Genesis 31:1-32:2
Dear RTB’ers,
More Jacob – more deception, more family dynamics. A few days ago I had thought about it but failed to mention the pillar that Jacob had set up as he fled his parents and his brother Esau’s wrath (Genesis 28:18 – really, Genesis 28:10-22). At the time I thought to mention “pillars” that we might set up in our own lives, times that we saw God at work in a special way in whatever we were doing. I was thinking “mental”, not physical “pillars” – memories, if you will, imbedded in our souls to help us call to mind what God has done for us. [Personal note: I keep a file on my computer of the times that I have seen or felt God’s presence in a special way, especially in some particular event or outcome. These “pillars” are helpful for me in my down times, to know that God has been and is and always will be with me.]
Now, in today’s reading, God, Himself brings to Jacob’s mind the pillar that Jacob had erected some twenty years prior: Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, … “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me…” (Gen 31:11-13b). I had referred to this event from Genesis 28 as the “if-then” exchange in Jacob’s mind. Clearly it was a vow that God heard and a pillar that He saw, a complete event that He “remembered” and that He is now bringing back to Jacob’s mind what He had promised: “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. … and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 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 promised you.” (Genesis 28:13b-15) With these thoughts in mind, Jacob has the courage to go forward, even as he fears meeting his brother, Esau. Tomorrow…
Blessings!