Jacob to himself and it is Isaac who takes control of his son's situation, a situation that is far from satisfactory and one that is in danger of ending Jacobs life if his elder brother gets his way. The situation that Jacob finds himself in is one brought about about by his own selfish manipulation. I want you to note that it is God who will always steps into our messy situations in order to help us to move on with our lives and ultimately bring glory to His name, it is God who is in charge as Romans 8:28 says 'And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose'. God will always provide the way of escape if we are repentant. We noted earlier that Jacob came without argument to Isaac for the blessing and went without protesting to Padan-Aram. However if Jacob had not gone Esau would have killed him and therefore rendering Gods promise to Abraham and Isaac useless. God is in control of our lives not us.

Isaac's words to Jacob are 'don't take a wife from here' and 'arise go' So Isaac had created a way of escape from Esau, away from the trouble and turmoil which would have hampered Jacobs life which would have limited God's dealings with him. Isaac's blessing also created a way of buying time for Jacob so he could encounter God (Genesis 28:15-16) in a way that enabled Jacob not to be yolked or joined together with those who did not believe or trust the ONE TRUE GOD (2 Corinthians 6:14). God wants us to be wholly committed to Him and not joined or dragged down by distractions. Thank God for His great Mercy that reaches us where we are and provides the way of escape.