| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Peter G. Chase" |
| Date: |
23 Nov 2004 01:30:35 AM |
| Object: |
DN From Jacob to Israel 11/23/2004 |
DRAWING NEAR
November 23
From Jacob to Israel
"By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of
Joseph, and worshiped" (Heb. 11:21).
Jacob's life typifies the spiritual pilgramage from selfishness to
submission.
Jacob's life can be outlined in three phases: A stolen blessing, a
conditional commitment, and a sincere supplication.
From the very beginning it was God's intention to bless Jacob in a
special way. But Jacob, whose name means "trickster," "supplanter,"
or "usurper," tricked his father into blessing him instead of his
older brother, Esau (Gen. 27:1-29). As a result, Jacob had to flee
from Esau and spend fourteen years herding flocks for his Uncle
Laban.
As Jacob traveled toward Laban's house, God appeared to him in a
dream (Gen. 28:10-22) and made him the recipient of the covenant
promises first made to his grandfather, Abraham, then to his father,
Isaac.
Jacob's response is revealing, for he "made a vow, saying, 'If God
will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and
will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my
father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God'" (vv. 20-21,
emphasis added). Jacob's conditional vow said in effect, "God, if
you'll give me what I want, I'll be your man."
Despite Jacob's selfish motives, God did bless him, but He humbled
him too. By the time he left Laban's house, Jacob was ready to yield
to God's will unreservedly. Note his change of heart in Genesis
32:10: "I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the
faithfulness which Thou hast shown to [me]."
Then the Lord appeared in the form of a man and wrestled with Jacob
all night (v. 24). Jacob refused to let Him go until he received a
blessing. That wasn't a selfish request, but one that came from a
heart devoted to being all God wanted him to be. That's when the Lord
changed Jacob's name to "Israel," which means "he fights or persists
with God."
Like Abraham and Isaac before him, Jacob never saw the fulfillment of
God's covenant promises. Yet on his spiritual journey from Jacob to
Israel, from selfishness to submission, he learned to trust God and
await His perfect timing.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Pray for grace to consistently pursue God's will, and patience to
wait on His perfect timing.
For Further Study:
Read Jacob's story in Genesis 27-35.
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Genesis 28:10-22
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because
the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put
it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth,
and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God
of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you
lie I will give to you and your descendants.
14 "Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you
shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the
south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth
shall be blessed.
15 "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 spoken to you."
16 Then Jacob awoke 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!"
18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he
had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of
it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that
city had been Luz previously.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep
me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing
to put on,
21 "so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD
shall be my God.
22 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's
house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to
You."
Genesis 32:24-31
24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the
breaking of day.
25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched
the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint
as He wrestled with him.
26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I
will not let You go unless You bless me!"
27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."
28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but
Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have
prevailed."
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He
said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him
there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen
God face to face, and my life is preserved."
31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped
on his hip.
[To include the entire study passage would cause this post to be very
long.]
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Gospel
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
.
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