Lesson 59
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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 28
Series # 6: DECISIONS, DESIRES, DIFFICULTIES AND DESTINY
Lesson 59: GENESIS 28:10-29:13 JACOB’S CHANGED LIFE
Genesis 28:1-22 (NKJV) “1. Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3. “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4. And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.” 5. So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6. Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7. and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8. Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. 10. Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15. Behold, 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 spoken to you.” 16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17. And 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!” 18. Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21. so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”
INTRODUCTION
A Chinese fable tells of the owl’s flight to the east to escape its neighbors, who were increasingly tired and vocal of the bird’s incessant noise in the night. As it was packing, the owl met a pigeon, which asked: “Where are you going? Why are you in such a hurry?”
The owl answered tersely, “I’m moving to the east.” The pigeon asked again, “Why are you moving there?” The owl moaned, “Because people here all complained about my singing. They cannot stand my hooting. I am going to move east so that they will have no reason to complain anymore.”
The pigeon then frankly told the owl, “Moving to another place is a good idea only if you change your voice. If you don’t, the people in the east too will complain about your singing.”
Kevin McHale, the legendary Boston Celtics basketball great, explained why troubles often follow many NBA players that discover newfound wealth: “I don’t think basketball is the answer to all problems. If a guy comes into the league with a ton of problems, and they pay him half a million dollars, then he’s a millionaire with a ton of problems.”
Jacob made a bad name and a horrible life for himself when he deceived his father in Genesis 27:35 and angered his brother in Genesis 27:45. The first act of deception in the Bible was not committed by the serpent in Genesis 3:13, but by Jacob but in Genesis 27:35. The English word for Jacob’s and the serpent’s act of deception is similar but the Hebrew text correctly used the word “beguiled” for the serpent’s actions and “deceived” for Jacob’s. The conniving, selfish Jacob appeared to be leaving his problems behind, but he was just taking his troubles elsewhere, transferring them to others, and prolonging the agony. Jacob’s mother had sent him 500 miles away to Haran, where her brother lived. The somber Jacob had a lot of spare time to re-evaluate his ways. Though it took leaving his town, his family, and his past behind for Jacob to mend his ways, he was a truly changed man by the time he reached Haran. It was better late than never!
As we look at this story there are at least three questions we should ask ourselves. 1. Why is a changed life better late than never? 2. How are people changed and transformed from the errors of their ways? 3. Is there hope for cold, calculative, and crooked people like Jacob? Let’s see the answers as they unfold as we investigate and study together.
INTERPRETATION
YOU MUST COMPREHEND GOD’S PROVIDENCE FOR YOU
Gen 28:1-15
Genesis 28:10-15 (NKJV) “10. Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. In addition, he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15. Behold, 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 spoken to you.”
It is obvious that God works in mysterious, marvelous, and miraculous ways.
A seminary professor in Hong Kong was converted watching the controversial, ultraliberal, and blasphemous movie “Jesus Christ Superstar.” When asked to repeat his testimony, he wrote: “In September 1978, when I was in a very desperate and low state of mind, I went to the Ocean Theatre to watch a movie called “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The Spirit of God spoke to my heart powerfully through that movie! As I looked to the life of Jesus, I found that Jesus loved me so much. I strongly felt that I was a sinner; Jesus still loved me and died for me on the cross. I still remember a shot showing Jesus’ painful look as he was hanging on the cross, but all of a sudden, Jesus prayed, “ Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). I was cut to the heart by this prayer and my tears came out as much as it could. I accepted Jesus’ love and forgiveness deep down in my heart. Praise God! He saved me by this unusual means and through this unexpected incident.
Jacob’s ladder was God’s brief but deliberate disclosure of His energetic involvement in the world, His enthusiastic interest in human affairs, and His eager intervention into people’s lives. Jacob was exhausted, friendless, and desperate when he stumbled into Bethel. He had no possessions but the sun for his trip, no place but the ground for his body, and no pillow but a stone for his head, but he experienced God’s in a personal and mighty way. The door at home, to his family, and to Beersheba were slammed shut but the window of heaven was wide open to him. God literally threw down a ladder of hope to a down and out Jacob, who was caught up in a pit of his own making. For a short while, God made apparent, available and accessible His presence, promise, and providence to Jacob in a powerful and unmistakable way. God confirmed to Jacob his destiny as the heir of God’s promise to his forefathers, to his descendants, and to the world. God recapped to Jacob His promise to Abraham and Isaac, relayed to him the prosperity of his descendants, and reassured the fearful patriarch of His presence in the dangerous journey.
Strangely, God spoke to Jacob only in a dream, unlike His other appearances to Abraham and Isaac. God had spoken audibly on a few occasions to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, and once to his father, Isaac. Abraham even dropped to his knees and fell facedown at the appearance of God in Genesis 17:3. One would think that God’s dramatic and glorious disclosure of Himself would be a surefire way to change someone for good?
However, God is wise, righteous, and sovereign. God’s appearance in a dream was clear enough for Jacob to understand, but not necessarily convicting enough for him to change. He had made initial contact with the patriarch, but the rest was up to Jacob. God did not force a change in Jacob’s life through a glorious and dramatic appearance. He gave Jacob the leeway, the motivation, and the opportunity to make a change for himself.
EXPLANATION
JACOB LEARNED YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE
Genesis 28:16-22
Genesis 28:16-22 (NKJV) “16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17. And 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!” 18. Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19. And he called the name of that place £Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21. So that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”
It was reported by Sports Illustrated January 1, 2001 that Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the outspoken 1999 Australian Open champion, who has a private jet and has earned more than 18 million US dollars in his career when the incident occurred, received a rude awakening at the Australian Open from none other than Andre Agassi, the tennis brat turned diplomat. The Russian who turned pro in 1992 voiced that the prize money of $473,385.00 for the winner in men’s tennis was way too low, describing the prize money in tennis as “ridiculous” in comparison to golfers at a low-level PGA tournament in the United States that received about 10 times as much as players in a similar tennis competition.
Agassi, the six-time Grand Slam winner who had given $2 million of his earnings to start a school in Las Vegas, remarked, “My feelings are he should take his prize money when he’s done here and go buy some perspective. I don’t speak for anybody but myself and I don’t like anybody speaking for me. I was clear with Yevgeny this morning that when he speaks for the players, say one phrase: ‘Except for Andre.’ “I’d be hard-pressed ever to spend time with a person who thinks making hundreds of thousands of dollars is not enough money.”
Jacob was a changed man, with a new perspective on life. The way he saw things and the values he held were different. Previously he used God’s name in vain and took Him for granted when he lied without batting an eye to his father: In Genesis 27:20 he said “The LORD your God gave me success.” God was in the second person and a second-hand experience to him. The previous actions of Jacob made God out to be a laughable, usable, and disposable Divine Being: designed to manipulate God or twist His arm. In Genesis 27:15 God had already made an unconditional promise to Jacob to watch over him and bring him back to this land. Jacob needed not do anything in return, but in verse 18 he offered to God an altar, in verse 22 a tithe, and a commitment. He did not ask for what God was not willing to give, which is His presence, care and guidance, including his safe return to the land. Instead of relying on his abilities, brains, and charm, he began to rely on God to supply His needs.
In verse 13 God promised to give the land to Jacob, but Jacob had no such grand ambition. In verse 20 He humbly settled for food to eat and clothes to wear. Jacob asked but for the basic necessities of life. Trumping his brother, inheriting the land, and succeeding in life were far from his mind. In verse 22 He recognized that his life was in God’s hands and his possessions were God’s to give. Mercy, and not merit, was on his lips. Survival and simplicity, and not success, were what he sought. Peace, and not proprietorship, was his priorities.
More importantly, for better or worse, he vowed to return to the Promised Land God spoke about in the dream and face his angry, raging, older brother, who was awaiting him. In Genesis 31:12-13, true to his word, Jacob not only returned to Canaan after his sojourn in Haran. In Genesis 35:1-3 he resided in Bethel, where God appeared to him, for a while after his daughter was violated at Shechem. Bethel was God’s shelter and sanctuary for his household, a place of refuge, rest, and recovery.
APPLICATION
JACOB LEARNED YOU MUST CARE NOT ONLY ABOUT YOURSELF
Genesis 29:4-11
Genesis 29:4-11 (NKJV) “4 And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5. Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6. So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” 7. Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” 8. But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.” 9. Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.”
When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, probably the greatest college basketball player ever, was a Laker, he was often cold to even his own teammates, so much so that they called him “the Brother from another Planet.” Outsiders were given worse treatment. They could stand right alongside him without being acknowledged.
A sportswriter noted that the difference between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and another Laker players is that when you ask another player, “How are you?” his reply is usually: “Fine, how are you?” but when you ask Kareem, “How are you?” his reply is: “Fine.”
George Washington Carver, the famous American innovator, said: “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.”
The new Jacob was friendly, helpful, and more importantly, real. In Genesis 9:4, he gently addressed strangers as “my brothers,” politely asked about his uncle’s welfare, and earnestly interacted with people. Jacob not only longed for relatives, he even cared for sheep! He readily helped strangers and relatives alike without being asked, worked for free without any introduction, and wept without mother’s coaching. Tears that he held back broke like a dam when he saw a relative.
Jacob broke down in the most unusual, unwise and unthinking way. He who had never expressed apology to his only brother or anxiety for his aging father cried at the first indication and discovery of a distant relative. Relationships were now more important to him than riches.
Many Bible commentators, students, and readers doubt if Jacob’s transformation in the passage was genuine or intended. The education of Jacob was not complete, but it was off to a reasonable, if not creditable and meaningful, start. From now on, his priorities were God first, family and others next and himself last.
CONCLUSION:
John Newton the slave-trader turned hymn-writer after his conversion said: “Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan.” Salvation from sin, transformation of lives, and reconciliation to God are made possible in Christ (John 1:51). Jesus Christ is the mediator between heaven and earth, between God and man, for Jews and Gentiles. Are you one with the need to turn from your sins, turn to Him, and turn your life around?
INVITATION
There Is One Correct Life! There Is One Correct Path!
There Is An Earthly One! There Is A Spiritual One!
Which One Have You Chosen? Yours or God’s?
DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and let me know about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus. Please send me your questions, comments, or responses and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you. I really need to hear from you – so please send me a comment about the Bible Studies to:
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ALWAYS REMEMBER!
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All Bible Studies Are Prepared by Pastor Frank Denning And May Be Be Used By Permission.