Tag Archives: Jacob

The Ladder Remains – Sermon on Genesis 28:10-17 for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Genesis 28:10-17

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

There are more stars above this building than anyone could count. But if you were to go outside right now, you wouldn’t see them because the sun and clouds hide them. Even at night, you can’t see all of them because of the ‘light pollution’ from the city lights. Those distant bits of God’s creation don’t go anywhere just because the clouds cover them, or because the sun drowns them out, or because the city lights hide them. The stars don’t actually go anywhere. Nobody goes out at noon and says, “Well, I guess the stars are gone.” You know better.

Sadly, we don’t always know better when it comes to God’s presence and help. When a new suffering enters your life and your prayers seem to get no higher than the ceiling, it’s easy to conclude that God either stopped paying attention or abandoned you and those you love. That’s where Jacob was the night he laid his head down on that rock. To better understand his mindset, you have to know how Jacob got here. Many of you know the story, but just to recap it:

Abraham had received the promise that the Messiah and Savior would be born from his descendants. Abraham passed that blessing on to his son, Isaac. Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, had twin sons. Esau was the older of the two and was Isaac’s favorite (Gen. 25:27) because he was a hunter and gatherer—a man’s man. Jacob was the younger twin and his mother’s favorite (Gen. 25:28). Because Esau was the older brother, he was the one who, generally speaking, should have gotten the inheritance and blessing.

One day, Jacob was home cooking a pot of stew. Esau had just come in from the field and was exhausted. Esau asked Jacob for a cup of the stew, but Jacob wanted to make sure that he would get something in return. He asked Esau for his birthright in exchange for that bit of soup. Esau agreed and despised his birthright (Gen. 25:29-34).

Later, when Isaac was blind and thought he was about to die, he told Esau to prepare a meal so Isaac could bless him. Rebekah heard about it and told Jacob to impersonate Esau to get the blessing from Isaac. Rebekah and Jacob decided to lie and trick blind Isaac into blessing Jacob before Esau could finish preparing the meal (see Gen. 27). When Esau finally got back, he learned that Isaac had already passed the blessing on to Jacob. So, Esau decided to kill Jacob once their father died. Rebekah heard about the murder plot and sent Jacob to her family, who lived about 450 miles northeast, and told him to find a wife there. The spot where he lies in our text is about 50 miles into that journey.

Just to add a bit more color to all of this: This text doesn’t explicitly say how old Jacob is. But from the rest of Genesis and events dated to Jacob’s life, we can calculate that Jacob is 77 years old. This is his first time being away from his parents. (Keep that in mind, you high schoolers. You don’t need to be in a hurry to leave your parents’ house at 18.) Jacob had all this swirling in his mind. “I need to stay alive and find a wife so the blessing can pass on from me.”

Jacob would have thought that the whole situation was backwards. Here he is in exile, fleeing out of the land connected to the blessing. He has a rock for a pillow while Esau is back home with his family and in his own bed. Jacob had to be wondering if the words of blessing really going to be his. Would God honor the promise that had been passed to him? Had God left him?

That night, Jacob is not a holy man on a pilgrimage. He’s a lonely man with a guilty conscience, a brother who wants him dead, and nothing to show for himself except words that he’s not sure God meant.

In the midst of all of that, God lets Jacob see what had been there all along. Notice how Moses writes this so the image pops into our head. Behold, there was a ladder set up on earth and reaching heaven. Behold, the angels of God are ascending and descending on that ladder. Behold, Yahweh was there. The text printed in the bulletin makes it sound like Yahweh is standing above the ladder. And that’s a legitimate translation. But the Hebrew can also be translated that Yahweh stood beside Jacob. Either way, God is not far off. But today, take it this way: Yahweh is standing right beside Jacob as he sees this vision and hears this promise.

“I am Yahweh, the God of your fathers. I will give this land to you and to your offspring. The Savior will be one of your descendants, and in Him all the families of the earth will be blessed. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. You’re leaving this land now, but I will bring you back. I will not leave you until I have done everything I have promised you” (Gen. 28:13-15). God is promising that Jacob’s lying and cheating and circumstances have not changed or negated the promises God had given him.

 Jacob wakes up and says, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16). He doesn’t say, “God has arrived,” or, “I finally got heaven to notice.” It’s, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” Heaven had been touching earth the entire time. Jacob just couldn’t see it.

And Jacob isn’t talking about God’s ‘general’ presence here. Jacob knew that God is present everywhere. What he didn’t know was that God was present with him in a particular way—a gracious way. God was there to bless Jacob as he lay among those rocks. Even when the dream ended, Jacob knew God’s presence remained. The light of day did not change the promise God gave in the night. Jacob awoke and named the place Bethel (which means ‘house of God’ [Gen. 28:19]). That place was holy and awesome, not because he slept there, but because it was the gate of heaven, where Yahweh was present with His promise.

That ladder wasn’t something that was just for Jacob that one night. This gracious presence of Yahweh is also for you. In John 1, Jesus calls His first disciples. Specifically, Christ calls Nathanael and promises him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (Jn. 1:51).

Dear saints, that ladder is Christ, your Savior. He is the connection between heaven and earth. Christ is the gracious presence of God with man. This is why the company of angels sings on the night of His birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Lk. 2:14).

The traffic of heaven and the gracious presence of God reaches the lowest place. Here, it comes to a lonely man with his head on a rock, but it goes even lower. It moves toward a lowly manger, to a cross, and to you, even if you feel ignored by God.

In the same way that clouds, sunlight, and light pollution can hide the stars, your suffering, sin, and doubt might obscure the gracious presence of God. But know that the ladder doesn’t wobble and God’s promises don’t disappear. Christ, your Savior, stands there beside you. He comes to you whenever you hear His Word. And He promises, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me…. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18, 20).

This very sanctuary is for you what Bethel was for Jacob. There at the Font, God connects His Word to water and claims sinners for Himself. There from the altar, God announces His absolution to us, paralyzed sinners. From this table, Christ serves His Body and Blood to us and forgives our sins. And always, Christ promises that He is present here as we gather together (Mt. 18:20).

And the ladder remains in places that look like anything but the gate of heaven. In the hospital room, in the dining room with the empty chair, at the gravesides of our loved ones, God’s gracious presence remains, even if our eyes cannot see it. You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. So set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:2-3).

Christ, the Ladder between heaven and earth, remains. He will not leave you until He has done what He has promised you (Gen. 28:15). He remains through the resurrection of the dead and into the life of the world to come. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:7). Amen.

Limping – Sermon on Genesis 32:22-32 for the Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 32:22–32

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Everyone faces difficulties, but what do you do when something difficult stares you in the face? It probably depends on the situation. You might try to find another, easier alternative. You might try to get others to help and assist you. You might try to avoid that difficult thing altogether. A lot of times, the most difficult tasks come with the highest reward, so if you always try to avoid difficulties, you are also going to miss out on some of the greatest joys.

On the 4th of July in 2015, we were on a family trip in Colorado. We wanted to find a nice mountain hike that all of could enjoy. Our kids were 2, 4, 6, and 8 at the time. A quick search yielded a recommendation of the Hanging Lake trail. The review had some pictures that were breathtaking. It said the hike would only took an hour and claimed it was great for families. The person who wrote that review must be the 17th generation of sherpas who lead expeditions up Mt. Everest because I’ve since learned that that trail climbs 1,000 ft. (basically, 90-100 flights of stairs) over 1.2 miles. The thing that kept us going was hearing people hiking back down encouraging us, “Keep going. You’ve got a way to go still, but it’s totally worth it.” They were right. I can show you pictures after the service, but it’s one of the most stunning places I’ve seen on God’s green earth. Difficult? Absolutely. Worth all the pain and struggle? Also, yes.

God had given a promise to Abraham that the Savior first mentioned in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) would be one of his descents (Gen. 22:17). Jacob here was the third in that line. And Jacob faced difficulties his entire life, and, yes, many of those were self-inflicted. 

Jacob’s difficulties started in his mother’s womb as he wrestled with his twin brother, Esau before they were even born (Gen. 25:19-26). When they were older, Jacob took advantage of Esau’s hunger and purchased Esau’s birthright for a cup of stew (Gen. 25:29-34). Later, Jacob deceived their father, Isaac, into passing the blessing that was first given to Abraham on to him even though he was younger than Esau (Gen. 27:1-40). Because of that deception, Esau planned to kill Jacob, who had to flee (Gen. 27:41-45).

During his exile, Jacob ends up working for a guy named Laban, and his wages for seven years of work would be marrying Laban’s daughter, Rachel. But Laban tricked Jacob and gave him his daughter Leah instead of Rachel. Still, Jacob agreed to work another seven years to marry Rachel (Gen. 29:15-20). Despite all of the deception of his father-in-law, Jacob continued to work for Laban and was paid with certain portions of Laban’s flocks. But that was difficult too. Jacob had to plot against Laban throughout his employment (Gen. 30:25-43).

Finally, God told Jacob to move away from Laban and return to his origins (Gen. 31:3). But as he’s returning home, Jacob hears that Esau is marching toward him with 400 men, which was the standard size of an army in that day (Gen. 32:6). So, what does Jacob do? He prays, and I’ll summarize his prayer (Gen. 32:9-12), “Ok, God. You told me to go back home and promised to do good to me. I’m really thankful about that, but now Esau is coming, and I’m afraid that he’ll kill me. But You’ve promised to be with me. So, what’s going on?” But God doesn’t answer.

So, Jacob does what he’s always done when he is in a difficult situation. He takes matters into his own hands and starts plotting and scheming. He sends a massive, expensive gift from his flocks to Esau (Gen. 32:13-15). That’s his “plan A.” But Jacob isn’t done plotting. He also divides his family into two camps figuring, if Esau attacks one camp, the other one will be able to escape (Gen. 32:7-8). That’s Jacob’s “plan B.” Jacob also sends those two camps ahead of him across a stream while he stays behind on the other side. It almost seems like that’s his “plan C” thinking that if Esau wipes out his family at least he’ll escape so God can keep His promise. Like his grandfather Abraham did before him with Hagar and Ishmael, Jacob decides he needs to matters into his own hands so God can keep His promises.

God did have a plan to get Jacob out of this difficult situation, but God isn’t going to give Jacob a large army. It won’t be because of Jacob’s gift to Esau, or letting half of Jacob’s family escape, and God doesn’t deliver Jacob from this difficulty by anything Jacob does on his own.

Instead, God comes down. God comes down to wrestle with Jacob who, at this point, is 96 years old. Sure, Jacob lived to be 147 (see Gen. 47:28), but wrestling with anyone for an entire night, and having your hip thrown out of joint is going to take a toll on a person. So when you consider the whole context here, it seems as though God has two intentions with this wrestling. On the one hand, is seems like God is letting Jacob take out all his frustration on God Himself in a physical way. On the other hand, it seems like this wrestling is intended to make Jacob look weak. Keeping Jacob up all night isn’t enough, so God wrestles with him. And even that isn’t enough, so God also touches and dislocates Jacob’s hip socket.

The next day, when Jacob limps toward Esau, he looks so weak and pathetic that Esau runs to Jacob, and the two brothers embrace and weep together (Ex. 33:1-4).

All of this is further proof of what God says in 2 Cor. 12:9-10, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This wrestling match left its toll on Jacob. For the rest of his life, Jacob was limping, and that limping served as a constant reminder that he had held on to God and refused to let God go until God blessed him. Every step of the rest of Jacob’s life, served as a reminder of that night when Jacob grappled with God and was blessed through it – even though that blessing came through the difficulty of limping the rest of his life.

Dear saints, I have two things for you to remember from this account. First, when you look at your life and all of God’s promises to you, remember first that you don’t need to give yourself over to bitterness or political machines or other contrived solutions to fight the difficulty and evil you face. Don’t think that God can only bring about His promises if you get your hands dirty with anger, hostility, and bitterness. God keeps His promises and is always faithful.

Second, remember that God knows what you need better than you or I do. And what you need may be a difficulty. Dear saints, whatever difficulty you have – if it’s pain or trauma or a disease that the doctors cannot treat or heal – yes, this is definitely a difficult, horrible thing that you have to face. But it is not a reason to despair and stop trusting God. Instead, it’s is a call for you to hope. In the brokenness of your flesh, remember Jesus who was broken Himself in order to crush the head of the serpent. And the day is coming when you and all who believe in Christ will be raised to a new life with no more suffering, pain, anguish, or difficulty.

Again, God’s power is made perfect in weakness. There’s no greater proof of that than in what Jesus has done for you by taking on your flesh; being beaten, mocked, whipped, and crucified; and by dying the death you and I deserve. So, in our limping, we do not lose heart, as 2 Cor. 4:16-18 says, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look to not to the things that are seen but to the things unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 

Dear saints, when you face difficult things and are struggling to even limp along, lean on God. Trust His promises. Jesus is there with you in your limping. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.