Good morning,
Jacob the deceiver, has been deceived. God commands him to leave Laban and go home.
On the way, he has an encounter with the angel of God, and his life is radically changed.
Jacob comes to God with a humble and repentant attitude. God blesses him, changes his name to Israel, and reminds him of the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac. Jacob builds an altar to God and a pillar where God spoke to him.
This week we will study this transformation.
Jacob humbles himself before God (Genesis 32:9-12)
“And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.”
Jacob is no longer proud, conceited, deceitful, or trying to bargain with God. He knows he is not worthy to stand before the God that created him. He is humble before God.
Before God could do anything for or with Jacob, Jacob had to realize his need for God. Once that happened, God began to work on him.
This is the process God uses in our lives. Unbelievers must acknowledge their sin. Then repent of their sin and put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then God begins the process of helping them to grow in their knowledge of and obedience to the Bible. That creates maturity and opportunities to tell others about Christ.
Where are we in this process? Have we humbled ourselves, repented of our sins, and accepted Jesus Christ into our live by faith? Have we matured to the point that we can tell others about salvation through Jesus Christ?
It began when Jacob humbled himself.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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