No one likes to be in a hazardous situation and, given the choice, a person wants to extricate himself as quickly as possible. There are, however, some circumstances that might cause hesitation in responding to a possible rescue.
A farmer decided his injuries from an accident were serious enough to take the trucking company responsible for the accident to court. In court, the company's lawyer questioned the farmer. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine?" The farmer said, "Well, I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie..." "I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted. "Just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'" "Well," the farmer replied, "I had just put Bessie into the trailer...." Again the lawyer interrupted. "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the highway patrolman that he was fine. Now, several weeks after the accident, he's trying to sue my client. I believe he's a fraud. Please instruct him simply to answer the question." By now, the judge was interested in the farmer's answer, so he said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what the plaintiff has to say about the mule." The farmer thanked the judge and proceeded.. "Well, I had just loaded Bessie into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this semi ran the stop sign and hit my truck. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurtin' pretty bad and didn't want to move, but I could hear Bessie groaning and knew she was in terrible shape. When a highway patrolman arrived, he heard Bessie's moaning, so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her. Then he came across the road and said, 'Your mule was in such bad shape, I had to shoot her.... How are you feeling?"
There are times when a person might hesitate in responding to a possible rescue. A similar hesitation may have been the initial response of Jacob—Heeding God's Call to Safety.
The author of Genesis records highlights from the lives of the three Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—including some of their encounters with God. To each of the patriarchs, God made the same promise:
- To Abraham, God said...
Gen 17:8 "The whole land of Canaan.. I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you...
- To Isaac, God said...
Gen 26: 3b "to you and your descendants I will give all these lands."
- To Jacob, God said...
Gen 28:13b "I will give you and your descendants the land..."
The Lord made this repeated promise a prominent component in the patriarchs' expectation of what He would do. When God then appears to Jacob and tells him to leave the land...
I. The order is surprising. (Gen 46:2-4)
Please turn to Gen 46, and we will look at Jacob's response.
Gen 46:2 . . . God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" [He replied: Hineni] 3 "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
There is a famine in Canaan, and Jacob has twice sent his sons to Egypt for food. Back from their most recent trip, they bring the surprising news that Joseph, the son Jacob assumed had died years ago, is alive. Moreover, Joseph is in charge of Pharaoh's storehouses and has invited his father's extended family to live in Egypt, where he can provide for them. The severity of the famine makes this a very appealing offer, but as Jacob begins the trip, he has some misgivings. What will God think? When the Lord appears to him here and approves the move, Jacob's apprehension probably wanes, yet there are still at least two problems. The first problem with leaving Canaan is that...
A. It is contrary to what God prohibited Isaac from doing.
This is not the first famine to befall Canaan. Jacob's father and grandfather each experienced a similar calamity, but they each reacted to it differently. We read in...
Gen 12:10 ...there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Later, we read in...
Gen 26: la ...there was a[nother] famine in the land.... 2a The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt.... 3a Stay in this land...." 6 So Isaac stayed....
To the same event, these two men responded differently. Had Abraham gone to Egypt without consulting God? Did the Lord want to prevent his son Isaac from making the same mistake? For Jacob, leaving Canaan is certainly not in keeping with the covenant God made with Abraham and is contrary to what God prohibited Isaac. Should Jacob not adhere to the same command? Besides, how can Jacob and his descendants hope to receive the land if they relinquish it at the first sign of adversity? This raises the second problem with leaving Canaan...
B. It is contrary to what God promised Jacob at Bethel.
Several years earlier, Jacob left Canaan to avoid the anger of his brother, Esau—going north to Syria not south to Egypt. As Jacob started that journey, God appeared to him in a dream and said...
Gen 28:13 ..."I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying."
It was the first time Jacob heard the promise of God for himself, and it must have encouraged him, as his life seemed to have turned for the worse. Years later, when he returned to Canaan, Jacob probably thought, "I'm home at last, ready to receive what God promised." Traveling now to Egypt seems contrary to what God promised Jacob. Nevertheless, God confirms the move, and Jacob goes.
The Young Adult SS class was looking at the vast array of God's commands in scripture and asking the question: Which ones apply to me? The simplest answer would be: All of them! Upon closer examination, though, it is clear that, while God gave some commands to all people (e.g., the murder prohibition), He gave other commands only to His people (e.g., the Sabbath admonition), and still other commands only to some of His people (e.g., the priests' purification).
A similar distinction applies more broadly to God's guidance. Just as the Lord expected Jacob to respond differently than Isaac to the situation in Canaan, so your service to God will probably not be the same as another's...as your parents' service or your neighbor's service. Whom you serve and why you serve should be the same—you serve God because you love God—but the resemblance may end there.
- What your service entails will be different, and it may not be what you expect it to be.
Peter wrote about this in his first epistle.
1 Pet 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
Throughout my eighteen years as an undergraduate and a graduate student, I prepared to teach in a college, seminary, or university, and I assumed that is what God wanted me to do. Most of my fellow students went on to do other things, good things—but I was headed for a career in academia. Why else would He take me on such an extended scholastic journey? When I finished, though, I discovered that God had something different in mind, the pastorate, a ministry for which He had equipped me but not the one I had expected.
What has God given you to serve others? It will probably be different from what He has given others, and it may not be what you expect it to be. In any case...
- Do not become so confident of your own plan (interpretation) that you are closed to God's revision (reinterpretation).
In addition to the fact that what your service entails will be different from what others do...
- Where your service occurs will be different, and it may not be where you expect it to be.
Paul experienced this on his second missionary journey.
Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled [north] throughout...Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in...Asia [to the west]. 7 ...they tried to enter Bithynia [to the east], but the Spirit...would not allow them.... 8 So they [continued north] to [the port of] Troas [on the Aegean Sea]. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia [across the Aegean Sea]...begging him, "Come over...and help us." 10 After...the vision, we...concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
That unexpected detour, going not where they thought they should serve but where God wanted them to serve, led to the establishment of churches in Philippi and Thessalonica, which fostered two of the strongest Christian communities in the first century.
Where has God called you to serve others? It will probably be different from where He has called others, and it may not be where you expect it to be. In any case...
- Do not become so comfortable in your own place (direction, location) that you are closed to God's revision (redirection, relocation).
Although the order is surprising to Jacob, because going to Egypt is contrary to what God commanded Isaac and seemed contrary to what God promised Jacob, he revises his expectations. By Heeding God's Call to Safety, he will eventually discover that in going to Egypt...
II. The outcome is survival. (Gen 46:5-7)
Gen 46:5 Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel's Sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt. 7 He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.
Whatever is going through Jacob's mind as he trades the famine in Canaan for the safety of Egypt, he is probably looking for some previous experience that sheds light on his present situation, some direction that shows...
A. It is consistent with how God preserved Jacob in the past.
The most obvious parallel is when he fled the anger of Esau for the safety of Syria.
- On both occasions his life was in danger.
- On both occasions he had to leave the land of promise.
- On both occasions he received the assurance of God's presence?
After that previous experience, Jacob was able to look back and say,
Gen 35:3 "...God...has been with me wherever I have gone."
This new event is consistent with how God preserved Jacob in the past and bodes well for the future.
In addition to noting how his earlier trip north is strikingly similar to his present trip south, Jacob's mind no doubt turns to Joseph. Jacob thought his son had died, and he was, thus, completely unaware of what God was doing with Joseph all those years. As the famine has worsened in Canaan, Jacob sees the wisdom of the family's move to Egypt because...
B. It is consistent with how God prepared Joseph for the present.
Recognizing the gracious work of God's mighty, providential hand, Joseph said in...
Gen 45:7 ...God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
As Jacob makes this journey, he probably does not yet know all that his son has endured to reach his current position of authority. The result, however, supports Jacob's decision to seek refuge in Egypt, because it is consistent with how God prepared Joseph, and the outcome is survival for Israel.
Have you ever had second thoughts about a decision you made?
- Am I doing the right thing?
- Have I considered all the options?
- What if it does not turn out the way I hope?
As you face an uncertain future and you begin to feel anxious about what may lie ahead, remember these two elements from the story of Jacob.
- First, God prepares you for the future (which you have not seen) by the ways He has preserved you in the past (which you have seen).
Just as Jacob could find encouragement by reviewing God's previous care for him, you can use previous experiences of His presence with you to bolster your courage for what may lie ahead. God has not changed since the last time you sought His help. He is always with you, and God prepares you for the future by the ways He has preserved you in the past.
- Second, God prepares the future for you by the ways He works providentially in the present.
While conditions in Canaan grew steadily worse, God was positioning Joseph in Egypt so that he would eventually be able to help his family survive, all unbeknown to Jacob. You do not know what the future will bring, but you can be certain that God is even now positioning people and events so that they will work to your ultimate advantage. God prepares the future for you by the ways He works providentially in the present.
When Jacob first receives Joseph's invitation to live in Egypt, the patriarch is probably torn between wanting to see the son he found and wanting to serve the God he fears. Even when the Lord orders him to go, there are some concerns for Jacob. Nevertheless, he understands the necessity of the move in light of the famine and, Heeding God's Call to Safety, he makes the journey.
What God expects from Jacob is different from what He expected from Isaac, but that difference does not stop Jacob from responding, because he knows that God had his best interests at heart. If the Lord asks you to do something different from what He asks others, you can also respond with confidence that He has your best interests at heart, by saying Hineni: Heeding the Call of God.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs