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Jacob's Four Pillars

by L M Grant

http://www.biblecentre.org

• Introduction

• The Pillar of Fleshly Self-Confidence

• The Pillar of the Knowledge of the ntrustworthiness of the Flesh

• The Pillar of Confidence in a !i"ing #od

• The Pillar of the #i"ing up of $"ery $arthly %ope

Introduction

In the &ld Testa'ent #od is four ti'es called (the #od of )braha'* the #od of Isaac andthe #od of +acob(. In the ,ew Testa'ent %is characteristic na'e is re"ealed as (the #od

and Father of our !ord +esus Christ(. ,o doubt this &ld Testa'ent na'e shows us that

#od was seeing to re"eal %i'self in so'e 'easure at least as a Trinity )braha' is atype of #od the Father* Isaac a type of the !ord +esus* the Son* and in +acob we see the

woring of the Spirit of #od.

+acob hi'self is not a type of the Spirit of #od* ne"ertheless he is typical of the Spirits

woring in the people of #od. I belie"e this is the reason #od is called the #od of)braha'* and of Isaac and of +acob. %e has a threefold character in nature and we see

this beautifully portrayed in these three 'en. In the case of +acob there was the woring

of the Spirit of #od in bringing hi' fro' the place of distance bac into the presence of#od. +acob "oluntarily left the place of blessing but #od did not finish dealing with hi'

until %e had brought hi' bac to the place that %e intended hi' to ha"e.

Than #od this is true in regard to e"ery child of #od as well as in regard to the nation of

Israel. In this respect +acob is a "ery striing type being the i''ediate father of all Israel*so that the end of his history will be beautifully seen in Israel being restored in the land

and blessed with e"ery natural blessing in earthly places. ,ow* howe"er* there are four

rather striing 'ilestones in the history of +acob in the four pillars that he set up and I

would lie to consider each of these.

Jacob's First Pillar : The Pillar of Fleshly Self-Confidence

( And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shaltnot take a wife of the daughters of Canaan..... And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to

Padan-Aram, to aban the son of !ethuel the "yrian, the brother of #ebecca, Jacob$s and

%sau$s mother..... And Jacob went out from !eer-sheba, and went towards &aran. And helighted on a certain 'lace, and lodged there, because the sun had set. And he took one of


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the stones of the 'lace, and made it his 'illow, and lay down in that 'lace. And he

dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set u' on the earth, and the to' of it reached to the

hea(ens. And behold, angels of )od ascended and descended u'on it. And behold, Jeho(ah stood abo(e it. And he said, I am Jeho(ah, the )od of Abraham, thy father, and

the )od of Isaac* the land on which thou liest, to thee will I gi(e it, and to thy seed. And

thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt s'read abroad to the west, and tothe east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the

families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and will kee' thee in all

'laces to which thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not lea(ethee until I ha(e done what I ha(e s'oken to thee of. And Jacob awoke from his slee',

and said, "urely Jeho(ah is in this 'lace, and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said,

&ow dreadful is this 'lace+ this is none other but the house of )od, and this is the gate of

hea(en. And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his 'illow, and set it u' for a 'illar, and 'oured oil on the to' of it. And he called the name of

that 'lace !eth-el; but the name of that city was u at the first. And Jacob (owed a (ow,

saying, If )od will be with me, and kee' me on this road that I go, and will gi(e me bread

to eat, and a garment to 'ut on, and I come again to my father$s house in 'eace - then shall Jeho(ah be my )od. And this stone, which I ha(e set u' for a 'illar, shall be )od$s

house; and of all that thou wilt gi(e me I will without fail gi(e the tenth to thee.

)enesis /0*1,2,13-//4

)t this ti'e +acob was not in a good state of soul* he was going out fro' the presence of

the !ord* fro' the place where #od had pro'ised blessing because his 'other was afraid

for his life and because his father told hi' to go elsewhere to get a wife.

$sau had taen a daughter of the land and they did not want the sa'e thing to happen to

+acob 012:34-356. 7hen +acob was sent to get a wife fro' Padan-ara' a'ong hisrelati"es $sau went and got another wife fro' the daughters of Ish'ael 018:96* he no

doubt thought* y parents do not want wi"es of Canaanites so I will get a daughter ofIsh'ael* she is* after all* a daughter of )braha'(. )braha' was the father of Ish'ael*

and he thought that in this way he was going to please his parents but this is the way of

the flesh. In $sau we find that ind of nature which lies to please 'en in a certain way*

but he wanted to please hi'self first that is the way of the flesh* there is no thought of#od.

So'e people ha"e said that $sau was a better person than +acob but I do not belie"e that

is correct. #od does not e;pose e"erything about $sau that %e 'ight ha"e* but %e does

e;pose the inconsistencies and wrongs of %is own people* %e does that for us and %edoes that to show us the flesh in oursel"es 0and we can be "ery thanful for that6. %e does

not ha"e to e;pose the wrongs of others* although* e"en $sau had absolutely no right to

e;pect the blessing fro' his father as he had sold his birthright to +acob. It is true enoughthat +acob was wrong in the way he got the blessing and his 'other was wrong too.

&ther people 'ae the 'istae of


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father. +acob hi'self new he was wrong. 7hen he went out he went out with a bad

conscience. 7hen e"entually he ca'e bac to 'eet $sau how did he feel> 7ell he new

that he had done wrong because he fell to the ground before $sau se"en ti'es and si;ti'es called hi' (y lord( 033:3*8*=3*=40;16*=56. %e was afraid of his brother* this

deception bothered hi' fro' that "ery ti'e until he 'et $sau again* ne"ertheless $sau

was one who despised the birthright* and +acob was one who "alued it. %ere I thin is a"ery i'portant principle* the child of #od "alues what #od has to gi"e* +acob "alued it

e"en though he used a wrong 'ethod to get it. This is characteristic of a child of #od* to

tae what #od freely gi"es* this being the source of all power all


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will bless thee* and in 'ultiplying I will 'ultiply thy seed as the stars of the hea"en* and

as the sand which is upon the sea shore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his

ene'ies( 0#en.11:=@6. #od pro'ised this unconditionally to )braha'.

Than #od %e reiterates this also in the case of +acob* that that blessing would stand.

This is what was in"ol"ed with the well of the oath. ,ow* instead of standing absolutelyupon the truth of #ods word* recei"ing the blessings #od has to gi"e and thaning %i'

for the'* how easily we can say* 7ell* 'aybe I ought to help #od to do what %e wantsto do* I 'ay ha"e an idea of #ods counsels and decide to help %i' out. 7e see this

continually in Scripture. #od told )braha' he would ha"e a son and when he and his

wife saw that they were old they decided to help the !ord out 0#en.=26.

Is it not often so with us also* we want to help #od out in regard to what %e does. 7e see

this also with +acob when he obtained the blessing that Isaac had deter'ined to gi"e to

$sau. Aebeah was in a panic and no doubt +acob was too. 7hat would ha"e happened if

they had not done what they did> They had to do so'ething in a hurry. #od had pro'ised

Aebeah that (the older shall ser"e the younger( 0#en.15:136 and besides this $sau hadsold his birthright to +acob* so what were they to do to get the blessing which $sau was

right at the point of getting> 7ell we do not now what would ha"e happened if they hadnot acted as they did. 7ould anything ha"e happened> Bes* of course so'ething would

ha"e happened. If Aebeah had si'ply gone to the !ord and told %i' that %e had

pro'ised that the elder should ser"e the younger and left the whole 'atter to the !ord %ewould ha"e taen care of it in If +acobhad seen the !ord co'ing he would ha"e run away. I do not thin +acob would ha"e


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stayed the night in that place if he had nown what was going to happen. ,otice what he

said* (Surely the !ord is in this place and I new it not how dreadful is this place( That

is characteristic of a soul who is out of co''union with #od* and yet how wonderful tosee the grace of #od in dealing with that 'an.

+acobs drea' loos forward to the 'illenniu' when restored co''union is going to benown between earth and hea"en* the ladder being set up on the earth the top of which

reaches to hea"en* in other words* peace is established on earth* the angels of #od ascendand descend upon this ladder. %ow the heart longs for this. !oo at the world today in the

awful state of confusion it is in with no nowledge of #od* no word fro' #od to 'eet

the deep need of 'an in all his 'isery and ruin. any centuries ha"e passed in which#od has been co'pletely silent* but what a day is soon to co'e when co''unication

between hea"en and earth is again to be perfectly established. #od is looing forward to

this* %is heart longs for the day when Israel will be in proper co''union with %i' andwhen all the earth will brea forth in singing* but to +acob it is only a drea'* with the

!ord standing abo"e the ladder.

In all that #od had to say to +acob how 'ar"ellous that e"erything that %e spoe of was

the way in which %e was going to bless hi' there was not one word of reproach to+acob. This is one reason that so'e say that +acob had done no wrong because if he had

#od would ha"e repro"ed hi'. ?ut is it always true that #od repro"es 'en when they

ha"e done wrong> ,o* it is not. In Scripture there were 'any cases where 'en had donewrong and were not repro"ed by #od. )braha' definitely did wrong in the way that he

denied that he was the husband of Sarai saying that she was


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will eep thee in all places to which thou goest* and will bring thee again into this land

for I will not lea"e thee until I ha"e done what I ha"e spoen to thee of(.

%ow grand a word this is. $"en though +acob was not waling in a proper course 0and henew it6* the !ord said* (I a' with you(. Can the !ord go with a belie"er on a wrong

course> 7ell* %e did not say %e appro"ed of +acobs course* yet in spite of this the !ordsaid (I a' with you( and the !ord certainly was with +acob. +acob acted wrongly on far

too 'any occasions later on in the way he acted towards !aban* but the !ord blessed+acob in spite of this. #od had pro'ised hi' this and %e did it. 7e 'ay as the Duestion*

7ould #od ha"e blessed hi' so greatly if he had not used his own 'eans to get 'ore

wealth> 7ell* he used so'e pretty deceitful 'eans in his dealings with !aban to get'ore flocs and herds but he did not ha"e to do that because #od had pro'ised %e

would bless hi' before that all +acob had to do was trust #od for it.

(I a' with thee* and will eep thee in all places to which thou goest(.

Is that not grand in relation also to the history of the people of Israel> %as %e not beenwith that nation in whate"er places they ha"e gone* and yet they ha"e suffered terribly.

Can we say that #od is still with the'> Bes we can. #od has allowed the' to suffer

because of their disobedience* and we will too if we get away fro' #od. +acob was not in

a good conscience and the !ord ept on troubling hi'. 7hiche"er way he turned so longas he was doing his own will he got into trouble. The !ord was dealing with +acob. #od

did not ha"e to say 'uch here* the fact of %is pure grace was enough to strie into the

heart and conscience of +acob. If we new so'ething 'ore of the grace of #od we woulduse it a great deal 'ore effecti"ely than we do* but di"ine grace was woring here for the

sae of the blessing of that 'an* #od intended to bring hi' bac again.

)fter ha"ing all this* +acob appreciated deeply what #od pro'ised although there wasstill on +acobs part a good deal of clinging to his self-righteousness. %e ne"er did see his'other again after this. ?y the ti'e he got bac he was ninety-fi"e years of age so that

his 'other had died although his father was still li"ing. )ll these things had a "ery great

bearing on hi'. +acob had a sad life in 'any respects so that at the end he could say*(The days of the years of 'y pilgri'age are an hundred and thirty years: few and e"il

ha"e the days of the years of 'y life been* and ha"e not attained unto the days of the

years of the life of 'y fathers in the days of their pilgri'age( 0#en.4@:96. That is what hefelt lie* and I a' sure we can find a re'arable inship in our own li"es with that of

+acob. )ll this certainly shows us that +acob depended upon di"ine grace and grace would

bring hi' bac.

7aing fro' sleep +acob said*

(Surely +eho"ah is in this place* and I new it not. )nd he was afraid* and said* %owdreadful is this place this is none other but the house of #od* and this is the gate of

hea"en(.


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,o doubt it is good for us to ha"e a true re"erence for the na'e of #od but there would

not be any reason for hi' to be in fear or terror if he had been waling in any true

'easure of co''union with the !ord. The !ords presence should bring two things to theheart of the belie"er* firstly* the fact of #ods di"ine truth* 'a


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deser"e anything fro' #od> This is the principle in regard to Israel* #od had pro'ised

the' blessing for eternity* in the land no doubt* but then Israel said* 7e will show #od

that we are able to deser"e this. This is the attitude of the flesh* #od gi"es 'e blessingsand they are so 'ar"ellous I turn around and say* I will show Bou


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hast changed my wages ten times. &ad not the )od of my father, the )od of Abraham,

and the fear of Isaac, been with me, it is certain thou wouldest ha(e sent me away now

em'ty. )od has looked u'on my affliction and the labour of my hands, and has 5udgedlast night. And aban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and

the sons are my sons, and the flock is my flock, and all that thou seest is mine; but as for

my daughters, what can I do this day to them, or to their sons whom they ha(e brought forth6 And now, come, let us make a co(enant, I and thou; and let it be a witness between

me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it u' for a 'illar. And Jacob said to his

brethren, )ather stones. And they took stones, and made a hea', and ate there u'on thehea'. And aban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it )aleed. And aban said,

This hea' is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called

)aleed, - and 8i'ah; for he said, et Jeho(ah watch between me and thee, when we

shall be hidden one from another* if thou shouldest afflict my daughters, or if thou shouldest take wi(es besides my daughters, - no man is with us; see, )od is witness

between me and thee+ And aban said to Jacob, !ehold this hea', and behold the 'illar

which I ha(e set u' between me and thee* let this hea' be witness, and the 'illar a

witness, that neither I 'ass this hea' to go to thee, nor thou 'ass this hea' and this 'illarto come to me, for harm. The )od of Abraham, and the )od of 9ahor, the )od of their

father, 5udge between us+ And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. And Jacoboffered a sacrifice u'on the mountain, and in(ited his brethren to eat bread* and they ate

bread, and lodged on the mountain. And aban rose early in the morning, and kissed his

sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and aban went and returned to his 'lace.

)en./:*1,12-/3; 1*/-,


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not* little floc* for it has been the good pleasure of your Father to gi"e you the ingdo'(

0!ue =1:316.

There are so'e who will be blessed before the ti'e of the uni"ersal gathering* we see thisin what follows here. +acob saw Aachel and when he saw her he went near and rolled the

stone fro' the wells 'outh and watered the floc of !aban* his 'others brother. %e'ust ha"e been strong to do that as it too all the shepherds to do it. They had to wait

until all the shepherds were there and they would roll the stone together* but +acob wentand rolled it bac by hi'self when he saw #achel . The principle that stands out is this*

the stone is the law that holds bac the blessing that 'an is going to recei"e fro' #od

and it is that alone which really eeps bac what #od has to gi"e. an feels that hedeser"es so'ething so long as he tries hard enough* but still the stone is on the wells top

pre"enting the water co'ing forth. The sa'e is seen in the stone on the gra"e of !aarus*

the sa'e stone that +acob would use for hi'self as we see later on 0+ohn ==:39-4E6.

%ere the law is set bac and in the "ery dispensation in which you and I li"e there is

blessing before the ti'e of uni"ersal blessing* the blessing has co'e to us now. 7e seethe principle in +acob recei"ing strength on the powerful principle of lo(e. !o"e has the

strength that law has not. !o"e has strength to tae law away co'pletely. So +acobsaffection for Aachel ga"e hi' the energy that #od used. If only +acob had acted on this

principle consistently. If he had followed this he would ne"er ha"e had the difficulties

that he had. This is true of e"ery child of #od* if you and I always acted on the di"ine principle of true di"ine lo"e operating in our hearts we would certainly di"ide the nu'ber

of trials we ha"e and we would find that life would be a great deal 'ore si'ple. )ctually*

di"ine lo"e should be that which characterises e"erything that happens to the belie"er.

This is true in Christianity. (The lo"e of #od is shed abroad in our hearts by the %olySpirit which has been gi"en to us( 0Ao'.5:56. !o"e operates in different ways* lo"e is

always


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?ecause you are 'y brother can you ser"e 'e for nothing> Tell 'e what will your wages

be>

)nd here is where +acob 'aes a serious 'istae. I used to feel "ery sorry for +acob*when he was decei"ed by !aban and got a wife he did not want 0he wanted Aachel* not

!eah6* but do you now where +acob went wrong> %e got !eah by bargaining. Bou 'aysay* %ow do you figure that out> It is because +acob was guilty of dreadfully

'isrepresenting the relationship that 'ost beautifully represents the relationship betweenChrist and the church* a relationship of absolutely pure grace. +acob brought it down to a

le"el of 'erely a legal thing instead of recognising it as a thing of pure grace.

Pro"erbs 3=:=E says (7ho can find a "irtuous wo'an> for her price is far abo"e rubies(.7hat was the price in this case> Se"en years wages it was all co'pletely wrong* a wife

is worth a lot 'ore than that* far 'ore. (7hoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing* and

obtaineth fa"our of the !ord( 0Pro".=8:116 0fa"our is grace6. So the 'arriage relationship

beautifully represents the pure grace of #od. This is so'ething that should ne"er ha"e

been so badly 'ishandled by +acob. &f course we now that 'any nations ha"e actedsi'ilarly and sell their daughters* the husbands paying a dowry when they 'arry. In

reality this is the selling of the wo'an. Gid Aachel belong to !aban> Go 'y children belong to 'e> ,o* they do not. y wife does belong to 'e* but 'y children do not. That

is so'ething to eep in 'ind. Scripture says in $phesians 5* a good nu'ber of ti'es*

( your own wife(* but so far as I a' aware we do not find the e;pression ( your ownchildren(* instead we read 7hen a 'an lea"es his father and 'other 0#en.1:146. %e does

not belong to his father and 'other.

7e all learn by e;perience that daughters ha"e to 'o"e on* they are si'ply being trained

for the !ord by their parents* the !ord has practically leant the' to the parents for the

ti'e being. Gaughters are not the parents possessions* they are certainly not ours to sell*that would be a dreadful thing but that is what !aban did. !aban was


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read of who had only one wife. en go shopping around looing for what they

want* and when they get what they want they are not satisfied* that is the way of

'en* but if it is only 'y own choice that I thin of I will not be satisfied. Thisattitude is foolish: if we desire a relationship* it is #od who pro"ides the bride. In

that case we are told that Aebeah was ased* (7ilt thou go with this 'an>( and

she said* (I will go(. There was no Duestion of 'oney being in"ol"ed at all*although gifts were gi"en in both directions* but that is perfectly right.

In reference to the grace of #od certainly gifts are gi"en. Goes not the !ord gi"e

'ar"ellous gifts to %is own* but there is no 'ention of any bargaining taing place. So

the frustrating e;perience of +acob shows that anyone who resorts to law eeping in order to get blessing fro' #od is going to find out that he will not get the blessings he thought

to get. That is a hard lesson. Such a 'an will not get anything. 7hy not lea"e the choice

to #od> 7hy not lea"e the 'atter in #ods hands> If he had said* I would lie to ha"eAachel as 'y wife that would ha"e been fine* but bargaining has no place in a

relationship such as this.

!eah 'eans weary and Aachel sheep* and although +acob lo"ed Aachel and hated !eah*

ne"ertheless he got !eah as his wife. !aban told hi' it was not good to gi"e the younger before the firstborn and therefore when the ti'e ca'e after +acob had wored for se"en

years he got !eah not Aachel. %e found he was stuc with her. %e had Aachel afterwards

but he ept !eah a lot longer* for Aachel died first. I suppose naturally we feel "ery sorryfor +acob in regard to this* no doubt he felt it eenly when Aachel died later. I ha"e no

doubt that #od used this for the deepest blessing to his soul and %e uses si'ilar

e;periences in reference to the blessing of our own souls. So long as there is any self

confidence in us #od will wor to bring it down. 7as it not self confidence on +acobs part that ga"e hi' the thought of paying for a bride> %e thought he could wor for her* he

thought I will ?ut while that is a good ob


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was* and actually that is the lesson that we learn in !eah. !eah 'eans (weary(* and

hereas #achel is hat I desire to be$ Leah is hat I actually am. +ust as +acob was

stuc with !eah so you and I are stuc with oursel"es. 7e are what we are whether welie it or not. If other people loo at us and criticise us 'aybe they are right* often they

are. 7e ha"e got a lot to criticise oursel"es for the fact is that self is thoroughly useless

to #od. The struggle that taes place between Aachel and !eah is precisely the sa'estruggle that we see in Ao'ans @. So'e ha"e thought that this struggle is between the

flesh and the Spirit* but they are wrong* it is (I( fighting against (I(* (For the good that I

would I do not: but the e"il which I would not* that I do( 0".=96. %ere the soul isstruggling against self. It is the good (I( 0if we can call it that6 fighting against the bad

(I(* or* it is Aachel fighting against !eah. It is 'y conception of what I should be*

fighting against what I really a'* and there is no rest in all that chapter until the heart is

turned away altogether fro' self and turned to Christ. Paul presents hi'self as in Christ*it is not hi' at all* and +acob had to learn the sa'e lesson* and he learnt it through these

two wi"es so that by the ti'e he got to the end* by the ti'e he lost Aachel he had learnt

sub'ission. This is a real lesson* not until I gi"e up the thought of perfection in the flesh

will I find a true sub'issi"e spirit.

!eah bore four sons first of all when #od saw that she was hated 0#en.19:3=-356. %a"e

we e"er hated oursel"es> That which I really a' I learn to be rather disappointed in. )

'an would be decei"ing hi'self to thin that there was any good in hi'* and it is far tooeasy for us to decei"e oursel"es. )lthough +acob lo"ed Aachel so 'uch* beautiful and

well fa"oured* yet was she absolutely trustworthy> ,o* later on she stole the idols of her

father and hid the' in her tent and decei"ed her father. This is lie our own hearts. Thelesson is this* that the desire to achie"e a high spiritual state has in it the ele'ents of

idolatry and of deceit. In other words* if a person wants to reach a certain state he will try

to decei"e hi'self into thining that he can 'ae it* and to 'ae hi'self thin he is

really better than he really is. There can be no perfection while we re'ain in the flesh.

) 'an who told 'e that he had for 4@ years li"ed without sin was now in a hospital in

bad health. 7ell* there 'ust be so'ething wrong because if a 'an is without sin he

would not be sic. I ased hi' how he was and he said* I a' fine* I a' i'pro"ing e"eryday. 7hat a wonderful 'an to ha"e li"ed without sin for 4@ years and to be still

i'pro"ing The day pre"iously we had been taling together about the Spirit and the

flesh in the belie"er and he agreed about this* though I did not go to any lengths about it*so I answered hi' by saying* 7ould you 'ind telling 'e what it is that is i'pro"ing> Is

the flesh i'pro"ing> %e said* ,o. I said* 7hat about the Spirit of #od> Can %e

i'pro"e> &f course %e cannot. The flesh can ne"er i'pro"e* nor can the Spirit* %e is

absolute perfection. %ow wonderful the fact that the belie"er has the Spirit of #od in %is perfection dwelling within hi' to occupy the heart with the absolute perfection of Christ*

so that he can turn away fro' the awful repulsi"eness of the flesh co'pletely.

+ob said* (I abhor 'yself* and repent in dust and ashes( 0+ob 41:26. Is that a real

e;perience with us> Is this true with e"ery one of us here* do we absolutely hateoursel"es> +acob hated !eah. Go I hate 'yself> There are not 'any people who would

lie to go that far and say they hate the'sel"es* yet +ob said so. If a person is told that he


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is to hate hi'self in order to find blessing fro' #od he could not do that* it would be

i'possible. The reason +ob hated hi'self is gi"en in the preceding "erse* (I had heard of

thee by the hearing of the ear* but now mine eye seeth thee: 7herefore I abhor 'yself*and repent in dust and ashes(. If you are actually in the presence of the !ord +esus* and

loo into %is face and see absolute perfection and beauty there to satisfy your heart

co'pletely* is it a great thing to hate yourself> Bou will naturally hate yourself inco'parison with %i'* you will ha"e done with yourself and ha"e nothing 'ore to do

with yourself. This is a great lesson to be learnt.

I also 'entioned the fact that there is not only deceit in a 'an thining he is obtaining a

place lie this but there is idolatry because such a 'an is actually worshipping hi'self*he is worshipping a state to which he wants to raise hi'self instead of forgetting hi'self

and worshipping the !ord. I heard a story of a preacher who was "ery distressed about

what he called the old 'an* he had so 'uch trouble with sin in his heart* he wasstruggling with it* no doubt he was the state described in Ao'ans @. %e considered that

he wanted to co'pletely eradicate the sin fro' his nature and so he went up a 'ountain

one e"ening and decided to spend the night in prayer and so he prayed and by the'orning he felt wonderful* he was Duite sure that he had succeeded in co'pletely ridding

hi'self of the e"il of the flesh. Then as he started down the 'ountain he saw the s'oe

curling up fro' the town below* and he thought* %ow 'uch better ha"e I been occupied

that they. &h that old 'an again %e was occupied with hi'self. %ow 'uch better that aheart is thining of Christ* and turning away fro' self

C.%.Spurgeon on one occasion was approached by a preacher who was "ery disturbed by

the fact that the sinful nature was gi"ing hi' so 'uch trouble* and r Spurgeon said to

hi'* It is really gi"ing you so'e distress* is it not> %e said* Bes* it certainly is* andSpurgeon said* It ser"es you right for e;pecting any good to co'e out of that cesspool of

iniDuity of that heart of yours. It was rather blunt perhaps* but it is true.

The only thing to do is to turn away fro' it. The true power of the belie"er is found onlyin occupation with Christ forgetting the flesh and looing outside of self to the !ord

+esus at the right hand of #od. This was the case later in +acobs history when Aachel

died and ?en


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03E:156. 7hat does +oseph typify> %e is a type of Christ. ?oth the sons who were born of

Aachel are types of Christ* whereas !eahs children typify Israel according to the flesh*

and in the children of bond'aids we ha"e the thought of Israel reduced to a state of bondage which too place in the ti'e of the capti"ity and re'ain to this day* for in fact

Israel is in bondage to the #entiles. %owe"er* in the case of the two sons of Aachel*

+oseph and ?en 7ell* we do not only get Christssuffering* we get Christ at the right hand of #od. The heart loos up and sees +esus at the

right hand of #od. It taes us bac to #ods grace. %owe"er* those lessons are brought

out later in the life of +acob* he had still to learn by e;perience that there was too 'uch

self confidence* he had to learn through the subseDuent e;periences so'ething of the factof his own utter untrustworthiness.

)fter the wages had been appointed* +acob said he would ser"e his father for the cattle

and he used de"ious 'eans to get the'. Then he said they would separate three days


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( And )od said unto Jacob, Arise, go u' to !ethel, and dwell there* and make there an

altar unto )od, that a''eared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of %sau thy

brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments* and let us

arise, and go u' to !ethel; and I will make there an altar unto )od, who answered me in

the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they ga(e unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in

their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by "hechem. And they

5ourneyed* and the terror of )od was u'on the cities that were round about them, andthey did not 'ursue after the sons of Jacob. "o Jacob came to u, which is in the land of

Canaan, that is, !ethel, he and all the 'eo'le that were with him. And he built there an

altar, and called the 'lace %lbethel* because there )od a''eared unto him, when he fled

from the face of his brother. !ut >eborah #ebekah$s nurse died, and she was buriedbeneath !ethel under an oak* and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. And )od

a''eared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And )od

said unto him, Thy name is Jacob* thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but

Israel shall be thy name* and he called his name Israel. And )od said unto him, I am)od Almighty* be fruitful and multi'ly; a nation and a com'any of nations shall be of

thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I ga(e Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will gi(e it, and to thy seed after thee will I gi(e the land. And )od went

u' from him in the 'lace where he talked with him. And Jacob set u' a 'illar in the 'lace

where he talked with him, e(en a 'illar of stone* and he 'oured a drink offering thereon,

and he 'oured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the 'lace where )od s'ake withhim, !ethel.( 0#en.35:=-=26

This is a "ery definite cli'a; and anticli'a; in the history of +acob. 7e see two distinct*

but lined* pillars raised by +acob in this chapter* the first of the' 0+acobs third6 was

built in the sa'e place where he built the first one* in ?ethel* this was on the occasion ofhis going out where he had "owed that he would gi"e a tenth of e"erything that he had to

#od and that #od would be his #od. This was the pillar of self-confidence* confidence in

the flesh.

The second pillar was practically the opposite* built after he had parted fro' !aban* in

disagree'ent and distress. This pillar would tell us of the untrustworthiness of the flesh.

%e had to learn this and he had been learning it in so'e 'easure until we co'e to thisthird pillar. The flesh cannot be depended upon in any way* we 'ust learn to depend upon

the li"ing #od and not oursel"es in any respect.

+acob had to learn this by e;perience and e"eryone of us will ha"e to learn it by

e;perience too. 7e do not


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so #od allowed Peter to fall publicly by denying %i' in order that he would realise that

he could not depend upon hi'self. That is what is going to happen to all of us if we ha"e

confidence in the flesh in any respect. #od will see to it that we are put through so'ecircu'stance where we will ha"e to lose confidence in oursel"es. This is good for us.

+acob was told to go up to ?ethel. #od had appeared to hi' before at a si'ilar ti'e whenthere was friction between his household and !abans. +acob saw !abans face that it was

not war' towards hi' as it had been before* then #od told hi' to lea"e. #od will bringcircu'stances to such a point where it is al'ost i'perati"e that we lea"e but +acob then

turned aside to Succoth and then to Sheche' where he bought a parcel of field. This was

a part of the world* he was settling down there instead of continuing on to ?ethel as #odhad told hi'* that is why he had such an e;tre'ely sad incident with his daughter Ginah

who went out to see the daughters of the land and beca'e in"ol"ed with one of the sons

of the land. Then the brothers of Ginah were e;tre'ely cruel and deceitful and when the people of Sheche' were unable to fight bac Si'eon and !e"i illed all the 'ales. They

did it out of re"enge* their father said* but of course it was absolutely bad* thoroughly

sinful. Bou 'ay as why did not #od do so'ething about this* were they not guilty of ahorrible cri'e> Bes* they were* but there was no retribution. The people of the land were

dreadfully afraid* the terror of #od was upon the'* they could not do anything. ) cri'e

too place and nothing was done to set this 'atter right. Go not thin for a 'o'ent that

#od would allow those two sons of +acob to go without suffering for this afterwards* theywould certainly face the conseDuences. Si'eon was the leader in this and he was the one

who was taen at a ti'e later by +oseph and bound and put in prison.

#od was dealing with +acob and #od would see to it that the things that +acob had done

that were wrong would turn and face hi'* in different ways* but ne"ertheless in such away that +acob could easily discern that these were the results of his for'er disobedience

and failures. I a' sure this often happens with us* #od will perhaps not spea e;tre'elysharply to us but sufficiently that we can discern that %e is dealing with us about the past*and it will hurt. +acob* for instance* decei"ed his father and later his sons decei"ed hi'.

%e had no regard for the rights of the firstborn and he found out that in !abans co'pany

the rights of the firstborn were para'ount and he got !eah for a bride first. The past wasco'ing up and facing hi'. ) nu'ber of things lie this happened in +acobs history. Gear

friends* we do not get away with anything* I thin that is i'portant for us all to

re'e'ber. #od taes perfect account of these things. This is always the case* we 'ay aswell recognise now that we cannot get away with anything.

!et 'e as the Duestion* would we really be glad if we could get away with anything> )t

the


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lesson that #od sought to teach hi' that #ods go"ern'ent was not going to stop there*

rather +acob learnt to sub'it to #ods #od has a house too. It had to be said in the days of %aggai* (Is it ti'e

for you* & ye* to dwell in your panelled houses* and this house lie waste>( 0%ag.=:46. It isi'portant to ha"e a real concern about the house of #od* and the house of #od today is

(the church of the li"ing #od* the pillar and ground of the truth( 0= Ti'.3:=56. Go we

lo"e those principles that deal with the gathering of #ods people* or are we so concerned

about our own things that the gathering of the !ords people co'es in a second* a third* afourth* a fifth place* or e"en the last place> The gathering of the people of #od is "itally

worthwhile and #od sees to draw souls to this to see what it 'eans to be gathered

according to the truth of Scripture* according to the principles of the house of #od.

+acob was told to go there and dwell there. +acob had pre"iously said to Si'eon and !e"i

(Be ha"e troubled 'e to 'ae 'e to stin a'ong the inhabitants of the land* a'ong the

Canaanites and the Periites: and I being few in nu'ber* they shall gather the'sel"estogether against 'e* and slay 'e and I shall be destroyed* I and my house( 0#en.34:3E6. ,ow +acob said to his household and to all that were with hi'* (Put away the strange

gods that are a'ong you* and be clean* and change your gar'ents: and let us arise* and

go up to !ethel ?the house of )od@ and I will 'ae there an altar unto #od* whoanswered 'e in the day of 'y distress* and was with 'e in the way which I went(.

%e was concerned about his own house* but now he said to his household* (throw away

your strange gods that are a'ong you(. %ow long had they been there> For far too long is

the answer. +acob was not told to do this* so why did he say this> I''ediately +acobthought of going to the house of #od he recognised that it was no place for idols. There

'ight ha"e been lots of roo' in +acobs house for idols* and so'eti'es we ha"e too

'uch roo' in our houses for idols* but there is no roo' in #ods house for idols* theycannot e;ist there and +acob recognised this. I cannot bring 'y own furniture to #ods

house. If I co'e and "isit you and tell you I would lie to displace so'e of your furniture

with 'y own you 'ight well tell 'e to go* but people do this with #od* they tal about acertain place being #ods house and yet they bring their own furniture in* they ha"e their

own for' and their own arrange'ent* e"erything is arranged according to their own

ideas. This will not wor* you cannot call this #ods house* you cannot call this the


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proper principles of #ods house* #od has %is own. I'agine so'eone co'ing into

Solo'ons house where he had all his ser"ants sitting in their proper place and saying* I

thin we ought to change the order here* I ha"e so'e ideas that are better than yours. The!ord +esus nows e;actly what to do in #ods house and we ha"e the order laid down in

Scripture.

Paul wrote to Ti'othy in his first $pistle * (that thou 'ayest now how thou oughtest to

beha"e thyself in the house of #od* which is the church of the li"ing #od* the pillar andground of the truth(. ) good deal of the ,ew Testa'ent is occupied with this.

Then 1 Ti'othy gi"es us the truth of how the house is to be ordered when disorder is all

around us so we ha"e no e;cuse not to be ("essels unto honour* sanctified* and 'eet forthe 'asters use* and prepared unto e"ery good wor( 01 Ti'.1:1=6. )t a ti'e when the

whole of Christendo' is seething in actual rebellion against the truth of #od it is a

'ar"ellous pri"ilege to be able to stand for the truth. #od is not defeated by all the

trouble that there is in the world* %e still has a path for %is saints in the 'idst of all the

confusion. 7e can be thanful for this in the depths of our souls for the way in which %e preser"es %is saints and preser"es true asse'bly testi'ony when e"erything is breaing

apart all around us. %owe"er* in regard to the indi"idual* #od deals with hi'


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'ention of +acob eeping his "ow. )ll the way through there is not the slightest

indication in all +acobs history of hi' e"er paying his "ow to #od. That certainly is "ery

striing.

In response to this +acobs household ga"e to hi' all the strange gods that were in their

hands and the earrings that were in their ears. %ands are for doing wor. They had idolsin their hands. %ands are for woring for the !ord* not for idols. $ars are for hearing not

for orna'ents. People often orna'ent the flesh and their idols gain character fro' this.This is what happened in the 'aing of the golden calf* they too off their golden

earrings to 'ae it. So orna'ents of flesh* that which flatters the flesh* gi"e character to

these idols. ?ut +acob hid the' under the oa that was by Sheche'. The oa tree speasof 'an in his strength whereas the cedar speas of 'an in his weaness* so that the

strength of 'an is buried beneath the oa.

In spite of the bad sa"our +acobs household left behind* when they left the nations would

not pursue after the'. So +acob ca'e to !u in the land of Canaan* that is ?ethel. 7e

'entioned earlier that !u 'eans (separation( and ?ethel* (the house of #od(* the twothings go closely together. For there to be any true appreciation of the house of #od there

'ust be separation fro' e"erything else* the house of #od stands absolutely alone*nothing else can approach* it is that which is absolutely perfect and pure. #od wants

e"ery belie"er at that place.

This does not 'ean %e e;pects e"ery belie"er to be sinless now* but %e wants e"ery

belie"er in the place of purity. It does not say that %e wants purity within us* but %e doeswant purity* that is* the Go I gather because I lie

the particular co'pany* is this the thought> The "ital thing in any gathering is that Christ

is the centre. %a"ing a pure heart is ha"ing Christ as the only ob


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there is true worship. #od told hi' to build the altar there but it is the worship now of the

heart that recognises that #od %i'self is absolutely supre'e. This is what true worship

is* it is a recognition of #ods di"ine glory being infinitely higher than e"erything else.

Geborah* Aebeahs nurse* died there and she was buried beneath ?ethel* under an oa.

The na'e of the oa was )llonbachuth* the oa of weeping. )pparently Geborah hadco'e with the' fro' the house of !aban. 7e do not read of her at all elsewhere and she

'ust ha"e been Duite old at that ti'e as she was Aebeahs nurse* that is* she was thenurse of the 'other of +acob. 7hy is she 'entioned now> 7ell* 'aybe she was also the

nurse of Aachel and !eah* but she acco'panied the' at this ti'e and then she died.

There is certainly a good dispensational lesson here. I cannot tell you the 'oral lesson* but dispensationally we ha"e the thought of the ti'e of the #entiles now being ended.

Aebeah is a type of the church. The ser"ant of )braha' fetched her as a bride for Isaac

and had brought her bac to hi' and Isaac was co'forted after his 'others death. %is'other would spea of the re'nant of Israel* the re'nant according to grace dying out

when the church was brought in. That is the truth beginning the church period* the

re'nant of Israel began the church but that re'nant died out and there will not be any born again re'nant of Israel as a distinct co'pany again until the tribulation period. I

thin we ha"e here in the death of Geborah* the nurse of Aebeah* the fact of the

hea"enly hope passing away* in other words* +acob brought bac to the land is a picture

of Israel co'ing bac to their land for blessing. There is no 'ore hope of a people forhea"en* that is* not the thought any longer* rather* it is an earthly people now before #od*

the hea"enly people ha"e been taen to #od and so this is the end of the ti'es of the

#entiles and the introduction again of the blessing of Israel. I belie"e that is the typicallesson here. Geborah was also buried under an oa* the oa of weeping.

()nd #od appeared unto +acob again.....(

and notice the blessing that #od gi"es to +acob*

(Thy na'e is +acob: thy na'e shall not be called any 'ore +acob* but Israel shall be thy

na'e: and he called his na'e Israel. )nd #od said unto hi'* I a' #od )l'ighty: befruitful and 'ultiply a nation and a co'pany of nations shall be of thee* and ings shall

co'e out of thy loins and the land which I ga"e )braha' and Isaac* to thee I will gi"e it*

and to thy seed after thee will I gi"e the land(.

In so'e respects this is practically a repetition of what #od had said the first ti'e at?ethel e;cept %e did not say (I a' with thee* and will eep thee in all places to which

thou goest* and will bring thee again into this land(. +acob at that ti'e was going out and

#od said* I will bring you bac again* #od said nothing 'ore about this to +acob* %e didnot say* I a' going to go after you and deal with you until I ha"e got you bac here in the

land. #od had acco'plished this purpose in +acob and all %e did then was to tell hi'

two things* firstly* that %e was #od )l'ighty* that is* %e drew attention to %is ownPerson* secondly* %e drew attention to %is pro'ise. +acobs attention was drawn to the

Person of #od %i'self and to the fact of %is pro'ise which could not fail. #od had told

hi' so'ething of this before but %e added to it the fact that %e was going to deal with


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hi' and bring hi' bac in go"ern'ent. %e did not 'ention go"ern'ent any longer* #od

had acco'plished already in +acob that which %is go"ern'ent had sought to acco'plish*

that is* to bring about a sub'issi"e spirit. +acob was then brought bac to obey the wordof #od. It is essential in any child of #od to co'e to the end of hi'self* to say I a'

going to do


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set up this pillar* it was the pillar of confidence in #od. 7hat a contrast to the first one* a

pillar of confidence in self. )l'ighty #od had spoen and +acob sub'itted to this. There

was nothing 'ore than that. +acob let #od spea and said nothing in return. It is good forus to do that too* to let #od ha"e %is rights.

In this pillar we ha"e the thought that +acob reached the place that #od had intended hi'to reach.

Jacob's Fourth Pillar : The Pillar of the Gi%in! u of

+%ery +arthly ,oe

And they 5ourneyed from !ethel; and there was but a little way to come to %'hrath* and

#achel tra(ailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to 'ass, when she was in hardlabour, that the midwife said unto her, ear not; thou shalt ha(e this son also. And it

came to 'ass, as her soul was in de'arting, for she died4 that she called his name

!enoni* but his father called him !en5amin. And #achel died, and was buried in the wayto %'hrath, which is !ethlehem. And Jacob set a 'illar u'on her gra(e* that is the 'illar

of #achel$s gra(e unto this day.( 0#en.35:=@-1E6

7hy did +acob not stay at ?ethel> 7ell* no doubt he was there for so'e ti'e* but there

are further spiritual lessons to be learnt and the places that follow indicate so'ething ofthe character of these too. %owe"er* the last pillar and the preceding pillar are "ery

closely lined together. $phrath 'eans fruitfulness. )fter one has co'e to the house of

#od there is going to be fruitfulness* there is a


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had to gi"e Aachel up. %owe"er* at the "ery ti'e +acob ga"e Aachel up he arri"ed at the

state #od had in 'ind for hi'. If we ha"e as an ob 7hen I now that I ha"e a

li"ing #od I ha"e the pro'ise of #od and I ha"e e"erything that #od has to gi"e 'e in

Christ. Then it is possible. 7hat does earth 'ean> Is it not a 7ould any of us regret ha"ing to lea"e behind anything on earth> It

would surely bring a lot of

jacob-l m grant

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