Genesis 31-33, Matthew 8:23-9:18

I am sorry it has taken me all day to get this out. I’m having a lot of trouble with my asthma today. We start with Jacob still not submitting to God, even though he had blessed Jacob greatly. Sure, he agrees to go back to Canaan but I think that is more out of self preservation than God telling him to. He still calls him Isaac’s God. So basically he’s lied once again. Then he goes to his wives who agree to leaving basically because their father can’t offer them anything. We also see here that in the years since Rebekah had left pagan worship had taken over Laban’s household. So much that Rebekah couldn’t leave without taking the idols. Still with all of this, God’s plan is his most important thing. I love how he visits Laban in his dreams and warns him not to threaten Jacob or bribe him to return. I also love that nothing has changed in all these centuries. Men were freaked out by women’s issues then and they still are.
Another thing I found funny was that Laban claimed all that Jacob had earned and created as his own still. Yet he knows he’s powerless because God had warned him. Then I was shocked by what I read in verses 48-50. In many churches I’ve been in verse 49 is said as a benediction or blessing at the end of a service. Laban isn’t blessing Jacob here. He is cursing him almost. This is a warning Laban gives Jacob not to break the covenant. I will never look at that saying as a blessing again.
Finally, in chapter 32, we see Jacob clue into reality. He recognizes his camp as God’s camp, admits he can’t take care of himself in the situation with Esau and then he wrestles with God and has to submit. Jacob’s example shows us that one can believe in God and not really worship him. We need to remember that God wants us. He doesn’t care if we believe, even the demons believe. He wants us to submit to his will and acknowledge that we need him. He wants for us to claim him as our God and conduct ourselves accordingly. Now he had a limp for the rest of his life to remind him that God blessed Jacob at HIS will, not Jacob’s. It is much like how Paul speaks of his thorn in the flesh, or as a professor I heard at Biola refer to his debilitating disease. These things are blessings, we just need to recognize them as such. I could look at many things that have happened to me in my life as tragedies, but through them all, God has chosen to bless me and these things have left marks on me to remind me of that.
Another thing to note though is that Jacob, even after he submits to God, cannot completely break out of his former nature. He tries to get the name of God because of the superstition of having power over someone who’s name you know, and he puts his family between him and his brother who he fears is coming to attack him. It takes time to grow away from your old nature. Jacob at least comes to his senses and crosses the river before his wives and children. We need to focus on “pressing on” as RelientK puts it. Great song if you haven’t heard it. We can’t beat ourselves up for slip ups, we have to focus on not repeating them and adjust ourselves as soon as we realize we’re repeating past behaviors.
I sleep like Jesus. That’s pretty cool. Lol I always thought of it as a bad thing, but until I had kids especially, I sleep soundly. What I read in the last part of chapter 8 is that Jesus is so sure of his safety that he sleeps like the dead. THAT is my reason! Lol I am content and secure. I really do believe that, because at the times in my life that I have felt unsure and unsafe I haven’t slept well, even to the point of having insomnia. This is something I can keep an eye on from now on.
I love the power of Jesus shown in these verses. He commands the winds and the rain, he commands demons, nothing that scares us cannot be controlled by him. In light of yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti that is comforting. I have many friends there both among nationals and ex-patriots. So far I have not heard that any have died but I have not heard anything yet from several. We worry about earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, crime, evil men, a gazillion things. Yet, faith trumps fear is what Jesus is saying, and Jesus trumps evil. Yet, even though his power was made evident, the people chose their old lives to having God enter them. This is something we need to remember today. Just because we make it clear that Jesus is Lord and Savior, doesn’t mean that people will want that. Many people prefer to live in their sin and not have to be responsible. Our job is to share it, and show it. It is up to them to follow through on it. We made our choice in free will and so must they.
Tomorrow’s reading is Genesis 34-36 and Matthew 9:14-38.