providence

Jacob got a lot of things from God that it doesn’t seem he deserved. 

Jacob, known as the deceiver, managed to mess up most of his key relationships. He broke the trust of his father by pretending to be the eldest son in order to get the blessing. He tricked his brother out of both that blessing and his birthright. He neglected his first wife and didn't exert a lot of leadership in bringing harmony into his home. 

This morning, I read in Genesis 31 and 32 of his flight from his uncle/father-in-law Laban, and his concerned preparation for an encounter with his estranged brother. These passages as much as any others portray the stressful life Jacob led because of his deceitful, manipulative habits. 

In spite of that, God watched over Jacob. Look at verses 4-7 of chapter 31, part of the account of Jacob’s plot to sneak away from Laban:: “So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, ‘I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me.’”

No prize himself, Laban did his best to cheat Jacob, but God wouldn’t let him. God ensured that Jacob had great wealth as he headed back to Canaan. I wonder why? It doesn’t seem like Jacob deserved it. Jacob wasn’t changed by God’s goodness: soon he would deceive and flee from Esau, and later in life, Jacob would create a deep split between his sons by his continued favoritism toward Rachel. 

Here’s the conclusion I come to: God’s providence is an act of grace, rooted completely in his great love and completely separate from any worth I might have. Good thing, too, or I might not experience much of it.

An additional thought: though a great blessing to me, God’s providence may be given first and foremost for his purposes. Jacob was a key link in God’s plan to save his people. Is it possible that he blessed Jacob primarily for Joseph’s sake? Or for some other purpose we can’t discern from scripture?

I find myself idly interested in these questions but mostly just comfortable in my confidence that God’s good wisdom will result in good things for his people. That reassurance itself is a great grace.