May the mumbling commence!
The true blessing is received, and the deceiver is deceived. In earlier chapters in Genesis, we see the competition caused by Isaac and Rebekah playing favorites and by Esau and Jacob’s relationship. But what difference did their games make? Not much. Jacob may have coerced Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of soup, and Rebekah may have fooled Isaac into blessing Jacob. And even Isaac thought that the words of his blessing held power and the final say.
However, in Genesis 28, we see who holds the power to bless. We see whose words are the most powerful. It was along Jacob’s lonely trek that God spoke. God grants the blessing of Abraham and Isaac on Jacob. It is the Lord who blesses, so why wouldn’t He have final say in whom the blessing belongs to? With this is mind, all our human words and maneuvering means very little.
And, what was Jacob’s response? Basically he bargained for safety on his road until he returned home to his family. If you feed me and clothe me and protect me; then, when I return to my father, you will be my God. Sounds kind of shallow, doesn’t it? Well, it’s human.
If we are honest with ourselves, we offer God these deals all the time. Help me find a fulfilling job, and you will be my God. Help me with this trial, and I will be your God. For, when things go badly, we wonder about the presence of God. Like Jacob, we had no idea that the Lord was in this place in our lives. We want God to prove his existence to us by helping us out of this fix. Then, we will believe. I think most of us have been in this place a time or two.
I remember how I felt when my first ministry calling came to an abrupt end. I wondered how God was moving in this event. Leaving these people behind and the call of God was difficult. It was a desert experience in my life. This dark period lasted about a year.
But, God was there. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I remember being counseled by Walt and being encouraged by him not to give up my calling as a minister. I remember him calling me out. “Let your light shine, Matt.” I remember celebrating Advent by attending an Advent retreat at Hesston Mennonite Church. I remember the encouragement I received from that retreat. I felt renewed.
Not long after that retreat, I saw the advertisement in the Mennonite Weekly Review for a part-time minister at Community Church of the Brethren in Hutchinson, Kansas. And the rest is history that many of you know. The desert was awful, but the desert helped prepare me for the dessert – sensing God’s presence and call anew. And I am trying to let my light shine – the small part of the light of Christ that has been entrusted to me.
On another topic, I love to see the deceiver deceived. Jacob works seven years for the hand of Rachel, and, at the end of those years, Laban gives Jacob Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Jacob does get Rachel as well, but the trouble begins. You think the reality shows have anything on God’s people in Genesis? I don’t.
Leah is not loved, so God knows this and blesses her with children. Rachel is barren. Two of Leah’s children are quite important to the history of Israel. There was Levi (the third born), whose name means “attached.” From him, all priests of the Lord are descended. Though Levi does do some very bad things, he redeems himself. Levi’s descendants become attached to the Lord as their inheritance. There was also Judah (fourth born), whose name means “praise.” From Judah, we get Jesus…
You see, God blesses whom He will bless. Laban may try to hide the animals that would have been Jacobs pay (another deception – the deceiver being deceived), and Jacob can try all types of breeding methods with all kinds of sticks. Still, it is the Lord who blesses. Do not be deceived. No one and no thing can stop the will of God.
I give thanks this day for the blessings of God in my life – my family, my church family, my work as a school bus driver, and my calling to serve God at Community Church (just to name a few).
Enough rambling for now…
Peace Out
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