God's trial - Chapter 6

Solitary Backpacker

Jacob left Beersheba and started toward Harran.At sunset he came to a holy place and camped there.He lay down to sleep,resting hie head on a stone.････ He dreamed ････ And there was the Lord standing beside him.”････ Remember,I will be with you and protect you wherever you go,and I  will bring you back to this land.I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you. ” Jacob woke up and said,”The Lord is here！He is in this place,and I did not know it！”  

【Genesis 28:10～16】

A solitary "traveler

The word "backpacker" is derived from the word "backpack," and refers to a person who travels  freely from place to place with a backpack that can be carried easily.My image of a backpacker  is that of a traveler who looks somewhat like Snufkin.

In this sense,Jacob was a lonely backpacker who left in the shadows of the night without being  seen off by anyone.In fact,this trip is Jacob's last goodbye to his mother,Rebecca.And for his  mother,she did not know what would happen to her son,Jacob,after his departure,but it was a decision  she was ready to make,leaving everything to God.

From this article,it is about God's treatment of Jacob.However,the life of this lonely traveler, Jacob,is an automobile metaphor for a useless clunker.He doesn't even think about his own fuel  consumption condition,and is always proud that he can get by if he drives under his own power.

However,this article was so full of loneliness that I could not see his nature at all.The first  characteristic of his journey this time is that he is a lonely backpacker who set out with nothing. His state of mind is that he is separated from his parents,whom he has been relying on,and that  his brother may come after him at any moment,but all he knows is that he is moving forward to  Mesopotamia,the destination of his journey.

His mental states are firstly,(1)it was his first time to travel alone,so he sometimes was feeling  homesick,saying "I want to go home already!”As Jesus Christ so,I wonder how he must have felt   when he suddenly left his family and set out on his missionary journey,even though it was a "command"  from God the Father!Secondly,(2)fear of his brother's persistent pursuit.This point is also  similar to Jesus Christ.The more he preached,the more he was attacked by the watchdog groups (Pharisees, scribes).And thirdly,(3)consciousness that he was still lonely wanderer with no protect.

Jacob had no "peace of mind," but there was one thing that sustained him.He had an unshakable  faith in the teachings of his parents:"The word of promise that the Lord has commanded will come  true! But to Jacob,the teachings of his parents were still just the human's voices.

As he continued his journey in solitude,he gradually grew tired and exhausted.He walked and walked  during the day,but could not see his goal at all,and at night he could not sleep in peace.Finally,  one evening,as he lay limp,he found a stone that was just right,and as soon as he laid his head  on it,he fell into a deep sleep.

The God's treatments with us are like a lonely traveler,wandering through the world,but with the  voice of truth that comes from Himself,He provides sure guidance and protection.However,in the  midst of the loneliness like Jacob and the fatigue of not knowing where we are going,most of us  end up in a fog of confusion as we struggle with the voices of others and our own.

Hearing God's voice for the first time

Don't worry if you are in such a state! For that is the starting point for the great treatment  of the true God!In the midst of his deep sleep,Jacob was finally shown a spiritual revelation  from God in the form of a dream.God Himself stood beside Jacob in his sleep and spoke directly  to him.The God's voice sounded richer and more beautiful to his ears than anything he had ever  heard before.

That's right! The first time he heard God's voice,this is the second point that happened in Jacob's  journey.Although he didn't actually hear it with his own ears,the voice he heard in his dream  said,"I am the Lord,who always blessed and protected your grandfather Abraham and your father  Isaac!”,like when was a informed of the first meeting.

God continued to say to the bewildered Jacob,"Be firm,and remember! I have something important  to tell you." He gives him a pep talk.Why did the Lord speak to Jacob? It is difficult for the  voice of the spirit from God to reach those who have a strong voice of the human's nature,but  sometimes God speaks right to the point.But sometimes God speaks to us with a snap!

In the case of Jacob,he resisted God's voice this time.But resisting means not forgetting (not  ignoring) the voice.Because it is always the God's voice that leads.To resist means that you dare  to reject that voice because you think it may be ････.

The difference between an unbeliever and a believer is,simply put,whether you rely on the voice  of your human's nature or the voice of God.If you try to base your faith on the voice of the human's  nature,you will surely resist the voice of the Spirit of God.This is because the voice of the  spirit is too simple.

When Jacob heard the voice of God's great Spirit that surpassed his fears,he said, "The Lord God  has chosen this place to stay with me until this very moment.And yet I was not aware of it,nor  did I understand it at all(v.16).” He was astonished.In other words,he may have found a stone and  slept on it of his own free will,but in fact,God had worked all things together for his good, and had prepared many things for his careful handling! He was foolishly unaware of this.

The voice in my human's nature said,"It's just a dream experience!” But the voice of the spirit  within me said, "Wait! This is ････," and he can still feel the presence of God and hear His great  voice in his ears.

So,what was the actual content of the God's voice that spoke to Jacob? First of all,(1)it was  a confirmation of the fact that "I am always with you!” Secondly,(2)the assurance of the promise,  "I will surely protect you at all times!”.Thirdly,(3) "I will bring you back here! and fourthly,  With my mighty arm,I will not abandon you,but will protect and guide you forever!” These are  the very simple words of the covenant.

Jacob thought he was a lonely traveler until he heard these great words of promise from God.But  when he learned the truth about God,he accepted that the very place where the stone pillow was  located (here) was the house of God (Beth-El)! He was convinced that the place where the true  God was present and dwelt with him was the true home he had been seeking.

The Lord is the God of Emmanuel!Even if we,like Jacob,run in the power of our own human's nature, or walk around in any direction we want,and stumble and fall in the middle,He is the Lord of truth, right beside us, supporting us! God's unfailing presence and eternal protection and guidance is  the true and promised guarantee of our lives!

May the God of Emmanuel always be with us,and may the Holy Spirit,our Helper,always make our steps  sure,even if our life's journey leads us to a state of loneliness,where there is nothing.And may  the Holy Spirit protect and guide all of us to the great spiritual dimension of God,in the Holy  Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.Amen！(Messageon 2/Feb/2020)