Enough--Gen. 33

"And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast to thyself" (Gen. 33:9).

Esau arrives. Falls on Jacob's neck and weeps aloud. Brother is reunited with brother, no blood is shed, and forgiveness washes away anger.

But then Esau asks questions. "Who are those with thee?...What meanest thou by the drove which I met?" (vs. 5, 8).

And Jacob answers both: "The children which God hath graciously given thy servant….These are to find grace in the sight of my lord" (vs. 5, 8).

And then Esau must've put his hand up, though smiling, as he uttered the next verse: "I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast to thyself" (vs. 9).

Jacob insisted, however, and Esau accepted. The brother's parted ways then, and who knows whether they ever saw one another again. Their children and descendants warred with one another foreverafter, but the brothers had reconciled nonetheless.

It isn't the fact that they reconciled that brings home conviction. It's Esau's unpretentious statement: "I have enough."

In life, we are never satisfied. We never have enough. The old iPhone isn't good enough--surely the one with a different name and bigger case and fancier features will work better. The love of a friend isn't enough--surely a different kind would be more satisfying… The car isn't good enough...the camera isn't good enough...the house, the job, the income…

Nothing is ever enough.

And yet, we find one of the most selfish creatures in the Old Testament, headstrong, impulsive, for the most part, Godless, saying in all sincerity, "I have enough."

Shame on us.

When will we learn to say, "I have enough?"

The old phone, the old car, the old camera… the simple joys of friendship… the income, the house, the job…

We ought to learn to say, "I have enough."

And if God blesses with more, then praise the Lord.

For while Esau stated he had enough, he did receive the gift from Jacob's hand. He did accept it.

So may we accept extra blessings when the Lord sees fit to send them our way.

But til the blessing arrives, may each of us be found with Esau.

I have enough.

Lord, teach me to "be content with such things as I have"...

Clinging Faith--Gen. 32

"And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Gen. 32:26).

Jacob continues on his journey toward home. He begins to see the mountains of his land rising up before him...and as the mountains rise, so does fear. Fear of what he's left...and fear of what awaits him.

Esau.

A slighted, deceived and usurped brother has been treating an aging father's wealth as his own for years. Now, the one to whom they were given is returning.

Jacob has reason to fear.

He sends servants ahead to bring tidings of his arrival to Esau. He calls Esau "my lord Esau" and himself, "your servant Jacob." He comes in complete contrition and humbleness of heart.

The servants return, bringing the news that Esau advances to meet him--with a company of 400 armed men.

Bad news. Things do not look good.

We all know the story. Jacob sends his family across the river Jabbok and while he pleads with the Lord has an encounter with Christ. Nay, more than encounter: he wrestles physically with him all night long.

"And when he (Christ) saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him" (vs. 25).

"The struggle continued until near the break of day, when the stranger placed his finger upon Jacob's thigh, and he was crippled instantly. The patriarch now discerned the character of his antagonist. He knew that he had been in conflict with a heavenly messenger, and this was why his almost superhuman effort had not gained the victory. It was Christ, "the Angel of the covenant," who had revealed Himself to Jacob" (PP 196).

The knowledge that it was Christ, his only hope and salvation, made Jacob desperate.

"The patriarch was now disabled and suffering the keenest pain, but he would not loosen his hold. All penitent and broken, he clung to the Angel; "he wept, and made supplication" (Hosea 12:4), pleading for a blessing.

"He must have the assurance that his sin was pardoned. Physical pain was not sufficient to divert his mind from this object. His determination grew stronger, his faith more earnest and persevering, until the very last" (PP 196).

Christ urged Jacob to release him. But Jacob clung tighter. "I will not let thee go except thou bless me," he stated with tears.

How many souls would dare to utter such a condition to the Creator of the Universe? It seems audacious, yet...

"Had this been a boastful, presumptuous confidence, Jacob would have been instantly destroyed; but his was the assurance of one who confesses his own unworthiness, yet trusts the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God"  (PP 196).

It was assurance. Trust. Humbleness of heart.

This was faith. Clinging faith.

Faith that would not be deterred from its purpose--that of being granted pardon and having peace in the heart in the light of God's love.

"Jacob "had power over the Angel, and prevailed." Hosea 12:4. Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner's plea" (PP 197).

The heart of Christ could not turn away. Would not turn away.

His love compelled him to remain and Jacob did indeed prevail. He gained the assurance of love and pardon from heaven's throne: exactly what he had pled for.

Christ never will turn away from one who, in faith and trust, clings to Him and pleads.

He didn't turn away from Jacob.

And He won't turn away from you.

Teach me, Father, how to have clinging faith...

My God--Gen. 31

"It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad" (Gen. 31:29).

In an open moment, Jacob flees Laban, trying the last avenue of escape to obey the Lord and get home to his family.

He's gone for three days when Laban finds out what has happened--and notes, with fury, that his household gods have been stolen, presumably by Jacob as a parting insult.

And the uncle heads out, a strong force in tow, to show this "upstart" nephew who's boss.

Jacob's family is in great danger.

But the day before he catches up to the fugitives, he has a dream, in which the God who has been blessing him for Jacob's sake, speaks to him. This Almighty Being tells Laban that "he should not force him to return, or urge him by flattering inducements" (PP193). 

And when Laban finally approaches Jacob, he tells of this experience, saying that "the God of your father spake unto me yesternight" (vs. 29).

Laban had seen the power of the God Jacob served.

He knew what would be the result of following, serving, and loving this God.

And he still said, "the God of your father."

Not "the God of my father."

Or…"my God."

Someday soon, the clouds will part, and "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (1 Thess. 4:16).

And those who are "alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air" (vs. 17), saying, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isa. 25:9).

This is our God.

Not the God of your father.

Not even the God of my father.

Our God.

My God.

Lord Jesus, please be my God….

By Experience--Gen. 30

"And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake"(Gen. 30:27).

Jacob is ready to go home.

Laban, on the other hand, is not ready for him to go home.

Jacob's children are many, his wives now increased to four, and the rivalry still strong between the sisters. Yet, all of them are disgusted with Laban. Ready to leave.

But Laban's smooth mouth gets ahead. And gives Jacob an idea in the process.

The cattle are divided up: Jacob's portion are sent a good ways away with Laban's sons before Jacob can withdraw them as his payment and so God blesses Laban's flocks with striped, speckled, spotted, and brown sheep and goats. And Jacob increases.

Laban had freely admitted the reason for wanting Jacob to stay.

"I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake" (vs. 27).

One has to wonder, then: if Laban so desired the blessing of the Lord, why not destroy his household gods and begin worshipping the one True God?

Why not make this experience which he spoke of his own experience?

So many in this old world of ours are in the church, not because they have an experience, but because they have someone else's experience. Experience with experience. Not experience with the Lord.

So many are content to stay home, content with the experience of another in the mission field; rather than getting out of the pew and making someone else's mission experience their own.

Why stay home when you can go? Do? Be?

And why be content with someone else's experience...when you can have your very own?

Get up. Go. Be. Learn. Wrestle. Fight. Pray.

Experience.

Make someone else's experience your own.

And you will learn by experience, that the Lord will bless you...not for someone else's sake…

...but for His own.

Lord, help me to know You and Your love and Your work by experience--my own experience, and not another's...

For this Love--Gen. 29

"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her" (Gen. 29:20).

Footsore, weary, and a sorry sight was Jacob when he arrived at the well just outside Haran. The shepherds waiting there gave him good news: his long journey was at an end and his uncle was a well known man in the area.

Then one shepherd added, "Behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep" (vs. 6).

Jacob looked, and saw the woman he would forever love.

For this love he served Laban seven years.

And after that terrible night of treachery and betrayal, he served another seven years.

And after that, a lifetime of sorrow and frustration at the rivalry of the two sister wives he had gotten.

All because he loved.

One woman.

Love can make man do very stupid things. (Woman, too, as the case may be.)

After the first wedding, when "it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah" (vs. 25), "the fact that Leah herself had been a party to the cheat, caused Jacob to feel that he could not love her" (PP 189).

Yet, God had allowed it to happen for a reason.

And of a certainty, the Messiah came through one of Leah's sons, not Rachel's.

But Joseph was a type of Christ--a deliverer of his people, and of all of Egypt.

One wonders how different the story would have been if Jacob would have been content to love Leah…

And Leah alone.

The love he had for Rachel consumed him. It was so strong that it made seven years seem like a mere handful of days.

Yet, it was Leah who stood beside him through the end of his lifetime. Leah who brought forth the son that would father a generation that would bring the Desire of Ages to our world.

So many want to be Rachel. Beautiful, well-favored: loved by someone with consuming, ardent love.

Leah was the third wheel. And who wants to be that?

But Leah had a part in bringing salvation to this world.

Which would you rather have?

The love of someone earthly, who isn't perfect and never will be?

Or the consuming love of a Father, King Almighty God...and a part in bringing salvation to the attention of the world?

It is for this love that seven years...Twenty years… a lifetime… should seem "as but a few days."

Lord, may I learn to love You first and best; learn to love Your work...and as Your will may see fit, grant me the desire of my heart in Your time.

Photo credit: S.A.J.

I Knew It Not--Gen. 28

"And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not" (Gen. 28:16).

Weary, doubting sinner, fleeing across wild, deserted sands, oppressed by wicked, diabolical insinuations that he has been cut off from God's mercy forever.

For one mistake.

Oh, how quick is the devil to prey upon our despair!

Jacob knew he had sinned. His heart was wrenched with the agony of guilt and remorse. As he fled from his brother, for his life, towards a new land and a wife, pain at his sin lashed his conscience.

Why? Why? WHY?

At the end of the second day, he drops to the floor of an uninhabited, rocky plain. On his knees, he confesses his sin with many tears and pleads for God to give him some evidence that he is not forgotten. Not forsaken.

No answer. God seems silent.

And Jacob's heart agony does not fade.

Finding a smooth stone, he lays his head on it and falls asleep as the shadows around him deepen.

But the night becomes bright. A ladder, touching earth and heaven in one, is revealed--a Savior. A Redeemer. A means of restoring guilty man to perfection. The import of the vision is understood but dimly by the "deceitful, blessed seer;" but he understands all he needs to.

The Lord speaks. Promises of blessing, of the promise to Abraham and Isaac, are repeated. And the Lord adds that He Himself will be with Jacob wherever he goes.

The Lord does look on the loneliness of our hearts with pity. And He promises Himself as a suitable companion to pass the time and miles with.

The bright ladder fades, the angels vanish, and Jacob is left staring at a vast expanse of stars. Awe and wonder fill his heart as the whisper leaves his dry throat: "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not" (vs. 16).

In life, we flee. We journey. Like Jacob, we traverse a vast and lonely wilderness, burdened with our hurts, our sins.

We collapse in a heap in the middle of a wild country, unable to go further. There is no one there--no one to help us, lift us up. No one to comfort with an encouraging word, a hug, or a smile.

There is nothing.

But we find this to be untrue.

For the Lord is there...though we know it not.

Yes. Even when you’ve come to a place that seems empty: devoid of any blessing.

You can rest assured that the Lord is there...and will make Himself known to you.

Though you see Him not.

And though you know it not.

Lord, help me to know You are there...not just speak of it, but know...

A Promise is a Promise--Gen. 27

"And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? Where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be blessed" (Gen. 27:33).

It's a well-known story, that of Jacob and Rebecca's deception.

Esau leaves to fulfill a dying father's wishes, and in his stead comes Jacob, the true inheritor of the blessing, and by disguise and fraud secures that which God had already promised him.

Echoes of Hagar and her son ring in the thoughts.

The angel had told Rebecca that God had blessed the younger son. God was pleased with Jacob, and was determined to make him the one who would carry on the line, inherit the blessing. Regardless of what Isaac did or didn't do.

This is God, after all.

Are His promises worth so little that His purposes are always seized upon and accomplished by ways other than His own?

"Jacob and Rebekah succeeded in their purpose, but they gained only trouble and sorrow by their deception. God had declared that Jacob should receive the birthright, and His would would've been fulfilled in His own time had they waited in faith for Him to work for them" (PP 180).

God had promised.

In His own time, and His own way, things would've turned out as they ought to.

But faithless Jacob, fearing Rebekah, doubted that God could stay the hands of Isaac from blessing Esau. Doubted that the birthright could be gained by any other way.

And so they stepped in and took matters into their own hands.

And Rebekah never saw her son again.

They paid dearly for their mistake.

In this life, there are often things we desire. Things that we feel God has brought to us, that we are near certain God is calling us to. He has promised to give us the desires of our hearts in time, His time. And we wait.

But then, something happens. It seems as though this thing God has brought into our lives to bless us, and to be with us forever, is disappearing. We fear that we'll never be able to get it back...that we'll lose it.

And so we reach out and take things into our own hands. Put our own foot in.

And often we retain it for a time.

But ultimately, we pay for our interference with a separation of some kind.

Whether it's eternal or temporary, one cannot tell, save God alone.

But God is still working. Through the separation. Though the separation is forever.

His promises are just that…

...still promises.

And His purpose, His ways, His plans, will be accomplished in His time.

Lord, forgive my impetuous faithlessness...teach me to learn to accept Your time...

All Men--Gen. 26

"And he (Isaac) removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they (the Philistines) strove not; and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land" (Gen. 26:22).

Like father like son, the saying goes. Just like Abraham before him, Isaac repaired to the land of the Philistines, avoiding Egypt at God's express command.

And, true to Abraham's mistake, Isaac told everyone that Rebekah, his chosen bride, is his sister.

And again, Abimelech forgives. Opens his lands to Isaac and his whole house.

Out goes Isaac, with the approval of the king. He begins to look for water for his immense herds.

He finds water. His men dig a well. And immediately, the Philistines come and chase him off. Claim the well as their own.

Isaac had every reason to be indignant. "I beg your pardon?" Stand up for his rights.

But he merely backed off, meekly saying nothing, and moved to a different location and dug again.

Another well. More water.

And the same thing happened. Here come the Philistines, claiming the land, the water, the well, as their own. They argued and pressed and pushed...and again, Isaac just backed away.

Three times a well is dug. Three times Isaac moves. And finally, no one tries to take his well. And he gives it a name, saying that the Lord had made room for them in the land and that things would be well.

As humans, we live in a world, a society, where "rights" are mandatory: keeping "our rights" open-ended is worth everything--even the blood of another.

Isaac, like Another some thousand years later, "opened not his mouth." Backed away, allowed what happened to happen without coming unglued. Trusted God to take care of his family, his situation, without fighting for his rights.

Paul had a similar idea of how to live, it seems.

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18).

As much as lies in you.

Peaceably.

All men.

A tall order?

Maybe.

But this is life we're talking about. This is living love. Love living.

This is Christianity. This is salvation.

This is Christ.

ALL men.

Father in Heaven, teach me how to live peaceably with all men...no matter what...