Jacob the Deceiver

This year, I am reading the Chronological Bible. It has been an adventure so far in Genesis. I know we all know the stories in Genesis. You study them as a kid in Sunday School. Then, when you start teaching kids about the Bible, you learn it all over again!

Jacob has been the topic lately. His name means "Deceiver" and he certainly was! He gives Esau a meal in exchange for the Firstborn Birthright. He steals the Firstborn Blessing from his father Isaac by pretending to be Esau. ( I always wondered, if Esau gave him the birthright, would that not have included the Blessing? If so, I guess the boys never told their parents about the new arrangement!)

He escapes the wrath of Esau by fleeing to his father's family to find a wife. On the way there:

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it.

13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, "I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. [fn1] 15 What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised."

16 Then Jacob woke up and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God-the gateway to heaven!" 18 The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named the place Bethel-"house of God"-though the name of the nearby village was Luz.

20 Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, 21 and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the Lord my God. 22 This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me."

The verse that amazed me -- "IF GOD will be with me and protect me..." God had just given Jacob a wonderful promise. God HAD PROMISED to be with Jacob and protect him, and he STILL says "IF" this is true, THEN he will make the Lord his God! And yet God did not give up on Jacob. He fulfilled His promise to Jacob.

And what a blessing that this event was recorded for us. It shows us that God can find the good in us and work with it. That He does not give up on us. That God provides protection for us on our journey though life. Praise God!

John 4: 43 - 54

Jesus Heals an Official's Son

43 At the end of the two days' stay, Jesus went on into Galilee.

44 He had previously said, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country."

45 The Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen all his miraculous signs.

46 In the course of his journey through Galilee, he arrived at the town of Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in the city of Capernaum whose son was very sick.

47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea and was traveling in Galilee, he went over to Cana. He found Jesus and begged him to come to Capernaum with him to heal his son, who was about to die.

48 Jesus asked, "Must I do miraculous signs and wonders before you people will believe in me?"

49 The official pleaded, "Lord, please come now before my little boy dies."

50 Then Jesus told him, "Go back home. Your son will live!" And the man believed Jesus' word and started home.

51 While he was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well.

52 He asked them when the boy had begun to feel better, and they replied, "Yesterday afternoon at one o'clock his fever suddenly disappeared!"

53 Then the father realized it was the same time that Jesus had told him, "Your son will live." And the officer and his entire household believed in Jesus.

54 This was Jesus' second miraculous sign in Galilee after coming from Judea.


His second miracle. Again in Cana. Different circumstances. First miracle, a joyous occasion, a wedding. Second miracle, a dying child.

Again, Jesus seems to say "No" when asked to perform a miracle. Yet he performs the miracle, just not in the way the Official expected. Jesus did not have to go with him to heal the child. He merely spoke the words "Your son will live."

The official did not need to see it happen to believe it. And his belief was confirmed.

Are we willing to take Jesus at his Word? Are we willing to let Jesus work in His own way, and not reject Him because things don't happen the way we want them to? We do better to trust God to answer prayers His way.

John 4:27-38

27 Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing.

28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone,

29 "Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?"

30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat.

32 "No," he said, "I have food you don't know about."

33 "Who brought it to him?" the disciples asked each other.

34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.

35 Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest.

36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!

37 You know the saying, `One person plants and someone else harvests.' And it's true.

38 I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and you will gather the harvest."


The woman left her jar! She had come there for water. But she left her jar; she must have been in a hurry to tell others about the Messiah. Excited about the living water he offered her.

The woman saw the light of Jesus. She wanted to share this. She went to her village to share this. And they came streaming back to discover Jesus for themselves.

The light of Jesus was obvious to this woman. She took her mind off earthly things to tell others about Christ.

At this point, the Disciples are concerned about getting Jesus to eat. He must have been tired and hungry. But, doing the will of God was as essential to Jesus as eating.

We need to take our minds off earthly things. We need to get our heart and soul busy doing the will of God. Planting the seeds. Reaping the harvest.

John 4:15-26

15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water."

16 "Go and get your husband," Jesus told her.

17 "I don't have a husband," the woman replied. Jesus said, "You're right! You don't have a husband-

18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now."

19 "Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet.

20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?"

21 Jesus replied, "Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.

22 You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

23 But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way.

24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."

25 The woman said, "I know the Messiah will come-the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

26 Then Jesus told her, "I am the Messiah!"



The woman comes to the well to get water. She finds a totally different kind of water than she was seeking. She finds Jesus. She is intrigued by what he says. She wants some of the water he offers, but does she know what she is asking for?


Jesus knows the woman is really not ready for the water Jesus offers. He needs to prepare her to be ready, so he asks where her husband is. How amazed she must have been at his knowledge of her life. She is convinced that he is a prophet. She does not see Him as Messiah.

She asks another question. Jesus answers her. He has been preparing her mind and heart for what she needs to know -- I am the Messiah.

Jesus knows our hearts and lives as well. He prepares us for what we need to know, that He is Messiah. He opens our hearts and minds to the need we have for him, prepares us for becoming Christians.

John 4: 1-15

Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, "Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John"

2 (though Jesus himself didn't baptize them-his disciples did).

3 So he left Judea to return to Galilee.

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.

5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink."

8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"

10 Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

11 "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water?

12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?"

13 Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.

14 But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."

15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water."

Timing is everything. God's timing is perfect.

Was it an accident that Jesus was at the well when the Samaritan woman came? Was it a coincidence that the disciples had gone into town, leaving him alone?

Jesus did not have to go through Samaria. He could have gone around. Most Jews probably did. But he took the "shortcut" through Samaria. Time was of the essence. He had an appointment to keep.

How many times has God put us in the right place at the right time to tell someone about Jesus? How many of those times have we acted on it, or even recognized our opportunities?

It is easy to look back and see the times God has placed someone in our life at just the right time. We need to strive to recognize when WE are the right person in someone else's life and look for opportunities to share the Gospel.

John 3:31-36

31 "He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of earth, but he has come from heaven.

32 He tells what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!

33 Those who believe him discover that God is true.

34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God's words, for God's Spirit is upon him without measure or limit.

35 The Father loves his Son, and he has given him authority over everything.

36 And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them."



John the Baptist tells us that Jesus is greater than anyone here on earth. He was sent by God himself. He tells us about heavenly things -- things it is hard for us to understand. We only really know this physical world that we live in.

Even today, few people believe what Jesus tells them. They choose not to recognize the power of Jesus. They choose not to believe in Him. They choose to believe in what they see and hear in this world. They choose to wait until another day, or believe it doesn't matter, that if they live a good, moral life, they will be rewarded by Jesus whether they choose to follow him in this life or not. They miss the fact that we are told we must OBEY Jesus, not just believe in Him. The Devil believes...is he going to inherit Heaven?

John 3:22-30

22 Afterward Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem, but they stayed in Judea for a while and baptized there.

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there and people kept coming to him for baptism.

24 This was before John was put into prison.

25 At that time a certain Jew began an argument with John's disciples over ceremonial cleansing.

26 John's disciples came to him and said, "Teacher, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you said was the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going over there instead of coming here to us."

27 John replied, "God in heaven appoints each person's work.

28 You yourselves know how plainly I told you that I am not the Messiah. I am here to prepare the way for him-that is all.

29 The bride will go where the bridegroom is. A bridegroom's friend rejoices with him. I am the bridegroom's friend, and I am filled with joy at his success.

30 He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.



As I read this, the first thing that really jumped out at me was verse 27 -- "God in heaven appoints each person's work." Reading on, you see that John the Baptist was very aware of his role. He was also very aware that his work would be coming to a close. But he continued to point the way to Jesus. And he continued to proclaim Jesus the Messiah.

When humans are asked to give up a "work", sometimes it is not easy. Sometimes you really miss the "work", some folks might even resent that the "work" was taken from them. It is not always easy to see God at work in your life.

What a great example John the Baptist set for us. Always look to God! Continue to point the way to Jesus! God will have a new plan for you -- be conscious of that. And continue to pray that His will be done.