By this point in the story, Jacob has won few admirers—besides his doting mother, of course. At her behest, he’s weaseled his way to a birthright and blessing, neither of which was his due. Now he’s on the run, ostensibly in search of a wife, but really to escape Esau’s fury. As readers, I suspect, not many of us have warm hearts toward this wily character.
But rather remarkably, God apparently does. As Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven, the Lord interrupts this story of human plotting with a restatement of the promise of land and offspring we first encountered in Genesis 12. More than that, God promises to be with Jacob in his journey, and to bring him home again.
If I’m honest, I find myself secretly reassured by God’s commitment to hang with Jacob, in spite of repeated missteps. I also find myself inspired, oddly enough, by Jacob’s openness to God's presence. “Surely the Lord is in this place,” he says—this place of family conflict, of escape, of human scheming, and of the isolation that it all brings. “And I did not know it!” (28:16). It’s a powerful, and life-changing, observation.
Not surprisingly, though, the story ends with a twist. Jacob takes God’s unconditional promise and names specific terms on which he'll be faithful: “If God will be with me, ... will keep me ..., will give me ...,” he says, “then the Lord shall be my God” (28:21). I have to smile, and to see again my own tendency to name the terms of my faithfulness as well. Perhaps by seeing Jacob’s caginess, we might recognize our own, and marvel at God’s warm heart toward us.
- When have you been surprised by God’s presence in the midst of chaos?
- What terms do you place on your relationship with God? How do you respond to God's unconditional promises?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: In honest moments, we see ourselves in Jacob, O God. Thank you for meeting us where we are, for reassuring us of your presence and your plans, and for putting up with our human pretense and posturing. Thank you for grace. Amen.
Breath Prayer: The Lord is // in this place.
