But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” – Genesis 32:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 23, 2018): Genesis 32

We are a people of faith. What we have faith in sometimes differs, but we still have faith. Some of us place our faith in education. We believe that a higher education is necessary for us to have the life for which we dream. And in Western Society, it is becoming harder and harder to get a job without at least a basic High School education. It was not that long ago that people could be quite successful without completing High School. But the chances of that happening today are greatly reduced. For every teen that wonders why they have to stay in school, the reality is that they will be struggling with poverty for the rest of their lives if they don’t. So maybe it is okay to put our faith in education.

Others place their faith in the idea of hard work. If they can work hard enough, they can become successful. With hard work, they can overcome their deficiencies in other areas. Jon Bon Jovi in his song “Save the World” writes it this way –

              I never went to college; I don't have a degree

Let's say I went to night school
I learned all I know on the streets  

I wasn't born a rich man; I ain't got no pedigree
The sweat on this old collar
That's my Ph.D.

The idea is that if I can work hard enough, I can be a success, even if I don’t have the advantages of other people. The truth is probably somewhere between these two ideals. It is rare that either hard work or education is enough to make us successful.

Jacob was a man who seemed to understand all of this. He never really comes across as a traditional man of faith, someone who has placed his faith in God. He is a man with a pedigree; after all, he is the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. Those names likely meant something in his world. Abraham and Isaac appear to be men of some wealth, which would have been passed on to their children.

But Jacob was also shrewd. Some might want to use a less politically correct word, but let’s stay with shrewd. He is not beyond taking advantage of people, even people with whom he is related – consider, for instance, his complicated relationship with Esau, who he is now going to meet once again after stealing the blessing that was rightfully his, and his father-in-law Laban of whom Jacob, although in a way that should not have worked, took advantage.

There is no doubt that Jacob is hard working. But now, Jacob is scared. Everything that he has, much of it stolen in some way or another, from other people, is in danger of being taken away from him. And so he prays. He becomes a man of faith who places his trust in God, about whom before this; it seems that he rarely thinks. His prayer is a simple one. “God save me.” God you made promises to me. The reality that Jacob does not want to think about is that the promises of God could have been fulfilled without Jacob surviving the coming battle. Jacob has prospered, and his children already number more than that Abraham and Isaac combined, who also received the promise that their descendants would be too numerous to count. Jacob has already received everything that God has promised to him.

But Jacob wants more. His prayer is filled with that request. It is a request that what he already possesses would be kept safe, but that he would be safe as well. Jacob is a man with a pedigree who is shrewd and works hard, and who now in the midst of his great fear seems to have a blossoming faith in God. 

So, does this make him a man of faith? Maybe. I love George Muller’s response when he was asked what the most important part of prayer was. The 19^th-century evangelist replied “The fifteen minutes after I have said, ‘Amen.’” Faith in God is not revealed in how we pray, but rather how we live once the prayer is finished.

For Jacob, what happens next is important.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 33