Far from home
Self Exiled? running
In spite of deceit and treachery
Jacobs 1st encounter w/ God is on the run
( his 2nd is year later on the return )
Genesis 18
– outcry reached God
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
Dan 10
– Angel sent ( down ) in response to his prayer
Heb 1:14. Angels ministering spirit sent to serve those who will inherit salvation
Surely God is in this place…
“the Lord proved to him that He was near, in such a way that the place appeared “dreadful,” inasmuch as the nearness of the holy God makes an alarming impression upon unholy man, and the consciousness of sin grows into the fear of death. “ KD commentary
Jacob
At rest stop, “hotel” off interstate, campground….
What he saw….
What he didn’t see
FLAWS
Who is he…. Pretty flawed, Jacob/ deceiver
PROMISE
He is also … part of the promise, carrier of the blessing to Abraham.
APPLY
Who are we?
Where are we
Culture
Place in life
In Western culture and even in our churches, we celebrate wealth, power, strength, confidence, prestige, and victory. We despise and fear weakness, failure, and doubt. Though we know that a measure of vulnerability, fear, discouragement, and depression come with normal lives, we tend to view these as signs of failure or even a lack of faith. However, we also know that in real life, naïve optimism and the glowing accolades of glamour and success are a recipe for discontent and despair. Sooner or later, the cold, hard realism of life catches up with most of us. The story of Jacob pulls us back to reality.