For the Genesis 31:10-13 PODCAST, Click Here!
10 And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, "Jacob." And I said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family." ~ Genesis 31:10-13
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 31 where Jacob is given revelation from God through two different dreams. Unlike all of the gods out there in this world that people worship, the God of the Bible is personal. The personal name of God, as we have seen in the Genesis narrative, is YHWH. The revelation that God grants to us is always couched in a personal encounter that He grants to us. The ultimate desire of God for us is that we know Him in an ever increasing way.
The Apostle Paul tells us that our faith in God grows as we hear and recognize His voice. The Lord Jesus informed us that His sheep hear His voice and they follow. That is hearing God not with our ears but with our hearts. Of course, when we hear or read the Word of God, the Bible, it will always parallel what God tells us through His spoken Word. God will never tell us to do something that is not consistent with His Word, the Bible.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted."
Jacob's first dream took place at the beginning of his last six years of labor unto Laban. God spoke to Jacob here through two dreams. In the book of Joel God tells us that in the last days "Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." And, in Job 33 Job said, "14 For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, while slumbering on their beds."
God desires the best for all of us. When man does not access God's truth and therefore walks in that which isn't true, he finds himself outside of His love. When we are beyond the grasp of God's love, we will be the recipients of His wrath. Of course, the only thing that moves us into God's love is the performance of the Lord Jesus on our behalf on the cross and our faith in Him as our Savior. When the child of God does not walk in the truth, he will not be the recipient of God's wrath, but he could be the recipient of Satan's wrath.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.'"
Although revelation given by God is awesome and mind-blowing, growing in intimacy with Him is even greater. Through Jacob’s second dream the Angel of God spoke to him and he responded. This was not only revelation, this was also relationship. The "Angel of God" here was the Lord who spoke to Jacob at Bethel. This was further confirmation from God to Jacob that the first dream was actually from God Himself.
Since revelation is God’s self-disclosure to us, He reveals Himself to us so we may grow to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. When we respond in the affirmative to the revelation that God gives us, we should expect more revelation to come from Him. This is how any relationship rolls out and this is why Christianity is not a religion. While religion is man trying to earn God's favor, Christianity is a personal relationship with God that was granted through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 And He said, 'Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.'"
In this dream that God gave to Jacob, he used a different word to describe Jacob's sheep. "Gray-spotted" speaks for itself. God introduced a new color to reveal that He was the One producing the changes in the sheep all along. God is the arbiter of the truth, what He says is what makes anything true. When we know the definition of anything from God, we then know the truth. It is then that we can walk in the truth and the truth is God's definition of anything. When we respond to the truth, it shows up as obedience from us or that we are walking in that which is right and true.
Like his grandfather, Abraham, it was only when he had responded to the previous revelation that God gave Jacob more revelation. Abraham’s departure from Haran was key to the release of the promises that God had in store for him beyond God's initial revelation to him. With Jacob, God was no different. Like Abraham, Jacob's obedience opened the door for God to deliver to Him further revelation of and from Him.
And sure enough, just as Jacob’s dream showed the mating rams’ colors, the Lord confirmed his dream. The Lord knew that Laban had cheated Jacob and would continue to cheat him, and so He directed the flocks according to His wisdom as the Creator. Everything that happened had been at the Lord’s direction. The dreams were meant to be an encouragement to Jacob so that he would commit himself to what God would have him do next.
These reassuring words echoed for Jacob back some 20 years when he first left Canaan. He traveled through Bethel and had a vision where the Lord told him, "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." And true to His promise, God had been with Jacob, kept him, and was now directing him back to the land of his birth.
The believer in Christ can expect the same from God. Once entering into a personal relationship with God by inviting Him into our lives, we will then begin to pray to Him and read His word regularly. To the believer in Christ the Holy Spirit has been given. He is the One who lives in the hearts of believers and never leaves. He counsels, teaches, and changes the heart of each believer. Without the Holy Spirit, we would not have the ability to have this personal relationship with God. If you have not entered into a personal relationship with Him, let me encourage you to talk to Him right now. Begin by admitting to Him that you know that you are a sinner and that your sin has separated you from Him. Believe that the Lord Jesus paid the penalty for your sin. And, invite Him into your life.
