Overstepping the boundaries of God!

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Genesis 28:16

This blog is a continuation of yesterday’s conflict between Jacob and Esau. As Issac was getting older and closer to death, he told Esau to go hunting and prepare a special meal for him. Then he would pass his blessing on to Esau.

Rebekah heard this conversation and conspired with Jacob to prepare one of Issac’s favorite meals and disguise Jacob to look like Esau and trick Issac into giving his blessing to Jacob.

The conspiracy worked and Issac blessed Jacob. Esau came back from hunting and was furious when he heard what had happened and threatened to kill Jacob.

Jacob was forced to flee from his homeland and go live with Laban, his uncle. On his way to Laban’s land, the Lord appeared to Jacob in a dream and passed the everlasting covenant He had made with Abraham and Issac on to Jacob.

Jacob awoke and responded “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

God blessed Jacob but he had to pay a steep price for his deceit in dealing with Esau and Issac. Jacob ended up working 20 years for Laban who was dishonest, acted treacherously in offering his daughters as wives to Jacob, and changed Jacob’s wages many times.

The whole point of this story is Jacob fell into unbelief and took his eyes off God and placed them on the circumstances in his life. God was planning all along to make Jacob the heir to the covenant He had made with Abraham.

Before Jacob and Esau were even born the Lord spoke to Rebekah and told her two nations are in your womb in the form of two people and one people shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger.

Jacob and Rebekah compromised the plan of God and took matters in their own hands. This caused a lot of suffering and misery for all involved.

What you and I can learn from this story is God is perfect and His ways are perfect. He doesn’t want you to resort to dishonesty, deceit, or impure motives to attain His blessings.

God wants you to place your unwavering faith in His promises and to wait on Him!

Thought for the day: “I want to be your Keeper and guide your footsteps. You get sidetracked when you step out on your own and take matters into your own hands. Wait on Me and I will show you My perfect plan for your life.”