Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you:’ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth that You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I am become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him lest he come and attack me with the mother of the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make Your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ” Genesis 32: 9-12, NKJV.
Dear heavenly Father, we come expecting a blessing as we meet to study Your Word. Please draw very close to us, and bless us, we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
As we continue to look at the story of Jacob, we cannot help but notice the content, of his prayer. I had read this Bible story for many, many, years; but it wasn’t until I was preparing a three part series on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that the prayer of Jacob, caught my attention! It was then, that it dawned on me, that Jacob, had not yet accepted YHWH as his God!
Let us go back a few chapters; to chapter 28 of Genesis, and let us look at verse 20, NRSV, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God…” The time had come for God to fulfill the last part of His side of the bargain, by helping Jacob to come again to his father’s house in peace. Just think of it, the God who is “high and lofty…who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; [who dwells] in the high and holy place…also [dwells] with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57: 15, NRSV)! What a God! Jacob is saying to Him, God, it is time to make Your last move now!
At first glance it would seem as if Jacob is the one who had initiated this covenant between himself and God, but if you look again at chapter 28, this time at verses 13-15, you find the following, “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…. 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.”
This incident took place when Jacob was leaving home; running from his brother Esau. Now, twenty years later he is returning, and he reminds God of the promise that God had made to him! Whenever a relationship exits between God and His children, you can be sure, that it is God, who has taken the initiative! He loves His children, and wants to be in relationship with us!
Even though Jacob had not yet declared YHWH to be his God, he had prayed to Him, and had made a vow to Him; and God had honored His part of the bargain. He is so faithful! In a previous devotional we spoke about how Jacob wrestled with God that night, until he obtained the victory, and had his name changed from Jacob to Israel. Tomorrow we will conclude with Jacob’s prayer being answered in its entirety.