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."

     

Sent

This week's scheduled sabbath reading is titled Va-yishlach, which means "he sent". What does it mean to each of us to be sent by God? I found through these readings that it means more than I thought. Added to that is the fact that we are still in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshiet in Hebrew, which means the Book of Beginning. The accounts that we read throughout this Book deal with beginnings and foundations that will affect, and even rule, future events and conditions for God's people. To begin our reading in Gen. 32:23, we find that on his way back to his homeland, and to a dangerous meeting with his brother, Esau, Jacob sends his wives, and children ahead of him, over the ford of the river Jabbok: "He took them (laqah - carry away, take out, take with the hand, take in marriage), sent them over (abar - cross/pass over, pass through, leave, pass away, pass beyond, vanish, cease to exist, pass into other hands, dedicate/devote, cross a stream) the brook (nahal - river, torrent-valley, mine shaft (depth, descent)/inheritance, possession, to be allotted, bequeath, inherit (as a mode of descent), and sent over what he had." The river being crossed over by the family is the Jabbok (yabaq/baqaq - emptying, make void, utterly empty, devastate, empty out, pour out). The wives, children, and all that Jacob has, passed over or through the "utterly empty, devastated, void" place, through a ford (ma'abar - passage, transit, a crossing place, a passing over, a narrow valley). Considering the Hebrew meanings of the words used in this verse, we can see that Jacob spiritually passed his wives, children, and all that he had into Another's hands, God's in this case, as if they ceased to exist, thereby dedicating and devoting them. We would also be reminded of what David said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;" (Ps. 23:4). Sometimes, if we desperately want to preserve something, we have to give it up, give it away, into God's hands, allowing it to become a "dedicated" or "devoted" thing which He receives from us. Along with his precious family, Jacob also sent "what he had" across the river (Gen. 32:23). What he had were the streaked (aqod/aqad - marked with stripes, to bind or tie with things), speckled (naqod -mark by puncturing, marked wwith points, little spots), and spotted (tala - diverse colors, clouted, having large spots, mended with patches, sewn together) flocks that he had bred in front of rods (Gen. 30:38-39). These flocks that had been miraculously created by the sheep gazing upon the striped, speckled and spotted rods while they were at their water, took on the markings similar to the markings inflicted upon Jesus. As Jacob consigned his flocks into Another's hands as they passed over "death, it is possible to me that these flocks represent those who would come to Christ. Perhaps each mark of abuse upon Christ's body drew specific "sheep" to Him. Some came to the stripes created by a whipping administered while He was bound and tied, some to His speckles, or puncture wounds, and some to the large spots inflicted upon Him from a beating that made Him look like pieces sewn together. It brings to mind the verse about the Messiah from Isaiah: "But He was wounded (kalal- pierced through, perforate) for our transgressions, He was bruised (daka - bruised, smite, beat to pieces, crush) for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes (habura/habar - wounds, blows, blueness, bruises, stripe, mark of a stroke on skin, black and blue/join together, be united, variegated with colors, have fellowship) we are healed (rapa - heal, cure, repair, to mend by stitching, to sew together, to restore, comfort, pardon). All we like sheep have gone astray...and the LORD has laid (caused to land) on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:5-6). For me, the similarities are too many to be coincidence. It is possible that we were prophetically represented in those miraculous flocks that Jacob sent across the river. Back to our story: After sending his people and flocks across the river, Jacob was getting ready to take a stand for his future generations, which God had promised him at the place Jacob renamed "Bethel", meaning "the house/family/desendants/descendants of an organized body of God" (see Gen. 28:12-19). We read: "Then Jacob was left alone (yatar - remain, remnant, reserved/preserved, show pre-eminence, excel, to be beyond measure, to exceed bounds, abound, profit, gain a victory); and a Man wrestled (abaq - grapple, float away as a vapor, pound to make small as dust) with him until the breaking (ala - come up, ascend, depart, light, raised, exalted, to be offered) of day (sahar - dayspring, morning, light, rise, wings, end of dark night and coming of dawn, to seek early and earnestly, diligently seek, to painstakingly search for, to break forth as of light, to seek God and long after Him)." (Gen. 32:24). The picture being created to me by these Hebrew words is that Jacob stayed behind to wrestle (become dust, vapor) a Man, not an angel -some say the Man here is Christ- for resurrection life after death. I do believe that the Man was Christ, because He had the authority to bless Jacob, and to rename him "Israel" (see Isa. 62:2, Rev. 2:17). The Man also asked the question, "Why is it that you ask about My name?". That seems like a "Jesus kind" of question to me (see Lk. 18:18-19, Lk. 9:18-20). Also the Person that Jacob wrestled with was connected to resurrection, according to the meaning of the words, "breaking of day", used here. So we can see, the nation of Israel born from a blessing and promise of resurrection to Jacob, would also eventually produce the Person of Resurrection who said: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Mt. 15:24). Also Paul wrote of the connection of Israel to the resurrection: "For if their (Israel's) being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches." (Rom. 11:15-16). Jacob's wrestling for the blessing was a beginning. Resurrection was going to come from out of his promised descendants. In any case, Jacob was sent by God, and in turn, sent his wives, children, and all that he had, in a way that would ensure the survival and restoration of their future generations to come, as we will see in our next sabbath reading portion from Malachi 3. Malachi prophesied a promise from the LORD. The LORD, the Messenger of the Covenant, would come to the house of the LORD suddenly: "Behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts. (Mal. 3:1). This is going to be a problem for Israel, because they would not at all be prepared for such an event. The prophet asked: "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap." (v. 2). This is the Messiah, Jesus, of whom the prophet is speaking. He comes, not to destroy Israel and its priesthood, as deserved, but He will purify, purge, and refine them so they are not destroyed: "For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed (kala - consume, end, finish, vanish, perish, be destroyed, exterminate), O sons of Jacob." (v. 6). The LORD specifically identifies His people who will receive this saving mercy of purification as "sons of Jacob". The LORD, instead of consuming His people for their disregard, will send the Refiner to spare them based upon His covenant promise to Jacob, who sent his children to cross over "death", and dedicated them into the hands of the LORD. In Gen. 35, another portion from this Sabbath's readings, God repeated the promise made to Jacob when Jacob had travelled back to Bethel: "Then God appeared to Jacob again...and blessed him. And God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.' So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: 'I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.' (Gen.35:9-12). The name of a man, and also the name of a nation are given again by the LORD in this encounter. This is the beginning of Israel as a nation. Jacob left Bethel, but where would God send him next? Jacob had traveled only a short distance until he and his company came to a place called Ephrath (meaning "place of fruitfulness"), where his dear wife, Rachel, went into labor with her second child, who would be Jacob's twelfth and final son. Rachel would die after giving birth to the son that she named Ben-Oni ("Son of My Sorrow'), but whom Jacob named, Benjamin, meaning "Son of the Right Hand" (Gen. 35:16-20). Both of the names given to the child prophetically identify Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53:3 prophetically called the Messiah to come, "A Man of Sorrows" ("pain, anguish, grief"), and Jesus Christ is said in scripture to be seated at the right hand of the Father, God (see Mt. 22:41-46, Mk. 16:19, Acts 2:30-36, Rom. 8:32-34, Heb. 10:10-14). So where or what is this place named Ephrath where Rachel died? It is also known as Bethlehem, of course! The LORD would later prophesy concerning Bethlehem: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth from Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old (qedem - aforetime, beginning, eternal), from everlasting (yom-olam/alam - day, time, always - ever, everlasting, continuous existence/secret thing, hidden, concealed)....And He shall stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth." (Micah 5:2, 4). The death of Rachel after childbirth was very sad, however, the LORD was not finished with Rachel. He used her life as a beginning from which to later prophesy the return of "her children" from captivity in another portion from this sabbath's reading schedule. He promised the following in order to comfort both Rachel, and Israel: "At the same time', says the LORD, 'I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.' The LORD has appeared of old to me saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel!...For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim (of the same meaning as Ephrath/Bethlehem) is My firstborn...Thus says the LORD: 'A voice was heard in Ramah (a city within the tribe of Benjamin), 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 a hope in your future', says the LORD, 'that your children shall come back to their own border." (Jer. 31:1, 3-4, 9, 15-17). Rachel was long gone at the time of this prophecy, but her living prophetic voice was still being heard by the LORD. From the beginnings established through Rachel in this case, and Jacob, the relationship between God and Israel, both the person and the nation, was established out of eternity and into time. Jacob didn't just wander according to his own plans, he was sent by God, every establishing step of the way. If you would like to know more about being sent by the LORD, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, in my life, I pray to be like one sent by You, rather than by my own will and plan. Guide the steps of my life, and use them to establish a future and hope in You for those who will follow now and in the future. I see Your omniscient knowledge in these sabbath readings, not only meant to teach me about Who You are, but to assure me that my submitted steps have divine and everlasting purpose in Christ. My voice will never die, and my resurrection life is firmly established from before the beginning through Jesus Christ. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can walk with eyes that see, and ears that hear, and a heart that perceives You. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

PropheticCries

Nothing concerning His people is ever lost before the LORD. There are times in our lives when we weep and grieve in sorrow. Sometimes we hesitate to talk about the grief that can weigh our hearts. Even a believer's heart that rejoices in the LORD can also grieve. God's heart has known grief (Gen. 6:6, Isa. 53:3, Jn. 11:33-35, Lk. 19:41-44, Heb. 5:7-9, Eph. 4:30-32), so He understands the heaviness of loss, betrayal, disappointment, pain. Sometimes we think, or perhaps others tell us, that to grieve "overly long" means that we don't have faith. David cried out to the LORD from a place of fear and sorrow. However, he knew this of the LORD: "You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle (nod - a skin or leather bag for keeping fluids like milk or wine); Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, then my enemies will turn back. This I know, because God is for me." (Psalm 56:8-9). As David said, God does not just indulge our tears, but preserves them. Why? They are precious to Him, but also, we have evidence that our tears and cries are prophetic before Him. Jesus cried to the LORD, His Father, from the cross, and those cries are still working today. For example from scripture: "...'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do'. And they divided His garments and cast lots." (Lk. 23:34). God understands our loss, and in honor and remembrance of it, He causes our tears to prophesy. We have an example of the prophetic nature of tears from this week's Sabbath reading portion from Gen. 35. Jacob labored for his relative, Laban, for seven years to win marriage with Laban's beautiful daughter, Rachel. After those seven years, Laban told Jacob that he would have to marry the older daughter, Leah, first. Then Jacob had to labor an additional seven years to finally marry the love of his life, Rachel. Rachel gave birth to one son with Jacob whose name was Joseph. She conceived a second son, and the time came to deliver her child as they traveled towards Ephrath (meaning place of fruitfulness, to cause to bear fruit), which became known as Bethlehem: "...and she had hard labor...the midwife said to her, 'Do not fear; you will have this son also.' And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-O ni (meaning "the son of my sorrow"); but his father called him Benjamin (meaning "son of the right hand"). And 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). The two names given to the baby born to Rachel that day point to the Messiah. Isaiah prophesied the suffering Messiah as "A Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:3). We know that the resurrected Christ is also described as being seated or standing at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19, Rom. 8:34, 1 Pet. 3:21-22, Acts 7:55-56, Acts 2:32-33). We see the involvement of the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, in this account also. The pillar that Jacob placed on Rachel's grave acted as a memorial, but also in the Hebrew meaning of the word masseba it means "to establish, station oneself, take one's stand, appointed". The word is also associated with a military garrison. Resulting from this time of grief for Rachel and for Jacob, a prophetic appointment was made by God involving the Messiah to come. That is not the only prophetic appointment sealed in Rachel's tears before God. In another portion from this Sabbath's reading from Jeremiah 31, the LORD, who had prophesied to Jeremiah that His people would be taken into captivity, promised, "At the same time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people." (v. 1). The LORD promised to re-gather and restore His people. He would do this work, He said, based on tears that have stayed before Him for centuries: "Thus says the LORD: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, 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." (V. 15-17). Rachel's tears in that fruitful place (Ephrath), stayed before the LORD, and were remembered by Him as He showed compassion upon her descendants. King Solomon also wrote: "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance..." (Eccle. 3:1, 4). The word "time" used here is the Hebrew word ayth, which means "a fit or proper time". However the root word is ad, which means "everlasting, eternity, perpetually, evermore". To me, these meanings are saying that although our physical weeping may last for a fit time, our weeping is remembered and remains before the LORD eternally. Though we may grieve, we grieve with hope. The Word of the LORD brings these promises with it: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves (harvest) with him." (Ps. 126:5-6). This is a promise from Revelation: "...for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev. 7:17), and: "...Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away...Behold, I make all things new." (Rev. 21:3-5). If you are in a time of grief, a time of weeping, know that the Lord sees and preserves every tear. When Jesus arrived at a group of family and friends weeping for the loss of their loved one, He wept also, even though He came knowing He was going to raise that loved one from death (Jn. 11:31-39). The Lord will bring comfort to your heart, and cause every tear shed to produce a miracle of rejoicing. If your heart has been touched by grief, as many hearts have been in this nation and around the world, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have seen my grief and numbered my tears. Though my heart weeps, I know that You will use my tears to bring a harvest of miracles. I am not alone in my grief, but You are with me. Turn my mourning into rejoicing for many, even like the Man of sorrows, our Savior, who was raised from the dead, and became the victorious One seated at Your right hand. I ask this in the name of Jesus, AMEN."

When??

Jacob was in a tight spot. His brother, Esau, was angry with him, even threatening to kill him, because Jacob, pretending to be his older brother Esau, had tricked the blessing from their blind father, Isaac (Gen. 27:1-29). Their mother, Rebekah, overhearing Esau's murderous threats, told Jacob to go to her family in the east, to the house of his uncle, Laban in Haran:
"Surely your brother Esau, comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you." 
                                                                                          Gen. 27:42 (Ps. 64:5)
Jacob was running for his life, because if there was one thing Esau knew how to do, it was how to hunt and kill. His mother assured Jacob that his exile would only be for a few days, until Esau's anger had cooled, however, Jacob would not return for twenty years. Their father, Isaac, was told that Jacob was going back to the old country to find a wife from their own people, and he gave Jacob another blessing:
"May God Almighty bless you...and give you the blessing of Abraham."  Gen. 28:3-4
After Jacob began his journey, he slept and dreamed. In his dream, God appeared to him. The LORD identified Himself as the God of Abraham, and the God of Jacob's father, Isaac. God promised that He would give the land, and many descendants to Jacob. It was very similar to the promise that God had given to Abraham, like the blessing that Isaac had prayed over Jacob. God concluded by promising:
"Behold, I am with you, and will keep you (shamar, root word of "Samaria", meaning to keep, watch, protect, to keep covenant and Sabbath, be a watchman) wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."  Gen. 28:15
Jacob was in awe, and called this place Bethel, meaning "House of God (El-root:the ram of sacrifice)". Jacob vowed that if God did as He promised, then He would be Jacob's God, and Jacob would give the LORD a tenth of all that he would possess (Gen. 28:20-22). Jacob only knew God as the God of Abraham, and the God of his father, Isaac. Jacob did not know the LORD as God for himself at this point in his life and journey, but God was not done with Jacob yet.
As Jacob came to the place of his mother's family at Haran, he immediately saw and fell in love with Rachel, when she came to the well. He even kissed her right there, and wept (Gen. 29:11). She had come to the well with her family's sheep at the beginning of the day, well before the accustomed time for bringing the flocks (v. 7-8). Jacob discovered that this beautiful girl was the daughter of his mother's brother, Laban.
Because of the trickery of his uncle, Rachel's father, Laban, Jacob ended up agreeing to work for his uncle for fourteen years, in order to receive Rachel as his wife. After the seven years of the previous agreement, Laban had deceived Jacob and substituted his older daughter, Leah (weary, impatient, grieved, offended, faint, tired, disgusted), to be Jacob's wife instead. Though angry, Jacob agreed to work an additional seven years, if he could have Rachel as well (Gen. 29:27). Jacob must have wondered "When will I finish working this off, and when will I be able to finally return home? How much longer?" As it happened, Jacob also worked an additional six years for Laban to receive his own flocks and herds. Along the way, Laban continued to trick and deceive Jacob to try to get the better of their bargain. Jacob had indeed met his match with his father-in-law, as far as trickery was concerned. However, at each instance of deception, Jacob was still able to prosper out of the situation. He prospered in children, and in flocks and herds, so much so, that Laban became fed up, and, after twenty years, the LORD told Jacob that it was time to take his household and go back to the land of his fathers (Gen. 31:1-7). The LORD again promised to be with Jacob. Although Jacob admitted that it was only because of the LORD that he was able to prosper so under a very crafty Laban, Jacob still referred to God as "the God of my father".
After some contention during Jacob's departure, he and Laban eventually made a covenant of a kind of peace treaty, designated by a heap of stones. Jacob even received a blessing from Laban:
"May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another." 
                                                                                                      Gen. 31:49
Now Jacob, arriving back in his homeland, would once again have to face his brother, Esau. How would Esau receive him? He found out that Esau had heard of his coming, and was coming out to meet him with four hundred men. Accompanied with so many men, it was doubtful that Esau had forgotten any of his anger against Jacob. Jacob had three separate gifts of flocks and herds sent to Esau ahead of his own arrival. These flocks and herds cost him six years of his life, now to be given to appease his maniacal brother. Would the gifts turn away Esau's anger, and his plan to go to war with Jacob? Jacob considered the loss well worth the benefit of safety. Esau's name means "hairy", but the hairiness refers to the shaggy hair of the he-goat (see Gen. 27:16). The he-goat has been an age-old symbol for Satan, as the Concordance mentions.
That night, Jacob had another awesome encounter with the LORD. Jacob wrestled with a Man until daybreak, and demanded a blessing from Him. The only way the Man could break Jacob's hold was to dislocate Jacob's hip. The blessing the Man gave to Jacob was to change his name to "Israel" (God Prevails: contend, have power (as a prince), persist, exert oneself, persevere, contend with), "for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Gen. 32:24-28). King James Version says, "...for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "I have seen God face to face. Many say and believe that Jacob wrestled with an angel, but it was not an angel in scripture- it was a Man, the God-as-Man, Jesus.
Esau, like Satan, turned his back on his Godly purpose and future because he coveted the satisfying of his hunger and desires of the now. Jacob instead coveted the blessing at every opportunity. It is the blessing that fills both the now, and the tomorrow, into eternity. The blessing is truly the gift that keeps on giving.
As Jacob then prepared to meet Esau face to face, he placed both wives, two concubines, and all of his many children ahead of himself, and the remainder of his flocks. In the face of the previous gifts, and with the sight of all of the children, including eleven sons at the time, and the repeated prostration of Jacob, Esau met Jacob with a hug, and kisses, asking, "Who are these with you?" Though the initial meeting went well, Jacob had to use the excuse of the slower pace of the suckling animals in his remaining flock and herd, and the  slow travel needed for the women and children, in order to avoid travelling with a still volatile Esau and his men.
While Jacob must have asked himself many times, "When?", all of the 20 years spent laboring for his crafty, deceitful father-in-law were needed to produce the fruitfulness that saved his life, and secured his future. 
Most of us in our walk with Christ have asked the same question, "When, God?", as we seem to have to wait through fear, discomfort, contention, injustice and trial for the promise of God to manifest. However, even as God kept His promise that He would be with Jacob, and would not leave him until He had done all that He had promised, so He is with us until He has kept all that He has promised us. And, as with Jacob, all that we go through on the journey, even if meant by others for evil, God produces from those very things abundant fruitfulness in our lives. We trust in that. It is the strength of our faith.
Upon his arrival at Shalem (peace, covenant of peace, whole, perfect, safe, to be requited), Jacob built an altar in this place of his purchase in Shechem (back or shoulders, place of burden), and called the altar, "El Elohe Israel", meaning God, the God of Israel (Gen. 33:18-20). Jacob no longer knew God only as the God of Abraham, and his father, Isaac, but Jacob now knew God as the God of Israel, himself (and his posterity).
As a final thought, let me tell you what the name Laban means. It means "white". Looking deeper to the roots, it means, "to make white, become white, purify, to purge, to cleanse from the filthiness of sins", and finally, "to make bricks". Through the "Laban experience", while we are asking, "When God, how long?", God is doing a cleansing, purging and purifying work in us, building something with us as living bricks or stones. He reveals who He is to us, personally, through this journey. And as promised, He is with us to the end.

Our Father is with us, and keeps us until He accomplishes all that He has said.