Genesis 28:10-17

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0:00 For the rest of us, I want to look at the Old Testament reading. You know that we've been following the lecture area, which gives us an Old Testament, a poem with Bob Brad for the culture of worship. It gives us a gospel reading, which we've filled the gospel reading to the kids this morning. It gives us a new Testament reading. But this morning, I want to look at the Old Testament reading, which is in Genesis 28. The Genesis is at first book of the Bible, and a lot happens here. The Genesis 28, we're down to the story of Jacob, part of the story of Jacob.

0:32 Remember, it goes, Jacob's one of our patrons. And sometimes you might hear me say, the God of creation in life, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Christ and the Church. This is because it's important for me that we remember that we are part of this lineage of people that have been captured by a specific God, not a generic God.

1:03 Our God is the God of the whole earth, of the cosmos, and yet it is not a generic just any God. Our God is a specific God. And at the very beginning of the story, before God is associated with any known at all, our God is understood as the God of creation in life. Not the God of crop, not the God of fertility, not the God of death, not the God of rain. Our God is the God of creation and life.

1:36 And at a particular point, when God realizes that humanity needs more specificity, needs more clarity on the character, nature of God and God's intent for humanity, he moves down towards a group of people. And in order to identify the God among God in the world, he identifies as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So the God of creation in life does it change, is not different, but takes an identity that's

2:10 more specific in order that the God might not be confused, misunderstood, this applied, this appropriated. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We learn about the character. And then this God has seen most fully in the God of Christ and this curse. Now we know that the God of creation in life, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, moved with extreme clarity and specificity in the person of Christ at the place of the crawl. And then Jesus longed his out of trade. So we say that God, our God has got us creation in life.

2:42 They got us Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Christ in the church. It's not three different gods. That's the one God, that's one name and identity. And we're looking at the story of Jacob, we call him a patriarch because he is one of those three, three generations in succession that receive a covenantal promise from them. And the promise that it's first given to Abraham is extended to Isaac and then from Isaac to Jacob. Now this is interesting and you can spend lots of time figuring out how that promise

3:15 done to Jacob. It's not a traditional role. Jacob is not the firstborn, he's not the one that it also goes to. Jacob tricks actually himself into getting the promise from Isaac, right? He doesn't have to follow Jacob's themes or strategies, but we'll see in this story that Jacob is in depth indeed the appropriate recipient of the promises of God, the one God had intended. We're going to kind of spin out a little bit while that might be, but in Genesis chapter

3:47 28 is the reading they have a sign for it. So we get a little bit of the stories Jacob chapter or Genesis chapter 28 verse 10. This is after Jacob has already taken Esau's blessing, right? Remember that story? He tricked his brother in the meal and then as Isaac is getting old he intentionally deceived. So he tricked Esau, he plays his trick on him and gets him to give away his inheritance.

4:18 This is his older brother. But then for his dad, his aging father, he straight up the season. It's not just a trick. I mean, he puts hair on his arms, he makes himself smell like his brother, his dad can't see very well and he gets the blessing. That's already happened. And Isaac tells Esau too bad. I gave the blessing to Jacob. I know you're the first one, the one that's supposed to receive it, but you got to deal with it on Rome. And now Jacob, Isaac had sent Jacob back with her own people to find her wife.

4:49 And you carry the blessing, you have a wife of Mark's tribe, now from some other tribe. So it's on his way to go find a wife from the tribe. Verse 10, Jacob left your seabup and went toward Rome. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night because the sun had set. So he wanted a stone of the place. He put it underneath head and lay down in that place to sleep.

5:22 It's a different situation where stone is better than your shoulder, something to lay on. If I'm laying on the ground, I'm not putting my head on the stone. Although he actually did that or if that's called tradition, that's on this stone, he laid his head. But there it is. So he put that head on his stone to sleep, verse 12, and he dreamed. And behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached the heaven.

6:02 And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I'm 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. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and your offspring, sell all the families of the earth, people, and hold I

6:39 am with you. And we'll keep you wherever you go. And we'll bring you back to the frame where I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you. Then take a vote from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in his place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, how often is this place? There is none other. This is one other than the house of God.

7:10 And this is the gate of heaven. This is the place that ends up being called the bell with the house of God. Later as the kingdoms divide and the Israel is frustrated, the kingdom in the north and the other one keeps going down to Jerusalem to worship. They build some golden cobs at Bessel and they set up some priests there that are not Levi's. And so then it becomes this like completely competing worship place with Jerusalem where

7:41 the temple is. And it has a long history in the people of God that this is nearly where it starts. It looks like maybe Abram might have worked at the same place, which is why Jacob would have stopped there. But the first thing just to remind you about what we see here is that God first is continuing the covenant that he makes to Abram. I mean, if you were to look at Genesis chapter 12, or Genesis chapter 15, or Genesis chapter

8:12 15, 17, you would see almost the same promise made to Abraham. And I'll give you more children than there are stars and skies and on the ground. And all this land will be yours. And through your people, all the world will be blessed. And it's almost like the question to the kids.

8:44 It doesn't diminish the promise the fact that it was made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It solidifies the promise that he hasn't forgotten and does not abandon that the promise continues. We talked about this one of my favorite discussions is Abram is buried Abraham is buried with his wife Sarah in the cave of Max fella, the only place that they owned in the land that God promised them because he will store that even in death God will fulfill his promise.

9:14 But he's not going to be buried somewhere else but in the land that God will give his family. This promise endures and comes through wisdom. In fact, this promise is the very promise that God incarnate and gives the values that I didn't come to abolish but to fulfill. This promise buried forward and is completed at the kind of cosmic hinge of the universe. This promise is substantial and powerful and is and brings a place with his head on

9:45 stone and gets the wisdom of angels, upstanding and descending, up and down into heaven and back again. And he has the vision of God standing in heaven at the fourth of the end of the ladder making this kind of cosmic promise down to him. He has to be wondering when he wakes up. I mean no wonder he's afraid who am the one to receive such a promise.

10:19 I mean I know that like he and his mom scheme his dad out of the blessing and they probably feel I mean maybe they feel good about it apparently they do he doesn't give the blessing back. Right? But certainly when you have a vision of the spiritual messengers of God coming down out

10:51 of heaven right near you you will feel some propagation about the caliber of your character to receive this ancient promise of God. Certainly Jacob might wonder why he gets it. And as happens we don't have a better answer than the one that we give to the children.

11:23 Why does God heal? Why does God commit to Jacob? As he wants to. This is a tricky thing for us I think. There is a God. It is not you. I mean that's like three quarters of the faith right there.

12:00 Yeah most typical part of that there is a God. It is not you. Don't get to decide. You're not owed an explanation. You don't it doesn't go according to your prerogative or your written.

12:31 You don't determine the future. Your actions don't write history or prescribe eternity. There is a God. It is not you. This is the reality of encounters. If he hadn't already he encounters again with his head on stone at the place called Bessel or he sees this ladder of angels moving up and down and God needs to commit to him

13:04 and he says I'll never leave you until this promise is done. It's interesting what my to do after that. Jacob makes an altar which is really great for him. Let's don't forget that the God is here. He's intimidated. He ought to be intimidated forever. Thanks there is a God and it's not him. He should be intimidated. The God stands at the fountain of spiritual messengers at the coming and going between

13:40 worlds. He can orchestrate generations according to his will. He can make pronouncements for all humanity. You can see generations numbering more than the stand and he can say that all the world will be blessed and mean it. Jacob could be intimidated and a little bit afraid. He is of course in the moment. He makes the altar but don't walk here by oxygen. When you come by you say attention because this is ladder here and God's pain.

14:15 Special quotes attention to this place right. Then he goes from there to lay then to get to why. Remember that story? It might be where Jacob gives his name to trick-took if he tries to apostle his uncle. I remember the scene. He goes to the site and he like does the deal and the plague is played and the lady gives him wrong life and then he stays longer. Jacob. Jacob. Well at least this. Jacob is no better than you.

14:52 Jacob gets the promise we have to say. Not because he had earned it for having said. What do we learn about the character of God by the fact that he makes such a promise? Then such a promise to a trick-took like Jacob and holds it to him like he's it on

15:27 through all of the meandering and the man. We already knew that this God was the creator and the life-giver of this God. But we also know that this God will be the judge. He will determine who qualifies, who gets the promise.

15:59 We will not. Jacob will not. Esau will not. Isaac will not. The promises are extended as a collaudative of the God. The God of creation and life. The God of Abraham is Jacob. The God of Christ and the church. In Proverbs 6 we learn the character that this God is relational. Like he's in dynamic, moving, real, relationship with people.

16:36 One generation to the next. In words they can understand the images they can take in. He's relational. I think it's for me it is hard enough to remember and believe that there is a God.

17:14 I mean it is hard to remember that there is a God in the world because I have a lot of very important things going on. I do. Like I'm an important person. I have a lot of important things going on. I have a lot of people that count on me. I have a lot of expectations placed on me. I have responsibilities that I take seriously.

17:45 I have questions that I haven't figured out the answers yet. I've got a body that feels like it keeps fighting me the older I get. I've got I've got some entertainment. I need to consume. I've got some plans I'd like to create. Like it is hard enough to remember that there is a God in the world that might be up to something that is generational and positive.

18:20 Let me remind you there is a God in the world who has been cultivating, creating and sustaining without end since the beginning. He's knitting together new creation now. He's overseeing evolution of species. He's calling plants up out of the ground. He's knitting together children in rooms. There is a God caught up in cosmic reality that are so much larger than your important

18:55 path. There is a God in the world. The God of creation and life. The God of Abraham is digging and for heaven's sake for good news. The God of Christ in the church because in the person of Christ with the most specificity, we realize the character and nature of God that at his own expense he moved in solidarity toward you, experiencing the complexities, the nuances, the important matters of life here.

19:26 So moving through relationships, understanding of tiredness, understanding bodies and finances, he had no place to lay his hands. He moved through it all in order to stand in solidarity with you on his own expense. God commits to vigor and in fact we learn that he commits to you. I don't know why.

20:00 When I get tired my brain lately, don't take this personally. I say this about myself as well. My guitar lately, my brain, people are the worst. People are the worst. They commit the worst, lavin the worst. He saw the worst, Rebecca is the worst. I think it was the worst.

20:31 Abraham was the worst. That guy gave up his life on multiple occasions. God has called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not because of some astounding moral character of the men we call patriarch, but of their worstness. In order that when we see a God committed yet to them, we begin to hope that God might be committed yet to our friends.

21:01 He is the God who said, commit to Jacob and to miss you. Hi. Most completely, most clearly in the person of Jesus of Nazus has demonstrated his unending solidarity to you. His promises are as secure as the resurrection of the dead when he appears to 500 when he eats with the disciples. And so as sure as he made clear to Jacob, as with his head on the stones and the vision

21:36 of the ladder and the promise to the generations, he made clear to you. He is your protector, your provider, your sustainer. You can handle not only your presence, but your future. And all of a sudden, it is great good news to record of our faith.

22:11 There is a God. It is not you. Praise God. You cannot secure your future. God can. You cannot involve your heart to love well without self-serving God can. You can't change your character to abandon a victim of God can.

22:41 You can't steward your resources to bless and not hoard the God can. There is a God. It is not you. Praise God. Because the last quarter of the faith is the God. That's not you. I've given everything for you.

23:13 I imagine. I like to imagine. I don't know that it's true that Jacob goes back to visit that altar regularly. It wasn't just foolish fear or like a hardy pride that got him to build that altar. There was wisdom there. If you have a moment of clarity, the moment that says, I knew then there was a God.

23:44 It was not me and the God that was for me. Mark it down some winter. It's hard to remember that the God let alone that the God would be for you. And if you have moments when you believe it, make him a memorial for yourself. I like to imagine that Jacob came back here periodically when he needed to be reminded. The tradition I grew up in, the lineage that we gather under says that baptism might be

24:21 after you. After a baptism, God claimed you. The promise to you rests not in your process, but in his. The waters of baptism are physical representation of a spiritual reality that in the moment, God marks you as his own Paul calls it the sign and steel that will cross upon your forehead and upon your heart to mark you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. That's why you might put water at the outside of a church that as you walk by the water,

24:56 you might remember what God has done. You might have a spot in a journal that you might go back and look and remember the clarity of times gone by. You might have a special place that you go to where you are reminded there is a God that is not you and the God is for you. This story is compelling not just because it's a long term into conversation about what

25:28 the heck angels are, but because we learn about the character and nature of our God, the God of creation in life, the God of Abraham, I think you can take it, the God of Christ in the church. This God is not you and he is for you Christ God. Let's pray that you could be people who believe. Hey Lord, thank you for your free gift of pay for your promise of protection and provision

26:00 in large our faith this morning to believe you. Remind us of memorials we have arrested in the past and bring us back to those moments of clarity and give us to you once Lord, the days and weeks to come. It's just a new prayer.