One
of the striking things about Jacob’s story is the way he negotiates with God.
God blesses Jacob with the same blessing that God gave Abraham and Isaac (Gen
28:10f). Jacob’s reaction is the surprising thing. He doesn’t, for example,
thank God. Instead he decides to wait and see. “If God will be with me
and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and
clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the
Lord shall me my God” (Gen 28:20-21). If I were in God’s place, I would be a
little irritated!
God
does in fact do all those things. And when Jacob finally does return to his
father’s house in peace, he returns to the place where he first received the
blessing, has his household put away their foreign gods (only now! See 35:2)
and dedicates himself to God. Sealing the deal, God blesses him again (35:11f).
All
too often I am like Jacob—trying to make deals with God. But it seems better to
trust God up front, as Abraham does, than to play the waiting game. I take
comfort in the fact that God puts up with Jacob. And I wish I could do better
than Jacob did!
Fr. Harvey
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