Escaping With Jacob: 7 Days Of IdentitySample

The young man who loved being home and by the tents is now forced into the wilderness. We can guess from this passage what Jacob must have been feeling: anger, depression, frustration, and hopelessness. Here he is in the middle of nowhere, fleeing for his life. But like so many times in the Old Testament when a person is at their lowest point, God steps in.

Jacob dreams of the great staircase to heaven. There he sees angels ascending and descending to the earth. Above it all stands the Lord. Before Jacob can truly take it all in, the Lord begins to announce a blessing over him. What follows is almost identical to what God told Abraham during his journey. Jacob will have land and descendants and through him the entire world shall be blessed.

Jacob awakes and constructs an altar of stone to remember what has happened. Afterward, he makes a vow confirming that if God holds up His end of the bargain, so will he.

One thing we can easily overlook in this passage is how terrified Jacob must be. He has likely never spent a night alone in the wilderness. If he had, he would have at least had the comfort of knowing he could go home in the morning. But that hope is gone. He is on his own in an overwhelming way.

Jacob is presumably at his lowest; during his time of greatest need and weakest hope – that is when God shows up! Every word of God’s promise reassures Jacob as he sees countless angels coming down to the earth. 

I believe one of the reasons these stories are preserved for us is to give us encouragement through knowing what God is truly like. We may never see a staircase to heaven, or angels walking around on earth. But we don’t have to because we serve the same God Jacob served. Just as he went out of his way to protect and encourage and guide his child, he is willing to do the same for us.

These stories are not just stories. They are portraits. God wants us to see what He is really like, what He has done and will do for those He loves. We aren’t supposed to read this story and think “well that was great for Jacob but I’m still stuck.” 

No, instead we are supposed to see His divine intervention and think “wow, that is my God…that is my Father in Heaven who cares for me, and that is what He can do.”

Takeaway: God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Prayer: Lord, help me remember what You are like, what You can do, and how much You love me.