Hosanna Restoration Church

Has it been your experience that not everything goes perfectly every day? Let’s face it, God is the only one who is perfect and never disappoints. Here we look at Jacob. A quick view shows us that He stole his brother’s birthright and blessing and then took off running for his life. This was done under the guise of doing what his folks wanted and finding a wife from a better country. On the way, He met God as he slept on a stone pillow. He got up from the sleep and went and broke the watering hole custom and fell in love with Rachel.

Just a note here concerning brother Esau: when he found out that his folks did not want them to marry local girls, he immediately did just what his folks did not want. Have you ever seen anyone who was determined to prove they could do anything they wanted to and no one was going to tell them what they could do? If you ever consider it, don’t, it is not a good plan.

Back to Jacob: As we noted, he fell in love with Rachel. Leah was nice, but Rachel was really nice! Jacob agreed to work for seven years for her hand in marriage. But the morning after the wedding, he ran into yet another tradition. Laban forgot to tell him that he could not give the younger before the older daughter was married. Once again we see a tradition that may have good intensions, but all it did was cause tension and strife.

Can you imagine how Leah felt? She knew that Jacob was in love with Rachel. She watched for seven years as Jacob drooled over her and then on the wedding night dad tells her to get in there. And Jacob! How could someone long for a person for seven years and not bother to make sure he had the right one? That is a bit like someone finally seeing their need for God and then being deceived, and miss Jesus.

The conclusion for me in all of this is that we should not allow anything or anyone to substitute for the real thing. We cannot blindly follow what has always been done. Nor should we be in such a rush that we get fooled in the dark. Another clear picture of why we should walk in the light!

As we walk this walk, there will be a lot of things that are different from what they seem to be. Jacob got what he wanted, but he also got a substitute and it caused a lot of tension. We need to be careful to watch out for substitutes and keep our focus on the real thing. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Since I came to know the Lord, there have been many things thrown in my path and I have not walked it perfectly. I have been lured by traditions and nearly hooked. I nibbled, and even took the bait for a bit, but God helped me slip the hook and run to Jesus. I am certain that there will be more obstacles in the road that cause me to stumble, but God assures me that I will rise again. My sincere intention is to keep my eyes open and make sure what is going on even when I am in the dark.

What to do: Be ware of substitutes. Don’t be stubborn. Stay focused.