This is not the Bible Study I intended to write, not the way I was going to lead it, and probably not the time I would have chosen for a deep dive into the life of Jacob. I was just drawn to Jacob's story of redemption. I have always been captivated by the idea of Jacob wrestling all night with God and at the end receiving both a blessing and a new name. The new name gets me every time. As I pondered the significance of God changing Jacob from “Deceiver” to “Israel—one who prevails,” I realized that God has been at work in all of our lives, changing us from who we were to who He sees. And that just seemed like enough—to read the Scriptures which focused on Jacob’s life, discuss the meaning of it, and apply it to our 21st century lives. Then March 2020 came and news of Covid-19 and a pandemic that involved the whole world. I had absolutely nothing in my experience to draw on except the Rock that is higher than I. I had promises in the Bible. Jacob had promises he received from God. We know the end of Jacob’s story—he prevails. But he didn’t know the end of his story when, as a young man, he left home for an unknown country, or later when he worked 14 years to earn Rachel as his wife. How many nights did he go to bed and wonder how God was going to work all this promise out? Is it possible that some of the answers we need about faith right now are waiting for us in these stories about one of Israel’s patriarchs? Some character strengths are only born out of pressure and angst and dealing with unknown. That's what Jacob has taught me. Maybe now in examining Jacob’s struggles, we can identify the pressures and uncertainties we have in common with him. How did Jacob live with the tension of unrealized promises? How do we? Ultimately, in uncertain times we have to decide, can God be trusted? By looking closely at Jacob’s life, I want to encourage each of us to prevail in our own stories and struggles. To keep searching and questioning and walking toward what God has promised us. So let’s read it together—it’s roughly 10 chapters of the Bible, Genesis 25-35. And as we go, we’ll read about Jacob in other places in both the old and new testaments. Because other writers like Isaiah and Paul and the author of Hebrews speak of Jacob’s heritage, his name change, his faith, and his inheritance, it just seems important. And it seems to matter now. May Jacob’s story provide us with the direction we need now and ultimately hope for our lives. Jan
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May 2020
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