God Defends His People – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Thursday, January 23, 2020
Chapters: Genesis 31-33
Message: God Defends His People

Hello My Friend,

It occurred to me as I was reading the chapters for today just how much mercy and grace God does have toward His people. And it had absolutely nothing to do with our obedience or disobedience, it has everything to do with His covenant or promise not to leave nor forsake His people. We must admit that even when we are doing our best not to sin we still come short, which is why Jesus gave His life in place of ours to save us from hell. Amen! And while we definitely do face some consequence for sin, He is forever faithful, and will forever defend us. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” – Romans 7:18-25.

“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is why God promises us eternal life through our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, alone, no matter how hard we try, we still fail in our flesh, but with Him we always prevail. As I said earlier, sin does come with consequence, even if we are saved, and if we are living in sin, we are going to face repercussions until we repent. When Jacob sinned by deceiving his father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing him that he was going to give Esau, God took it to heart. You see, even if we sin because someone encourages us that does not make it right, we are all accountable for our actions, good or bad. Even though God promised that He would always be with him, he still had face the consequence for his actions, which was why he became a servant and was deceived by his father-in-law so many times. Well, when Jacob deceived his father-in-law and his sons caught on to what he had done, it was then that God told him that it was time to go.

“And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” – Genesis 31:3-7,17-18,24-25,29.

“and I will be with thee.” We need to count it a great blessing that God is always with us as we all have a little bit of evil in us. Nevertheless, He is always faithful, and when He does chasten us, He actually blesses us through it. “but God suffered him not to hurt me.” Do you see how God used Laban only to chasten Jacob, not kill him? God has a purpose for each and every one of us, and we will not leave this earth until we fulfill that. “speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” God did not want to hear how Jacob deceived Laban because he was just as guilty of deceiving Jacob. Sin is sin, and God will deal with us as He chooses, Laban was not a believer of God as we knew this because Rachel took his idols. He must have had a pretty scary dream if he would not touch Jacob. Now, Jacob answers Laban as to why he left and took his family away from him so suddenly.

“Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.” – Genesis 31:41-44,51-54.

“and the fear of Isaac,” Jacob speaks of God as the God of his father, and being full of guilt, he thought too unworthy to be considered as one of God’s. He did believe that God was only merciful to him solely for his father’s sake, and calls God, the God of Abraham because he had already passed, knowing he was saved, but Isaac was still alive, and therefore, his fear of God saved him. “God hath seen mine affliction” Jacob only believes that if not for Abraham and Isaac he would be dead by now. In a sense, he was correct, the only reason why God continued to use Jacob was because of His covenant with Abraham, and Isaac. It is definitely not by our own righteousness that God saves us, and keeps us out of hell, it is by the covenant He makes to every believer of His Son’s righteousness that He does. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.” – I John 2:23-25.

Okay, so, Jacob makes things right with Laban, now, there was one more matter, he was headed home, where Esau was. He decides to send him gifts with a message from his servants as an apology in hopes that he would not kill him. When the messengers return they had a message for Jacob, Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. At this point, Jacob goes into a panic, and after twenty years, he actually calls out to God.

“And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” – Genesis 32:6-12.

“the LORD which saidst unto me,” Is this not always our response when we find ourselves blocked in a corner with no way out? “Well, God, You told me to do this.” Every time I do something that God calls me to do, and start facing difficulties I ask God that same question. This is why Jesus shakes His head at our faith sometimes, we are so afraid of what is to come that we forget He is right there (Matthew 8:26). “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,” Thankfully, this is what humility is for. When we humble ourselves to God, that is when He listens. None of us are worthy of His mercies, and yet, they are endless when we come to Him in full repentance. “And thou saidst,” Now, Jacob reminds God of the promise He made, and while he was there pleading with God, someone showed up, and he began wrestling with Him.

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.” – Genesis 32:24-31.

“And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,” When Jacob saw that he lasted the entire night wrestling with God, and still did not lose the fight, he knew that God would fulfill His promise. “I will not let thee go,” This is a reminder that we need to hold on to Jesus and never let Him go until we have received His blessing of eternal life. “but Israel:” Israel means; the prince that prevails with God. We all prevail with God when we wrestle with Jesus to get His blessing of eternal life. “for I have seen God face to face,” Until we fully comprehend what Jesus has done for us, we will never be at peace with the guilt we have within ourselves. Of course, we know we are sinners and acknowledge that when we get saved, but it is only when we face God that we truly understand His mercies and forgiveness. Still a little fearful, Jacob divided his wives, children, and flocks into two groups, reasoning that if Esau should destroy one group the remaining would escape in the opposite. His fears all came to an end when he discovered that Esau had forgiven him.

“And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.” – Genesis 33:4, 8,14-17.

“These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.” The greatest gift we will ever receive is grace, without grace we cannot be saved, without grace we cannot find peace, without grace we cannot even find Jesus. Grace is the key to not only reconciling with God, but keeping our relationship with Him. Jacob and Esau found peace and forgiveness with each other, Jacob no longer had to wrestle with his conscience because he was finally at peace with himself, Esau, and with God. Either we lean on God through His chastening or try to deal with it on our own, but until we face God, there is going to be a constant battle within ourselves. God must bring us to the end of our own strength before He gives us His strength to fulfill the promises He makes with us. “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:28-31.

Today’s Prayer: God, It is amazing to think that even when we mess up You are there to help us get out of our troubles. While we wrestle with our conscience and guilt of the past, let us face You with full assurance of Your promises, give us direction, guidance, and help us to move forward, by confessing our sins to You, and standing on Your promises. Lord, Fill us with your grace for we are unworthy of Your mercies, give us peace from all our distress and help us come to the end of ourselves so that by Your strength, You can do Your work in us to fulfill Your promises. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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