Undeserved Blessings – Genesis 28

A text – Genesis 28:10-19a

28:10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran.
28:11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the 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.
28:12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
28:13 And the LORD stood beside him 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;
28:14 and 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 all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring.
28:15 Know that 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.”
28:16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place–and I did not know it!”
28:17 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.”
28:18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he 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.
28:19a He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

A reflection:

The dream of Jacob – a ladder from the earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. And God speaking to him, standing next to him, telling Jacob, “I am God, I will bless the world through you and your children, and I will give you the land that you are sleeping upon. No matter what happens to you, your family will be brought back to this spot. I will not leave you until I have kept all my promises to you.”

When Jacob woke up, he was both impressed and terrified, for he knew God was there in that place, and he ritually marked the stone upon which he had slept and gave it the name Bethel – House of God.

Jacob had just recently stolen his twin brother’s birthright and blessing, and in fact was running away before his brother could catch up to him and kill him. He had received his father’s blessing meant for the first-born, using trickery of his mother’s who happened to love the younger twin more. Now in this story he was being met in his dreams by the Lord God and promised a huge blessing from the Lord, too.

Have you ever felt that you have been blessed beyond what you actually deserved? Jacob tricked his way into firstborn status, at the expense of his brother. Eventually Jacob got tricked in return. But clearly God loved this trickster, and God’s blessings abounded for Jacob because of God’s love and care for him.  Perhaps the blessings you have received that you didn’t feel you had rightfully earned were in fact God showering abundance upon you out of love and care.

In our culture we place a high emphasis on earning what we get. If we haven’t earned it, we don’t deserve it, and then it follows we should not have it or accept it. Yet every bit of God’s love for us is unearned. God gives it freely to us – we don’t do anything to merit the abundance we are given. We do need to accept it and live into it as God’s children, in order to show others the goodness of God.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for blessing us, like Jacob, far beyond what we could earn or merit. Help us to share your abundant blessings with those who need to know what a generous God you are.   Amen.