“Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it!”

Those are the words of Jacob, the third of Israel’s great patriarchs. Over the month of July we’ve been following the narrative of the book of Genesis and the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Last Sunday we heard the story of Esau and Jacob—the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau the elder made poor, short-sighted decisions, while Jacob was conniving, plotting to supplant his brother. He even managed to seduce Esau into trading his birthright—his entire estate inheritance—for a bowl of red lentil stew!  

Today’s story follows immediately after another one of Jacob’s deceptive stunts. The twins are now grown men, and their father Isaac is old and blind and approaching death. It was customary in the ancient Near East, when a father was near the end of his life, to summon his eldest son for a blessing. This final blessing wasn’t mere well-wishes; it was a prophetic word that had the power to effect the direction of the son’s life. Isaac informs Esau, his firstborn, that he would like to give him his final blessing. But he first asks Esau to go out and hunt him some game so that he can enjoy one last fine meal. Rebekah overhears this conversation, and quickly calls Jacob. (Now, remember that Isaac had long favored Esau, while Rebekah was always partial to Jacob.) It is Rebekah who helps Jacob hatch one of the most deceptive plots. 

While Esau is out hunting, Jacob goes and kills two goats from Isaac’s flock, and Rebekah roasts them and prepares a meal. Jacob rummages through Esau’s clothes and puts on some hunting attire that has the scent of game. Meanwhile Rebekah takes the skins of the goats and wraps them around Jacob’s arms. Esau was a hairy man, and this would fool Isaac into believing that Jacob was indeed Esau. Isaac, because he can’t see, falls for it all. He blesses Jacob, who he thinks is Esau, telling him that he will enjoy plentiful harvests and that nations will serve him. As soon as Jacob leaves Isaac, Esau comes back with fresh game. He prepares a feast and brings it to his father, who is understandably confused and dismayed. When they realize what Jacob has done, they are infuriated! Isaac’s final blessing has already been given; there’s no taking it back. All that Isaac can say to Esau is that he will serve his brother but will eventually break free from his control.  

Esau detests Jacob and vows to kill him once Isaac is dead. Rebakah, who suspects what Esau is planning, warns Jacob and tells him to flee to her relatives in Mesopotamia, until Esau’s hatred cools down. Rebekah doesn’t explain the situation truthfully to Isaac. Instead, she informs him that Jacob is headed to Mesopotamia to find a wife. Before Jacob leaves, Isaac blesses him with a safe and successful journey, telling him that he will receive God’s promise to Abraham, that his descendents will inherit the land of the Canaanites.  

This is the point at which today’s reading picks up the story. Jacob leaves for his long journey to Mesopotamia. We’re told that he began the journey at Beersheba, which is located west of the southern end of the Dead Sea. He travels a distance roughly the equivalent of the length of the Dead Sea and then stops for the night. Using a stone for a pillow, he lies down to sleep and has a vivid dream. In his dream, Jacob sees a huge “ladder”—or ramp—stretching from the earth far up into the sky, with angels going up and down the ramp. In the dream God is standing beside him saying, “I am the God of Abraham and Isaac, and I am giving you and your descendents this very land. Your descendents will be great and numerous, and all peoples will be blessed through them.” The dream is a divine confirmation of the blessing that Jacob received from Isaac. Jacob wakes up stunned and exclaims, “Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it!” He names the place Bethel—“house of God.”  

There are a number of things to learn from this story, but I’ll mention three. First, God comes to a fugitive. Remember that the real reason Jacob is headed to Mesopotamia is not to find a wife; it’s to get away from Esau who is planning to kill him. Up until this point, Jacob has not shown any religious sensibilities. God isn’t part of his life, he’s not an honorable person, and his deceptive antics have put his life in danger. He’s now on the run, and it’s at that moment that he’s suddenly overcome by the unexpected presence of God. Why would God appear in this way to Jacob, a shady, scheming character? That question brings to mind the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: “Those who are well have no need of a physician; I haven’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” God is all about touching those who don’t have it all together, those whose lives are a mess, those who are suffering for their bad decisions or malicious actions—like Jacob. It’s difficult to be surprised and overcome by God when everything in your life is smelling like roses. But when things are not going well—that’s when God reaches us in a way that we can’t deny or escape.  

Second, God comes to Jacob in a dream, while Jacob is asleep. I think perhaps we are most vulnerable when we’re asleep. We’re not aware of who is around us, what is being said about us, or what might be done to us. Sleep is the closest we get to being dormant, not totally unconscious but passive, especially during the stage of deep sleep. God presence becomes alive for Jacob at this moment of vulnerability. He’s fleeing Esau—How can he be sure that Esau isn’t already hot on his trail? Jacob presses on, but it’s the end of day and he’s exhausted. He needs to find a place to sleep. So he stops in a rather non-descript area, near a town the Canaanites called Luz (north of Jerusalem, near Ramallah). He finds a place outside to sleep, hoping he’s put enough distance between himself and Esau. I think we can take comfort that in our moments of vulnerability God’s presence can become very real to us. God promises to be with Jacob, to fulfil the original promise made to Abraham, not because of Jacob’s scheming but in spite of it. We might be surprised that God can work the same way in our lives. When we’ve made a mess of things, God still promises to be with us.  

Third, God comes to Jacob in the most ordinary of places. Most of us attach a special value to what we think are holy places—or what Celtic spiritual writers have called “thin places,” where the separation between heaven and earth is translucent. My inlaws just returned from a trip to Spain and Portugal where they visited many historic churches and religious sites. But holy places, as we know, extend beyond church buildings. Great, spectacular, natural phenomena—like the Grand Canyon—can evoke a sense of wonder and holiness. If we’re searching for God, we might expect God’s presence to be tangibly associated with such places. But what about ordinary, uneventful places? Like Costco. Or the garage where you’ve packed things away in storage. The wondrous presence of God can awaken us even in these places. That’s the point of today’s story. Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it!  

The lesson of Jacob is that God comes to us when we’re at our lowest, and God comes to us in places that we least expect. Which means the journey of faith is one of surprises. You never know when God will interrupt your life. Let’s live in such a way that we are always receptive to the presence of God, no matter what we’ve done or where we are.