God Meets Us In Our Mess

Amen. Thank you, Nathan.

All right, good morning, everyone.

!

When Abraham went to Egypt, there was a famine in the land.

Abraham didn't cause the famine.

It happened.

And obviously, it's all under the sovereignty, the providence of God,

but outside our control, even when it's under God's control.

Sometimes the messes we find ourselves in come because of what others do to us,

the mistakes, the sins other people commit.

Someone hurts us, betrays us, disappoints us,

just like when Abraham lied to Pharaoh, lied to Abimelech,

and they face the consequences of Abraham's actions.

But then there's other kinds of messes, too.

There are messes where we have to admit that we had a part to play in it.

It can come from a bad decision.

You're having an argument, loud conversation with your parents, let's say.

It's tense, emotions are high, you feel yourself getting upset,

and then out comes a few words, and you realize,

I've made this worse, I've made a mess of things, everything's on fire.

And who made this mess?

Well, you did.

Sometimes it's not just a split-second decision,

but a whole series of choices made over months, over years, a pattern.

You head off in the wrong direction,

and before you know it, you've gone farther than you imagined.

And now you're thinking, how did I get here?

What happened?

Sometimes life is hard because things happen.

Sometimes life is hard because someone sinned against us.

Sometimes it's because of our own foolish choices.

And often it's a mixture of all three of these things.

And whatever the cause,

sometimes we find ourselves looking around,

and we wonder, how did I end up here?

And that's the type of situation we find Jacob in, in Genesis 28.

We've been going through Genesis,

and last week we read how Jacob and Rebekah,

they schemed to get the blessing from Isaac.

They schemed.

And actually their plan worked.

Their plan worked.

Jacob got what he wanted.

He got the blessing he was after.

But now, his life is a mess.

His brother wants to kill him.

His twin brother, Esau, wants to kill him.

Jacob is now fleeing from his home,

leaving the land that God promised to give him.

He got the blessing,

but everything else is falling apart.

And here's the question as we read this chapter,

Genesis 28.

What does God do when we find ourselves

in the messes of life,

even the messes that we create for ourselves?

This is what we see in our text today,

that in the middle of Jacob's mess,

God comes, God reaches down to meet him.

God comes and finds him with grace.

And that's also the good news for us.

If we find ourselves in a low place today,

even if it's our own doing,

I want us to know,

God meets us in our mess with grace.

He is with you.

He will never leave you or forsake you.

He will do all that he has promised you

when we put our faith in Jesus.

So let's stand together

as we read from Genesis 28.

I mentioned faith comes by hearing.

We're going to play the audio recording,

actually, one of them from Genesis 28.

If you guys find it hard to read the Bible sometimes,

actually, I find listening can be good.

I was just on a run this week,

listened to all of Hebrews.

And yeah, it's just something good

you can play in the background.

So can you play that for us, please, Darren?

I'm going to play that for us, please, Darren.

Then Isaac called Jacob

and blessed him

and directed him

You must not take a wife

from the Canaanite women

Arise

to the house of Bethuel

your mother's father

and take it your wife

from there

one of the daughters of Laban

your mother's brother

God Almighty bless you

and make you fruitful

and make you fruitful

and multiply you

that you may become

a company of peoples

the blessing of Abraham

may he give the blessing

of Abraham to you

and to your offspring

with you

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

to Laban

the son of Bethuel

the Aramean

the brother of Rebekah

Jacob's

Esau's father

Now Esau saw

that Isaac

had blessed Jacob

and sent him away

to Paddan

to take a wife

and that as he blessed him

he directed him

and that Jacob

had obeyed his father

and his mother

and gone to Paddan

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

Mahalab

the daughter of Ishmael

Abraham's son

the sister of Nebeah

and went toward

Jacob left Beersheba

and went toward Harry

and he came to a certain place

and stayed there

that night

because the son 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

the angels of God

were ascending and descended

and descended above it

and behold

the Lord stood above it

and said

Abraham

I am the Lord

and the God of Abraham

your father

and the God of Isaac

I will give to you

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

and 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 done

and I will not leave you

and 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

this 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 Bethel

but the name of the city

was Lodipah

saying

then Jacob made a bow

saying

if God will be with me

and will keep me

in this way that I go

and will give me bread

to wear

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 team

alright this is the word

of the Lord

the fully dramatized version

yeah

please take a seat

and Lord

we trust that your word

is living and active

it cuts to our hearts

and we pray in faith

that you do that today

speak to us

just as you spoke

to Jacob

we pray in Jesus name

amen

and so what we read

what we listened to today

this is a famous story

Jacob's Ladder

the Lord

appeared to Jacob

in a strange dream

what does it all mean

before we look at the dream

I just want us

to take a step back

and see the situation

that Jacob's in

this whole family's

a mess

it's a mess

Isaac said to Jacob

in verse 1

he says

you must not take

a wife from the

Canaanite woman

arise

go to Paddan Aram

to the house of Bethuel

your mother's father

and take as your wife

from there

one of the daughters

of Laban

your mother's brother

and so yes

if you think about it

Isaac is sending Jacob off

to marry one of his cousins

and you might have some questions

about that

that's not our focus today

that was

that's odd to us

but that's

common in their culture

more important than that

is why Jacob is

why Isaac is sending Jacob off

in the first place

we read last week

Jacob and Rebecca

they worked together

they schemed

so that Jacob

would get Isaac's blessing

rather than

Jacob's older brother

Esau

and

now

to want the blessing

the blessing is actually

a good thing

it's great to be wanted

to be included

in this covenant

that the Lord

made with Abraham

we see in verse 4

that's what the blessing includes

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

it's good to want

this blessing

it's a good thing

the problem is

that

you can pursue

a good thing

the wrong way

they wanted to take

the blessing

that's good

but

they did it

by lying

scheming

manipulating

we read last week

Isaac was old

his eyesight

was failing

he thought

he was about to die

everyone thought

he was about to die

and he wanted to bless

his sons

one last time

before he died

he wanted to give

this final blessing

on his deathbed

to only

the older brother

Esau

but then

his wife

Rebecca

overheard this conversation

and came up

with a plan

she told Jacob

this

hey

pretend to be Esau

I'll cook food

you put on Esau's clothes

you dress up

like him

your dad is old

he's pretty much blind

he's about to die

we can trick dad

before he passes away

like

isn't that just messed up

that's what they did

they're tricking

their dying father

but it works actually

this plan actually works

or so it seems

Jacob

gets the blessing

but then

Esau finds out

and he's furious

Esau says to himself

hey

my dad's nearly dead

I'll wait for him

to die

so I don't cause him

any more pain

but after that

I'm gonna go

and kill my brother

I'm gonna kill

my younger twin brother

that's the situation

we're in

and that's why

Rebecca complained

about Esau's wives

so that Isaac

would go and send

Jacob off

to find a wife

somewhere else

away from his brother

he's complaining

about these wives

but really

it's part of her plan

to continue manipulating

continue controlling

the situation

and send Jacob off

so that Jacob

would be safe

from his brother

and so that's why

Isaac does that

in verse 1

he says to Jacob

you must not take a wife

from the Canaanite woman

so look at this mess

look at this whole mess

Rebecca's plan works

but she has to send

away the son

that she loves

Jacob has the blessing

but he's fleeing

for his life

because his brother

wants him dead

and it's a messy situation

all because

they chased after

the right thing

the wrong way

right thing

the wrong way

and have we done

that before too

so often

that's what sin is

we take a good gift

God has given us

and twist it

twist it

with evil desires

it's good

to work hard

to want to provide

for your family

but then

don't we

scheme

maybe

you go against

your co-worker

or neglect your family

in your attempts

to go and provide for them

it's good to encourage

someone

to rebuke someone

to spread the gospel

even all those are good

but we can twist

those desires

and go after

a good thing

the wrong way

Jacob and Rebecca

did that

and it caused a mess

Esau

on the other hand

he's even worse

Esau is even worse

Esau is impulsive

we've been seeing that

he thinks before

he acts

he thinks with his stomach

according to just

his fleshly desires

and years ago

Esau had married

two Canaanite women

who made life bitter

for his parents

Isaac and Rebecca

and only now

in verse 8

years later

Esau finally

seems to realize

oh my parents

don't like them

they don't like that

years later

he finally starts

to realize

that's the type

of person

Esau is

but instead

of repenting

instead of realizing

this mistake

turning from it

Esau adds

to his mistake

Esau's in a hole

and he keeps digging

he already had

two wives

we know that's not

the plan for marriage

in the Bible

that's between

one man

one woman only

Esau had two wives

and so what does

he do?

he decides to take

a third wife

that'll make it better

and look who he marries

in verse 9

Esau went to Ishmael

and took as his wife

beside the wives

that he had

Mahalath

the daughter

of Ishmael

so Esau

sees that Isaac

sent Jacob away

to marry someone

from the family

weird we know

but that's what he does

and so Esau thinks

hey maybe I should

do that too

that's making Isaac

happy

Isaac blessed Jacob

maybe if I do

something that makes

my dad happy

he might change

his mind maybe

I don't know

but so

Esau goes

and marries

someone from

his father's side

of the family

and he goes

and marries

Ishmael's

daughter

but here's the

irony of that

Ishmael

who is

Esau's

uncle

Ishmael

was the son

that Abraham

sent away

from the family

do you remember

that

Ishmael

was the one

who

he's not

the child of promise

that was

Isaac

Ishmael

wasn't the son

to inherit

the covenant

so Esau

thinks he's

getting closer

to the blessing

but by marrying

Ishmael's daughter

ironically

he's moving

even further

away from that

and do we also

do the same

sometimes

caught in a mess

instead of

repenting

realizing our

sin

casting upon

God

casting it

upon Christ

we double

down

on our

mistakes

and so

this is

the situation

we find

this family

in

Esau's

in a rage

Jacob's

on the run

Esau wants

to kill him

Jacob has

God's blessing

the blessing

of the Lord's

covenant

to Abraham

but he's

also forced

to flee

from the

covenant

promises

from the

promised land

that's what

we see

in verse 10

Jacob left

Beersheba

and went

towards

Haran

that's the

situation

we're in

and night

falls

Jacob

is on

the run

he's in

the wilderness

in Haran

night comes

where does

he sleep

taking one

of the

stones

of the

place

he put

it under

his head

and lay

down

in that

place

to sleep

Jacob

spent all

his life

trying to

secure the

blessing

but now

he's just

alone

in the

dark

lying on

the ground

with a stone

by his head

that's what

happens

he's at one

of the

lowest points

in his life

so far

and what I

want to see

in bringing

this up

is that

in Jacob's

low point

this is where

Jacob is

it's that

this is the

time

this is the

place

where God

meets Jacob

in that low

point

this is where

we see the

grace of God

reach down

to find Jacob

in Jacob's

mess

this is where

God appears

to Jacob

in a dream

God's grace

came to Jacob

in his

time of trial

in his low

point

not when he's

safe at home

not when he has

his life all

sorted out

God can do

this but that's

not what he

did to Jacob

it's not when

God

when Jacob

had done

anything

to earn

God's favor

God meets

Jacob

after he

screwed it

all up

after his

sin and

scheming

blew up

in his face

that's where

God

comes

and meets

Jacob

in chapter

28

and now

maybe

you're in

a similar

situation

a similar

place

here today

maybe you're

dealing with

consequences

of some of

your own

bad decisions

or suffering

because someone

else had

done something

to you

maybe life

took a turn

that you

didn't expect

that wasn't

in your

control

but whatever

brought

you to

this low

point

I want

us to

see today

that this

is the

God we

worship

this is

the type

of God

we worship

behold your

God

he is the

Lord

who is

near to

the broken

hearted

and saves

those crushed

in spirit

he is with

you not

only when we

have it all

figured out

but also

in the

struggles

and in

the trials

he gently

and graciously

meets you

there

and isn't

it so

often

in those

times

when we

do

actually

encounter

God

and we

do

meet

God

when life's

good

it's so

easy to

think

that

I'm

alright

I can

manage

I don't

need

God

I can

do it

myself

but

so often

it's in

our stress

in our

anxiety

in our

darkest

moments

when we're

at the

end of

ourselves

that's

when God

is so

near and

dear to

us

I wonder

if some

of us

in this

room have

experienced

that

that God

meets us

in our

mess

and if

you're going

through a

hard time

today

if you're

going through

a low

point

today

don't let

that drive

you away

from God

don't

turn away

from God

but let

this

draw near

to him

because God

meets us

in our

mess

but even

if we don't

even if we

don't want

to draw near

to God

we don't

have that

desire to

notice this

God

took the

initiative

to find

Jacob

God

takes

initiative

to come

and find

us

so far

in Genesis

we have

not seen

Jacob pray

or seek

God

actually

the only

time that

we've heard

Jacob mention

God

is in the

last chapter

I think

chapter 27

verse 20

that's the only

time he mentions

God really

when he uses

the name

of the Lord

as a lie

to cheat

his dying

father

he says

trust me

dad

I'm Esau

I came

back

really quickly

because the

Lord

your God

has granted

me success

that's the only

time we've seen

Jacob mention

the Lord

when God

appeared to

Jacob here

Jacob wasn't

praying

Jacob wasn't

worshipping

he wasn't

going to church

he was running

away from his

brother

and actually

he was asleep

this dude

was sleeping

Jacob was

snoring

Jacob wasn't

looking for

God

God came

to find

Jacob

we see that

in the dream

also when we

look at the

dream in

verse 12

he dreamed

Jacob dreamed

while he was

sleeping

and behold

there was a

ladder set

up on the

earth

and the

top of it

reached to

the heaven

and behold

the angels

of God

were ascending

and descending

on it

now some

other translations

if you look

at it

in the place

of a ladder

some others

will say

stairway

staircase

that's

probably

more accurate

or as

accurate

if it helps

you to

visualize

a staircase

instead of

a ladder

if you want

to visualize

this weird

dream

you can go

and do

that

the point

is that

we see

something

in this dream

there is

something

connecting

earth and

heaven

there's

a way

made

between

earth and

heaven

and notice

this

it says

there was

a ladder

set up

the language

here is

passive

there was

a ladder

set up

there

the staircase

is there

in the dream

already

Jacob

didn't build

it

Jacob

couldn't

construct

it

he didn't

do anything

to make

this ladder

appear

someone else

put the

stairway

there

and

this might

remind us

of another

story

in Genesis

do you

remember

the tower

of Babel

the tower

of Babel

the people

at Babel

they said

let us

build ourselves

a city

and a tower

with its top

in the heavens

and

let us

make a name

for ourselves

they wanted

to build

a tower

that would

reach the heavens

build the way

to heaven

make a name

for themselves

secure

their future

and

isn't that

what Jacob

has been doing

isn't that

what Jacob

has been doing

his whole life

trying to

cheat

or

manipulate

Esau

to trade

his birthright

for a bowl

of soup

and

last chapter

to lie

to secure

the blessing

by his own

effort

scheming

Jacob

has been

trying to

do this

and now

heaven

opened up

to Jacob

he sees

God's angels

ascending

and descending

between heaven

and earth

God and his

messengers

are all around

him

even though

Jacob's all

alone in the

wilderness

he sees

God's angels

are surrounding

him

what did

Jacob do

for heaven

to open

up to him

like that

answer

is

absolutely

nothing

Jacob

did

nothing

he's lying

on the

ground

fast asleep

Jacob

didn't

initiate

this

encounter

he didn't

ask God

to do

this

God

went

to him

it's

all

grace

freely

given

unearned

undeserved

all by

God's

initiative

and also

God

promises

Jacob

what he

doesn't

deserve

after

everything

Jacob

did

it's

remarkable

here

to me

that

God

doesn't

scold

Jacob

here

at least

not in

this

instance

God

will

correct

Jacob

later

but

Jacob

actually

messed

everything

up

he

cheated

his

dying

dad

and

God

doesn't

go to

him

and say

first thing

off

what were

you

thinking

what did

you do

you screwed

it up

instead

God

meets

Jacob's

sin

with

promises

he meets

Jacob's

sin

with

promises

not

just

one

promise

a promise

after

promise

after

promise

look

starting

from

verse

13

Jacob

is

fleeing

in the

wilderness

away

from

home

but

God

promises

him

land

I'll

give

you

this

land

Jacob

ran

from

his

family

but

God

promises

him

offspring

a

family

of

his

own

Jacob

came

from

a

broken

family

his

family

is

in

ruins

but

God

promises

him

a

family

that

will

bless

all

the

nations

from

a

broken

family

to

become

a

family

that

will

bless

all

the

nations

Jacob's

all

alone

but

God

promises

him

behold

I

am

with

you

Jacob

fears

for

his

life

but

God

promises

I

will

keep

you

wherever

you

go

Jacob

is

leaving

the

promised

land

but

God

says

I

will

bring

you

back

I

will

bring

you

back

Jacob's

future

seems

uncertain

but God

promises

I

will

not

leave

you

until

I

have

done

what

I

have

promised

you

do

you

see

that

Jacob

has

spent

his

whole

life

trying

to

secure

the

blessing

through

his

own

efforts

and

yes

he

got

the

blessing

Jacob

will

have

this

blessing

he

didn't

have

to

scheme

to

make

God's

promises

come

true

and

as

with

Jacob

that's

also

our

hope

in

our

darkness

in

our

mess

God

promises

us

also

I

am

with

you

I

will

keep

you

I

will

never

leave

you

or

forsake

you

I

know

many

of

us

have

felt

that

in

our

past

even

now

in

our

lowest

points

that

we

are

comforted

in

our

hearts

because

in

our

darkness

he

says

to

us

I

am

with

you

God

is

with

us

Emmanuel

because

what

Jacob

saw

that

night

was

only

a

glimpse

of

something

far

greater

it

was

a

shadow

of

something

to

come

God

appeared

to

Jacob

in

a

dream

but

years

later

many

years

later

God

the

eternal

son

of

God

he

took

on

flesh

and

came

to

dwell

among

us

that's

how

God

appeared

to

us

and

the

son

of

God

his

name

is

Jesus

and

Jesus

himself

refers

to

Jacob's

dream

turn

with me

to

John

John 1:51

chapter

1

verse

51

John

John 1:51

chapter

1

verse

51

Jesus

is

talking

to

a

guy

Nathaniel

who

had

just

confessed

who

had

just

realized

Rabbi

Jesus

you

are

the

son

of

God

and

Jesus

replies

to

that

you

will

see

greater

things

than

these

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

you

will

see

heaven

opened

up

and

the

angels

of

God

ascending

and

descending

on

the

son

of

man

that

sounds

familiar

doesn't

it

angels

ascending

and

descending

God

doesn't

mention

Jesus

doesn't

mention

Jesus

doesn't

mention

a ladder

or staircase

!

He says

that the

angels

will ascend

and descend

on the

son

of man

on himself

Jesus

here

in

John

1

is

saying

he's

the

fulfillment

of

Jacob's

dream

in

Jesus

heaven

has

come

down

to

earth

he has

made a

way

between

heaven

and

earth

God

himself

has

come

to

dwell

among

us

that's

who

Jesus

is

and

why

did

he

come

to

bring

us

to

God

just

as

Jacob

can

climb

up

his

way

to

God

neither

can

we

we

can't

earn

our

way

into

God's

presence

by

good

works

by

praying

more

by

reading

the

Bible

more

by

going

to

church

more

but

that

is

the

good

news

of

the

gospel

we

can't

strive

we

don't

need

to

strive

and

scheme

our

way

to

God

we

can't

do

it

so

God

came

down

to

us

Jesus

he

stepped

down

into

our

mess

into

our

broken

sinful

world

it's

all

by

his

initiative

it's

by

his

work

that

we're

saved

his

grace

Jesus

suffered

and

died

on

the

cross

for

our

sins

rose

from

the

dead

to

bring

us

to

God

hasn't

promised

us

the

same

things

exact

things

he

promised

Jacob

he

hasn't

promised

us

the

same

land

the

same

circumstances

as

Jacob

but

the

Bible

does

say

that

all

the

promises

of

God

find

their

yes

in

Christ

all

the

promises

of

God

are

fulfilled

in

Jesus

and

we

have

these

promises

we

have

these

sure

steadfast

promises

that

he

will

never

leave

us

or

forsake

us