#3. was it Laban’s plan all along to give Jacob both his daughters?

[thekingdomofgod]

The Union of Two Worlds

It is so important to know the reality of who we are ‘in Christ’ as our identity links us to two worlds - the spiritual realm and the natural world - in which we have the ability to function. It is this divine ability to function in both worlds that is the defining mark of our true identity. Man in the naturall lives his life completely in the material physical world, being subject to the limitations of that world. But it was our Heavenly Fathers intention that we would also function in the spiritial realm according to the eternal purpose that He gave us in creation. While we know that this is the truth, unless we step into that reality, the demonstration of that truth will be lacking...it is a huge step to leave behind the sense of our mortality and look beyond our birth into this world, to see our true identity in the spirit on the other side of the cross of Jesus Christ and the tomb.

When we study the story of Jacob, we see interesting parallels in Jacobs life of the reconciling power of God to bring us into our true identity.

Jacobs name means ‘deceiver’ and as his name suggests, Jacob manages to steal his fathers patriarchal birthright from his brother, Esau. Upon stealing the birthright he runs in fear of his angry brother, escaping to his uncle Labans household. Jacob’s marriage was next on God’s agenda...God had purposed that Jacob’s children would become a great nation; marrying the right wife was therefore crucial. After working seven years as payment for Rachel to be his wife, Jacob wakes up the morning after the wedding to discover that his uncle had deceived him and had given him the older daughter Leah instead.He realized that he had done his share of deception with his own family, so he simply makes a deal to work for another seven years for Rachael, because Jacob loved Rachael much more that Leah.

After his marriage to both Leah and Rachael and the birth of his 12 children Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.” But Laban replied "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake." And he said, “Appoint me your wages and I will give it.” So Jacob saw his chance to make up for the fact that Laban had already changed his wages ten times. Jacob made a deal with Laban, "Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.”Laban agreed to Jacob’s proposal because he considered speckled and spotted sheep, brown lambs and speckled goats to be worthless. But these seemingly worthless animals became the beginning of Jacob’s wealth. They multiplied and grew into a great and valuable flock after Jacob had received divine assistance in a dream.

“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.” (Genesis 31:10)

God blessed Jacob’s flock and it became bigger and healthier than all of Laban’s flocks. This angered Laban and his sons who accused Jacob of building his flocks and wealth at the expense of their father Laban.

Jacob now understands that God has become involved in his life and it is not his cunning or personal ability that is producing the results he now sees in his experiences. Many Christians today see the hand of the Lord evidenced in their every day circumstances. Jacob reveals to us all that mankind comes into this world with a plan specific for each individual’s life. Once we acknowledge that God is our Father, He begins to reveal His plan for our life, supernaturally blessing us through His divine favor and involvement.

Jacob needed to return home in order to fulfill the next step in his destiny: reconciliation with his past, and particularly with his brother Esau. The apostle Paul instructs us in this matter saying,

‘Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.’ (2 Corinthians 5:18)

A NEW DAY

Jacob is on his way home, and in his mind he is contemplating the meeting that he must have with his brotherEsau. He remembers Esau’s intent to kill him after he had cheated Esau out of the father’s patriarchal blessing. Is this still Esau’s intent? Since that time, Jacob had seen the mighty hand of the Lord working on his behalf, especially in making sure that Laban was not going to send him away empty handed after his many years of faithful work. God intervened in Jacob’s arrangements with Laban over his wages and made Jacob’s flock bigger and more valuable than Laban’s flock. God had blessed and prospered Jacob; no one was more aware of this than Jacob Himself.In their first encounter, God revealed to Jacob truth and knowledge about Himself that Jacob was yet to discover and comprehend. He is on his way home now and his mind is preoccupied with his upcoming encounter with Esau. Jacob had already seen the mighty hand of God working on his behalf in making him rich with much cattle.However, his conflict concerning his brother is troubling his mind, and his confidence in the Lord is not yet sufficiently established. Jacob had yet to understand the divine benefits attached to receiving the birthright and the patriarchal blessing from his father. Jacob is at a point in his life experience where so many Christians find themselves today, where they can talk the talk, but can not yet walk the walk.

The dreaded meeting with his brother preoccupies Jacob’s mind and robs him of his peace. Jacob takes matters into his own hands, planning to send gifts to his brother who is on the way to meet him. Jacob sends his servants to Esau with many gifts of cattle as a gesture of good will. Jacob’s servants return with a word from Esau that he does not need Jacob’s cattle and that he on his way with 400 of his men to meet Jacob.This news terrorized Jacob, who feared that Esau would kill him along with his wives and children. Jacob decided to send his wives and children over the brook Jabbok, which means, “to empty.” In reality, God was in the midst of all this: God wanted Jacob to encounter God alone so that He could do a work in Jacob’s heart in preparation for his encounter with his brother.There would not be much sleep this night as Jacob finds himself in a struggle with an unknown stranger who seemed determined to wrestle with Jacob and win. Jacob mistakenly thought that this stranger represented his brother, and so for Jacob it was a fight for survival. He seemed convinced that if he lost the battle that he would die. Little did Jacob know that he was struggling with God, who was trying to rid Jacob of poor self esteem and a false sense of identity in order to establish a totally new identity, in keeping with God’s purposes for his future life.For so many Christians today, this battle is still being played out as our Father attempts to equip each one of us with the identity that would fulfill the divine will in our life. So many Christians are working for ‘God Incorporated’ with the idea that we as mortal human beings can do whatever God needs us to do. Paul makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians 3:9 that,“We are laborers together with God”...and not for God. It is Christ in you that is the hope of God being glorified.

As the new day dawned for Jacob, the stranger finished the struggle by touching the hollow of his thigh thereby ending the contest. The stranger asked Jacob to let him go. But Jacob said, “No I will not let you go until you bless me.” Jacob knew by now that this was not Esau his brother; rather, this stranger must be connected with God. The stranger asks Jacob a question, “What is your name?” And in the Hebrew it says he answered with a whisper, “Jacob. [Yes I am the cheat and the liar and the deceiver.]”Jacob must have expected to hear the judgment of God upon him, but instead the stranger said to him,

“Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28)

Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Beloved, as you read these exciting words, is there not a cry coming from deep within your being asking Father to let this day be your PENIEL, to experience the transformation that Jacob experienced that night?

This was the end of Jacob’s night time experience, as he stepped out that day into the dawning of a most wonderful new day, in which God was now a reality, and not some spiritual icon up in an ethereal heaven.

From that time, Israel experienced the merging of those two worlds - the spiritual and the material - where we now can see God’s involvement in our world as it has always been in the world of spirit.Now Jacob is confronted with his brother’s arrival and is still not sure of the outcome. But his reconciliation to his brother is a very important issue that must be settled before any further progress can take place in the fulfillment of God’s will in Jacob’s life. Everything must be reconciled in God and Jacob is about to see the first miracle in his new sphere of activity. Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw Esau approaching with 400 men. He had already divided the children among Leah, among Rachel, and their two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children first, followed by Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph last. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother. That was all he needed to do because at that point,Esau ran forward to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. (Genesis 33:1-4)

All of Jacob’s concerns about Esau were over, and it was like nothing had ever happened. But the highlight of this whole reconciliation was recorded in Genesis 33:10 when the new Jacob - now called Israel - said to his brother Esau,

“Please receive my present from my hand, because of the fact that I have seen thy face as though I was looking at the face of God, and you were pleased with me.”

In this, Israel was not only reconciled to his brother, but also to God Himself. This brought Israel great peace, so that on his way home he bought a parcel of land in Shechem, erected an altar in it and called it EL-ELOHE-ISRAEL, meaning, “The mighty God of Israel.“ (Genesis 33:20)

Just ponder the wisdom of God to use the face of Esau through which to reflect his own image. The relevance of this certainly registered with Israel (Jacob). In that union, there was nothing that ever made Jacob afraid of God again or made him consider that God’s love for him was not total and absolute. That smiling image of God in the face of Esau wiped away any thought that God was in any way holding anything from the past against him.

The transformation that occurred in Jacobs life belongs to us as Christians.

The apostle says;

‘Romans 12:2‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind’ that 'old things are passed away’, so that we may step into the ‘new creation life of Christ’....the dawning of a new day!