Genesis 28:1-22: Astonishing Grace

Genesis 28:1-22: Astonishing Grace

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Genesis, and today the next passage we come to is Genesis 28:1-22. It says,

1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. 6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth. 10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that 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 to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it 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 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 in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, 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 awoke 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.” 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we know it’s your will that we be conformed to the image of your Son, Jesus. And we also know that the way that happens is by your Spirit and through your Word. So, please, Holy Spirit, take this passage and use it to accomplish your purposes within each one of us. Lead us to Christ and conform us to his image. And it’s in his name that we pray, amen. 

One of the buzzwords we seem to be hearing more and more these days is “misinformation,” which is usually understood to be information that’s not accurate. We’re frequently reminded that there’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there. And I imagine most people, from both sides of the political aisle, would probably agree with that. Then, of course, there’s also not only misinformation but disinformation, which is similar, except that with disinformation, there’s a deliberate attempt to mislead. So, misinformation is the larger category that refers to all kinds of false statements, even if the people making those statements don’t know they’re false, while disinformation is malicious and refers to a deliberate attempt to mislead and deceive. 

Now, the reason I’m talking about these terms isn’t because I’ve suddenly taken an interest in offering any “hot takes” on current events or news stories but rather because I believe these terms are highly relevant not only for events happening out there in the world but also for what’s happening spiritually within our hearts. We battle both misinformation and disinformation of a spiritual nature every day. The misinformation originates from our own fallen and sinful hearts, while the disinformation is propagated by Satan as he maliciously whispers lies into our ears. 

And this is true especially when it comes to how we view ourselves in light of our struggles with sin. Here are some of the statements we’re often tempted to believe about ourselves that, biblically speaking, just aren’t true. And, as I briefly go through these, ask yourself whether you’ve ever been tempted to believe any of these things: “Your sin is too great for God to forgive you.” “You’ve sinned too many times for God to forgive you.” “Your sinful behavior in the past is going to define you for the rest of your life.” “You’ll never be able to overcome the sins you struggle with.” “No one else struggles with sin like you do.” “God could never love someone who’s done the things you’ve done.” “Your sin has placed you beyond the possibility of redemption.” “There’s no way God will ever use you after sinning the way you have.” 

If you’ve ever been tempted to believe any of these lies, you’re not alone. These are the things a lot of people are tempted to believe. Thankfully, though, the passage we’re looking at this morning, Genesis 28, exposes these lies for what they are and shows us how God lavishes his grace upon us even in the midst of our sin. 

In this chapter, we read about a man named Jacob who’s on the run. Through manipulation and deception, Jacob had basically stolen from his brother Esau some very valuable privileges and blessings that were traditionally conferred upon the firstborn son. At one point, he had even told a series of bald-faced lies to his father Isaac in order to get what he wanted. As a result, Esau hated him and wanted to kill him. Verses 41-44 of the previous chapter tell us, 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 Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away.”

So, Jacob has made a pretty big mess of his life. His selfish “me-first” mentality and his deceptive inclinations have fractured his relationship with his brother, put a terrible strain on his relationship with his father, and have made it necessary for him to get out of Dodge sooner rather than later.  

And the explanation Jacob’s mom Rebekah comes up with as an excuse for why he needs to leave that area is so that he doesn’t end up marrying a Canaanite woman from the area but can instead go back to where their extended family lives and marry one of his cousins. Back in ancient times, that kind of thing was a lot more permissible than it is today. So, that’s what we see happening in Genesis 28:1-2. It says, 1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.”

We then read about the beginning of Jacob’s journey in verses 10-11: 10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that 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 to sleep. Now, I have to say, that’s definitely an interesting way to sleep. I mean, in our family, some of our kids do prefer to sleep on the carpeted floor of their bedroom rather than on their bed for some reason, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone who tries to use a rock as a pillow. Like, “I’m having a hard time getting comfortable. Hey, I know—what don’t I take this rock and put it under my head?” Yet, some scholars tell us that that was actually a normal thing for nomadic people to do back in ancient times. There is some debate though—because other scholars believe the wording of this verse, in the original language, leaves room for Jacob putting the rock near his head, presumably for protection, rather than under his head as a pillow. 

Nevertheless, Jacob somehow manages to fall asleep and has a dream that turns out to be incredibly significant. Look at verse 12: “And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” So, basically, Jacob dreams of a portal between heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are connected by a ladder. And angels are going up and down this ladder as if they’re conducting some sort of commerce between heaven and earth. 

But that’s not all. Not only does Jacob see angels, he actually sees the Lord himself. Look at verses 13-15: 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it 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 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 in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, 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.” 

Now this isn’t the first time God’s promised these things in Genesis. Way back in Genesis 12, God promised these exact same things to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham. God then restated these promises to Abraham several additional times throughout the subsequent years of Abraham’s life. Then, after Abraham died, God promised these things to Abraham’s son Isaac, who was Jacob’s father. And now, we see God confirming that Jacob is the one who will inherit these promises. The promises include three things: possessing the land of Canaan, having innumerable offspring, and being an instrument of blessing to all the families of the earth. So, these are incredible promises. 

And the most striking aspect of what’s happening in these verses is that God makes these promises to a sinner like Jacob. If you go back over the past several chapters, you’ll see that literally everything that’s been said about Jacob has served to paint a negative picture of him. The Jacob we know so far in Genesis is a selfish and manipulative brat who also happens to be a pathological liar and who isn’t above lying to his own father or stealing from his own brother in order to get what he wants. Even Jacob’s name means “deceiver.”

Yet, in making these promises that we find here in chapter 28, God demonstrates astonishing grace toward Jacob despite his sins and failures. And that’s the main idea of this entire passage. God demonstrates astonishing grace toward Jacob despite his sins and failures. By the way, when I speak of God’s grace, I’m simply talking about his goodness and favor to the undeserving. Jacob was utterly undeserving, yet God showed him remarkable goodness and favor. 

And the point of connection between this passage and our lives today is that the dynamics of God’s grace toward Jacob reflect the dynamics of his grace toward us. God’s shown us extraordinary grace in and through the gospel. He sent his own Son Jesus to rescue us from our sins and bring us back into a right relationship with him.  And the more we understand the dynamics of the grace God’s shown us, the more we see how amazing—and, indeed, astonishing—God’s grace really is. 

So, here are four truths that are necessary for us to grasp in order to truly understand the grace of God. These four things were true of Jacob in Genesis 28, and they’re also true of us today. If you picture God’s grace as a table, these four truths are like the legs that are holding that table up. So, I guess we can call them the four legs of the table of grace. In order to appreciate God’s grace for what it is, you have to have a robust understanding of these four things. 

First, the depth and pervasiveness of our sin. You know, our natural tendency, many times, is to view ourselves as being significantly better than we really are. A few years ago, I used to visit the Allegheny County Jail every week in order to do a Bible study with some of the inmates there and also just talk and interact with them. And I remember interacting with this one guy who was a relatively high-ranking drug dealer in this area and who, if I remember correctly, was being charged with murder. Yet, he went on and on about all the good things he had done—giving people money and helping people in difficult situations and making sure his mistresses were well cared for. It was evident that he really thought highly of himself. 

Now, most of us in this room probably haven’t done many of the things that guy had done. But make no mistake: we often have the same tendency to overlook our sins and be, shall we say, overly generous in our view of ourselves. Sure, we may do some bad things from time to time, but deep down, we’re not really bad people. We’re good people. 

And one way we assure ourselves that we’re “good people” is by comparing ourselves to “bad people,” like the incarcerated drug dealer I just told you about. We’re way better than him, right? So, surely, we must be good. The problem, though, is that we can’t come to an accurate understanding of our moral condition by comparing ourselves to incarcerated drug dealers. Instead, we have to compare ourselves to God. God is the standard of goodness. So, the question is, “How do our lives measure up to the character and commands of an infinitely holy God?” And when we view ourselves in light of God’s perfect holiness, it’s not a pretty picture that we get of ourselves. It becomes clear that we’re actually not good at all but rather vile and sinful. 

It's kind of like when you get home late in the evening and it’s dark and you turn on the light in your living room. Before you turn on the light, the room might look pretty clean. You might be able to see enough from the moonlight shining through the window to confirm that there isn’t a giant pile of laundry in the middle of the floor or random pieces of clutter strewn all over the place. So, you might think the room’s clean. But then, when you turn on the light, you might very well discover that the room actually isn’t clean at all. Maybe your dog has peed right in the middle of the floor, or maybe your teenager didn’t wipe their feet when they came in and tracked mud all across the carpet. These kinds of things weren’t visible at first but are now very visible because you’ve turned on the light. 

Similarly, when we’re confronted with the light of God’s perfect holiness, it exposes us for what we are: sinful creatures who are corrupt and depraved to the very core of our being. You know, Karl Marx famously wrote that “religion is the opiate of the masses.” But I’d like to not only disagree with that statement but also argue the opposite. It would seem—in the case of Christianity, at least—that it’s not some sort of opiate that dulls our senses or causes us to sleep but rather a dazzling light that awakens us to our true condition before a holy God. 

That condition is described in Titus 3:3, where the Apostle Paul, referring to Christians before their conversion, writes “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” Paul also says in Romans 3:10-18, 10 …“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 

These verses describe every single person on the face of this earth, apart from God’s grace. This was true of Jacob as he fled from his brother in Genesis 28, and it’s also true of us today. And it’s necessary for us to understand this about ourselves if we’re going to understand God’s grace. Because the beauty of God’s grace is only apparent if we view it against the blackness of our sin. Kind of like the stars. The stars are always up in the sky, but we can’t see them during the daytime because the rest of the sky is so bright. If we want to see the stars, we have to go outside at night, when the rest of the sky is black—and ideally also travel far away from the city and away from all artificial light. And only then, against the blackness of the night sky, can we see the stars shining in all their majestic beauty. Similarly, it’s only when we see the blackness of our sin that we’re able to understand and appreciate the majestic beauty of God’s grace. So, that’s the first of the four legs of the table of grace—the depth and pervasiveness of our sin. 

Then, secondly, there’s the certainty of God’s coming judgment. In Genesis 28, Jacob was trying to escape the consequences of his sin by running far away from Esau, who sought to kill him. Yet, even though Jacob may have been able to escape his brother Esau, it’s not as easy to escape from God. In fact, it’s impossible. The Bible says that a day is coming—both for Jacob and for us—when we’ll have to stand before the great Judge of the universe. And we’ll have to give an answer to him for every deed we’ve done, every word we’ve spoken, and even every thought we’ve entertained in our minds. I mean, just imagine what it would be like if all of your thoughts from early childhood until now were somehow displayed on these screens up here for everyone to see. I’m confident that there’s not a person here who, if that happened, wouldn’t immediately run out of this room and never show their face here again, because they’re so ashamed of what they’ve allowed to go through their mind. And that’s just the shame they’d feel when other sinners see their thoughts. How much more intense will it be when our thoughts—and every other aspect of our lives—are all exposed and laid bare before the eyes of an infinitely holy God? 

Yet, that’s what’s going to happen. We’re told in Revelation 20:11-12, 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. So, God has books that contain a written record of every aspect of our lives—every thought, word, and deed. And he’s going to judge us based on what’s written in those books and then make sure we get what our sins deserve, which is eternal punishment in hell. Not one sin that’s ever been committed in the entire history of the world will go unpunished. 

And that leads us to the third leg of the table of grace, which is the reality of our utter helplessness. Essentially, there’s nothing we can do to rescue ourselves from this hopeless predicament. We can’t negotiate our way out of it or do enough good things to make ourselves acceptable to God or maintain enough religious involvement to repair our broken relationship with God or do anything else to escape the judgment that’s coming. As the old hymn says, “Not the labors of my hands, can fulfill thy law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.”

Then, the final leg of the table of grace is what we’ll call the sovereign freedom of God. And, by that, I simply mean that God’s free to do as he sees fit with us. He can either show us grace or withhold it—it’s his decision. You know, people often imagine that God’s somehow obligated to show us favor or to help us out of our predicament. To give one example, it’s reported that a German freethinker named Heinrich Heine said on his deathbed, “Of course God will forgive me; that’s his job.” Unfortunately, Mr. Heine was sadly mistaken. In Romans 11:35, the Apostle Paul asks, “Who has ever given a gift to [God] that he might be repaid?” The answer, of course, is nobody. God doesn’t owe anything to anyone except justice and judgment. He’s not obligated to show us any kindness or goodness or grace. Therefore, any grace he does show is entirely free and originates from God’s voluntary decision to be merciful to those who deserve only judgment. 

So, those are the four legs of the table of grace: the depth and pervasiveness of our sin, the certainty of God’s coming judgment, the reality of our utter helplessness, and the sovereign freedom of God. Understanding God’s grace begins with understanding these four truths. 

And it’s against this backdrop and presupposing these four truths that passages like our main passage of Genesis 28 reveal to us the grace of God. Jacob was undeniably sinful, thoroughly deserving of God’s punishment, utterly helpless to escape that punishment, and had no claim whatsoever on anything good from God. Yet, God chose to demonstrate astonishing grace toward Jacob despite his sins and failures. He graciously passed on to Jacob the extravagant promises he had originally made to Abraham. 

Similarly, God’s been extravagantly gracious to us as well. For us today, grace has come to us in a person, and that person is Jesus. You see, God saw our wretched and helpless condition and, in his love, sent his own Son Jesus to this earth on a rescue mission to save us. Jesus did that by living a perfectly sinless life and then dying on a cross to make atonement for our sins. All of the judgment and wrath that our sins deserved was poured out on Jesus so it wouldn’t have to be poured out on us. Jesus voluntarily stood in our place and died for our sin. He then resurrected from the dead three days later so that he’s now able to bring us back into a right relationship with God. 

In John 1:51, Jesus says to someone who would soon become one of his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” Does anything in that statement sound…familiar to you? “[Y]ou will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” The “Son of Man,” by the way, is a reference to Jesus himself. And he’s, of course, alluding to our main passage of Genesis 28, where Jacob sees a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending on that ladder. So, in Genesis 28, the ladder that Jacob sees in his dream is intended to foreshow Jesus. Jesus is the connecting point between heaven and earth. He’s the one who rescues us from our sin and brings us into a right relationship with God and enables us to dwell in God’s glorious presence for all eternity. Paul says it this way in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all…. 

So, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your life or how badly you’ve sinned or how thoroughly you seem to have messed things up. God offers his grace to you and offers it more abundantly than you can even comprehend. Don’t believe the lies we talked about at the beginning. Your sin’s not too great for God to forgive you. You haven’t sinned to many times for God to forgive you. God can and does love you despite the things you’ve done. And your sin hasn’t put you beyond the possibility of redemption. In fact, it’s made you the perfect candidate for redemption. 

The fact is that, through Jesus and by putting our trust in him, we’re loved and accepted by God—no matter what we’ve done or what messes we’ve made. God’s grace, given in his Son Jesus, overcomes all of our sins. So, don’t let anything stop you from turning your life over to Jesus, putting your full trust in him for rescue, and allowing him to do for you what you can never do for yourself. If you continue in your rebellion, you’ll be on the receiving end of God’s punishment for all eternity. But if you put your trust in Jesus, he’ll rescue you and lavish his grace upon you. As Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

And then, you’ll want to live for God not because you’re trying to earn anything but simply out of gratitude. We can see this with Jacob in Genesis 28. After God demonstrates grace toward Jacob in such a striking and remarkable way, Jacob wakes up and makes a vow in verses 20-22. It says, 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” 

Now, as you can see from the conditional nature of Jacob’s commitment—where he says “If God will be with me”—Jacob’s still in the very beginning stages of his relationship with God. Nevertheless, these commitments he makes are still framed as expressions of gratitude toward God. Jacob says that the Lord will be his God, that he’ll build a sanctuary for God, and that he’ll give a tenth of his income to God. So, notice the order: God’s grace toward Jacob comes before Jacob’s acts of devotion. Jacob isn’t engaging in various acts of devotion in order to earn God’s favor but rather because of it and in response to it. 

And it works the same way in New Testament times. First, God saves us by grace and through faith. Then, he instructs us to live for him. You never want to get the order of those two things reversed in your mind. We don’t live for God in order to obtain God’s grace or earn his favor. Instead, we live for him because he’s already shown us grace—grace that’s so extraordinary that it’s captured our hearts and compels us to exhibit our gratitude toward God in tangible ways. 

You know, it’s been said that, in the New Testament, doctrine is grace, and ethics is gratitude. In other words, the centerpiece of New Testament doctrine is the grace of God exhibited in the gospel, while the centerpiece of New Testament ethics is our gratitude for the grace God’s shown. So, our beliefs all revolve around the grace of God, and our lives are driven by the overwhelming sense of gratitude we feel for that grace. In all that we do—whether it’s sharing the gospel with our friends or serving in the church or bringing a meal to someone who’s going through a difficult time—we’re not earning anything but simply exhibiting our gratitude toward God for the grace he’s lavished on us.