God of the Blessing

All right, so good morning everybody.

This morning we're reading from Genesis chapter 28, the whole chapter.

Genesis 28 · chapter mention

All right, so verse 1.

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him,

you must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Betwa, your mother's father,

and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you,

that you may become a company of peoples.

May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you,

that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham.

Thus Isaac sent Jacob away.

And he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban, the son of Betwa, the Aramean,

the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram

to take a wife from there.

And that as he blessed him, he directed him,

you must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,

and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan Aram.

So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac, his father,

Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had,

Mahalaf, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Neboif.

Jacob left Bathsheba and went toward Haran,

and he came to a certain place and stayed there that night,

because the sun had set.

Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head

and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth,

and the top of it reached to heaven.

And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said,

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.

Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth,

and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.

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.

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,

Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.

And he was afraid and said,

How awesome is this place!

There is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

So early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head

and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

He called the name of that place better, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying,

If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go,

and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

so that I come again to my father's house in peace,

then the Lord shall be my God.

And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house.

And of all that you give me, I will give a full tenth to you.

Okay, so last week we started talking about the blessing of God.

We were just considering about this blessing that Jacob was wanting to have.

And we think about what it means to get God's blessing,

in terms of what Jacob was looking for,

was being someone who has a secure future,

and someone who has significance.

And that's what God wanted to give him,

but not in the way that Jacob was expecting it would be.

It's that Jacob would only be significant or secure

when he trusted in God and not in himself.

And so today we are looking at this God who is behind the blessing.

We are looking at the blessing still,

but more focusing on this God that is behind the blessing through this passage.

Let us pray first before we start.

Almighty God, we thank you for being our anchor

and giving us Christ Jesus to focus on

as we come before you.

May you teach us your way.

Thank you, Lord.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So last week we saw how Jacob successfully deceived his father

to inherit the blessing of God,

and his older brother, Isol, was furious,

and he vowed to kill Jacob.

So to save Jacob, their mother, Rebecca, requested Isaac,

their father, to send Jacob back to their home country

to get a wife, with the excuse of getting a wife.

Did we notice what Isaac did before sending Jacob away?

Isaac blessed Jacob this time for real,

knowing that that was Jacob.

He said,

God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you,

that you may become a company of peoples.

May he give the blessing of Abraham to you

and to his offspring with you,

that you might take possession of the land

of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham.

So were you surprised to see that Isaac actually blessed Jacob?

I suppose Jacob would not have expected his father

would really bless him.

He would have expected his father to scold him

for his deceptive behavior.

But he didn't,

I wouldn't mention about Isaac doing any such thing.

He really blessed Jacob.

And when Esau saw Isaac sending Jacob away with his blessing,

we read that he thought Isaac's sudden change of heart

was because of his Canaanite wives.

It is true that Isaac was upset with Esau's two Canaanite wives.

Esau just didn't think much.

He just married those two foreign women

and caused a lot of trouble for his parents.

However,

it was not because of Esau's behavior that Isaac chose to bless Jacob eventually.

I think Esau did love Jacob in some way.

I suppose he was just disappointed that Jacob didn't turn out as the man

that he would like Jacob to be.

And also we read in chapter 27,

when he knew that he made a mistake

in giving the blessing to Jacob instead of Esau,

we read that Isaac trembled violently.

He was trembling.

It might seem like,

oh, I mean a mistake,

oh, I should have given it to Esau and not Jacob.

But I thought there's more than that.

He's trembling violently.

I think it means that he realized

he actually made a mistake

in the sense that he had disobeyed God.

And that's why he trembled.

And that's why he knew that blessing is supposed

God wanted it to be for Jacob.

So we need to understand that Isaac is a godly man.

He's more godly than us in any way.

Because God said, I'm the God of Isaac.

So when God said that I'm the God of Isaac,

it means that God has already began or have worked in Isaac's heart

and make him to be someone who is godly.

It doesn't mean that he wouldn't make mistakes,

but it means that he's a changed man.

At least he's got this humility to know that he did something

not according to God's will and he changed.

And that's why he blessed Jacob as he should have done.

But then Esau just didn't know about all these things.

He just thought, oh, if Isaac would be pleased for Jacob

to marry someone from the mother's side of family,

I would marry someone from my father's side's family.

So he married Ishmael's daughter, his cousin,

and get another wife.

Whether that would please Isaac or not, I don't know.

Most likely not.

But that's how Esau thought Isaac was thinking.

So like Jacob, he did not understand his father's heart.

Jacob didn't understand either when he left, I suppose.

So about that, do you understand your father?

I do not understand my own father either.

Being the second youngest of many children,

my father usually only interacted with me

when I did something wrong,

got punishment in the family.

But other than that, we hardly talk.

We don't, even mealtimes,

we didn't have mealtimes together.

So it's very seldom that I would talk to my father

all my life, basically.

So most of what I know about my father

is from what others told me

until quite the very end before he died.

So not long before his death,

I found out my father had at least three wives.

We lived with two.

I didn't even know that he got another one

and 19 children.

And before I was born,

the third wife already brought two others

of her children and left the family.

So I have two other siblings somewhere.

At home, I don't know.

I still don't know where they are.

But at that time, culturally,

it was quite acceptable for a man

to have more than one wife,

especially those who are rich.

who were rich.

And my father was the last generation

for that to happen, thankfully.

And during the war,

when Japanese came,

my father's wealth also wiped out.

So after the war,

before I was born,

the family became quite poor from there.

But I was quite thankful that we were poor.

Otherwise,

with two wives and 17 children,

eventually,

you can imagine how

sort of

politics that has been

going on in such a family.

And most of,

I'm not sure how it would turn out

if we were rich.

But because we were poor,

so we were all required to work,

even from a very young age.

And there's no time to fight

for positions or favors

from the parents.

You just have to work

to survive.

And that's what

actually helped

the whole family together

by having two wives.

And so

I didn't know about my father

until he became very sick.

Before he died,

he was bedridden

for about seven years.

And at that time,

I was in Kenworth

and just studying my own practice.

It was quite busy,

but I still

got time.

When I got time,

I just went back

to spend time with him.

Also as a doctor,

more rather than a son.

Just look after him.

Once,

went back

once a year.

And during the

last couple of years

when I went back,

he started to

talk.

At that time,

he lost his sight.

He couldn't

talk about his life

a bit.

And then I started

to understand him

a bit more.

He told me,

in particular,

his regrets.

I think he knew

that he did

many things wrong

in his life.

and he had many regrets.

And I wish that

at that time,

I knew about this

Jacob story

and tell him about that.

I could quote

verses of

New Testament

to him,

but it's not

much of a use,

I thought,

for him

to help him

to see how

gracious God

is.

but it was

only during

that time

that I started

to know

my father

just before

his death.

And I'm

thankful

for that.

So,

Jacob

did not

understand

his father.

And Esau

didn't understand

his father.

I didn't

understand his father

until quite late.

Or it is because

we are self-centered.

Our fathers

were there

to serve

our purposes.

So,

it's true

that fathers

are supposed

to nurture

us and provide

for us.

They serve

us not

because they

are our

servants,

but because

they are our

fathers.

And we are

self-centered

because we

want to

preserve our

lives and

we want to

have dignity

in our lives.

So,

we are quite

busy trying

to get

attention to

ourselves.

And so,

because we are

so busy

getting attention

for ourselves,

we will not

have time

to look at

others,

our parents,

to see

what they

think,

what they

are going

through.

So,

even when I

did look at

my father,

I tend to

interpret his

motives or his

thoughts with

my own thoughts

because how I

think about

things,

I would think

that is what

my father

thinks.

And that's

how Esau

was doing

and Jacob

was doing

as well.

So,

returning to

Jacob's story,

we know that

Jacob is now

traveling north

900 kilometers

to the

mother's

hometown

in Haran.

So,

I guess it

would take him

at least two

months

to walk

there.

And leaving

the comfort

of his house

for the first

time,

walking along

in the

wilderness,

not knowing

what was

ahead of

him,

Jacob was

anxious and

confused as

well.

I would

think he

started to,

what do you

think,

in his mind

as he walked,

I can think

of a few

questions like,

why did my

father suddenly

become so

kind to me?

Did he think

that I could

not survive

this journey?

That's why he

was kind,

he was just

sending me off,

didn't think

that he would

see me ever

again?

Or,

thinking,

or Jacob

would think,

why am I

the one

who needs

to leave

the security

of my home?

Didn't I get

the blessing?

Why did

this happen

to me?

Or,

have my

father tricked

me so as

to send

me away

so that I

do not

get any

share in

the inheritance?

So,

because he

tricks people,

so he

would think

that when

things happen

to him,

other people

were tricking

him.

So,

that's how

we work

in our

mind.

And,

he might

be thinking

that I

hope I

can find

houses or

places to

spend my

nights.

I've never

stepped outside

of my

house before.

Or,

I wish that

my brother

Esau would

be with me.

He would

know what

to do.

He could

protect me.

But,

my stupid

brother is

the only,

the one,

the reason

why I needed

to run away

from home.

All this

would be,

I think,

running through

his mind.

and he

kept walking

off.

And,

there were

less and

less houses

along the

way,

until there

was no

more house.

And,

the sun

was setting.

The sky

was getting

darker and

darker.

Jacob wanted

to turn

back,

but he

dared not.

He just

couldn't

face

Esau.

Not only

now,

even 20

years later,

he still

couldn't

face Esau.

So,

it's a

very big

threat for

him.

Before

any

experience,

Jacob did

not find

a safe

place to

spend the

night,

until he

became

too dark,

completely

dark.

He just

didn't

know any

better.

But I

suppose he

became

too tired

at that

time to

think much.

He just

wanted to

lie down

and sleep,

pick up a

stone and

went to

sleep in

the open

air.

Genesis

28,

11 tells

us that

the sun

has set

on Jacob.

It's

quite

interesting

in this

verse,

because we

don't read

about the

sun rising

again on

Jacob for

20 years

until

Genesis 32,

31.

Then it

says that

the sun

rose on

him.

So,

there's a

gap of

about 20

years between

these two

verses.

years.

It seems

to tell

us that

Jacob was

living in

some sort

of darkness

or struggling

in his

heart over

these 20

years.

Last week

I said

God's

blessing

does not

usually come

in comfort,

but it

always comes

with peace.

Why then

I would say

he would have

this struggle

in this

time in

Jacob

after this

night?

before this

night,

Jacob was

living for

himself.

He depended

on his

own

carelessness

to get

what he

wanted.

And during

this night,

he was

going to

encounter

God.

Before this

night,

God was

like Santa

Cross.

He was

there to

grant

wishes.

God was

not his

God.

Remember

how he

explained to

Isaac last

week why

he could

find an

animal so

quickly?

He told

Isaac,

because the

Lord,

your God,

granted me

success.

That God

was Isaac's

God,

not his

God.

Jacob was

too occupied

with his

own plan

to care

much about

God.

After

Jacob

encountered

God,

there began

a change

inside him.

God

did not

choose

Jacob

because

Jacob

was a

godly

man.

God

chose

him

because

God

wants

to make

him a

godly

man.

That

is the

change

we will

be seeing

in

Jacob.

Jacob

started to

see God

in his

daily

encounters

or his

daily

experiences.

This

gave him

peace in

his

suffering.

He will

suffer in

the next

20 years,

but as

we got

a chance

to go

through it,

when we

re-counter

back,

he said

it was

because of

God with

him that

he went

through all

those things.

at the

same

time,

I think

there

will

be

struggles

in his

heart,

a struggle

between

his

will

and

God's

will.

That's

why the

sun

is

setting

and

rising.

It

means

there's

a new

chapter

happening

in his

life.

The

old

has

gone,

the

sun

is

set.

The

new

is

coming,

but

not

yet.

There

is

this

period

of

time.

Until

he

surrendered

his

heart to

God

in

your

offspring.

Your

offspring shall

be like

the dust

of the

earth,

and you

shall

spread

abroad

to the

west,

to the

east,

to the

north,

and to

the

south.

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.

Actually

in the

Hebrews,

the west

east,

north,

south.

They are

not

strictly

written in

those terms.

So

understood

as those

terms.

It's

more like

your

land

will be

from

where

the

north

is

where

you

are

coming

from,

from

Haran

to

Nagat,

the

south

where

there's

wilderness,

there's

nobody.

From

the east

is

the

garden

Eden

until

the

west

is

where

the

God

revealed

himself

to

someone,

the

response

is

always

here.

For

the

first

time

in

his

life,

Jacob

had

a

glimpse

of

holiness.

God

was

no

longer

like

Santa

Cross.

God

is

the

Lord,

the

master

of

all

things.

For

the

first

time,

he

started

to

understand

that

the

blessing

he

inherited

or

he

cheated

on

was

not

something

trivial

or

comfortable.

He

realized

that

God

was

in

control

of

all

things

as

he

saw

the

angels

traveling

between

heaven

and

earth.

God

is

sending

the

angels

and

doing

his

plan.

This

God

was

now

formally

giving

him

the

promise

of

this

blessing.

We

can

ask,

why

didn't

God

give

Jacob

this

blessing

sooner?

If

God

did,

then

Jacob

would

not

need

to

deceive

Isaac

for

this

blessing.

I

guess

it

is

because

when

we

are

full

of

ourselves,

God

will

not

speak

to

us.

He

will

wait

until

we

see

our

own

happiness.

Was

God

been

partial

in

choosing

Jacob

but not

Esau?

Last

week I

said

that we

are

partial

people

because

we

all

have

needs.

We

favor

those

who

meet

our

needs.

God

is

not

partial

in

this

way.

God

needs

nothing.

That's

why

you

can

be

partial.

Partial

implies

that we

make

life

easier

for

those

whom

be

favored.

God

was

certainly

not

going

to

make

Jacob's

life

easier,

at least

not

for the

next

20

years.

Actually,

it's not

even

until

his

death,

I

suppose.

If

Jacob

knew

what

was

coming,

I

thought,

I

think

he

would

gladly

let

Esau

have

the

blessing

instead.

God

promised

Jacob

that he

would

be

with

Jacob

and

bring

him

back

to

his

homeland.

This

promise

gave

Jacob

the

strength

to

go

on

the

long

journey

until

he

reached

his

uncle's

place.

With

God's

presence,

Jacob

now had

a much

bigger

purpose

in his

life.

Initially,

he wanted

to get

a blessing

so that

he could

have a

comfortable

and

secure

life.

Now

he

started

to

realize

that

God

had

appointed

something

much

greater

for

his

life

on

earth.

He

God

said,

in him

and his

offspring

shall

all the

families

of the

earth

be

blessed.

Jacob

did not

understand

how

all the

families

of the

earth

shall

be

blessed.

But

now he

treasured

his

life

in a

different

way.

He

started

to see

things

differently

and

there

starts

the

hope

within

him

to

live

full.

He

began

to

train

his

body

and

learn

how

to

live

outdoors

as

he

traveled

north.

Day

by day

he

became

stronger.

We

will

see

that

when

he

reached

around

how

he

became

stronger.

But

today I

want to

talk about

how

God's

blessing

of

Jacob

needs

to

the

families

of

the

earth

being

blessed.

Eventually

God

changed

Jacob's

name

to

Israel

and

through

Jacob's

12

sons

God

formed

the

people

of

Israel

and

through

this

nation

Jesus

of

Nazareth

came

to

the

world.

We

can

read

this

if

you

want

to

turn

to

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1.

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

verses

45

to

51.

I'll

read to

you.

Philip

found

Nathaniel

and said

to him,

We have

found him

of home

Moses

in the

law

and also

the

prophets

wrote,

Jesus

of

Nazareth,

the son

of

Joseph.

Nathaniel

said

to him,

Can

anything

good

come

out of

Nazareth?

Philip

said to

him,

Come

and

see.

Jesus

saw

Nathaniel

coming

toward him

and said

to him,

Behold,

an

Israelite

indeed,

in

whom

there

is

no

deceit.

Nathaniel

said

to

him,

How

do

you

know

me?

And

then

God

changed

them

to

Israel.

And

now

Jesus

is

saying,

I

know

you

are

a

real

Israelite

and

in

you

there

is

no

deceit.

There

is

a

change

in

nature.

in

this

passage

we

see

that

there

are

people

like

Nathaniel

and

Philip

still

waiting

for

God's

promise

to

be

fulfilled.

There

is

1,800

years

after

God

promised

Abraham

this

blessing.

And

they

were

looking

for

these

special

people.

And

Nathaniel

at

first

did

not

believe

that

that

could

come

from

Jesus

because

Jesus

is

from

Nazareth.

Nazareth

is

a

very

insignificant

place.

How

can

such

significant

people

come

from

such

a

insignificant

place?

So

when

a lot

of

people

use

the

name

Jesus

of

Nazareth

it

basically

means

that

Jesus

of

nobody

coming

from

nowhere.

But

then

when

Jesus

revealed

to

Nathaniel

that

Jesus

knew

what

was

in

Nathaniel's

mind

Nathaniel

changed

his

mind

very

quickly

and

acknowledged

Jesus

to be

the

son

of

God

and

the

king

of

Israel.

But

Jesus

told

Nathaniel

not to

be

impressed

because

of his

supernatural

power

but because

of the

fulfillment

of

Jacob's

dream.

So

unless

you know

Jacob's

dream

what

Jesus

told

Nathaniel

would

not

make

much

sense.

I

think

because

there's

two

reasons.

One

for the

angels

to

descend

on

the

son

of

man

or

on

Jesus

then

either

the

angels

are

very

tiny

coming

up

and

down

or

Jesus

was

a

giant

for

that

to

happen.

Secondly

it

would

be

nobody

ever

seen

that

happen

physically.

So

that

would

have

to

be

what

Jesus

was

saying

was

to

do

with

Jacob's

dream.

You

can

say

that

if

Jesus

is

God

he

could

certainly

make

himself

a

giant

for

the

angels

to

come

up

and

down

on

him.

But

you

notice

that

Nathaniel

addressed

Jesus

as

the

son

of

God

but

Jesus

addressed

himself

as

the

son

of

man.

Jesus

was

telling

Nathaniel

that

he

came

as

a

man.

So

therefore

it's

not

likely

that

Jesus

would

use

his

power

in

that

way

and

make

himself

a

Zion.

So

that

we

understand

what

Jesus

said

about

the

angels

ascending

and

descending

on

the

son

of

man

is

that

he

would

be

the

ladder.

So

in

Jacob's

dream

the

ladder

was

set

up

from

earth

to

heaven.

Angels

were

ascending

and

descending

on

the

ladder

but

God

stayed

above

the

ladder.

Jacob

was

fearful

enough

seeing

God

in

a

distance.

If

God

came

down

in

all

his

glory

I

don't

think

Jacob

could

survive

in

God's

presence.

So

how

is God

coming

to

human?

How

is God

coming

to

man?

He

came

to

us

in

the

person

of

Jesus.

We

read

in

John

if

we

can

turn

to

Philippians

Philippians 2:5–11

chapter

2

verses

5

to

11

tells

us

God

God

has

highly

exalted

him

and

bestowed

on

him

the

name

that

is

above

all

and

every

name

so

that

at

the

name

of

Jesus

every

knee

should

bow

in

heaven

and

earth

and

under

the

earth

and

every

tongue

confess

that

Christ

Jesus

is

Lord

to the

glory of

God

the

Father.

Philippians

tells us

that

God

emptied

himself

of

his

glory

came to

us

as

a

servant