Word of Encouragement (04/06/2022)

And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'" (Gen. 32:9-12).

Jacob’s prayer provides a good example of how to bring our petitions to God. Notice first how he addresses God: “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac....” Here we see Jacob’s humility expressed. He recognizes that he has no merit of his own to come before God and offer up his petition. He says in v. 10, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant....” He invokes God’s covenant with his fathers, Abraham his grandfather and Isaac his father. We remember that God extended the same covenant to Jacob as the heir of the covenant when he was on his way to Paddan-aram. But Jacob cannot put his name next to his fathers’, at least for now. Maybe he is feeling so low now that he has a hard time seeing himself in the same group as his fathers.

By bringing up the names of his fathers, Jacob is also asking God to remember all the kindness and goodness He showed to them. Why was God so kind to his fathers? Was it because they were blameless and without any faults? He lived with his father and saw how he favored Esau over him. He might have heard about his grandfather Abraham lying about his wife to save his life. Yet, God took the initiative in calling Abraham when he was just Abram. God promised to bless him with many children and make him a great nation when he was old and childless. He promised to give him the land of Canaan when he was just an immigrant there. He fulfilled His promise and granted a miracle child to Abraham when he was 100 years old and his wife was 90 years old. And that miracle child was his father, Isaac! And he saw firsthand how God blessed his father, Isaac, and multiplied his possession. By invoking God as the God of his fathers, Jacob is asking Him to bless him as God blessed his fathers even though he has no right to claim His kindness to him other than the gracious promise He made to his fathers and to him.

As we come to God, let us acknowledge that we are not worthy of any kindness from God. But we can come boldly to Him by appealing to Him as “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:3, et al), not just the God of Abraham and Isaac! Jesus did not receive God’s grace; He earned all of God’s blessings through His perfect righteousness. In our union with Him through faith, we can claim all the blessings He has earned on our behalf! Let us praise God for Jesus Christ!

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