REAPING THE WHIRLWIND

 

A man who was desperate for work applied to a zoo that he had heard had some openings. ‘Well, it’s a little unusual but I have something” said the zoo director, “our gorilla died sometimes ago and we haven’t had the money to replace him. If you are willing to wear a monkey suit and impersonate an ape, you’ve got the job.” It didn’t feel terribly authentic but the man figured a job is a job so he signed on. After a few awkward days he began to get into the spirit of the thing and soon he became one of the zoo’s prime attractions.

One morning he was swinging from one vine to the next with a little too much animation and inadvertently swung himself right over the wall into the next cage.  The cage was occupied by an enormous African lion. The man could feel the lion’s hot breath on his face. He knew he was a goner. Reflexively he began to scream for help, when suddenly the lion whispered urgently to him “shut up, you idiot, or we’ll both be out of job”(John Orberg 2003)

Isaac’s wife Rebekah gave birth to twins; Esau came out of the womb first so he was the firstborn. Jacob spent most of the time at home with his mother and became her favourite son. Esau was a hunter and Isaac loved the game meat he brought home so he became his favourite son. On what Isaac thought was his deathbed, he told Esau to make his favourite game meal so that he could bless him before he died (27:7). Had Isaac forgotten God’s word to Rebekah that the older son would serve the younger (25:23)?  Isaac tried to go against the revealed purpose of God because he liked Esau over Jacob.

Rebekah overheard their conversation; she wanted Jacob her favourite son to get what was rightfully his. She was ready to deceive her blind husband and to draw her son into deception to achieve her goal. Maybe she thought, “If I don’t act now, God’s plan will be thwarted”!  She could have left the matter with God, trusting that if he needed to, he could reverse Isaac’s wrong action. God’s purpose cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2). Eventually, Isaac had to tell Esau “I have made him Lord over you” (27:37).

Jacob got the blessing but he had to flee for his life. Rebekah thought that the whole thing would be over soon “Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s anger against you subsides. Then I shall send and get you from there” (27:44-45). The “few days” turned out to be 20 years (31:41) and Rebekah probably never saw her favourite son again. When he returns, Isaac is mentioned, but not Rebekah. Jacob was not innocent, he impersonated his brother, lied to his father and even brought in the name of the Lord (27:18-24). Where was his conscience?

Esau planned to kill Jacob for taking his birthright (27:41). Did he forget he had traded it for a bowl of soup? He ate and drank, rose and went his way (25:34); he did not have a second thought about what he had done. His decision to trade the birthright was impulsive but it had lasting consequences.  Hebrew 12:17 says that “afterwards when he wanted it, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done”. What may appear like a small insignificant decision can have drastic consequences, it can shape the rest of your life. Don’t trade your eternity for fleeting pleasure or immediate gratification.

To safe Jacob from his brother’s wrath, his mother decided to send him off on a 500-mile journey through a dangerous territory to try to find her relatives.  Jacob was not an outdoor man, but now he found himself on the run, with nothing but meager supplies (32:10). He did not know whether he would even make it to the mother’s relatives safely. He’s on his own for the first time, wrestling with guilt and facing an uncertain future. This was a crisis experience; at Jacob’s lowest point in life, God gave him a strange dream.

In the dream Jacob saw a ladder set up on the earth reaching to heaven. The Lord stood above it and said “I am the Lord God of Abraham and Isaac; I will give the land where you are lying to you and your descendants.... I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (28:10-15). Jacob’s walk with God at this point was superficial but God had begun the process of molding him.

When Jacob rose up he said “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it” (28:16). Jacob had not personally encountered God until this point. But that night, in that lonely wilderness, there was a bridge of access to seek and to receive help from God.  After what he had done, we would have expected God’s face to be turned away from him. Isaiah wrote “your sins have hid his face from you” (Isa. 59:2). David pleaded with God “do not hide your face from me” (Psalm 27:9).

We would have expected a severe rebuke. But God did not say a word about Jacob’s failure. Instead, he assured Jacob about his future. That is God’s unmerited favour!  We would expect Jacob response to be “Thank you for the grace, now I surrender myself totally to you!” But instead, he makes a vow, saying,” If God will be with me and will watch over me...so that I return safely then the Lord will be my God” (28:20-21).  Instead of taking God at his word he puts an “if” and makes a bargain. Jacob’s promise to God was conditional.

At the end of his journey we find many coincidences. The setting in Genesis 29:4-13 indicate an amazing providence of God in leading Jacob to the very spot he needed to be at the moment he needed to be there. He comes upon a well, where he finds some shepherds, who happen to be from Haran and happen to know Laban. Just as Jacob is talking to them, Laban’s daughter Rachel comes along. Jacob waters Rachel’s sheep, kiss her, break into tears and then introduce himself (29:9-11). What luck!  

It was not luck, God was with him. God promised him that he would be with him wherever he went (28:15). Unlike Abraham’s servant who prayed and was led to Rebekah (24:27), there is no word that Jacob prayed. Never the less God was watching his progress; he had given Jacob an unconditional promise. God was there behind the scenes, ordering everything. Why did Jacob weep? It was probably an overflow of emotion that hit him when he realized how well everything had worked out, he was safely in Haran with his mother’s relatives.

Things went well for Jacob for one month; he fell in love with Rachel and Laban seemed to like him (29:14).  His past was now behind him; God had forgiven him or had he? God never lets us sin and walk away without consequences. It may take a while for the seeds we’ve sown to sprout, but they will come up. After a month, the seeds Jacob planted begun to sprout. Laban came to Jacob with an offer “should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” (29:15). Laban said that he will serve seven years for Rachel; Laban agreed to the deal.

The years seemed like only a few days because of Jacob’s great love for Rachel. Finally, the wedding night came. It was dark when he took his bride into the tent and she was veiled. In the morning he got the shock of his life! Behold it was Leah! (29:20-26) The deceiver had been deceived; he had met his match in Laban. Jacob had taken advantage of his father’s inability to see because he was blind; Laban took advantage of Jacob’s inability to see in the dark. Jacob had impersonated his older brother, Leah impersonated her younger sister.

Jacob never wanted Leah for a wife and he refused to give her the love she desperately needed.  God was still watching and he saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb but Rachel was barren. Leah who appears to have been more spiritual than Rachel gratefully acknowledged that God had given her the child (29:31-33).  Rachel wanted children badly, she demanded them from Jacob “give me children or else I die”. Jacobs became angry and reminded her that it’s God who gives or withholds children (30:2). When Rebekah was barren, Isaac prayed for her (25:21); Jacob does not seem to have learnt from his father; no prayers for Rachel are mentioned here.

God graciously gave Rachel two sons Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel the woman Jacob deeply loved to the end died early and was buried along the road (35:19); Leah lived longer and was buried in the family burial place (49:29-32). Rachel’s two sons do not play a major role in the spiritual leadership of the nation of Israel, while two of Leah’s sons Levi and Judah do. Levi was the father of the Levite tribe from where priests came from. Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi. Jesus came through the lineage of Judah (Matt. 1:1-3); he is referred to as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

Jacob sowed the wind and he reaped the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). He is an example of a believer who makes many mistakes and suffers discipline from God because of his sins, but he is also one with whom God enjoyed God’s unmerited favour.  God overruled his mistakes and taught him deep lessons. Through that feeble vessel God fulfilled his promise to his friend Abraham (13:14-17).