Title: Jacob the Fugitive
Contents <Introductory words>
There is a saying that “a crisis faced by man is the greatest opportunity for God to work” For example, God rescued Daniel's three friends from the fire and Daniel from the lions' den. It was when Stephen was stoned to death that God opened the heavens to Stephen. The revelation came to John when he was exiled to the island of Patmos. It was dark night when Jacob saw the ladder. Therefore, the valley of despair is sometimes a gate of hope.
Today's text is the beginning of Jacob's long sojourner's life. Jacob separated from his parents and had to go to Paddan-aram, a faraway country, alone. Jacob's suffering was the result of his deceived father in order to be blessed.
God met Jacob only after he was in such a miserable condition. In other words, God shows Jacob a vision of a ladder and promises blessings. Through the love story of Jacob who suffers for his sins and God's love that leads him to unconditional grace, I want the same love to be delivered to you and me at this time.
<Word and Sharing>
Then, what is the message of God's passionate love for Jacob, who has become miserable, and Jacob, a fugitive who is being chased by his brother Esau?
First, God says he will be with you and will protect you wherever you go.
Jacob obeyed his parents' instructions and set out on the road. Having left home and had no place to turn to, he had no choice but to go to the land of Haran, which his parents had instructed him to do. Jacob was feeling threatened by his brother Esau. He was forced to go on a long journey along an unknown road to an unknown country. Nor did he know what hardships he had to endure in his uncle's house. So he was anxious and nervous.
But God promised to protect him. He says, "Behold, I am with you." God foresaw what hardships and tribulations Jacob would face, and promised to protect him wherever he went.
Please keep in mind that the person God protects is safe no matter who tries to harm him. Please remember that if we can abide in God's love, we will be safe and at peace wherever we go. God promises to bring grace and comfort to His people, not only in their present situation, but also in any future situation.
Second, God says He will bring them back to this earth.
Jacob had no companion and no resting place on the long journey to Haran. When Jacob arrived at Bethel, as it was getting dark, he had to spend a lonely and sad night in one place, sleeping in a field with a stone pillow. This is a region located about 15km north of Jerusalem, called 'Rus', and it is about 85km from Beersheba, where Jacob started. So Jacob did not arrive here on the day he left home, but after several days of traveling.
So he was now running away to a far, far away place. With a happy family, friends with whom we shared joys and sorrows, and a loving and beautiful homeland behind us, we embraced the feeling of being abandoned by all our family and friends.
But that night, something amazing happened to Jacob. God promised to bring him back to this earth. "I will not leave you," he assured me.
Please remember that God watches over His people as they go out and when they come in (Psalm 121:8). Those who love God never forsake him. He also said through the Hebrew writer that this promise is sure to all his descendants (Hebrews 13:5).
Dear saints,
Has your family turned against you for any reason? Are you being bullied by your friends? Is the world pushing you off a cliff? Was the material and the honor you held in your hand thrown out at once? But please don't be alarmed. Please don't be afraid. The God of Jacob is with you and promises to bring you back to the lost land.
Finally, God tells us that He will not leave us until we have accomplished all that He has promised.
God appeared in a dream to Jacob, who was in a desperate situation after leaving his beloved home. In the Bible, dreams are well represented as a way of revealing God, and especially in the patriarchal times, they were used as a means of God's revelation.
God's revelation to Jacob, a wanderer who was tired of loneliness and anguish, was a great comfort and joy. The content of the dream in Bethel, the house of God, was that there was a ladder connecting the earth and heaven, and on it were the angels of God, which means that Jehovah became his God and secured his future.
And God blessed Jacob with the inheritance of giving him the land of Canaan, and said that he would make his descendants as numerous as dust. He also promised that he would not leave Jacob until he had done what he had promised. Regardless of Jacob's actions, God says that He will love and bless Jacob unconditionally and unilaterally. The same love and blessings are given to all saints in Christ.
Therefore, you and I must have hope and courage no matter how difficult the situation is. And even if you receive God's great blessings, he tells you that you should always be humble, remembering that the source of it has nothing to do with your actions. God says that the Lord of Immanuel must always be with us in our lives to guide and protect us, and to accomplish all the things He has given us in our lifetime.
<Outgoing Words>
The place where God meets us is always where there is a problem. You experience the Lord in a place of failure, and you meet the Lord after you are at a loss. When my path is dark and blocked, the Lord comes to me.
When Peter failed to fish, he could become a disciple of the Lord. So was Zacchaeus, and the Lord came to the Samaritan woman when she was in despair. When I confess that I have no hope, I am nothing, and I am a sinner, the Lord comes to me and gives me grace.
Dear saints, Where do we meet God?
Jacob, who was going to Haran, far away from his brother Esau, was sleeping alone, exhausted and lonely, until he met God, and only then came to know that God exists there.
Like Jacob, I believe that when I come to God with empty hands and empty hands, I can hear the voice of God. We hope that God is with us and that He loves us. We have nothing, but we believe that we should welcome 2010 with the belief that we can win if God Almighty is with us. Again this year, I ask you to acknowledge that God will never leave you and protect you in all circumstances, not just when you are going through hardship.
I hope that all of us living in the world do not become discouraged in the midst of hardship and adversity or blame God, but have courage and hope by discovering the God of Immanuel who is always with us. Please believe that God will never leave you and me in this world alone, just as God was with Jacob, who went on a stranger's path without knowing what was ahead.
Now I don't know where you stand, but I want it to be your Bethel. May that place be the house of God. I sincerely hope that 2010 will be a year in which beautiful dreams come true like Jacob in Bethel.