JACOB'S LADDER (2 OF 3)
Scripture: Genesis 28:10-22
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Title: Jacob's Ladder (2 of 3)
Series: Molded-The Life of Jacob
Author: Dave Gustavsen
Text: Genesis 28:10-22
We're taking the month of August to study the life of Jacob-the son of Isaac, the man that God named "Israel," the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. By any measure, one of the heroes of the Bible. But here's the little-known secret: for a lot of his life, Jacob was not a good guy. His name, Jacob, literally means "he grasps the heal," which was a Hebrew idiom meaning "he deceives." So last week we looked at the early part of Jacob's life, and he lived up to his name. He tricked his twin brother, Esau, out of his birthright and his parental blessing. He tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him that blessing by dressing up as his brother, and his father was too old and blind to tell the difference. So Jacob was a shifty, slippery, conniving, manipulating, deceiving, lying, self-centered guy. Jake the snake.
And because he was like that, the shalom in his family was shattered. His father was disappointed in him and his brother wanted to kill him. So Jacob's mother, Rebekah, says, "Look-you've got to get out of here. Go and stay with your Uncle Laban for a while, until your brother cools down." So Jacob takes off for Uncle Laban's house, and that's where we'll pick up the story today.
We said last week that when you get to the end of Jacob's life, he's noticeably different than he was at the beginning of the story. He's not perfect, but he's a much better version of himself. So the obvious question is: what happened over those years? And the answer is: God molded him. Just like a potter takes a lump of clay and puts it on the wheel, and shapes it into something useful, God molded Jacob into a very different person.
Now, for some of us, we look at our lives and we see a very close resemblance to Jacob. We've developed a way of living that's manipulative and scheming, just like him. But even if you're not exactly like Jacob, there are th ...
Series: Molded-The Life of Jacob
Author: Dave Gustavsen
Text: Genesis 28:10-22
We're taking the month of August to study the life of Jacob-the son of Isaac, the man that God named "Israel," the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. By any measure, one of the heroes of the Bible. But here's the little-known secret: for a lot of his life, Jacob was not a good guy. His name, Jacob, literally means "he grasps the heal," which was a Hebrew idiom meaning "he deceives." So last week we looked at the early part of Jacob's life, and he lived up to his name. He tricked his twin brother, Esau, out of his birthright and his parental blessing. He tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him that blessing by dressing up as his brother, and his father was too old and blind to tell the difference. So Jacob was a shifty, slippery, conniving, manipulating, deceiving, lying, self-centered guy. Jake the snake.
And because he was like that, the shalom in his family was shattered. His father was disappointed in him and his brother wanted to kill him. So Jacob's mother, Rebekah, says, "Look-you've got to get out of here. Go and stay with your Uncle Laban for a while, until your brother cools down." So Jacob takes off for Uncle Laban's house, and that's where we'll pick up the story today.
We said last week that when you get to the end of Jacob's life, he's noticeably different than he was at the beginning of the story. He's not perfect, but he's a much better version of himself. So the obvious question is: what happened over those years? And the answer is: God molded him. Just like a potter takes a lump of clay and puts it on the wheel, and shapes it into something useful, God molded Jacob into a very different person.
Now, for some of us, we look at our lives and we see a very close resemblance to Jacob. We've developed a way of living that's manipulative and scheming, just like him. But even if you're not exactly like Jacob, there are th ...
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