Joel M Bradshaw

13And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”–Genesis 28, with emphasis

Jacob had manipulated his brother and deceived his father. And in the process he had received not only the birthright but also the blessing. I would imagine somewhere deep within Jacob some doubt. Was the God of Grandpa and Dad even going to be with a rascal like me? Hadn’t I gotten this by cheating?

I see this as a big moment for the grace of God. If God required a certain moral character for his servants he would have an empty roster. Whom God chooses is his business and we are thankful he gives his grace to the undeserving. Nobody qualifies to be used by God but instead is chosen with a purpose.

So I read a great reassuring here for the former rascal on the run. If I was counseling Jacob here I would recommend him to stay humble and obedient. I would focus on serving others and trusting God. Those are the intentional attitudes of the repentant man who wants to honor God with his choices. I’ve had to learn these attitudes through seasons of brokenness and repentance in my own life. Stay intentional about the right things, my friends.–JMB