Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Sunday's Message - The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Jacob's Dream at Bethel)

We're going to spend the summer of 2023 with the Patriarchs. During eleven worship services, beginning on Father's Day, we'll use passages from the book of Genesis to look at Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, focusing on how the Lord was consistently and actively involved in their lives. And by the end of the summer, we should have a better understanding of the one whom they followed and on how that same God can lead us. During this series, we'll look at the stories and passages below:

On Sunday, the message focused on what we can learn from the story of Jacob's dream at Bethel, Genesis 28:10-19a. A recording and copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.


You know, although I have a hard time remembering my own, personally, I believe dreams are important. But, of course, I’m not alone. For example, the famous French novelist, Victor Hugo believed that “there is nothing like a dream to create the future. ...Each man should frame life so that at some future hour fact and his dreaming meet.” And that important American transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” And of course, the great British philosopher, Thomas Frederick Cooper said, “Last night I dreamed I ate a ten-pound marshmallow, and when I woke up the pillow was gone.” Like I said, dreams are important.

And that’s what we’ll be talking about this morning, but not dreams in general. Rather, we’re going to be looking at a very specific dream, one experienced by Jacob when he was between Beersheba and Haran. Now, in case you don’t know it, this is the sixth message in a series we started back in the middle of June, entitled The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And to this point, we’ve already looked at how the Lord chose Abram and how he promised Abraham and Sarah a son. And then we talked about how Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away and how the Lord tested Abraham. And in the last couple of weeks, we focused on stories about Abraham’s servant finding Isaac a wife and the relationship between Isaac and Rebekah’s twin boys: Jacob and Esau. Now those are the stories we’ve already discussed and applied to ourselves.

And this morning, we’re going to do the same kind of thing with another patriarchal story from Genesis, this one dealing with a dream Jacob had at a place called Bethel. You see, we’re going to take this story, and we’re going to look at what was going on at the beginning, the dream itself and how Jacob responded. And then, as we’ve done six times before, we’ll take what we discussed and apply it to ourselves. And even though I know this is sort of a spoiler alert, when we do that, I think we’re going to see how we might be better able to move beyond the troubles we might carry from the past by remembering three things that God offers us in the present. Now that’s what we’re going to be doing this morning.

But of course, to do that, we’re going to spend some time talking about what’s going on in Genesis 28:10-19. Now, this was how it started:

Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. [Genesis 28:10-11, CEV]

Now that’s what it says. But to understand that’s happening here, I think we really need a little bit of background, you know, like why “Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran.” [Genesis 28:10, CEV] Now that’s a pretty important question. And here’s the answer; Jacob was in big trouble. As a matter fact, in a very real sense, Jacob was on the lam, but not from the police. He was trying to get away from his twin brother Esau who wanted to kill him. Of course, if you were here last week, you know exactly why Esau hated Jacob so much, but if you weren’t, here’s the back story. Before they were born or had done anything good or bad, God told their mother, Rebekah, that the older, Esau, would serve the younger, Jacob. In other words, Jacob was going to carry the promise God had already made to his granddaddy, Abraham, and his daddy, Isaac. And to have everything he’d need to be what God chose him to be, Jacob needed to get a couple of things from Esau. I mean, one, Jacob needed to get his brother’s birthright, you know, his share of the inheritance, something Jacob got when we traded it for a big, streaming bowl of red stuff. And two, Jacob also needed to get Esau’s blessing, which Jacob got by lying to their father, convincing the old man that he was actually his big and beautiful older brother. Now that was what Jacob did, and so it’s really no surprise that, according to Genesis, “Esau hated his brother Jacob because he had stolen the blessing that was supposed to be his. So he said to himself, ‘Just as soon as my father dies, I’ll kill Jacob.’” [Genesis 27:41, CEV] And so, right after the funeral, Jacob had to get the heck out of Dodge, heading to his mother’s brother, Laban, to sort of hide out until the heat was off. Now that’s how the story begins. 

And as he was running away, he had a dream, and this was how it was described:

In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it. 

The Lord was standing beside the ladder and said:

I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people. Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won’t leave you — I will do all I have promised. [Genesis 28:12-15, CEV]

Now that’s Jacob’s dream. And even though the idea of angels going up and down a ladder is kind of cool, for me, what God said was a whole lot more important. You see, as Jacob was sleeping with his head on that large rock, God offered him three promises, didn’t he? I mean, first, he promised Jacob that he was going to be with him, just like he was with Abraham and Isaac. And second, God said that he was going to protect Jacob, you know to watch over him. And third, God promised Jacob a place, as a matter of fact, the same place that was part of the covenant God had made to Jacob’s grandfather and father. In other words, even though Jacob might have to spend some time with Laban in northern Syria, eventually Jacob’s place would be in the land of Canaan. Now, presence and protection and place, you see, that’s what God promised this guy who was sleeping with his head on a rock in the middle of a desert because he was running away from a brother he’d cheated twice. 

And I’ll tell you, after the promise was made, the story concluded. This is what is says in Genesis:

Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The Lord is in this place, and I didn’t even know it.” Then Jacob became frightened and said, “What a frightening place! It must be the house of God and the gateway to heaven.”

When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up as a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God, and he named the place Bethel. [Genesis 28:16-19a, CEV]

You see, after hearing the promises, Jacob responded with faith. He got up. And he recognized that it was at this place where God had talked to him; therefore, it was right and appropriate to anoint and to dedicate the rock on which he slept. And right after what we just read, again according to Genesis:

Jacob solemnly promised God, “If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes and bring me safely home again, you will be my God. This rock will be your house, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything you give me.” [Genesis 28:20-22, CEV]

You see, according to this story, three things happened: Jacob was in trouble. God made three promises to Jacob. And Jacob responded with faith.

And I’ll tell you, I think we can apply this exact same thing to ourselves, and I’m talking about right here and right now. For example, from time to time, we all face troubles, don’t we? Of course, just like it was for Jacob, sometimes the troubles we face are of our own creation. And even if it’s not our intention, an unfortunate attempt at humor or an off-hand comment or even a forgotten phone call or a missed appointment, man, they can all have consequences that we neither expect nor want. And these are problems we’ve sort of had a hand in creating. When you add to it a whole bunch of stuff that, when you get right down to it, just happens, well, I think we all know that facing some problems and pain, man, that’s just a fact of life. And that applies to Christians just like it does everyone else. It’s like the Apostle Peter wrote in this first letter:

Dear friends, don’t be surprised or shocked that you are going through testing that is like walking through fire. Be glad for the chance to suffer as Christ suffered. It will prepare you for even greater happiness when he makes his glorious return. [1 Peter 4:12-13, CEV]

I mean, even if we’re not trying to escape a sibling who wants to even the score, I think I’m safe in saying that, into every life, a little rain must fall. In other words, just like it was for Jacob, we all face troubles.

And I’ll tell you, because I believe that’s the case, I think it’s really important for us to remember that God makes promises to us. You see, when we’re trying to wade through the disappointments and difficulties, God speaks, and even though there’s not a biblical patriarch here this morning, I think he says the same thing to us that he said to Jacob.

For example, first, I think he also promises us his presence, the assurance that no matter where we go or what we do, he’s here with us. You see, we’re never alone, something that Jesus wanted his disciples to remember when he said this right before his crucifixion:

The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.

I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. Then you will know I am one with the Father. You will know you are one with me, and I am one with you. [John 14:17-20, CEV]

You see, God is present with us, and that’s one thing he promised to Jacob and promises to us.

But that’s not all, because, second, he also promises us his protection. In other words, no matter how tough life gets and no matter how discouraged we might be, man, we can always look to God, trusting that our ultimate destiny is in his loving and gracious hands. As a matter of fact, on our worse day, we can claim the words of the Psalmist:

Live under the protection
    of God Most High
and stay in the shadow
    of God All-Powerful.
Then you will say to the Lord,
“You are my fortress,
    my place of safety;
you are my God,
    and I trust you.”

The Lord will keep you safe
from secret traps
    and deadly diseases.
He will spread his wings 
over you
    and keep you secure.
His faithfulness is like
    a shield or a city 

You won’t need to worry
about dangers at night
    or arrows during the day.
And you won’t fear diseases
that strike in the dark
    or sudden disaster at noon. [Psalm 91:1-6, CEV]

You see, when we decide to trust that God’s control is absolute and eternal, we can always feel a sense of peace and even hope. Why? Because God protects us, and that’s another thing that God promised to Jacob and that God promises to us.

And third, he also promises us a place, a place where we can feel safe, a place where we’re accepted and a place where we can become everything God created and called us to be. And do you want to know where that place is? Man, just look around. This is our place. It’s like Paul said to the Ephesians:

You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God. You are like a building with the apostles and prophets as the foundation and with Christ as the most important stone. Christ is the one who holds the building together and makes it grow into a holy temple for the Lord. And you are part of that building Christ has built as a place for God’s own Spirit to live. [Ephesians 2:19-22, CEV]

You see, the Body of Christ is a gift given to us by God himself, which is great for us. But I’ll tell you, it’s even better when we make a conscious decision to share it with others and an intentional effort to invite them in. Because God loves us, we have a place, and that’s something else that God promised to Jacob and that God promises to us.

And given these promises, well, now we can respond; man, we can respond with faith. You see, we can trust in the promises of God. And we can claim the presence and the protection and the place that he’s given us. This we can do. And even if we still have to deal with difficulties and disappointments and even if we’re still going to encounter some problems and pain along the way and even if we still find ourselves dealing with troubles from time to time, we’re going to make it. We’re going to be able to move forward. You see, we’re going to start doing what God has called us to do and to start becoming the kind of men and women God created us to be. As a matter of fact, we might even be able to take the same perspective Paul had when he shared this with the Corinthians:

Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. But he replied, “My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:8-10, CEV]

You see, as God’s people, just like Jacob, we can get ourselves up and respond to the promises of God.

I guess, when you get right down to it, although all dreams are important, well, some are more important than others. I mean, without contradicting Victor Hugo or Henry David Thoreau or Thomas Frederick Cooper, I think what Jacob experienced at Bethel was more profound than anything these great men envisioned. You see, according to what’s written in Genesis, Jacob was in trouble. God made three promises to Jacob. And he responded with faith. And I’ll tell you, that’s really good news for us, isn’t it? Why? Because sometimes we face troubles. And when we do, we can remember the three promises God makes to us, and I’m talking about his presence and his protection and this place. And with that in mind, we can respond and move forward with faith. Now all this we know because of a single dream, namely Jacob’s dream at Bethel. 
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