Genesis 28

Birthright

Posted on by Betsy

I came upon a woman in the hair salon this week who was seated on the couch with her foot propped up. She wore a black orthopedic boot on her injured foot, and I saw crutches waiting along the wall for her. I expressed sympathy for her situation and then heard the whole story of how she slipped on the ice and fell down some stairs last February, Because she was gripping the railing, her entire body twisted, dislocating her ankle and tearing the tendons. The long months between then and now were filled with physical therapy, surgery, more injury to her hip and knee ligaments as her body accommodated the ankle injury, etc. It reminded me of the classic children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” where each decision resulted in a further consequence that had to be dealt with. I certainly sympathized, as I have been there myself with injuries. The day I saw her was the first day she could drive by herself in six months, and she is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In our lectionary passage today, we see Jacob at a similar junction in his life. He was the younger of two sons of Isaac but had connived and deceived his father into giving him the birthright that was legally Esau’s. The birthright gave the eldest son control of the land and the family’s fortunes. Once that word was spoken, there was no turning back for any of them. Like the mouse’s cookie, the deception led to further consequences. Esau was angry and wanted revenge, and Jacob’s place as birthright-holder meant that he could not take a wife from among the Canaanites were they lived. For both reasons, Isaac sent Jacob away and Jacob found himself without a home or a family around him.

Genesis 28 (Common English Bible)

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and set out for Haran. 11 He reached a certain place and spent the night there. When the sun had set, he took one of the stones at that place and put it near his head. Then he lay down there. 12 He dreamed and saw a raised staircase, its foundation on earth and its top touching the sky, and God’s messengers were ascending and descending on it. 13 Suddenly the Lord was standing on it and saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will become like the dust of the earth; you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. Every family of earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. 

The legal implication of the stolen birthright meant that Jacob would now become the patriarch of Israel, and his life was forever changed. But as we read it, we realize that it was God’s plan all along for the younger brother to usurp the older one. The mouse got his cookie, the glass of milk, a napkin, and the land of milk and honey.

15 I am with you now, I will protect you everywhere you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have promised you.”

When Jacob was scheming for his father’s inheritance, he never imagined what would happen next. Did God approve of his lie? Nope. Did God use all things for the good of Israel? Always. Remember, Esau sold his priceless birthright for a mere bowl of stew. If we think that little of the enormous blessings God has bestowed upon us, we too will pay the consequences. The continuing damage to our environment comes to mind. We have failed to take good care of God’s creation and the evidence of our grabbing the cookie with disregard to the planet is all around us in the form of unbearable heat waves, polluted air and oceans, toxic spills, out of control wild fires, and other environmental disasters. We have forsaken the birthright of our beautiful earth.

16 When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it. 

So here’s the good news. Even when we are in a spiral of bad decisions, the consequences of someone else’s actions, or things that are plummeting out of control, the Lord is still with us. Sometimes we are like Jacob when we are dealing with things, and we don’t know that the Lord is there.

Are you in such a place right now? Take heart. The Lord is definitely in that place with you, even if you didn’t know it.

The Lord is in This Place by Michelle Robertson

Stone Pillows

Posted on by Betsy

Have your dreams become more disturbing during the pandemic? I was chatting with friends who remarked that this is happening to them. I, too, am experiencing dreams that are louder, more colorful, more intense, and frankly more exhausting than usual. Obviously the stress of what is happening is being played out in our subconscious the minute we release consciousness. I often wake up feeling unresolved and tired. I imagine this is to be expected, given the situation.

So I thought it would be good to study a dream this morning that actually brought some good news to the dreamer. This is the kind of dream we all wish for…one that brings a sense of awe and wonder with it. This dream was filled by the very presence of God:

Genesis 28 (New Revised Standard Version)

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the 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. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him 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; 14 and 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 all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 

And indeed, Jacob produced the twelve tribes of Israel, which spread all throughout Israel and dominated the land. But even better than that prophesy was the promise God made:

15 Know that 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.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 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.”

Note that verse 15 sounds very reminiscent of a promise Jesus made in Matthew 28:

 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.

And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (New Revised Standard Version)

I am with you, always. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.

As you go off to college, I am with you.

As you go into surgery, I am with you.

As you go into the COVID-19 ward, I am with you.

As you go into the unemployment center, I am with you.

As you go into divorce, foreclosure, the second grade classroom, the never-ending argument…..I am with you.

Are you with ME?

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he 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. 19 He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

The word Bethel means “house of God.” Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the “house of Bread.” Appropriate, as he became the Bread of Life.

God invites us today to create a Bethel in our own hearts. When you establish your soul as a house of God, he is GUARANTEED to come and inhabit your life.

So make a place for him, and open wide your doors. We are all climbing Jacob’s ladder. God will be with you, always, even to the end of the pandemic age.

Every Rung Goes Higher by Jennifer Thompson