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Today’s heroes is Jacob because he shows us the gift of Promises.
Essential Teachers notes:
Leaving is always tough and for Jacob to go and have to find a wife from a distant land when his bother already had two local girls whom he called his wives but have felt unfair. Going when your brother is seeing red and leaving the care of the family household in his hands must have seemed mad. It’s not surprising that it’s at this moment when all seems lost that God steps in and Meets Jacob, reminds him of the birthright he inherited and how land and flocks and tents are nothing compared to God’s promises.
Main Passage : Genesis 28
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Jacob had cheated his brother out of his birthright, stolen his blessing and now he needed to leave. His father had told him he must go to find a wife from a different land. He knew his brother was so angry with him, he wondered now as he walked away if he would ever be welcomed home again.
He looked back at the tents he had always lived in, the sheep that his family owned, the trees he had climbed as a child, the tent where his mother had once slept, another for his brother and his wife, he was leaving it all.
Further and further he walked as the sun rose and shadows grew long again. Eventually he stopped exhausted. He found a rock to lean his head against and closed his eyes to sleep.
In his dreams he was no longer alone. A huge ladder stretched from the ground up into the heavens and Angels were going up and down. Besides him the Lord stood.
“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham.” said the Lord.
“The place where you now sleep will one day be for your family and their children and their children too. Your family will grow large, like dust in the air it will spread to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. Every family on the earth shall be blessed by your family one day.”
Jacob smiled in his sleep, his grandfather Abraham had been promised descendants that number the stars, his father’s arrival had been foretold by angels and now the promise was passing onto him.
“Know that I am with you” the Lord said
“Everywhere you go I will go too, and will bring you back to this land one day. This is my promise to you”
When Jacob woke up he was amazed and a little frightened, was he laying at heavens gate? He took the stone he had slept on and some more and built an altar. Then he poured oil over the stones to mark them. He named the place Bethel – which means house of God.
Jacob continued on his journey knowing that he was the next chapter in God’s big plan.
Today’s heroes is Jacob because he shows us the gift of Promises.
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