The Road Home

 Genesis 31: 1-9

“1 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me as favorably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled, and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.”

Jacob was protected by God.  Laban, his uncle, had tried to cheat him but each time God shielded Jacob from any material harm and Jacob prospered in Haran.

But, God had other plans for Jacob.  God wanted him to travel back to the land of his ancestors, the land where his kindred still lived, the land where his brother Esau awaited him in the land of Canaan. 

The young Jacob would have remained hidden from Esau forever.  The mature Jacob, the transformed Jacob, the God strengthened Jacob, was ready to do as God requested.

Jacob was ready to turn away from his life of prosperity, and follow God wherever he led, as his grandfather Abraham had done many years before him.

And God led Jacob back home.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Rock

 Genesis 29: 1-12

“1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban son of Nahor?” They said, “We do.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” “Yes,” they replied, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with the sheep.” 7 He said, “Look, it is still broad daylight; it is not time for the animals to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” 9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.”

In this scripture we begin to see a changed or transformed Jacob.  He is no longer the boy who stayed at home and cooked soup while his brother, Esau, hunted.  He is no longer the boy who was shielded and protected by his mother.  

He is a man who has found and experienced the God of creation.  He is a man who is led and empowered by God. He is no longer just fleeing a past, he is pursuing a revealed future.  He is a man of focus and purpose.

The first sign of this transformation is when he moved the stone.  He rolled the stone away that kept the well closed and dark, protecting the water’s purity in darkness.

Moving the stone was no easy task.  It was normally the work of several men.  Yet, when Jacob saw Rachel and knew she was Laban’s daughter, he “rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother”

God had become Jacob’s rock and his strength, the key to his survival in the years to come.

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  (Psalm 18:2)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God’s Presence

Genesis 28: 10-17

“10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring, 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Jacob met the God of his father and grandfather in an unexpected place in an unexpected way.  Before this encounter, he almost certainly knew of God and the covenant.  But in that certain place, that very holy place, the Lord stood beside him in a vivid dream, and he introduced himself to Jacob.

Jacob was a changed person after that encounter with God.  He was no longer the mamas boy, the wheeler dealer, or the swindler.  He was a man of God who would be led by God, who would listen to God, and follow God.

We cannot draw near to God and not be changed.  It simply is not possible.

God’s presence is the presence of transformation, changing the bad to good, the lukewarm to passionate, the doubt to certainty.

Seek God’s presence.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

God’s Way

 Genesis 27: 41-45

“41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah, so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

If you were raised in a family with other siblings, I am sure at on time or another you thought your mother or father showed favoritism to one of the other siblings.

Esau must have felt the same way.  Rebekah seemed always to be doting on Jacob.  Now their plotting and scheming had resulted in a real injustice to Esau.

Rebekah and Jacob stole the blessing that was rightfully Esau’s.  Rebekah and Jacob’s deception resulted in Esau hating Jacob and swearing to kill him when Isaac died.

In this story of Jacob and Esau, we are reminded of the story of Cain.  The outcome of the story of Cain and Abel was the death of Abel at the hands of Cain.   

In the story of Jacob and Esau, God intervened and brought peace between them.

God’s way is the way of peace and unity.

May the love of Christ be with you, 

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

I Am

 Genesis 27:15-24

15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob, 16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the savory food and the bread that she had prepared to her son Jacob. 18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father,” and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands, so he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

For every sin there is a fork in the road.  The fork in the road appears just before the action.  This fork represents the choice of whether to sin or not to sin; whether to go the godly route or walk down the path of sin.

Jacob’s fork in the road came when his blind father asked him if he was really Esau.   Jacob replied, “I am”.  

We see the phrase “I am” used throughout the Bible (over 300 times).  God and Jesus used the phrase “I am” in order to identify themselves as God.  In fact, we refer to God as the “Great I Am”.

In this scripture, Jacob uses this phrase to identify himself as his brother, Esau.  He uses the “I am” to swindle his brother out of his blessing.  By saying. “I am” he lied to his blind father and became complicit in the plot of Rebekah. 

For Jacob, saying “I am” was a phrase that pinpointed his time of sin; the exact moment when his path diverged from the path of God’s will. 

As we approach our own fork in the road, which road will we take?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Two Nations, Two People

 Two Nations, Two People

Genesis 25: 21-26

“21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was barren, and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other; the elder shall serve the younger.” 24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle, so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.”

Our second granddaughter was born fourteen months after our first granddaughter.  They look almost like twins.  But I can see differences between .

Isaac and Rebekah’s children were struggling against each other even in the womb. Even though they were twins, they did not look alike or act alike. One would be stronger, and one would serve the other.  

When Jacob and Esau were born, the nations of Israel and Edom were born.  Israel and Edom would be enemies for centuries until the Edomites were defeated by King Saul in the 11th century B.C.

In the world today differences still exist between nations.  But Christ came to proclaim and establish the Kingdom of God in and among all people. 

Paul wrote that in Christ “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

We are all one in Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Sarah’s Laughter: Part 2

Genesis 21: 1-7

“1 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Sarah’s laughter in the scripture that we read yesterday was a nervous laughter.  Now, God brought real laughter to Sarah’s life in the form of a child.  

In this child were the promises of God unfolding; the hopes of Abraham and Sarah.  In this child Abraham and Sarah could see nations, and people as numerous as the stars in the sky; a people chosen by God, serving God, and living out their faith. 

In this child Abraham and Sarah could see God’s hand, hear God’s voice and feel God’s presence. 

In this tiny bundle were their very hopes and dreams.

And Sarah’s laughter filled the air.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Sarah’s Laughter Part 1

Genesis 18:9-15

9 They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” 10 Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I be fruitful?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

Three angels visited Abraham and Sarah by the oaks of Mamre. They gave Abraham some wonderful news.  Abraham and Sarah’s long awaited son would soon be born.  

Sarah, like Abraham earlier, laughed at this news.  Like Abraham, she had experienced God’s faithfulness.  She knew that God was true to his promises.  But this news seemed too wonderful to be believed.

But, for the God of our faith, nothing is ever beyond His imagination, His skill, His creative power, or His love.  If something is within His will and consistent with His nature, it can be done.

Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?  No.

And that is a wonderful thing.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Abraham Laughed

Genesis 17: 15-17

“15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her and also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Abraham was 99 years old.  The idea that he and Sarah would conceive and raise a child was beyond his understanding.  But by now he knew that God kept his promises and that this would happen.

This promise, however, seemed too wonderful.  Abraham was overcome.   He did not know how to react, except to laugh and say, in effect, can this really be happening?  Can Sarah and I really be raising a child in nine months?

When we come to know God, to really know Him, we will realize how wonderful a miracle it is that God speaks to us, hears our prayers, answers our prayers, leads us, guides us, is concerned with us, and loves us.

God’s love is faithful and steadfast.

And sometimes it seems too good to be true.

But it is.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)