Here’s a story within a story, a prototype of the history of the Jewish people in miniature. With relief we begin Genesis 35: “Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau’” […]
It’s a putrid world, a moral dump. But by grace we can emanate a sweet aroma of Christ today. The city of Shechem, first place in the Land visited by Jacob’s clan, lay in ruins. One can only imagine the wailing of widows and orphans, with not a man of them left to bury the […]
It’s never a good excuse when we have messed up to say, “Well, something had to be done!” We’re not sure how long Jacob and his family camped at Succoth, but we are told he “built himself a house” there (Gen 33:17). Eventually they did cross the Jordan and headed up a natural corridor to […]
Read More… from August 13, 2021 — Serious Trouble At Shechem
Even Jesus instructed His disciples that there are times when it was good to “rest a while.” Esau, with his men and addition of livestock, heads south along the Eastern Plateau towards Mount Seir. Jacob and his expansive household move due west, coming down from the Gilead Dome into the Jordan Valley by way of […]
The family reunion won’t last long, but long enough for reconciliation and a new beginning! After the joyful meeting between the once adversarial brothers, Jacob convinces Esau to accept his peace offering. Esau continues his gracious ways, inviting Jacob’s family to travel with them back to his settlement in “the land of Seir” (Gen 32:3). […]
Very often it seems that our biggest calamities in life are actually the ones that never arrive. This is a great place to recall the words of William Cowper’s classic hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Its third stanza reads, “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread Are big […]
Read More… from August 10, 2021 — The Moment Jacob Has Been Dreading
God’s blessings often come in unlikely places: gravesides, hospital beds, or night wrestlings. After Jacob’s night of wrestling with the heavenly Man, we read a curious thing: “Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him” (Gen 32:31). It was like the sunrise was just for Jacob that morning! A new day had […]
We all grapple with issues, and then one day discover it’s actually a Person we’re wrestling with. As we heard, Jacob sent everyone over the Jabbok River and is left alone as night falls. He could hardly be expecting a good night’s sleep as he anticipates the showdown with Esau, the man from whom he […]
Read More… from August 6, 2021 — The All-Night Wrestling Match
After decades away in Padan Aram, Jacob now comes face-to-face with his moment of truth. Genesis 32 underlines for us a most important principle: When we’ve been away from the Lord and want to come home, He will insist that we deal with our past failures and offenses. One thing about the Christian life—God doesn’t […]