# 24 2023 Dev. Gen.28. The Second Blessing! Read all of chapter twenty eight first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story. Do you believe that this may also be part of our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Gen.28:1 “So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram,[a] to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.”
Gen.28 Isaac comes to his senses in that he realizes that Jacob is the one chosen by God to carry on in the legacy of Abraham. He is not to marry any of the local women as Esau had done, he was to go to Paddan Aram to Rebecca’s family and Isaac’s family. God appears to Jacob on the way and gives him the blessing of Abraham.
Vs.1-5 After Rebekah complains to Isaac about Esau’s Hittite wives, Isaac calls Jacob, nothing is said about the deception. Isaac blesses him again. The blessings is not recorded here but it may have been very much like the blessing given to Isaac and Abraham.
Vs.6-9 Esau comes to the realization that his wives are a source of grief to both Isaac and Rebekah. It is surprising that Isaac was not more proactive in Esau choices, we are not told one way or the other. Now Esau tries to correct his mistakes by marrying one of the daughters of Ishmael.
Vs.10-15 Jacob starts his journey to Paddan Aram and spends the first night near Luz. During the night God appears to Jacob in a dream, the famous Jacob’s ladder most of us know about. God talked to Jacob directly;
“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d] 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
God assured Jacob of His care, unconditional care. God gave him the same blessing He gave to Abraham. God also added, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring”, a direct reference of the blessings of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Vs.16-20 The next day Jacob anointed his stone pillow and called the place Bethel, the house of God. Jacob makes a vow that is completely conditional when compared to God’s blessing that is unconditional. Jacob does not follow God unconditionally until he wrestled the angel of God at Peniel when he realized he needed to depend on God and not on himself
That is what we need to realize as well. Only Jesus! Only Jesus and His work! Trust in Him alone! We live in a broken world, bad things happen to good people, there are no guarantees. Whatever happens, good or bad, by trusting in Jesus, God uses what happens to us to form us into who He want us to be and to become. Thanks be to God. Amen!
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Heavenhigh 