LIMPER
Press In To Press On #16
Mark Geppert
Isaac blessed Jacob. Though he had been deceived, the father blessed the son. Love knows no unforgiveness, no resentment, no retribution. Love covers all sin. God was about to apprehend the wondering, unbelieving, wrestler. While he was yet in conflict with his brother, his parents, his own sense of worth, God appeared to him with a declaration, a personal word, a rhema.
God chooses to whom and when He will speak. He is sovereign. His will is established in His nature. He is Truth, so He speaks only the truth. God is not a man, not the creation of man, not the extension of the fears of men; but the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent creator and sustainer of mankind. It is His good pleasure to bless in blessing and to multiply in multiplying and to demonstrate His unfailing love for those He has created.
He needs a person to be the living example of His divine love. And, according to His promise to Abraham, He has chosen Jacob to be that person. The Spirit of God watches over the Word of God to assure that it accomplishes that purpose for which it has been sent. (Isa. 55:11) Jesus promised to send the Spirit of Truth who would give us understanding of the word which God had spoken. (John 14:17) Jacob is in desperate need of truth.
Jacob travels to Laban, sees Rachel, his younger daughter, and makes a deal with his Uncle to work for him for 7 years to gain her hand in marriage. He works the 7 years and on the wedding night Rachel is switched for Leah, the older daughter. In the morning Jacob realizes the switch and confronts his uncle to be told, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the first born.” (Gen.29:26)
The first question we must ask when victimized by a “bait and switch” is, “Where did I sow this.” God is not mocked, as a man sows so shall he reap. Jacob sowed deception and harvested deception. In a world filled with shadows of truth, redefinitions of truth, a world where “Yes” is not necessarily “Yes” and “No is rarely “No” Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no for anything more than this is sin.” (Matthew 5:37) Jesus, the Truth, must be at the heart of every covenant relationship. His words are higher than our words and His thoughts way above our thoughts; and because they are, they bring prosperity. (Isaiah 55:11)
The diligent search for God which brings reward is a diligent search for truth. When we find it, our nature is changed. We are converted from Jacob (the liar), to Israel (those submitted to God). Jacob had to wrestle with himself before he could wrestle with the angel of the Lord. It was the fear of facing his brother that caused his sleepless night. (Gen. 32:7) The word of the Lord came to pass in the life of Jacob, he increased in flocks and herds following the rhema God gave on animal multiplication to such an extent that Laban, who had changed his wages ten times, who had deceived him at every agreement, now sought to do away with him. (Gen. 31:1)
Jacob pressed in to God seeking direction and God said go return to his father and brother. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Jacob wrested through the night. God prevailed, gave him a limp for life, and changed his name to Israel. (Gen 32:27-32)
Press In 2 Press On.
Mark
