SendForth

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Va-yishlach which means, "And he sent." The title comes from Genesis 32:3: "Then Jacob sent (salah [pronounced shaw-lakh] - go, send forth, stretch out, sow, loose, set free, shoot forth as branches, spread, reach forth, appoint, send a messenger, send words, to command anything of anyone, to stretch as a hand from on high, to send away) messengers (malak - angel, messenger, ambassador, deputy, messenger of God [see also Mal. 3:1-3], king, prophet, priest, one sent) before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom." 

     As we can see from the meaning of the word "sent", or salah in Hebrew as used above, a powerful purpose is ordained, and a powerful result is expected. We will see that what is "sent" to Esau is saves Jacob's life, as well as that of his large family.

     Jacob was sending messengers with words of greeting to let his twin brother Esau know that he was back in the land after being away for twenty years. Before Jacob had left his home, Esau had vowed to kill him. This was a humble gesture on Jacob's part, reaching out to Esau, in order to prepare the way for a peaceful return. The messengers returned from their mission to Esau and told Jacob that Esau was coming to meet him, and he was bringing four hundred men with him, leaving Jacob afraid and distressed. He divided all of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people that were with him, including wives and children, so that it would make it more difficult for Esau to attack all of Jacob's people at one time. (v. 6-7).

     Jacob then sent (salah - see above) by his servants word messages and gifts to Esau ahead of his arrival of many goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys. Jacob told his servants: "I will appease (kapar - atonement, purge, reconciliation, forgive, pacify, to pardon, to cover over, atone for sin, to expiate, merciful, to obtain forgiveness, to make expiation for an offender, to inanimate things which were accounted to be defiled, to receive pardon) him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me." (v. 13-20).

     The gift that Jacob sent to Esau was to act as an atonement for sin and an outpouring of mercy according to the Hebrew word kapar used above. Before we find out the conclusion of the meeting between Jacob and Esau, a very strange but important encounter will occur first.

     After sending his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) two wives, his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) two women servants, his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) eleven children and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) what he had across the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) brook at Jabbok (yaboq/baqaq - "emptying"/make void, empty, lay waste, pour out, devastate, depopulate; spread out as a fruitful vine, be luxuriant, be profuse and abundant), Jacob was left alone: "...and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day." (Ge. 32:22-24). When the Man saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He touched the socket of Jacob's hip and put Jacob's hip out of joint. However, Jacob would not let the man go until the Man blessed him.  So the Man told Jacob: "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (yisrael/sara - "God prevails"/contend, have power as a prince, persist, exert oneself, to set in order, a noble, a prince); for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed." (v. 25-28). The King James Version of the Bible states that the Man's description of the name Israel was: "for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." After prevailing over the Man, Jacob was changed. Even his name was changed by to reflect this transformation. After experiencing this encounter, could Jacob then prevail over his brother Esau as well? It won't be a physical wrestling match with Esau, but a spiritual one.

     Jacob named the place of his wrestling, Penuel/Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God (elohim - God, angels, divine ones) face to face, and my life is preserved." Jacob then also crossed over the brook from that place. Jacob understood that he had been wrestling with God. The revelation that Jacob/Israel obtained during this strange wrestling encounter will affect his reunion with his brother, Esau. If Jacob could see God's face and not only survive but prevail, how much more could he prevail seeing Esau face to face?

     The conclusion of the encounter with Esau is that after seeing Jacob's gifts that were sent ahead and seeing Jacob's family, Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept together. (Gen. 33:4). Jacob remained wary of Esau and treated his encounter with him very cautiously.

     We see how his encounter with God at Penuel ("Facing God") gave Jacob/Israel the prevailing strength to face Esau. As Esau intended to refuse Jacob's gifts that had been sent ahead, Jacob/Israel said to Esau: "No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.' So he urged him, and he took it." (Gen. 33:10-11).

     Jacob's new name, Israel, is "one who struggles with God and men and prevails." The kapar atoning, reconciling appeasement gift (see kapar above) that Jacob sent to Esau spared Jacob's life. 

     Paul wrote about the same kind of blessing that was given to Jacob by the Man he wrestled mentioned above, and the power of kapar atoning reconciliation or appeasement in this way: "What then can we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered (paradidomi - incl. the meaning "to give into the hands of another, to give over into one's power or use") Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors (hypernikao/nikao - to gain a surpassing and decisive victory, to vanquish beyond/to subdue, to conquer, to overcome, to prevail) through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:31-39).

     Jesus taught that before we bring a gift/offering to God, we must be reconciled with our brother who has something against us. He said: "...First be reconciled (diallasso - to change the mind of anyone, to reconcile, to renew friendship with one/to change or to transform thoroughly, to make different, to conciliate) to your brother (adelphos - natural brother, countryman, a fellow believer, associate, any man), and then come and offer your gift. Agree (eunoeo - to wish one well, of a peaceable spirit, reconcile) with your adversary (antidikos/dike/deiknyo- opponent, enemy, even arch-enemy Satan/vengeance, punish, judgment/to show or teach, give evidence or proof)  quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge..." (see Mt. 5:23-26, excerpt).

     Both Jacob and Esau had sinned against each other. While Esau voluntarily sold his birthright to Jacob, from Esau's point of view, Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving him his paternal blessing instead of the elder and favored son, Esau, as Isaac had planned to do. Esau sinned, speaking and planning the revenge murder of his brother. However, the kapar appeasing atonement gift sent by Jacob to his brother changed Esau's plans thoroughly. Instead of using his four hundred men to attack and kill Jacob, Esau ran to Jacob, hugged his neck, kissed him and wept. In this case, we see that Esau was changed or transformed completely from his original intentions, which is also part of the kapar atonement reconciling appeasement gift (see diallasso above).

      We see this idea in the New Testament also. We also know that Jesus was sent and given by the Father in heaven as a gift of reconciliation and appeasement to the world. (Jn. 3:16-17). Paul also referred to Jesus as a gift: "For the wages of sin is death, but the (free) gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 6:23).  We also see, as part of the process of reconciliation, a thorough change or transformation (see diallasso above): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled (katallasso - to change mutually, to reconcile) us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (katallage - restoration to divine favor, reconciliation, atonement), that is, that God was in Christ reconciling (katallasso - see above) the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation/atonement (katallage - see above)...be reconciled (katallage - see above) to God." (2 Cor. 5:17-20, excerpt).

     Reconciliation is directly tied to its root meaning in Greek, which includes atonement. A complete change or transformation in state must also result from and accompany our supernatural reconciliation to God through Christ. As important in the verses above is that this same transforming and atoning gift of reconciliation that we received, now is placed into our hands to minister to others. In Word and prayer, we minister the gift that changes individuals and reconciles them to God through the gift of Jesus Christ. Do we want to see "change" in the world? The ministry of reconciliation that has been given to us is a powerful place to start.

     The following verses use a different but related Greek word for "reconciliation": "For it pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus) all the fulness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless (note the change in condition), and above reproach in His sight - if indeed you continue in the faith..." (Col. 1:19-23). The Greek word used in these verses meaning to reconcile is the word apokatallasso. This word means "to reconcile completely, to reconcile back again, to bring back to a former state of harmony."

     The portrait of the gifts of appeasement which Jacob sent forth to Esau, and the resulting reconciliation between those brothers, to me presents the greater truth of the reconciliation of man back to God through the gift of Jesus Messiah/Christ to all who will accept the gift. Jacob pleaded with Esau to accept his gift, and lives were spared from death that day, and circumstances were transformed. (Gen. 33:10-11). How much more powerful and eternal is the ministry of reconciliation through Messiah/Christ that the Lord has placed into our hands than the sheep, camels, cattle and donkeys which Jacob gave to Esau?

     If you would like to learn more about the transforming, reconciling, atonement gift, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, even while I was separated from You by my sin, You sent forth a gift to me that would save me and change me, which is the gift of Your Son, my atonement and my reconciliation. As I look at a lost and suffering world, help me to see it through Your eyes. You gave Your own and only Son because of Your love for this inhabited world. Teach me and help me through Your Holy Spirit to pray and speak the Word of Reconciliation/Atonement - a Word that changes and transforms those who will hear, believe and receive it - a Word that reunites all creation back to Yourself through Jesus, the Lord of all creation. I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Sent

     This week's Sabbath reading portion, which begins in Genesis 32, is titled Va-yishlach, meaning "And he sent". The title is based upon the Hebrew word, salah, which means "to send [out], send [forth], sow, stretch out, loose, send a messenger, send an angel, weapon [Arabic]."

     In this Sabbath portion, Jacob sent (salah - see above) messengers (malak - angel, messenger, ambassadors, representatives, king, deputy, one sent, messenger of God, prophet, priest, teacher), and then eventually gifts, to his brother Esau as Jacob returns with his family to his homeland from Assyria. When Jacob left twenty years earlier, Esau had sought to kill him. How would Esau receive his brother's return? Jacob was afraid and distressed, and prayed to God on behalf of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people (see v. 7) with him: "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you...Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children." (Gen. 32:9-11).

     As Jacob sent (salah - see above) presents (minha - gift, tribute, present, sacrifice, offering to God, to apportion) ahead to Esau, who was coming with four hundred men, Jacob bowed before Esau seven times as they neared each other. Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, fell on his neck and kissed him. Esau questioned Jacob about the gifts that he had sent ahead, saying to Jacob, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself." Jacob answered him: "No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please, take my (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.' So he urged him, and he took it." (Gen. 33:1-11). Jacob apportioned (see minha above) to Esau some of the increase that he had gained over his years of service to his father-in-law Laban. The blessing which Jacob brought to his brother Esau was connected to the Messiah/Christ, signified by the presence of *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega in written but untranslated Hebrew before the phrase "my blessing". This is the source of the divine power that delivers from death found in salah "sent".

     The gifts that Jacob had salah "sent" ahead after praying to God, had the power to calm the murderous rage of Esau, and the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) servant Jacob, (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the women and his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) children came out of the encounter preserved alive. 

   

      Above, Jacob compared seeing Esau with seeing the face of God. Jacob had just had a wrestling encounter with "a Man", demanding a blessing from him, at a place that Jacob would name Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Gen. 32:24-31). Jacob had also then seen his brother face to face and his life was preserved. At this time of this wrestling match with "a Man", Jacob's name was changed to "Israel", meaning "God prevails, he will rule as God, contender, soldier for God, have power, persevere, prevail, contend with, have power as a prince, set in order, be a leader, a commander, a prince, a noble." Having had this previous encounter with "the Man" and persevered against him, was God showing Jacob that he would also persevere against Esau successfully?

     From another Va-yishlach Sabbath reading portion, the LORD prophesied that He would send His messenger: "Behold, I send (salah - see above) My messenger (malak - see above), and he will prepare the way before Me, and the LORD, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap...He will purify the sons of (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering (minha - see above) in righteousness." (Mal. 3:1-3).

     Although three of the same words: salah, malak, minha, are used in the verses above, we are not dealing with a vengeful Esau here. We are dealing with the Holy God and the pure offering/gift due Him from His priests on behalf of His people. A Messenger will be sent by God and the purpose of the Messenger will be to purge and cleanse a negligent priesthood on the day of the LORD so that they do not perish before His face. The LORD is going to appear suddenly, and if they wish to remain alive, they had better accept the Messenger that the LORD will salah send to them.

     We see another example of the preservation power of the salah sent in Psalm 107: "Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted...and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent (salah - see above) His word (dabar - spoken, talk, speech, word, utterance, thing, decree, message, answer, commandment, promise, provision, power, portion) and healed (rapa - to heal, repaired, cure, make whole, mend by stitching, stitch together) them, and delivered (malat - save, deliver, preserve) them from their destructions (sehit - pit, pit-fall, sink down). Oh that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Ps. 107:17-21). When God's people were about to perish because of their own wickedness, God sent His spoken Word, and they were preserved from death. We will see who this spoken Word was that was sent by God to heal His people. Jesus is described as the spoken Word (logos in Greek) of God (see Jn. 1:1-5, 14). Jesus also described Himself as having been "sent" by God in order to preserve life: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him (the Son) might be saved." (Jn. 3:17, see also Jn. 5:37-38, Jn. 6:44, Jn. 8:16 and 18). Jesus repeatedly described Himself as being sent (Greek apostello - send out, send forth, to order one to go to a place appointed) by His Father, God. He was sent to save us from destruction, in the same way as we read in the Psalm above.

     The apostle John also wrote: "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 Jn. 4:9-10).

     Again, we see that the thing or Person that is sent by the will of God is for the preservation of life. While we can immediately see without difficulty this truth in the sending of Jesus by the Father for the preservation of life, we need to also see the following mystery that was revealed by Jesus concerning us.

     Jesus sent out His disciples: "And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits...So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them." (Mk. 6:7, 12-13, see also Lk. 9:1-2, 6). Even before the cross, the disciples, being ones who were sent by divine will, brought salvation, deliverance and healing life to many.

     After the resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples: "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive/remit (aphiemi - to send away, to send forth, to bid going away, forgive, keep no longer, give up a debt) the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain (krateo - hold, keep, take hold, hold fast, get possession of, seize, to have power over) the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn. 20:21-23). In the very same way that Jesus was sent, He then sends us, as His disciples. With our being sent by divine ordinance goes the authority to bring life with the forgiveness of sins, rather than death by the retaining of sins. Jesus was sent that we might have life and that more abundantly (Jn. 10:10), and we are sent by Him with the same purpose. 

     As Jesus sent out His disciples after His resurrection, He also said of all those who believe: "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will be no means hurt them; and they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mk. 16:17-18).

     Some may think that the only ones that Jesus sent were His immediate disciples. However, the New Testament makes clear that all believers in Christ are sent by Him. The apostle James wrote: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man avails much...he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a/his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:14-20, excerpt).

     Jesus commanded us to be salt, as a preservative of truth and life, and light, as showing the way through darkness, so that men would see our works and glorify God (Mt. 5:13-16). This Sabbath's reading portion, Va-yishlach, or "And he sent", brings us into the understanding of what it means in our lives to be sent, filled with the Holy Spirit, by the will of the Father and the Son.

     

     If you would like to know more about being sent by Christ, you can pray with me: "Father in heaven, You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to become life to those who were perishing in their sins. In the same manner, Jesus sent His disciples, and those who would believe because of them, into the world to bring preservation and life through Christ to others. Help me to fulfill this purpose given to me by Jesus Christ as He sends me in His name to be salt and light. Fill me with the Holy Spirit who will guide me and teach me how to live effectively in the commission by which Christ sends me, and to prove with my life "that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom. 12:1-2). I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

     *NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.     

      

Troubles

     What are the reasons for troubles in a life? Some people will even justify their lack of belief in God based upon troubles. There are several causes for trouble given in scripture, but perhaps this week's Sabbath reading portion will offer an additional view that we may not have considered.  We will see that Jacob, as well as experiencing God's blessings and witnessing supernatural angelic activity several times, had troubles. The Hebrew word for "trouble" that we are going to look at here is sara/sar/sarar, meaning "straits, distress, trouble, vexer, rival wife, affliction, adversity, anguish, tribulation/enemy, oppressor, adversary, foes, narrow, tight, sorrow, a stone [as being hard]/to bind, besiege, shut up, show hostility, be scant, harass".

     This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Va-yishlach, which means, "And he sent". This reading portion covers Genesis chapters 32 through 35. Jacob, with his wives and children, and all of his possessions were returning to his homeland in Canaan after being in exile for over twenty years in Mesopotamia. He will have to face his brother, Esau, who had sworn to kill him. With humility and gifts, Jacob, whom God had renamed Israel (Gen. 32:24-29), met his brother, Esau, and both men embraced and wept. (Gen. 33:3-5).  The threat and danger were still evident with Esau, but Jacob and his wives and children successfully avoided it. After settling peacefully near Shechem (sekem/sakam - back, shoulder, the back of both shoulder blades, the place of burdens/rise up early, see Isa. 9:6), Jacob/Israel built an altar to the LORD and called it El Elohe Israel, meaning "God, the God of Israel".

     At this place, however, Jacob suffered a tragedy involving his daughter Dinah, and the prince of Shechem, a Hivite, who violated Dinah, but desired to marry her. Two of Jacob's sons, after lying to the people of Shechem, killed all of the males of the city in revenge. Jacob was greatly troubled by what his sons had done (Gen. 34), and God told Jacob to "arise" and return to Bethel where God had first spoken to him, build an altar there, and dwell there. God again spoke a blessing to Jacob/Israel there (Gen. 35:10-15).

     Although God told Jacob/Israel to dwell at Bethel, or "house/household/family/temple/descendants of God", we read that Jacob and his family left Bethel and journeyed toward Ephrath (fruitfulness, increased, branched off, to bear fruit, to bear [a burden]), later called Bethlehem. Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, "labored in childbirth, and she had hard (qasa - severe, fierce, harsh, make burdensome, cruel, grievous, show stubbornness, afflicted) labor...And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called (the child's) name Ben-Oni ("son of my sorrow"); but his father called him Benjamin ("son of the right hand'). So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is Bethlehem).  And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day." (Gen. 35:16-20). This must have been a sorrowful and troubling event for Jacob.

     Then Jacob/Israel and camp travelled to the tower of Eder (migdal-eder: "tower of the flock"; shepherd's watchtower near Bethlehem): "And it happened, when Israel (Jacob) dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah (bilhah/balah/bahal - the mother of Jacob's two sons Dan and Naphtali, "troubled"/to trouble/trouble, vexed, dismayed, afraid, be anxious, terrified) his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it." (Gen. 35:21-22). Here is more trouble and heartbreak for Jacob/Israel. Up to this point, Jacob has experienced murderous plans of a brother, exploitation and deception by an uncle (Laban), a devastating death in birthing the son of sorrow/son of the right hand, and the intimate betrayal of a son. Later in scripture, Jacob will experience more trouble and heartbreak.

     The prophet Jeremiah gave us a look into the reason for the troubles that happened to Jacob. Jeremiah wrote: "For thus says the LORD: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all   turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it." (Jer. 30:5-7).  The phrase "Jacob's trouble" would bring to mind to the people of Israel all of the dangers and heartbreaks that Jacob suffered. Jeremiah was telling us that the troubles of Jacob were prophetic. Jesus also prophesied of this future time of suffering saying, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Mt. 24:21).

     In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Jeremiah refers directly to an event in Jacob's life that the LORD uses prophetically: "Thus says the LORD: 'A voice was heard in Ramah (ramah/rum - hill, high place, town in Benjamin near Jerusalem/heave offering, exalt, rise up, to raise children), lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.' Thus says the LORD: 'Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded', says the LORD, 'and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future', says the LORD, 'that your children shall come back to their own border." (Jer. 31:15-17). The LORD used Rachel's tears of grievous trouble to prophesy hope and restoration to her descendants when all would appear hopeless for them.

     There are other examples in scripture where a troubling situation has been used to establish a prophetic warning or promise to the people of God. Isaiah the prophet had to walk naked for three years to prophesy the future shame of Egypt and Ethiopia when they would be marched naked into captivity. Isaiah's trouble was also a warning to Israel. Israel would rely on a military alliance with Egypt to protect them from the attack of a powerful Assyrian Empire. They would rely on this alliance instead of listening to the warnings of the prophets calling them back to God, to Jacob's "Bethel". Ezekiel had to cook his meal over a human/later cow dung-fueled fire to prophesy of how God's people would eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles where the LORD would drive them. Jeremiah was imprisoned in, and then rescued from, a waste-filled cesspit. Hosea had to marry and have children with a harlot, and then repeatedly had to buy her back, or redeem her, from the men to whom she had sold herself so that God could show His people how they also had been a repeatedly redeemed harlot in their relationship with Him. Elijah fled in terror and hid in a cave from an evil king and queen so that God could teach him and His people about His "still, small voice", and about a remnant that remains faithful to Him. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares about a man who suffered trouble at the hands of an enemy. However, the man's trouble had a prophetic application. The man's field represented the prophetic time of harvest into the kingdom of God, when the tares would be gathered and burned, but the wheat would be gathered into the barn (Mt. 13:24-30 ). On another occasion, Jesus assured His disciples that a certain man wasn't born troubled by blindness because of anyone's sin, as the disciples had assumed, but for the glory that would be given to God years later on the day of that man's healing and deliverance (John 9). The religious people of the day did not rejoice and give God glory for this miracle, but we do when we read his account. It is still prophesying to us.

     While we know some of the reasons why troubles may be visited upon men, as God's prophetic people, we should also keep in mind that the LORD may use the troubles in a believer's life for good - to teach and prophesy to His people. One thing that we may be sure of, as the LORD told Jacob, we can return to the place in the Spirit called "Bethel", the house of God, where we can rest in His appearance and miracles. Many times it is written in God's Word that He can deliver His people out of their troubles regardless of what created those troubles: "Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses." (Ps. 107). "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." (Ps. 91). Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me." (Jn. 14:1).

     If you would like to know more about God's prophetic purpose through us, you can pray with me: "LORD God, by Your Word, Jesus, and by Your Holy Spirit, help me to learn and understand more about Your prophetic purpose through the events of my life. You have ordained everything concerning my life for Your glory, and to reap the praises of men. Use even the troubles that may come for Your purpose and glory, and remind me, Lord, to return to "Bethel" where You first spoke to me. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."