Title: Leading Jacob/Genesis 28:10-22
Content Jacob's guidance/Genesis 28:10-22, Romans 5:6-11
God's election, calling, promise, and guidance are passed from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob. In the midst of this, we meet a person with whom we can become very close, and that is Jacob. As most people know, there are many negative factors to the character of Jacob. He fought in the womb, and at birth he grabbed his brother Esau's heel. A light life in Esau was also a problem, but he obtained his birthright in a rather bad way, and he didn't use a very pleasant way to get married or to build a fortune. Nevertheless, he had the birthright, became rich, and, as it is said, succeeded. Even so, it can be said that his life was a series of misfortunes.
First, becoming a stranger, living at the house of his maternal uncle Laban, the family tragedy caused by his daughter Dinah, the inappropriate relationship between Reuben and Bilhah, the relationship between Judah and Tamar, the sad things that happened in the process of meeting Joseph… … . Regarding his own life, he said, “The years of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years. As my age is short, I am not as good as our ancestors' travel time, but I have had a rough time.”
Jacob was blessed and he was a descendant of the promise, but he is confessing his life as a ‘tough year’ and ‘a stranger’s way’. Some say that Jacob was ‘a man who lived his whole life to grab hold of him’, ‘a life like weeds’. What is surprising, however, is that God has given grace to people who are like weeds, even in these difficult times, and that is “God’s guidance”. Then how did God lead Jacob?
1. He guides you by driving them into difficult corners.
This guidance is very difficult to understand. But when we think about Jacob's temperament, in order to break his temper and become a new temperament, God pushes Jacob into trouble and leads his life to faith. The moment he says he has accomplished something, trials come upon him. So he makes Israel change his cunning, human temperament, and cunning temperament. Therefore, even if God's guidance is painful, it will be the guidance of grace.
We often find ourselves in difficult positions. You have to think about it every time. First of all, with self-reflection as to whether there is anything wrong with the temperament I have been living in, is it because of Jacob's temperament, or whether it is because of the disposition to settle down in Shechem without going up to Bethel, he made me into Israel in it, and buried all the old things under the oak tree. We need to find guidance that leads us to forsake. Although God disciplines us, He is always guiding us on the way back to God.
2. He leads us through prayer.
Jacob prays whenever he is in trouble. However, what he prays is not a prayer that he prays for himself. There is a representative form of prayer that appeared in Jacob's life.
One of them is prayer at Bethel as shown in the text. At Bethel, he offers the “prayer of conditions and vows.” He said that if God protects him and brings him home safely, he will build a house of God and pay tithes. It's a very shallow prayer, but he prayed anyway.
Another is the prayer at the Jabbok River. Upon returning to his hometown, he finds out that he is dying in a relationship with his older brother Esau, so he is left alone and wrestles by the river. He prayed as he was left alone to die.
An impressive aspect of his prayer is that he is praying for his children. When the children go to Egypt to buy food, and before they die, gather all the sons and pray for their future one by one.
But in this Jacob's prayer, God always came first. That is why he made Jacob pray. What kind of guidance is this? It is that God has led us to pray for the grace that promises us, comforts us, protects us, renews us, and gives us hope.
There are many such things in our life of faith. That is why many believers pray in tears, in trials, and in pain. That is what God is leading us to pray for.
3. He leads to restoration.
Even though Jacob made many mistakes and had a weed-like appearance, God loves him and restores his life. He is the second, but the firstborn, and restores Jacob by finding Israel and Joseph through famine. It is a difficult time, but God is with us and leads us to Egypt and leads us to bless Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Then, did Jacob deserve such a gracious guidance from God? Actually there wasn't much. But why did God guide Jacob? In a word, he is “a person who lived while acknowledging God and experiencing God.” So, his center was always God-centered.
I have heard such testimonies. “A man believed in Jesus in his twenties. The life of believing in Jesus was very difficult. 'There are many things forbidden and many things to be done... … It is not easy to believe in Jesus.’ I even thought about quitting my life of faith. However, my faith grew and my faith grew old. Now it's 50. he thinks ‘How anxious will I be when God sees me? couldn't it? The way I live is not repeated to God. But I live by the grace of God who gives to people like me.’
That's right. A shameful human like Jacob, a shrewd human being, a human being who tries to grab hold of his own. God's guidance is in that life of being satisfied with God even if it is really lacking, lacking, and lacking. And there is safety, fulfillment, and recovery in God's guidance. As we give the following praise to God who leads Jacob, let us also give thanks deeply for God's guidance and win.
“My suffering is like the old Jacob sleeping on a stone pillow. Even in my dreams, I want to go out to the Lord while always praising the wish. I want to follow the example of Jacob building a stone altar after waking up. 2, 4)”