St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Lent 2 -- March 16th, 2003
Genesis 28:10-17
10Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11When
he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.
Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth,
with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. 13There above it stood the LORD, and he said:
"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. 14Your
descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the
west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will
be blessed through you and your offspring. 15I am with you and will
watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will
not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
16When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely
the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17He was
afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other
than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
Dear people of God,
This past week, Elizabeth Smart the young teen from Utah was found and
returned to her parents after being taken from her house and was gone from her
parents for 9 months. Could you imagine what it would be like to wander around
for 9 months and never see your parents or siblings? Imagine how lonely she
must have felt as she traveled from place to place with the people who
kidnapped her. We don’t know all the details, but we can say at the very least
that it must have been a very difficult time for her and her family. If you
were in such a situation, where would you find hope and guidance in such a
tough situation?
As we live our lives on this earth, we might encounter some very tough and
difficult times. Events and circumstances in our life are not always perfect
and in fact they are sometimes very tough times in our lives. At times in our
lives, we might be wandering through life and wonder how we are going to be
able to keep going or how can I still find hope and comfort during these tough
times.
This morning we will be looking at one of God’s servants named Jacob who was
actually on a journey and whose life at the very moment of our text was very
difficult. How was Jacob going to handle this situation and where was he going
to find help and hope on his long and hard journey? Jacob’s journey was both
physical and spiritual. Today we will look at our lives on this earth and I
want everyone to think about their lives as a very long journey. How are we
going to make it to the end of journey. The end of our journey is whenever God
takes us to be with him in heaven? Our theme for this morning will use the
picture of a journey.
Sermon Theme: A Journey Down the Long, Lonesome Road of Life
"Jacob left Beersheba and
set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night
because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his
head and lay down to sleep." (v. 10-11) The context for these
verses is very important to our understanding. Remember the story of Jacob and
his older brother Esau. Esau as the oldest son was supposed to get the blessing
from his father Isaac, but Jacob and his mother Rebecca received the blessing
by deceiving Isaac. Esau was not very happy and in view of Esau’s anger and the
need to find a good wife, Jacob is encouraged by his mother Rebecca to leave
the household and travel to Haran. The journey to Haran would cover some 500
miles of travel in the wilderness and it would take many weeks. The place where
Jacob stopped for the night was two or three days’ travel from Beersheba. The
name of the place would later be called Bethel, "house of God." It
was at Bethel that Abraham had built an altar to the LORD, when the LORD called
to him with the Messianic promise. With a stone as his pillow, Jacob lay down
for a night’s rest. He had left the comforts of home behind, and now had no
place of his own. The LORD had directed Jacob’s steps and brought him here for
a reason.
As we live our lives on this earth,
what are some of the things that might make our journey tough? In this past
month or so we have had 5 or 6 funerals. Even though we know that death is only
a sleep and that we will wake up in heaven, there are many people whose journey
has been made more difficult as they deal with the loses of someone they loved
dearly. Maybe it is your marriage. When you made your vows to remain together
until death separated you, things were going so well and you could have never
imagined being apart. But now some years later, you wonder how you could have
ever loved that certain person in your life. There are fights and hard feelings
and thoughts of what it would be like without that other person in my life. We
struggle with raising our children and trying to figure out how they could
stray so far from God, even though they know what God’s Word is. We struggle
from day to day as we look at our monthly bills and they always seem to be
larger than our monthly paychecks. All of us sitting here are on this journey
of life and all of us have bumped into things, which have made his journey long
and hard, just like Jacob.
"He had a dream in which he
saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the
angels of God were ascending and descending on it." (12) The central
feature of the dream is a large stairway extending from earth to heaven. It
must have been an awesome sight. In a graphic way, it pictures the constant
communication and fellowship that exists between God and man. Never is God out
of touch. Even though the expanse between heaven and earth is great, God takes
a personal interest in the lives of his people. The stairway pictures God’s
close contact with his people.
"There above it stood the
LORD, and he said: "l 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." (v. 13) At the top of the stairway stands the
LORD God himself. The name for the LORD used here is Yahweh. This is the
name, which God used for himself when speaking to Abraham. This is the name of
the covenant God, the God of free and faithful grace, the God who has revealed
the promise of the Messiah to Abraham and Isaac. Now it is time for Jacob to
learn what Yahweh would do through him! When the LORD comes to Jacob, there are
no harsh words of rebuke. Rather, there is a tone of reassurance and
encouragement. Jacob is homeless at this moment, but that would change in the
future. For the very place where he lay and all the surrounding land would be
given to his descendants. Jacob would one day return to this "promised
land" and live with his family there. This is a promise which Jacob can
put his faith in now. "Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to
the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your
offspring." (v. 14)
Abraham was the first to hear that
his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the heavens. At the time,
Abraham did not have a son of his own. Now Jacob hears the promise of a great
family. Once again he must receive the promise with faith. For he has neither
wife nor children. Yet the LORD always provides when he promises. The family of
Jacob would one day spread out as the dust of the earth. In the years to come
his descendants would become a mighty nation. Under future kings they would
conquer vast territories. Yet the greatest importance of this great family
involves what God would do through them. In this promise is found the hope of
the Messiah. All nations and peoples of the earth would be blessed through
Jacob’s family. Here we find the prophecy of the blessings of salvation for
all. The Messiah would come to benefit Jew and Gentile alike. The promised land
was important because in it the Messiah would be born, live and die. Through
Jacob’s family would come the hope of mankind. Jacob believed this promise,
too.
As we travel on our journey on this
earth, I doubt that there are very many of us who have communicated with God in
the same graphic way as Jacob. Most likely we have never had a dream with
angels and God standing at the top of the stairway. But this doesn’t mean that
God has been out of tough with what is going on in our lives. There are some 6
billion people in this world and God knows exactly what you are doing and what
is happening in our life. He knows when you are struggling, and he knows when
you are praying for help. He knows when to give us the right amount of help at
just the right time.
But it is the promises that Jacob
received from God that is the most important message that everyone of us needs
to hear as we struggle on this earth. God promised that the Messiah or Savior
would come from the descendant or offspring of Jacob. As we think about this
promise we have the privilege and benefit of opening our Bible and reading
about this Savior who came. It is this promise that would keep Jacob going and
it is this promise of a Savior that keeps us going on our journey. Just think
what Jesus our Savior means for us. It means that all of our sins have been
paid for and that the same Jesus who died and rose again will come again one
day and bring us to heaven. This is what our journey is all about. Our journey
is not about who smooth and nice our journey is. Our journey is about the
ending point, the place that Jesus won for us on the cross of Calvary. With
this promises firmly rooted in our hearts, we can move on, because we have
God’s love in our heart. But we also know that God doesn’t just stop with a
promise. We know that God has taken a very direct part in our lives
2.
Directed along the way by God’s hand
"I am with you and will
watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will
not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. (v. 15) At this
time, the promise of protection during his traveling was important for Jacob.
He still had many miles to go before he would reach Haran. In subsequent
chapters Moses tells about all that happened to Jacob in Laban’s house. The
entire life of Jacob is a reliable witness to the fact that God was with him
and blessed him. The Hebrew word for "watch" has the meaning
to "keep" or to "guard," and brings to mind the careful
guidance and protection of a shepherd for his sheep. The LORD would lead Jacob
and in his many years of travel richly provide for him. One day the LORD would
again bring Jacob and his large family back to this land. This promise, too,
would be fulfilled.
"When Jacob awoke from his
sleep, he thought, Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.
He was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the
house of God; this is the gate of heaven." (v. 16-17) Jacob’s
comment reveals his thoughts at this time. Did Jacob feel abandoned by God
before this? If that was the case, it was no longer true. Now Jacob could be
sure that God was with him in his journey How good are you at reading maps? I
think that it must be one of those right brain left brain things. Some people
can look at a map and instantly know where they are and how they are going to
get to the next place. Others look at the map and kind of understand, but just
enough to always get a little lost and others of us are always lost when we
look at a map. That is much they same with us as we walk our journey on this
earth. God has given us a map. The map is his holy Word, the Bible. How well
have we studied the map that God has given to us? How well do we know how to
read God’s map? How much time have we studied God’s map so that we know exactly
where we are going – to our home in heaven. Sadly enough there are many of us
who are traveling our long tough journey all by ourselves, because we forget to
look at the Bible. For what ever reason many of us feel that Church is only
optional and that I don’t feel that great when I’m at church anyway. I’m not
moved or changed by Church so I stop going. I’ve heard it all before anyway. I
feel the same when I hear God’s Word as when I don’t hear God’s Word.
But we need to realize that God’s
Word is the way that God directs us in our lives. We need to be in his Word and
to listen to the answers that he gives us through his Word. Then and then only
will we know what directions God has for us on our journey. The effect of the
dream on Jacob is much the same as on any sinful person. He is filled with awe,
respect and fear in the presence of God. Nothing sinful can stand in the
presence of the holy God unless it is covered with the righteousness of Christ.
As we listen to God, may we always thank and praise God for all that he has
done for us as he leads us and cheers us on our journey to heaven. Amen