On The Way
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” (Genesis 28:13-16)
Jacob, under his mother's instruction, tricked his elderly and blind father into giving him the blessing that was intended for the eldest son, Esau. Once Esau realized what Jacob had done, he vowed to kill Jacob. When their mother, Rebekah, saw Esau's anger, she arranged for Jacob to leave their home and go to her brother's home - under the guise of finding a suitable wife. Rather than scold his son for such treachery, Isaac gave Jacob yet another blessing for his journey. As Jacob trekked the over 200 miles to his uncle, Laban, God gave Jacob a vision in a dream when he stopped to rest. In the dream Jacob saw angels ascending and descending a stairway or ladder, then God spoke the promise God had originally made to Abraham - to bless him with countless descendants, to bless all people through them, and to give Jacob protection,
guidance and God's presence.
At this point in his life, Jacob had done nothing to earn, or even be worthy of, this blessing, yet God was almost ridiculously, unreasonably, generous. However, God knew where Jacob's choices were taking him - into the home of a master manipulator, the likes of whom Jacob couldn't prepare for or even imagine - and God knew how God would use everything Jacob had been, and everything Jacob would experience, for God's glory. The repercussions from Jacob's arrogant and self-centered choices would eventually shape Jacob into a humble, obedient man - one who realized, and was grateful for, how God's grace had covered him through, and despite,
all of his hurtful choices.
Jacob's story is a reminder to us that God's blessings are never based on us - on who we are or what we do - they are always based on who God is, and what God will do. Amazingly, God intends the same blessings for us that were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - that we be fruitful (producing value), that we be a blessing to others, and that we would know God's steadfast protection, guidance and presence. We couldn't earn or be worthy of these blessings if we tried, but we can live lives of humble obedience out of gratitude for God's goodness and grace, even while we are on the way to being all that we were created to be.
1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. 7 Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your
right hand shall hold me fast.
(Psalm 139:1-10)
Someone clearly used AI to create this video, but the song is a beautiful companion to this story!
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