E-pistle for March 4, 2005
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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay
Foundation March 4, 2005
In this Issue:
Holy Ground Interview: JACOB
Pillsbury College & Seminary
Curt Scarborough's HOLY GROUND INTERVIEW
Featuring today's special guest JACOB
CS Jacob, your biography is a study in wild contrasts,
from
sneaky little brother to sharp businessman to
patriarch
of a nation! Who was the most influential person in
your
life . . . your mother, Rebecca . . . your father,
Isaac . . .
your uncle Laban?
Jacob No doubt, I was prophetically named! I certainly did
make
a habit of tripping-up my brother, Esau! He was so
easy
to manipulate!
CS Your mother was your chief encourager?
Jacob She loved me best, there was no question. But it evened
out, I guess. Esau was father's favorite.
CS What was the big deal about the birthright? Were you
just after
the lion's share of your father's estate?
Jacob That was part of it, naturally. But I always was more
interested
in the God-things than Esau was. I was fascinated
by mother's
stories about Grandfather Abraham's call by God, and
all his
adventures.
CS So the birthright involved more than family property
rights?
Jacob Later in my life I appreciated this more, but the
birthright I
inherited carried with it a major spiritual
component. I became
the priest of the family, the one through whom God
spoke and
accomplished His eternal purposes.
CS Which explains the phrase: "The God of Abraham, Isaac,
and
Jacob."
Jacob Exactly! Mother always felt I should be the one who
inherited
the spiritual mantle passed down from Grandfather
Abraham.
Esau was a profane man, who couldn't have cared less
about
the things of God.
CS So, that justified your tricking your brother and lying
to your
blind father, Isaac, to get your way? Is that how
God works?
Jacob Don't misunderstand! I'm not trying to justify what I
did; it was
wrong, and I paid for it with twenty years of exile.
CS That first night away from home . . . was it your most
important
"Holy Ground" spiritual experience . . . the most
significant,
life-changing personal encounter you ever had with
the Lord
God Almighty?
Jacob That "ladder and angel" vision at Bethel certainly was a
tremendous experience, one I never forgot!
CS Even today, children sing a song about climbing Jacob's
Ladder.
Jacob It wasn't my ladder! It was God's . . . or rather . . .
the ladder
was the Messiah, as John mentioned in his gospel
(1:51). The
angels were like man's prayers ascending to heaven
upon Jesus
(the ladder), and upon Him, the angels brought the
Father's
blessings back down to earth.
CS I never saw your Bethel experience in that light
before.
Jacob As great as it was, that was not the spiritual high point
of my life.
CS What was?
Jacob After sparring with uncle Laban for twenty years . . .
CS He was a slick character! It must run in the family.
Jacob As you know, I out-smarted him and returned to my
homeland
a rich man, with four wives and eleven sons.
CS I thought there were twelve!
Jacob Benjamin was born after we returned to the Promised Land,
and
my dear wife, Rachel, died giving birth.
CS By the way, didn't you promise God at Bethel that you'd
give Him
a tithe of all you possessed if He'd bring you home
safely?
Jacob I gave that portion of my property to Esau. A spiritual
principle I
have learned is that our charitable gifts to others
are counted as
love offerings made to the Lord.
CS You were speaking of your "Holy Ground" experience.
Jacob Oh, yes. It was the night I wrestled with the Angel of
the Lord, the
Son of God in human flesh.
CS Wrestled?
Jacob I mean, I spiritually struggled with him, grappling to
come to an
understanding of His divine purpose and destiny for
my life.
CS Weren't you also begging the Lord for protection from
Esau who
had sworn to murder you and your family?
Jacob That was part of the struggle, but mainly God was making
a
profound change in my inner character . . . it was similar to a
"new birth" experience, involving repentance, faith, and
God's grace.
CS So you were, in effect, re-born there. That is why you
were given
a new name?
Jacob Yes! No more was I called Jacob, the "Heel-catcher."
>From that
day forward, I was called Israel, meaning "Prince
with God."
CS So the name-change symbolized the inner transformation
of
your life?
Jacob Not only that, it altered my walk. As you know, from
that day
forward I limped. Every physical step I took reminded me that
my spiritual walk should testify daily of my up-close-and-personal
encounter with the Lord.
CS Israel, do you have an additional words of advice to
believers today?
Jacob I named that place of encounter "Peniel." It means "Face
of God."
Each and every day, God's people should seek His
face. As David
wrote in Psalm 27; "When You said, 'Seek My face,'
my heart said to
You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek,'"
CS Anything else?
Jacob A final word of advice to parents: Don't show obvious
favoritism
to one of your children. It can lead to a lifetime
of problems! My
mother and father made that tragic mistake . . . and
so did I.
CS Thank you, Israel, for being so candid with us.
Jacob Blessings upon you!
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