He had to learn to stand on the promises of God and to place his trust in God's provision rather than relying on his own intellect, understanding, and cunning.

Jacob had to learn to trust in the Lord with ALL his heart. Jacob's faith in God needed to be rekindled and God needed to break the fleshly inclinations of this schemer so he would recognise that God and not Jacob had been his Provider and Protector over the years - that God and not Jacob had guided his path. Instead of relying on God to lead him in the path he should go, Jacob used his own fleshly scheming in the decisions he made.īut God, in His grace, prospered Jacob's work and protected him during his time in Laban's house, and the day came when the Lord needed to refine and hone His servant. But rather than trusting the Lord to provide for him, Jacob used his human cunning and physical skill to determine his path and prosper his work. Jacob even declared at Bethel that if God would be with him - to keep and protect him in the way that he should go and bring him back to his father's house in peace - then the Lord would be his God and he would be God's servant. Not only was he Abraham's grandson and knew that God had promised to bless him and his offspring, Jacob knew it was through him and his children that God's promise of redemption would be fulfilled. He bid a final farewell to his father-in-law at Mizpah and sent gifts to Esau in an attempt to appease his brother. And so we read that Jacob set out on the long journey to Canaan. At last, a day came when, prompted by the Holy Spirit of God, Jacob decided to return to his homeland and determined to make reconciliation with his estranged brother, Esau, who had vowed to kill him over 20 years earlier. He had married wives and raised a family of eleven sons as well as daughters, but a grumbling hostility had erected a barrier between Jacob and his in-laws. Jacob had lived for many years working for his uncle Laban.

Genesis 32 26 28 sermon audio