Go...I Will Be With You

Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

Genesis 31:3 NIV

And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’ ”

Genesis 31:12-13 NIV

When I read this about Jacob I realize how great the grace of sovereignty of God are. I mean I really can't say that we should emulate Jacob except that maybe he did work hard.  The Lord tells him to go back home and that he will be with him. It's not tell some time later, at least a season, that Jacob decides it's time to leave. 

The amazing truth is that God is still with Jacob, watching over his life, protecting him and blessing him. Jacob finally obeys, yet still deceives Laban and tries to sort of just sneak out of town. Isn't that how we are sometimes? We try to obey God, but, maybe we should just kind of fly under the radar and hope no one notices us trying to obey God. Or we try to help God out when we suggest someone do something rather than trust God to speak to them. And then we wonder why there is strife. 

Yet, God is sovereign, faithful and loving. He even warned Laban to not say anything to Jacob, good or bad. That's grace. That's God. 

I Will Not Leave You

What has God promised you? Just like Jacob, our paths may take an unknown route, but, God will not leave us and will fulfill his promises. 

Remember, Jacob didn't leave under the best of circumstances. He left because he and his mother deceived Isaac and he was afraid Esau would kill him. This is where the idea of God having a perfect and a permissive will loses me. Because it seems to me a perfect will would only work with perfect people and no one is perfect. God just works his will. He is Sovereign. He's all powerful and all knowing. He's never surprised or taken off guard. 

God Sees Your Misery

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.

Genesis 16:9-11 NIV

First off, I want to point out that Abram and Sarai learned their lesson after this because we don't see them doing it again. One Ishmael was more than enough. Which leads me to the truth I want us to learn and remember today.

Ishmael means God hears. In the middle of this foundational  and important (true) story about Abraham, the father of faith, we are given a nugget concerning God's Sovereignty and grace. So let's take a moment and look at Hagar, the third person in this little triangle. She was Sarai's slave. She didn't have any rights, any power, any say. The minute she thought she did, Sarai let her know she didn't. She ended up in the middle of the desert. She was told by God to go back and submit to Sarai and that she would have a son. He'd be a wild donkey of a man, against everyone and everyone against him. His name, Ishmael, would remind her that God hears and sees her plight. 

Hagar is an interesting demonstration of the Sovereignty of God and the grace of God. Ishmael was the result of Abram and Sarai's lack of faith, which is sin. Hagar, was kind of caught up in it all, not by choice really. Have you ever felt like Hagar? You didn't choose for some things to happen and yet there you are in the middle of it all. God hears your cry and he sees your plight. He will provide for you. He is Sovereign and he is gracious.