We are in the season of Thanksgiving in several nations. One of the most difficult things in our spiritual walk is the giving of thanks to God. You may question that statement, but the lack of thanks happens in our lives every day, especially if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, but it is in those hardships that thanksgiving to God is our most powerful spiritual gift. We know this scripture: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thess. 5:18). Do we do it? I know that I don't. I am quick to thank the Lord for the good things in my life, but rarely think to thank God when I am suffering, or in difficulty. If anything, I am looking for where to place the blame!
Paul wrote this about our incomplete understanding or knowledge of God: "For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part will be done away." (1 Cor. 13:9-10). This is what the LORD says about our understanding of Him: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55:7-8). The LORD makes very clear what His thoughts are towards us: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you...and I will bring you back from your captivity..." (Jer. 29:11-14). Although Judah was headed into Babylonian captivity at the time of this prophecy from Jeremiah, a fate they tried to avoid by any means, the LORD assured them that He still had thoughts and plans for them if they would seek Him. They didn't believe Him then, but God's thoughts and plans towards them are still in effect!
This week's Sabbath portion is titled Va-yeitze, which means "And he left", referring to Jacob. It takes place in Gen. 28 through 31. Jacob is being forced to leave his home because his brother, Esau, has threatened to kill him. Esau believes that Jacob has repeatedly sought to steal his blessing from him. While Esau willingly gave away his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew, Jacob had indeed used deception to gain the blessing of his father, Isaac, for himself. In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Jacob (and his descendants, Israel) would later be noted by God as trying to gain God's blessing by his own strength: "...I will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds...He (Jacob) took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought favor from Him...that is the LORD God of hosts." (Hos. 12:2-5, see also Gen. 32:22-32).
As we go back to the moment when Jacob was forced to leave his home, we read: "Now Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones from that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." (Gen. 28:10-12).
Jacob left Beersheba behind. Beersheba was one of the great wells in Israel, established by Abraham (see Gen. 21:29-31, Gen. 21:14, 19), Jacob's grandfather. From this place of well-watered, covenant provision, Jacob was headed towards his mother's relatives in Haran, a place whose name means "parched, dried up, to burn, be hot, scorched, charred, be angry, kindle, to melt, fire, roast, a man in judgment". We don't know what Jacob, a man who was used to determining his own destiny, was thinking, but things were not looking good. An observer might think that a terrible fate awaited Jacob. A religious person might assume that Jacob was doomed for hell, according to the meaning of "Haran", but what are God's thoughts and plans for Jacob, which no man can know? It might help if we know that "Haran" also means "to be free, set at liberty, the brightness and purity of a man obscured by no stain". So which way will this story go?
We need to look at the rest of the verses from above. The account in Gen. 28 tells us that Jacob "came (paga - encounter, meet, entreat, make intercession, join to, pray, meet together, reach) to a certain place". In Hebrew, "certain place", or maqom/qum, has great significance, meaning "a place to be raised up, "Arise!", raise up one fallen down, raise up a name, a seed or a posterity, become powerful, continue, be proven, be fulfilled, be established, confirm, the birth of a king or a prophet". Then it is written that Jacob took the (building) stone of raising up, or resurrection, and placed it at his head (mera'asot/ros - dominion, head place, headpiece, headship, principality/head, captain, chief, top, choicest). Through paga intercession and entreaty, Jacob made the building stone of resurrection, Jesus, his headship, his headpiece! Then Jacob laid down to sleep (sakab + sakab - lie down, rest, to be poured out of a vessel, decrease, to be prostrated, of those who are dying). In a moment, a life has been changed. A man, Jacob, has died to self, and surrendered himself to the One who lives forever, and can raise him up again. Could Jacob, at his lowest point, have remembered the story of his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, who experienced that same ram of sacrifice on Mount Moriah? (Gen. 22:1-19)?
What were God's thoughts and plans toward Jacob all along? The LORD stood at the top of that ladder that extended from earth to heaven that Jacob saw in his dream, and said to Jacob: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, 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 spoken to you." (Gen. 28:13-15).
When Jacob awoke he said: "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it...How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega/ Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:, Rev. 22:13) stone, or headship, of resurrection, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it." And he called the name of that (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) place Bethel (meaning "House/family/temple/descendants of God"); but the name of that city had been Luz ("Almond Tree") previously." (Gen. 28:18-19).
Jacob anointed with oil a physical place, but, to me, "Bethel" is any place where an earnest heart in prayer dies to self, and places the Resurrection and the Life, the Son of God, Jesus, at the headship over his life. To me, the ladder in the dream is the connection between earth and heaven and God, that is built through the prayer of one who seeks the Lord. Jacob sought blessing and favor by his own strength, but, blessing and favor was the LORD's plan for Jacob's life from the beginning. From our Sabbath reading this week, Proverbs says: "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." (Prov. 22:4). Jesus taught the same: "Therefore do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Mt. 6:31-33).
We can give God thanks even in the most difficult times, because, as Paul wrote: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." This is the predestination and foreknowledge of God for each of us. (Rom. 8:28-30). It was the plan of God for Jacob's life that he would be the father of the twelve tribes/princes of Israel. One of his sons, Joseph, would save the nation of Egypt from destruction. That same son, Joseph, although betrayed by his brothers, was able to forgive them when he saw them again, saying, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.'...And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." (Gen. 50:19-21).
Jesus thanked His Father, even on the night that He was betrayed, was to be arrested, broken and sacrificed for our salvation. (1 Cor. 11:23-26). The word used for Communion, or Eucharist, is from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning "thanksgiving". If Jesus could give thanks to God for His own sacrifice, and looking beyond it to the great victory for many that would result from it, what circumstance would entitle us to withhold our own thanksgiving?
If we can receive and believe this about our God, then we can and should thank Him in all circumstances. If you would like to know more about thankfulness, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, I know that your thoughts and plans for me are perfect in wisdom and grace. Forgive me, Lord, when I fail to give You the thanks that acknowledges Your constant favor towards me, even in difficult times and circumstances. When I rely upon my own sight, understanding and strength, I fail to see Your thoughts towards me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I will be able to say, "Teach me more, Lord!". Teach me the faith of the Son of man, a faith that goes beyond what I can see with my natural eyes, and beyond my own understanding, and relies instead upon what You have declared. Above all other things, Lord, I give You my thanks. Increase my thankfulness to You, Lord. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."
