187
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
April 1932
God said to Jacob: “ I am with thee” —divine presence; “ will keep thee”—di vine protection; “will bring thee again into this land”—divine providence; “ I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee o f”—divine promise. IV. T he C onduct of J acob (16-19). Jacob awakened out o f sleep and imme diately confessed the presence o f the Lord, saying, “ Surely the Lord is in this place.” He was astonished to find the Lord there, when he thought himself to be entirely alone. And he was filled with reverence. We read, “He was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place.” Jacob’s fear was not the dread o f the sinner, but the awe and reverence of one who belonged to God, and who recognized the presence o f the Di vine. It was the fear experienced later by such men as Moses (E x. 20), Peter (Lk. 5 ), and John (Rev. 1). Jacob then erected a memorial, to which he returned time after time to renew his relationship with his God. He sanctified it by pouring oil upon it and changing the name o f the place from Luz to Bethel, meaning, “ The House o f God”—the “ house” in which God had met him in ten der mercy and loving kindness, the “house” in which He waits to welcome every lone ly, distressed soul. Lesson Questions Vs. 10, 11. What caused Jacob to flee from home? In what way did both Jacob and Rebekah find that “ the way o f the transgressor is hard” ? What do you think must have been Jacob’s feelings when he reached Luz ? V. 12. Why do you think the vision o f the ladder and the angels was granted to Jacob? What connection has this lesson with the truth expressed in John 1 :51 ? Does the ministry of angels continue to day (cf. Heb. 1 :13, 14) ? Vs. 13-15. How did the Lord God ad dress Jacob? In view o f Jacob’s recent wrongdoing, how do you account for the promise made to him in verse 13? What differences were there in the covenants with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob? O f what four things did the Lord assure Jacob? Vs. 16-19. Is it possible to be in the Lord’s presence and to be ignorant o f the fact? What are some o f the things that blind our spiritual eyes? What kind of" fear did Jacob feel? Who else experi enced the same feeling (cf. Ex. 20; Lk. 5; Rev. 1 )? What did Jacob do in the morning? What was the significance of the new name that he gave to the place where the vision had been granted? Golden Text Illustration A man whose heart had been deeply touched by the death o f a friend expressed a desire to begin the Christian life, and he told the minister so. “ There’s just one thing that makes me hesitate,” he added, “ I’m afraid I can’t hold out. You know, where I work there are some pretty rough fellows. I don’t believe there’s a real Christian in the crowd.” For answer, the minister reached down and lifted a flower from the vase on the table. “Do you see this flower, Arthur?” he asked. “It grew right in the mud and slime o f a marsh. Yet see how clean and spotless it is. That’s because God kept it And He can keep you, too.”
BLACKBOARD LESSON
it copimands an excellent view o f the surrounding country. It was upon a knoll, just a few hundred yards south of the village, that Abraham and Lot stood when they looked down upon the fertile Jordan valley and all the Dead Sea dis trict, and Lot chose the best o f it for his own. Then, too, the highways make Bethel an ideal fortress and stopping place. The main highway to, the north from Jerusa lem and the South Country runs beside the village. A natural pass comes up f rom the Jordan valley and the town' o f Jericho on the east. T o the west, there is quite a wide depression which leads down through the Vale o f Ajalon to the sea. Thus, be cause o f its location, Bethel became an ideal stopping place for Jacob on his way to Haran. It is at this' point in his history that the special personal dealings of God with Jacob begin. These dealings continue through bitterness and chastisement, and in the manifestation o f God’s grace and mercy, .until Jacob is brought at last to the place which God meant him to occupy. _ In today’s lesson, we find Jacob fleeing from the murderous hatred o f his brother. It is true that he moved in obedience to his father’s command to seek a wife, but this command arose because of the dread o f Jacob’s mother lest her favorite son_ be slain by Esau, who threatened his life. His flight, therefore, was more to save his life than to obey his father’s command. Now he is far from home, lonely, fearing the past, and dreading the future—a fugi tive from his sin (c f. Num. 32:23). He comes to an uninhabited place which, by the mercy and grace o f God, is to be changed into “ Bethel,” that is, “the house o f God,” and there he prepares to rest for the night. The vision that was granted him in that place was perhaps given in an swer to prayer, for later in his life he re fers to this occurrence and speaks o f God as the One “who answered me in the day o f my distress” (Gen. 35:3). II. T he C ompassion upon J acob (12). Jacoh’s dream was the vehicle by which God’s messages reached his heart. It was a manifestation o f the grace o f God to him. It revealed the nearness o f heaven and showed the open pathway between God and man. The bottom o f the ladder rested near Jacob, the man in need, and its top ascended to the eternal throne from which would come the full supply for every need. Perhaps our Lord referred to this event when He said: “ Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels o f God ascending and descending upon the Son o f man” (John 1:51). It may be a question whether He was referring to Himself as typified by Jacob, or by the ladder, but there seems no doubt that, when He spoke these words, He had in mind this scene at Bethel. Jacob is not the only one who enjoys the ministry o f an gels. They are the messengers o f God charged with the keeping and well-being of God’s people, sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs o f salvation (cf. Heb. 1:13, 14; Psa. 91:11; 103:20, 21; 104:4, etc.). Outline and Exposition I. T he C ondition of J acob (10, 11).
FEAR, or DE5PAIR,
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The dream and the vision o f angels were both manifestations o f the compas sion o f God toward this lonely man who was fleeing from the consequences o f his own folly. God is ever following hard in the steps o f the one who, seeking to escape from the results of his own sin, finds him self lonely and distressed, fearful and dismayed. God follows him, not to punish, but to comfort and to cheer and to restore. III. T he C ommunication to J acob (13-15). . W e must take care that we do not look upon Jacob’s vision as a dream which was induced by his wilderness surroundings. However likely those surroundings were to suggest such a thing, Jacob’s experience was not merely psychological, but it was an actual and very real theophany fol lowed by an actual and very real revela tion from God. 1. The announcement o f the divine name. The revelation is introduced with the words: “The Lord God o f Abraham thy father, and the God o f Isaac.” Up to this time, Jacob had had no personal dealings with God. He had approached Him as the God o f his fathers; but now he was com ing to the place where their God was to be his God also. It spoke of the fact that in spite o f his sin and subtilety, he might still claim all that is embodied in the covenant promise—all that God ever intended him to have. It may be true in nature that the “ bird with the broken pinion never soars so high again,” but it is not true in grace. 2. A repetition o f a divine promise. The communication continued with the repetition of the promise given to Abra ham : “The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth. . . . and in thy seed shall all the families o f the earth be blessed.” Here was the renewal o f the covenant of promise concerning the land, the seed, and the blessing. This covenant with Jacob was wholly uncon ditional, as it was with Abraham. The very fact that Jacob was what he was when the covenant was made with him is an added proof that it was unconditional; that it, that the fulfillment did not rest with the human agents in the covenant, but with the divine. It will be noticed that the covenant made with Abraham concerning his seed included both an earthly and a heavenly people; Abraham’s seed were to be as the stars o f heaven and as the sand o f the seashore. Isaac’s promise was that his seed should be as the stars o f heaven, while Jacob’s promise was that his seed should be as the dust o f the earth. Thus Isaac holds the heavenly side o f the Abra- hamic covenant, while Jacob holds the earthly side. 3. The assurance o f the divine pres ence.
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