Gen 27:41-44 (NIV) Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides.

Jesus, help me see that even though things looked really bad for Jacob, God has the incredible abilities, power, and wisdom to make all that interference work out good. Rom 8:28 (NIV) And we KNOW that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Help me understand that God wasn’t rewarding Jacob for taking matters into his own hands; but, He was making it work out. There were spiritual things inside Jacob that God saw and liked. Like me, Jacob had a lot of bad things; but, his potential headed him toward trusting God and resisting evil.

Jesus, take me into Jacob’s future for a moment. Show me that God renamed Jacob, Israel. Jacob ended up with four wives and had twelve sons. Make it clear to me that because of the way Jacob was always taking matters into his own hands, there was a lot of strife, cheating, lying, and struggles. But, help me also see that even thought Jacob created all these bad situations, God forced the circumstances to work out for Jacob’s good and fulfilled His plan. A nation with twelve tribes came out of Jacob (Israel). The Jews I see today are his decendents.

Gen 28:5 (NIV) Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Jesus, since I know how this is all going to turn out, I might not see how all this was affecting Jacob. Having to leave his family was a difficult thing. God could have got him there without all this pain and suffering. Esau didn’t have to want to kill Jacob. Jacob could have heard from God and went like Abraham did. Help me see these things and learn how to not interfere with Your work.

Jesus, by Jacob not trusting God and not resisting wrong, bad, and evil, a lot of people got hurt including Jacob. Plus, as You will soon show me, Jacob reaped what he sowed. Gal 6:7 (NIV) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Help me realize that if he had just trusted God, he would have been able to resist all those things he did that hurt him and the people around him. Help me see that he did a lot of damage to Esau.

Gen 28:10-12 (NIV) Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Jesus, help me understand that it is hard for people like Jacob to believe in the supernatural realm of God. They just believe in their five senses and their own abilities. Protect me from being like this. Jacob was not cured of his trust in himself. Even though he hurt himself and a lot of other people, he still didn’t trust God. He still believed in himself and what he had been able to accomplish. Help me not be like him and be unable to see myself as a sinner and needing to repent of all the damage I do. As long as he continued on this journey, he kept on cheating, lying, stealing, and damaging those around him. Deliver me from such philosophies and procedures.

Jesus, during Jacob’s journey to Haran, God gave him a dream that should have helped him put his trust in you: Gen 28:13-15 (NIV) There above it (a stairway) stood the LORD, and he said: “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. 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. 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.”

Jesus, show me that like Jacob, God is speaking through the Bible and telling me what He wants to do in me, for me, to me, with me, and through me. If I will do what it takes to TRUST Him, I will RESIST the things that are trying to damage my life and God’s plan for me. Like with Jacob, He is making it clear to me that He’s got this! But, Jacob remained unrepentant; he wouldn’t allow himself to see how bad he treated Esau and his father. This kept him from clearly hearing God and giving up believing in himself and trusting God. Help me not be like that.

Gen 28:20-21 (NIV) Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. Jesus, show me that when I start using human effort, human reasoning, and human techniques, I am put in a situation where I must manipulate. I agree to do something for someone, if they will do what I want. My relationships are all business transactions.

Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these. Jesus, teach me that FAITH in God makes it possible for me to start experiencing the provisions of God. That helps me start putting my TRUST in God. The more I trust Him, the more I start building a RELATIONSHIP with Him. As that relationship grows, I learn to LOVE Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then that love relationship empowers me to love my neighbor as myself.

Gen 29:1 (NIV) Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. Jesus, help me see how God orchestrated the events of Jacob’s life: Jacob met some shepherds who knew his uncle Laban, the father of Jacob’s future wife, Rachel. After Jacob got acquainted with Laban and the family, he stayed with them for a month. From the text, it appears that Jacob was helping out for room and board during that time. So, Laban started up a business relationship with Jacob and Jacob’s future started to develop. Help me see that if Jacob had been willing to trust God, all of this would have gone a totally different direction.

Gen 29:15-18 (NIV) Laban said to him (Jacob), “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Gen 29:20-23 (NIV) So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.” So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her.

Jesus, as I look back on Jacob’s life, it isn’t hard to understand why he was being lied to, cheated, and mistreated. It is easy for me to get frustrated with God when things happen that don’t seem fair. But, let the first thing I do is ask You if there is anything in my life that is causing it. If there is, empower me to repent, ask for forgiveness, and then ask You for the power to, if possible, go make it right with those I hurt. Show me that one of the reasons trusting God and resisting wrong is so important is, it prevents these types of things from happening as the process of reaping.

Gen 29:25-28 (NIV) When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?” Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

Jesus, help me understand that when I get USED TO a life of lying, cheating, stealing, and manipulation, it is so much easier for me to be mistreated. The rules I live by become normal and natural to me. Jacob had already worked seven years for obtaining Rachel. When he worked another seven years for her, he was being cheated. Laban was acting like the first seven years were for Leah. That was a lie! But, Jacob was so trained in on the rules of his body, the world, and the devil that Laban’s “deal” seemed fair and reasonable.

Prov 3:5-6 (AKJV) TRUST in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Jesus, Jacob was on a path that eventually worked out for his good and for God’s awesome plan for the Jewish people. But, help me always keep in mind that if he would have only repented and allowed God to change his philosophies, behavior, and forgive him of his past, his whole life would have been better. But instead, he kept embracing the desires of his body, the world, and the devil. He just kept trying to work on them, improve them, get better at them, and make them work to his advantage. Protect me from this.