Jacob Wrestles with God (Gen. 32:22-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DAIRY FOR 01-19-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  Jacob meets with God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 32:22-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

24  Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”

           

            After Jacob’s wonderful prayer he still fears, as stated in the last SD, and so he sends his family and all that he has across the river at night and there he remains by himself.  It seems that Jacob did all of this out of fear, but is also seems somewhat dangerous to send his family across the river at night.

           

            Verses 24-27 tell of his encounter with God that night and how he and God were wrestling together.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that God came to wrestle with Jacob because Jacob was a wrestler, and so God meets Jacob at his own way of doing things.  Jacob would probably been in fairly good shape, but not good enough shape to wrestle with God, yet they did wrestle all night.  I suppose that in a sense that Jacob had been wrestling with God for a fairly long time, and now he will wrestle literally with Him.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It seems to me that one of the things that I can learn from this section of Scripture is that God meets us where we are and uses what we are to teach us what He wants us to be.  Jacob by nature was one who liked to wrestle, and so God wrestled with him.  I think that God meet me the way I was when He allowed our finances to fall apart so that I could completely trust and rely on Him.

 

The Word of God has been challenging and also it has been convicting to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to seek the Lord to teach me contentment, and to direct my path, trusting that if the Lord has another job for us to do with Tim that He will lead me in that direction. 

Three Steps Foward Two Steps Back (Gen. 32:13-21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-16-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  Back to Scheming 

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 32:13-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “13 So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on before me, and put a space between droves." 17 He commanded the one in front, saying, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ’To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ 18 then you shall say, ’These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’" 19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, "After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and you shall say, ’Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me." 21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.”

           

            Jacob prayed a very wonderful and Biblical prayer to the Lord, and then afterwards he went back to deciding to do things his own way and did not trust in the Lord to answer the prayer that he just prayed.  Jacob went back to business as usual, and showed that there was still fear and not trust in his life.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can totally relate to Jacob in this situation, for it seems that when I learn to walk by faith that it comes in spurts, but each spurt causes me to grow closer to the Lord, so hopefully this life of mine, although it goes like Chuck Swindoll’s book “Three steps Forward and Two Steps Back,” is at least heading forward.  Dr. Wiersbe stated earlier in this book from a quote “men are not to be judged by the presence or absence of faults, but by the direction of their lives.”  I take comfort in this statement, for at this time in my life it is the two steps back part and it is very painful.

 

The Word of God has been convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to direct my path and to teach me contentment and to give me the grace to survive in this life that has twists and turns that are sometimes hard to handle.

Jacob's Prayer--God's Promise (Gen. 32:12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-12-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Jacob’s Prayer—God’s promise

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 32:12

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 “For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”

 

            In this section of Jacob’s prayer he reminds God of the promises that God gave him back when he was leaving to go to visit his relatives some twenty years ago, and those promises were that God would bring him back to his land, the land that God had promised to give to the descendents of Abraham, and not only give the land to his descendents, but to make them prosperous and to make them large in number, so if Esau would kill Jacob then this could not happen because God had promised all of this to Jacob’s descendents and not Esau’s.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Jacob admits his fear to the Almighty and then he claims his promises and therefore Jacob was trusting in the Lord to do what He had already promised him He would do, and that is the best way to calm fears, for if one fears the Lord then he does not have to fear what man will do to him.  This is good advice for me too.

 

The Word of God has challenged me along with convicting my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the promises that the Lord has given to me in His Word, and continue to seek the Lord to direct my path, and give me the strength to live a pleasing life to Him.

           

PT-3 Jacob's Prayer" (Gen. 32:11)

 SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-08-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Jacob’s Prayer Part 3

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 32:11

 

            Message of the verse:  “11  "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.”

           

            Jacob is very honest with the Lord in this portion of his prayer, for he says that he is frightened of Esau, and so he tells the Lord about his fears.  Jacob was the kind of man who had fears, and therefore he was not overconfident of his power to solve problems with his might, but now relies upon the Lord to handle his fears.  God will use all types of people, especially those that are His own, and it seems that just as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians “when I am weak then I am strong,” saying this because he knew when he was weak the Lord would use His strength to work in Paul’s life, as He would use Jacob’s weakness to show Himself strong.  Latter on in the book of Exodus God would show His power by defeating the Egyptians and allow a much weaker Israel to leave with all of the spoils of Egypt, and then would defeat the much stronger Canaanite people with Israel, and He does all of this to show himself strong, and to show His glory.

           

            God has promised to use Jacob, as he was part of the Abrahamic covenant, and yet Jacob did not rely upon these promises that God had given to him, but was still afraid, but in the end God would take care of him as He promised to do so.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would suppose that I am a lot like Jacob, in lacking courage at certain times of my life, and then not relying upon the promises of God that He has given to me, so I too must do as Paul spoke of and when I am weak that I will be strong in the Lord.

 

The Word of God has been convicting and challenging to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord through these anxious times, that He will continue to teach me contentment and that He will continue to direct my path.

PT-2 of Jacob's Prayer (Gen. 32:10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-07-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Jacob’s Prayer Part 2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 32:10

 

            Message of the verse:  “10  I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.”

           

            Jacob admits of his unworthiness before God, and then thanks Him for all of the blessings that God has given to Him over these past twenty years.  Jacob left his home with only a shepherd’s staff and now he has wives and children and cattle and goats and sheep and also has many servants, and it seems that Jacob knows that all of these blessings have come from the hand of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I look back on my life before Jesus Christ invaded it back in January of 1974 it was pretty much meaningless and without any purpose, but because of God’s grace and mercy He has given me purpose and meaning and has given me direction to go and so many blessings from His gracious hand.

 

The Word of God has been very refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to seek from the Lord that He would teach me contentment and direct my path that I would not be anxious, but would be content.

 

PT-1 of Jacob's Prayer (Gen. 32:9)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-05-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Jacob’s Prayer Part1

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                           Reference:  Genesis 32:9

 

            Message of the verse:  “9 Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’”

           

            9a. Praying the Covenant:  In the first part of verse nine Jacob prays claiming the covenant that God had given to his grandfather Abraham, and passed on to his father Isaac, and then passed on to himself.  This is how he begins this prayer calling on the God who had made this covenant.

           

            9b. Praying the promise:  Now Jacob prays to God, reminding Him that He had told Jacob to leave Padan Aram and return to the land that he was born in, the land that God has promised to give to all of his relatives.  God had just came to Jacob in a dream to tell him that he should leave Padan Aram and return only days before he left and God had already seen him through one crisis with his father-in-law Laban, and now Jacob again fears something, this time it is own brother Esau who had told their mother that he would kill Jacob some twenty years before and Jacob had not seen him since, but he was still afraid. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is easy to say that Jacob should have had more trust in the promises that God had just given to him, and therefore not fear Esau any longer, and this is one of the lessons that I can learn from this story, and from this prayer that Jacob is praying.  However I am sure that I do the same things that Jacob does, forgetting that God has given me promises to claim, and just looking at the circumstances around me and then descend to them as if God had not promised them to me at all.

 

The Word of God has been a large challenge and also very convicting to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Use the wisdom that God is giving to me from reading His Word, not just know about this wisdom, but act upon it.  Continue to seek contentment from the Lord’s teaching, and continue to ask the Lord to direct my path.

Jacob's Protection and Plotting (Gen. 32:1-8)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY 02-01-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                  Focus:  Jacob’s Protection and Plotting

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                        Reference:  Genesis 32:1-8

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.  2 Jacob said when he saw them, "This is God’s camp." So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.  4 He also commanded them saying, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; 5 I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."’"  6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."  7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; 8 for he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.’”

 

In verse one Jacob saw an army of God’s angels who were there to protect him and all of his family and that is why Jacob named this place Mahanaim, which means two camps, one for Jacob and one for God.  However Jacob quickly forgot this protection and began to do something that came very natural for him and that is he began to fear and to plot, which showed his lack of faith.  He sent some of his servants to tell Esau that he was coming to meet him and the servants came back with the story that Esau was coming with 400 of his men and this sent Jacob into a panic attack and he began to fear and to plot by dividing his camps into two camps and forgot about the two camps he experienced in verse one, his camp and God’s camp to protect Jacob.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I must again bring some personal things into this meaning of Scripture for me today.  For one thing I can see a lot of Jacob in my own life, the part of Jacob that has at times a tendency to plot and not trust the Lord to see me through some of these difficulties that God has sent me into, which I think is for the reason to help me be conformed to the image of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  I know what I want to do as a result of these trials that God has sent me into, and that is completely trust the Lord to see me through them and not to act in anyway on my own to “help” out God.  I am sure that there are things that He has for me to do, and I must be open to the leading of God’s Spirit to show me what to do, but in the mean time to wait. 

 

The Word of God has been very challenging and also convicting to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To completely trust the Lord with the situation that I find myself in at this time of my life.  To ask the Lord to continue to teach me contentment and to direct my path that He wants me to follow.

Jacob Prepars to meet Esau (Gen. 32:1-5)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-31-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  Preparing to meet Esau

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                        Reference:  Genesis 32:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now as Jacob went on his way; the angels of God met him.  2 Jacob said when he saw them, "This is God’s camp." So he named that place Mahanaim.  3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.  4 He also commanded them saying, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, "I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; 5 I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."’"”

 

            Jacob had just left Laban who was one of the people that he feared, and now he is going to meet his brother Esau, who is another person that he was afraid of because of how he had left him some twenty years ago.  Common sense could tell you that if Esau would have wanted to do harm to Jacob he would have done it a long time ago and not wait and do it when Jacob would return because he did not know for sure that Jacob would return to his birth place or not.  That was common sense, but if Jacob would have taken hold of the promises of God and believed them with all of his heart then he would have not seen the need of being afraid of either Laban or Esau, for Jacob was the one whom God had chosen to have the covenant with Abraham to be given to him and therefore there was no reason for him to fear.  Jacob shows his fear in these verses by calling his brother Esau “lord” and by trying to impress his brother with all of the wealth that God had bestowed on him.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that it was a good plan for Jacob to send some of his servants to meet with Esau and to tell him that he was coming, but the fear that Jacob still had for Esau was not good.

 

            The word Mahanaim means two camps in the Hebrew.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There is a difference between respecting a person and fearing a person and I know that there are times when I have a problem with that.  I had to deal with this when working at Ford and also when working in Aruba.  I believe that it is Scriptural to have respect for the one you work for, however I do not think it is a good idea to try to impress him by doing things that are not Scriptural.

 

 

The Word of God has been both convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

 

Submitting To God (Gen. 31:53-55)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-29-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Submitting To God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Genesis 31:53-55

 

            Message of the verses:  “53 “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.

54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.  55 Early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.”

           

            Jacob has this problem with Laban and so he decided to leave and not tell Laban that he was leaving, and now Laban comes to attack Jacob and take his daughters and grand-children away from him, but the Lord would not allow this to happen, and now it may be that Jacob feels that he should have been straight with Laban and tell him that he was leaving.  At any rate Jacob submits to the Lord as seen in verse 53 when he speaks of God judging between him and Laban and so Jacob is leaving it in the hands of God to do with the situation what He wants to do with it and Jacob will accept it.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have had a problem with software and CD’s, as far as giving them to other people or having them give them to me without paying for them.  The situation is this time when I bought the Tommy Nelson CD’s on Ecclesiastes that I wanted a friend of mine to listen to them so I put them on my flash drive so he could listen to them on his computer, but it did not work so I put them on a CD and he copied them to his hard drive and this has been bothering me.  I have come to the conclusion that if I buy a CD and make a copy for family members that this is okay, because I have kept it in the family, but leave it at that, and this went beyond that.  Now I have lost my flash drive and also my cell phone yesterday and have a guilty conscience about this because I think that it is possible that the Lord is disciplining me for what I did with my friend.  After reading Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on this I have come to the conclusion that perhaps the best thing to do is to accept this discipline, if indeed that is what it is, and trust the Lord to continue to work in my life as Jacob did in verse 53.

 

The Word of God was convicting, refreshing and also very challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to work in my life and to mold me into the kind of person that He wants me to be. 

Laban Speaks (Gen. 21:47-52)

 

SPIRITUAL DAIRY

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Laban Speaks

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 31:47-52

 

            Message of the verses:  “47 Laban named it in Aramaic, Yegar-sahadutha (Witness Monument); Jacob echoed the naming in Hebrew, Galeed (Witness Monument).

48 Laban said, "This monument of stones will be a witness, beginning now, between you and me." (That’s why it is called Galeed—Witness Monument.)  49 It is also called Mizpah (Watchtower) because Laban said, "GOD keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.  50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives when there’s no one around to see you, God will see you and stand witness between us."

51 Laban continued to Jacob, "This monument of stones and this stone pillar that I have set up is a witness, 52 a witness that I won’t cross this line to hurt you and you won’t cross this line to hurt me.”

           

            Both Jacob and Laban give names, which mean the same, to this monument and its meaning is “Witness Monument” and later on Laban also calls it “Watchtower.”  Laban gives it this name because he wants the God of Jacob to watch over Jacob and himself to see if either one would break this covenant that they have made with each other. 

           

            I am not exactly sure why it is that Laban is actually acting like he has a bit of sense, but he does want Jacob to take care of his daughters and not to marry any other women, so I guess that there may have been a spark of good in Laban after all.  I don’t think that this is why Laban had set out to get to Jacob and his family, but God protected Jacob in order to protect the covenant that God had made with Abraham, a covenant that was confirmed when the Lord alone walked through the burning sacrifices and so this covenant was an unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham and so He could not let it be broken.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I actually think that Proverbs 3:5-6 come into play in this section of Scripture for me as I looked at it, and the reason that I say that is that it is best to seek the Lord’s direction before doing most anything as it says in the Proverb, and I am not sure that this was done before this agreement was made between Laban and Jacob.

 

The Word of God has been a challenge and also it has been convicting to me as I read and studied it this morning. 8/22/2020 9:01 AM.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord as I go through some this storm, that He will work things out to His glory and for our good.

A Covenant (Gen. 31:44-46)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-24-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  A Covenant

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                 Reference:  Genesis 31:44-46

 

            Message of the verse:  “44  "So now come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me."  45  Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.  46  Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.”

           

            Many times in Jacob’s life he can be seen as a man who does not push for the things that he believes in wholeheartedly, but is more of a laid back kind of a guy.  God uses his personality as He does with all of His children, and at this particular time in Jacobs life, as in many other times, God protects him, and he did it by causing Laban to dream and in that dream God tells him not to say anything good or bad about Jacob, because Jacob belonged to God.  It is at this time that Laban wants to make a covenant with Jacob, and it was probably done out of fear of him because Jacob’s God was with Jacob and since Laban could not use Jacob to be blessed by His God he must fear Jacob and thus the covenant.

           

            Jacob goes along with this and begins to assemble the stones which will represent the covenant between him and Laban and so the covenant process began.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Because I am a child of God He has promised to take care of me and I believe His promises.

 

The Word of God has been refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning.  It has also been convicting to my heart.   

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust in the Lord to teach me more about contentment, and to direct my path each day, that I may go where He wants me to go and  do what He wants me to do.

Laban Still did not Get It! (Gen. 3:43)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-22-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  Laban still did not get it!

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 31:43

 

            Message of the verse:  “43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?”

           

            Laban still though that even though his daughters had married Jacob that they still belonged to him, and all of the flocks and herds that Jacob had, because of the blessings of the Lord still belonged to him, and if it was not for the dream that he had from the Lord who told him to leave Jacob and his family alone, then Laban would have tried to take all that was Jacob’s and keep it for himself.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are many times in my life that I do sin and these are not happy times for me, but God is a forgiving God whom I belong to because I have been purchased by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross, and because of that God will take care of me.  Sometimes I need the discipline of the Lord and because He loves me so much He issues this discipline, but He does it out of love and not to get even with me because of my sin.

 

The Word of God has been refreshing, convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment and to live a godly life before Him, to continue to trust the Lord to direct my path.

Jacob's Righteous Anger (Gen. 31:36-42)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-19-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Jacob’s Righteous Anger

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 31:36-42

 

            Message of the verses:  “36 Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?  37  "Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.  38  "These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

39  "That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.  40  "Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.  41  "These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.  42  "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.’”

           

            One of the things that can be seen in Jacob’s life is fear, fear of what man could do to him, and because of this fear Jacob’s life was not as full as it might have been without having this type of fear.  Jacob should have a great fear of the Lord, and not so much a fear of man, for the Lord had given him great and wonderful promises to hold onto, yet he did not act on the promises that were given to him and looked at things from his prospective and not the Lord’s promises.

           

            In these verses it can be seen that Jacob did have confidents in the Lord by reading what he told Laban.  Jacob seemed to pour out all of the things that must have been stored up inside of him all of these years.  Verse forty-two shows exactly how it was that Jacob felt, and it is a wonderful testimony to the Lord, who had taken care of Jacob and had done all of the things that Jacob told Laban about from this verse.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Have my trust in the Lord, and fear the Lord and rest upon His promises and not fear man, who can only kill the body, but not do any harm to my soul, which has been purchased by the blood of the Lamb some 2000 years ago.  Give glory to the Lord as Jacob did in verse 42.

 

The Word of God has been convicting as well as a big challenge to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Trust the Lord to get the things done that need to be done today, that is working on my lesson for Sunday evening and reading my lesson for today’s Bible study, and getting my exercise done this morning.

Rachel, Labon, Jacob and the Idols (Gen. 31:30-35)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-18-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  Rachel, Laban, Jacob & Idols

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 31:30-35

 

            Message of the verses:  “30 “Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?"  31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.  32 "The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my belongings and take it for yourself." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.  33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.  34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them.  35 She said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household idols.”

           

            As I read through this section it becomes clear to me that there was not a good relationship between Jacob and Laban, even though they were family.  Jacob was afraid of Laban, and it seems that the only reason that Laban put up with Jacob was to get out of Jacob some of the blessings that God had given to Jacob, without, (it seems to me) coming to know the One True God. 

           

            The question comes up why did Rachel steal the idols of her father?  I have read a  a number of reasons as to why she may have done this:  1.  To get a family inheritance.  2.  She did it for vengeance because of the way her father was treating her.  3.  Rachel’s commitment to the Lord was not good. 

           

            The next thing that I see here is that Jacob was afraid of Laban as seen in verse 31.  Jacob was not trusting in the promises that God had given to him and that is for Jacob to go back to the Promised Land and to use him to build a great nation as was promised to him, his father and his grand-father. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Trusting in the Lord and the promises that He has given is something that I see for me from this section of Scripture.

 

The Word of God has been challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment and to direct my path.

Laban confronts Jacob (Gen. 21:25-29)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-17-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Laban confronts Jacob

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                   Reference:  Genesis 31:25-29

 

            Message of the verses:  “25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead.  26 Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?  27 “Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre; 28 and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly.  29 "It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’”

           

            I think that it would be fair to say that the deceiver got deceived, and the point could also be made that Jacob, who was a deceiver before he went to Uncle Laban’s house is still learning a lesson about deception.  It seems clear that Laban really wanted to do harm to Jacob, but was not allowed to do so, kind of like Balaam wanted to do harm to Jacob’s offspring but was not allowed to do so either.

           

            It is hard to believe that Laban was going to give a farewell party for his family when they left if he would have known about their departure, but that is what he said.  Laban was a very selfish person who was only looking out for himself and used Jacob along with others to get his way, and thus it is doubtful that he was a believer.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Deception has no part in the life of the believer and one cannot learn contentment when one practices deception.

 

The Word of God has been convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to direct my paths and also to continue to teach me contentment.

God Speaks to Laban (Gen. 31:22-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-16-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  God speaks to Laban

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 31:22-24

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.  24 God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, ‘Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.’”  (NAS95)  “22 Laban didn’t learn of their flight for three days.  23 But when he did, he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with them seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.  24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban in a dream. ‘Be careful about what you say to Jacob!’ he was told.”

           

            The text describes how Laban learned about Jacob leaving and so he gathers some of his family and goes out after Jacob and all of his family.  On the way to overtaking them God comes to Laban in a dream and tells him that he had better be careful what he has to say to Jacob.  It has been discussed in earlier SD’s that it would have been proper for Jacob to confront Laban and tell him of his plans, but he did not do this, and now when Laban here’s of this he comes out to get Jacob, which all could have been avoided if he would have not feared Laban and trusted the Lord’s promises to him.  God now comes to Laban in a dream and protects Jacob and his family this way, and I believe that God did this because Jacob and his family were in the plans of God in sending the Lord Jesus Christ to earth, and nothing would stop that plan.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can see through these verses that nothing will be able to stop the plans of God.  I can also see that I should fear the Lord so that I do not have to fear man.  If Jacob would have trusted in the promises of God and not looked around at the situation around him then a lot of trouble could have been avoided. 

 

The Word of God had challenged my heart as I read and studied God Word this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not lean on my own understanding, in all of my ways acknowledge Him and then He has promised to direct my path.  To continue to ask the Lord to teach me contentment, for godliness with contentment is great gain.

           

Jacob and his Family Flee (Gen. 31:17-21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-15-2007

 

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  Jacob and Family Flee

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                 Reference:  Genesis 31:17—21

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.  19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.  20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.  21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.”

           

            As stated in and earlier SD, Jacob was doing the will of God by leaving, but he was not doing the will of God in how he was leaving, and there is a difference between the two.  There are some key verses in this section that should be spoken about here, and one of them is verse nineteen that tells me that Jacob was leaving Paddan-aram at the time when Laban was shearing his sheep, which meant he would have been busy, for this was a festive time when the sheep were being sheared.  Rachel took this opportunity to steal her father’s idols while he was shearing the sheep, which was certainly the wrong thing to do and it showed that there were problems between her and her father, and also problems between her and the Lord.  Verse twenty shows that Jacob was deceiving Laban by not telling him that he and his family were leaving, after all Jacob was not only taking his wives, which were Laban’s daughters, but was also taking his children, which were Laban’s grandchildren. Jacob was wrong in doing this and he was probably doing this out of fear.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I truly believe that the Lord has been working in my own life by teaching me contentment and I also believe that one of the enemies of contentment is fear, and not the kind of fear that is the fear of the Lord, but the kind of fear that is the fear of man, which Jesus has told me in His Word not to have.  Jacob was a deceiver and because of this he had reasons to fear people and that is why he not only feared Laban, but also his brother Esau.  Jacob would get over some of this fear in a short while, when he would wrestle with the Lord, but would still hold on to some of it for a while longer.  When a person fears the Lord then they don’t have to fear men.

 

The Word of God has been refreshing, convicting, and challenging to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to be taught contentment by the Lord, and to continue to have the Lord direct my path each day. 

           

The answer Jacob got from his Wives (Gen. 31:14-16)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01/11/2007

 

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Answer from Jacob’s wives

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Genesis 31:14-16

 

            Message of the verse:  “14 Rachel and Leah said to him, "Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house?  15 “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.  16

"Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.’”

           

            It seems to me that both of Jacob’s wives were not too happy with how their father had treated them through out all of this.  I thought it was a custom in those days to have a prospected husband purchase their bride, as seen in the story of Jesus Christ purchasing His bride on the cross.  I would suppose that it could be looked at that way in that Leah and Rachel were not happy with their father, but were happy being Jacob’s wives.  At any rate Jacob’s wives agreed with him that it was time to get out of Dodge, but as mentioned in yesterday’s SD it would have been better for all of them to confront Laban and tell him what it was that they were doing.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think the thing that I can take away from this is that Jacob got the opinion of his wives before he set out on this journey.  Now I only have one wife, but it is important to get her feedback before doing something.

 

The Word of God has been both convicting and challenging to my heart as I read and studied God’s Word this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to teach me contentment, and to direct my path, and to trust His promises and not ask for explanations.

Jacob Consults with His Wives (Gen. 31:4-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-10-207

 

My Worship Time                                                 Focus:  Jacob Consults with His Wives

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 31: 4-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “4  So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5  and said to them, "I see your father’s attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.  6  "You know that I have served your father with all my strength.  7  "Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.  8  "If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped.

9  "Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.  10  "And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled.  11  "Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’  12  "He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.  13  ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”

           

            Jacob now comes to his wives and consults with them, which was a good idea, for the Scriptures tell us that we should seek the console of others when we face problems.  Jacob tells his wives that the Lord had come to him in a dream and told him to leave, and he also told them that God was with him in order for him to become a wealthy man through the sheep and goats being born with stripes and spots, which was done through the Lord.

           

            The mistake that Jacob made was not going to confront Laban and tell him exactly why it was that he was leaving and therefore he would not have had that confrontation with him after Laban had run them down to find out why they were leaving without saying anything.  Another point that could be made along these lines is that because Jacob did not confront Laban earlier Rachel had the opportunity to steal the idols from her father and then Jacob said that whoever had the idols would die, and then Rachel died shortly after that giving birth to her second son, Bingaman.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Once a person knows the will of God for their lives, as Jacob did in this section, a person can go about doing the will of God in a wrong way, thus not bringing glory to the Lord, and that is the chief end of men.

 

The Word of God has been challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to seek the Lord to teach me contentment in my life along with godliness which is of great gain, and to continue to ass the Lord to direct my paths and then go down that path bringing glory to the Lord.