Here is my final summary message on the life of Jacob.
I have also included an outline of the message here:
The importance of knowing Jacob’s story. I hope you have a blessed worn spot in your Bible from Genesis 25 on. It is the heart of the book of Genesis. I hope your heart is drawn to the God of Jacob. The God of Jacob is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46) Psalms 146:5 says; Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God. Psalm 78 says that God established a testimony in Jacob. In other words, God wants us to tell the story of Jacob to our children and grandchildren. He wants all his children to know the story of Jacob. Ten Lessons:
1. The lesson of the worm. Genesis 25:19-26 Fear Not You Worm.
Live for the Blessing of God. Nothing is more important of valuable than the blessing of the Lord and it can be yours.
2. The lesson of the soup Genesis 25:24-34 Lives that Leap into Flame. Praise God continually. Not “good guys and bad guys” but those in whom he has placed a desire for Himself are blessed. He is the Hero so you don’t have to be the hero to have the blessing of God! You don’t have to “buy” the birthright from God. He is to be praised.
3. The lesson of Isaac’s wells Genesis 26 Build an Altar Before You Dig a Well. Seek God and his blessing before and above everything else including physical necessities of live. God is at work in your life, never loose your place in the story of God.
4. The lesson of the hairy goatskin Genesis 27 Holy Chutzpah. You don’t have to be someone you are not to enjoy the blessing of the Lord because God works deeply in lives deeply broken and families deeply flawed. Have some holy chutzpah and boldly claim the promises of God.
5. The lesson of the rock pillow (Bethel 1) Genesis 28 Bethel Be aware and responsive when God reveals Himself to you, especially when you are crushed by mountain uncertainties. Wake up to the presence and work of God and his blessings in the world around you.
6. The lesson of the sister-cousin-wives. Genesis 29:1-30:14 Developing a Hunger for God. Look to God for all your soul hungers or you will be vulnerable to sin and you will put too much pressure on the people in your life. People are not the source of blessing, only He is. Only he can satisfy you and sanctify you.
7. The lesson of Laban the lousy father-in-law. Genesis 30:25-31-16 The Sanctification of Labor. Trust God to prosper you. If God has chosen to bless you no one can successfully interfere with that blessing. Just because people hurt you or misunderstand or mistreat you does not mean God is not a work to bless you. Don’t worship your company/job, but GOD!
8. The lesson of the holy limp. Genesis 32-33 Making Sense of our Struggles. God especially meets us and blesses us in our struggles to make us princes with God. You may strut in but if you meet God you will limp away. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; [28] and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, [29] that no flesh should glory in His presence.
9. The lesson of the shameful wake-up call: Dinah-(Bethel 2) Genesis 34-35 God even uses catastrophe to draw us into communion with him. A tragedy can be a severe mercy.
10. The Crowning Lesson: Relentless Grace. Genesis 42-50. (Joseph in Egypt) One day you will tell our children that he has been our good shepherd all our life. The Sovereignty of God. The Grace of God. Genesis 42:36, 38. 48:15-16, 49:33-50:1 All these things are against me – . God meant it for good – . Blessing sons and grands. Death.
Whom God Chooses to Bless Will Be Blessed. Genesis is about how GOD works with men to awaken them to the need for his grace, experience God’s grace, and be changed by God’s grace. Genesis is about the fact that God wants to draw his people into a covenant relationship – He wants to make you promises and shower you with unspeakable, eternal blessings. You can boldly trust him, obey him, face your enemies and be a blessing to all the families of the earth because of it. You do not need to fear, falter or disobey.
Jacob Week in Heaven. We will meet Jacob one day. Imagine a great celebration in Heaven one day, where Jacob is the featured speaker for the week. The Greatness of the Glory of God Displayed in His Gracious Dealings with Me. GOD’S RELENTLESS GRACE
– My flawed families and checkered past (worm) (Abraham and Isaac)
– My personal failures and weaknesses. (Esau)
– My place in the birth-order
– My uncertainties (Bethel running from Esau, marriage, safety, etc)
– My poverty, prosperity, wages, taxes, and everyday needs and necessities (Laban)
– My family tensions and conflicts. (Leah, Rachel, handmaidens, children)
– My personal injuries and enemies (Laban and his sons, Esau)
– My deep soul hungers and desires (Rachael and Leah)
– My terrifying struggles (dark wresting in the night)
– My darkest hours and tragedies (Dinah and back to Bethel) rape, murder, incest
– The death of my loved ones, Rebecca, Isaac, Deborah, Racheal, “Joseph”
– The scope of my life and the sovereignty of God and GRACE of God. At this point go to the final story, the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, the only story that is recorded in the book of Hebrews.
o Bethel: Awakened to his need for God’s grace.
o Penial: A deep experience of God’s grace.
o Blessing of grandsons: Changed by God’s grace, and finally saw his sovereign grace.
The Shepherd of the Hills of Judah is still out on the cold, dark mountains looking for Jacobs. Is He your shepherd? In your heartaches and hardships have you strayed from the shepherd?