Never Alone

Theme: God is with us

Objectives:

Know: God had a plan for Jacob and was with him at every stage.

Think: Always be aware that God is accessible and involved in all aspects of our world. He can even cause the things I consider bad to work for His purposes.

Do: Trust God's promises, obey His Word, and worship Him for His goodness.

Scriptures: Genesis 28:1-22

Notes and Questions:

B1 Ever been lonely?

B2 How did Jacob feel when he had to flee from home?

B3 Why did he leave home? What was the given reason? What was the real reason?

B4 What blessing is given in Genesis 28:3-4?

B5 How many people went with Jacob? See Genesis 28:11 and Genesis 32:10.

B6 Who was with him though unseen? (God).

B7 Where is Paddan-Aram? Somewhere in Syria and probably the same as Haran (see Genesis 27:43).

B8 What did Isaac's blessing in Genesis 28:3-4 entail?

• C1 God's blessing
• C2 Many descendants
• C3 Inheriting the blessings of God given to Abraham
• C4 An assembly of people
• D1 This is not just a general term for a large population of physical descendants
• D2 This also refers to the blessings of the land and ultimately Messiah who would be greatest blessing to Israel and to all the nations.
• D3 College Press commentary on this verse has this: "This would seem to point forward to the tribes that were to spring from the loins of Jacob. By the words of Genesis 27:4, “Isaac conveys the most important part of the patriarchal blessing, the part relative to the Messiah, which he had not quite ventured to bestow previously when he still thought he was dealing with Esau. Sobered by the failure of his attempt and made wiser, he freely gives what he fully understands to have been divinely destined for Jacob. ‘The blessing of Abraham’ is fully as much as was promised to him but no more. Since previously (Genesis 27:27-29) Isaac also had not ventured to bestow the land of promise on the one who presumably was Esau, now he unmistakably bestows it on Jacob, that which is now a ‘land of sojourning’ where the patriarchs have as yet no permanent possession except a burial place. . . . God ‘gave’ this land to Abraham, of course, only by promise but none the less actually."

B9 Genesis 29:10, where did Jacob's journey start and where did it end?

B10 Did the stone pillow have any magic qualities? Should we find one of these so that we could receive visions, even Jacob said, "Surely God is in this place?" Was it a worship area that Jacob had inadvertently come to? What is the problem when people come to the conclusion that they need something to come in contact with God?

B11 Genesis 28:14, how will all the families of the earth be blessed?

• C1 Through the life and productivity of the Jews. This has not happened fully yet as the Jews are rejecters of their Messiah.
• C2 Through Messiah, the Jew, Jesus.

B12 Genesis 28:15, what great blessing and encouragement did Jacob receive? Did this happen? See Genesis 32:12, Galatians 3:26-29

B13 Why was God blessing a cheat? Jacob has taken the birthright and the blessing from Esau; is God just?

B14 Genesis 28:13-15, what were the main points in God's blessings of Jacob?

B15 Did things seem very likely to happen? Jacob was alone. For to him have an inheritance of this land seems impossible. Do the promises of God in the Bible sometimes seem impossible?

B16 Was Jacob afraid? Why?

B17 What was Jacob's vow? Why did he vow?

B18 Often, like Jacob, we feel all alone. Is this true?

B19 "Your way of life should be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, because He Himself has said: “I absolutely will not desert you; I most certainly will not abandon you.” So we can say with confidence: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” " (Hebrews 13:5-6, WPNT). What a wonderful blessing. We may FEEL alone, but we are NOT alone.