Go Back Home

Genesis 21-35

God never asked Jacob to deceive his father and brother. His mother is the one that suggested it, and aided him in his sins. Yet God continues to work with Jacob, even as he runs away. While away, Jacob is deceived himself, sinned against. In all this, Jacob acquires two wives, twelve sons, lots of servants and animals, a lot of wealth. And then God tells Jacob to go back home. To which then Jacob deceives his father-in-law in order to escape.

What will happen to Jacob when he goes back home? Will his father-in-law Laban try to stop him? Will Laban threaten to destroy him for leaving? Will Esau his brother who he tricked kill him? Will Isaac his father who he shamed disown him? What will happen to his wives and children and wealth? God assured Jacob that all would go well, so Jacob began the trek home. Yet when news arrives that Esau is headed towards his brother, along with four-hundred armed men, Jacob begins to tremble. And it is here that God wrestles with Jacob, changing his name to Israel - which means God-wrestler.

God had promised Jacob that everything would be okay. Jacob thought that this meant there would be no threat of harm. God meant to test Jacob the deceiver. And Jacob was quite a match for God. Their struggle would epitomize the relationship of the nation to come with their God. In the end, God prevails, but it is not the kind of victory that one cheers about. Israel carries with it a limp, and God must continue to wrestle. And so there will be many more tests from God towards Israel in the centuries to come.

To go back home is to re-engage the tribes of Canaan. Israel goes back home and his daughter gets raped. How does this fit in with God's plan? Israel's sons Levi and Simeon seek revenge upon the rapist and his city. And God must continue to wrestle with a people who hold on to idols, slaughter their enemies, and violate and deceive one another. Go back home, God said. "There you must trust me and follow me, amongst neighbors and tribes which do not. They will threaten you, harm you, and you will fear them. But I will be with you." It seemed that Jacob wasn't doing a very good job of helping his sons listen to God. And that will be the continuing problem for Israel in the centuries to come as well.