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Jacob - Lessons in Grace and Restoration

A few days ago, I came across an article about a young lady who had entered the 2020 Miss South Africa pageant. Unfortunately, it was discovered that some years ago, as a teen, she had posted some unpleasant, racist, Tweets, and people were now calling for her to withdraw from the contest as her integrity and character were now being questioned. The young lady responded to the negative feedback she received by saying that she was sorry for those posts, but that she was no longer the same person as she was a few years before, that she had matured, and had sought forgiveness through prayer for her mistakes.

Sadly, her apology was not enough to stop or persuade the negative commenters, and she has since withdrawn from the competition.

PLEASE NOTE: I am in no way condoning racism of any sort. I urge you to read my whole post to see where I am going with this.

In the same week that the above story made the news, my son and I were reading about Isaac, Jacob and Esau in his Social Studies book. For those not familiar with the story, I’ll sum it up: Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, who were literally tussling with each other for superiority from the womb (Genesis 25: 22). The wrestling between the two sons continued throughout their lives, sadly spurred on by their parents’ taking sides (Genesis 25: 28). Eventually, as adults, two events would utterly define each brother’s future. In Genesis 25: 29 – 34, Esau despised his birthright, the inheritance due to him as Isaac’s oldest son, and traded it to Jacob for a pot of lentil stew.

Later, in Genesis 27: 1 – 45, in his old age Isaac desired to bless Esau, but Jacob and Rebekah conspired to trick the old blind patriarch, and so the blessing was given to Jacob, causing Esau to threaten to kill his brother, and Jacob to run away and hide. The tragedy here is that Isaac insisted on giving the blessing to Esau, even though in Genesis 25:23 God had already declared that the line of Abraham was to continue through Jacob, and not his older brother (‘The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”’). In the same way, instead of trusting God to fulfill what He had promised during her pregnancy, Rebekah used manipulative scheming to accomplish what she thought was God’s plan – and, likely, also her preference.

Everyone in this story lost. Every one of them – Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob – plotted and manipulated others in their own human wisdom and energy, rejecting God’s Word and His wisdom. Nevertheless, as we will see, God still accomplished His purpose.

And then, a few chapters later, after Jacob has fallen in love, been ironically deceived by his father-in-law, and become a dad himself, my son and I got to Genesis 31. There is friction between Jacob and Laban, his father-in-law, because Jacob has grown extremely wealthy through his hard work, but Laban’s sons are jealous and accuse Jacob of cheating them out of what should rightfully have been theirs. Back in Genesis 27, when Isaac had blessed Jacob instead of Esau, he spoke these words: “May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness-- an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed" (Genesis 27: 28 -29). But in Genesis 31 it becomes clear that Jacob’s blessing was not bestowed on him by his father’s words, but by God, who had chosen him long before in Genesis 25. I love what James Boice says about this passage: “The point is that the sovereign will of God is done, in spite of our or any other person’s opposition to it.”

Because Jacob is the Lord’s chosen man, He speaks to him in Genesis 31 verse 3, providing him protection from Laban: ‘Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”’

Now I’ll finally get to the point I was getting to in my opening – and what that story has to do with the story of Jacob … How “otherwise” is Father God?!!

To our way of thinking, should the guy who manipulated his brother and deceived his father have become filthy rich during the time he was hiding from his family? “NO! That’s not fair!!” I want to shout.

And then the Lord calmly says, “It’s time to go back home, Jacob. Don’t worry about Laban; I’ve got your back.” Again, that doesn’t seem right to me. Shouldn’t he be punished? Made to beg to get back into God’s good books? I’m okay with forgiving people, and giving them another chance, but only after they’ve shown some remorse and I’ve had a chance to sulk for a bit …

And then, I saw more of the “otherwiseness” of God later in Genesis 35, reading verses 9 – 15: ‘After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.’

Even the heading of this section in my Bible “offends” me … “God Speaks to Jacob”. The “Judgy McJudgerson” in me wants to stand up and say, “But God!! Don’t you remember what he did?! He’s not a good person, Lord! Are you sure you want to make HIM the next patriarch? Don’t you remember??!!”

But God … God speaks with Jacob, blesses him, and renews his promise to him of a covenant relationship in the line of Abraham and his destiny to lead God’s people.

To be clear, there is a process of restoration to God that the Father takes Jacob through … even though he is forgiven and he is still the Lord’s blessed one, God won’t turn a blind eye to sin. In Genesis 35: 2 - 4, we read the following: ‘So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.

Both Jacob and his family had to be cleansed – they were instructed to stop worshiping foreign gods, which they had learned from their mother, Rachel, and to change their garments. This was both a literal and symbolic action, as throughout the Bible garments symbolize character. Donald Barnhouse explains that in Scripture “the inward life of the unregenerate is compared to a polluted garment.”

My favourite part of Genesis 35 is verse 10: ‘God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.’ This verse literally brings me to tears every time I read it … not only does Jacob put on clean clothing, he puts on a “clean name”! When I was asking God to remember what Jacob had done, and treat him accordingly, God says, “I can’t do that. That guy doesn’t exist anymore. I can only see this new guy, Israel, standing in front of me.”

And then I think of the poor girl I wrote about at the beginning of this piece, and I sob, because yes, she did some really stupid things in the past, yes, it was WRONG, but who am I – who are we – to say that she is still that same person? Who am I to say that she hasn’t repented and been forgiven and restored? Must she forever be THAT person, because she once was?

And I sob because if you knew me, if you knew what I had done and where I had been and the words that I spoke … you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me, and you certainly wouldn’t want me (or let me) to speak to you from the BIBLE!!




And I sob because … GOD!! The same LORD who called Jacob home, who cleaned him up and gave him a new robe and a new name – that’s the God who descended into the slimy, stinking, wretched exile I had put myself in when I turned my back on Him, and that same God won my exodus from sin and death by sending Jesus Christ to rescue me by His crucifixion and His resurrection.

When I turned my face from filth and decay, He washed me clean, clothed me in a robe of HIS righteousness, and gave me a new name: CHILD OF GOD!

You don’t know THAT me, because by grace, she is gone, wiped away; and by grace I am made whole and made new and made clean and made right.

God wanted Jacob to set his mind on the new man God made him to be. God does the same with us, reminding us who we are IN HIM. God wants us to remember and live in the great names He gives us.

Can we extend even a measure of that same grace to the people in our lives and the people in the spotlight?

Can we choose to believe that God is a God of second chances and restoration – because we know as Believers we are all living a second-chance-life we don’t deserve?

Can we choose to love and be kind, in a world where those qualities are mocked and denigrated?

Like Jacob, all I can say through my tears of gratitude is: “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant” (Genesis 32: 9 – 10).

I am unworthy, but oh so thankful that You did!!


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