Wow! Can you say - "dysfunctional family"??? Yet these are the ancestors that are in Jesus' genealogy. Humans! And just why are they the "chosen ones"? Basically, God chooses them to be the "missionaries" to the world. To bring forth His Light. Whenever they obey God's word and allow God to do mighty and miraculous things - the world takes notice. And when His chosen ones are not behaving, God will somehow get their attention.
At this point in the story, Isaac's (twin) sons are not getting along. First, the youngest (Jacob) takes advantage of the oldest (Esau) while he was famished and vulnerable... thus getting Esau's birthright. Then Jacob and his mother (Rebekah) deceive Isaac in order to steal Esau's blessing. By now, because Esau wants to murder his brother, Isaac and Rebekah send Jacob away in efforts to protect him.
While traveling to the land of Rebekah's family, Jacob stops for the night, and "has a dream"... I think these are the kind of dreams where you are in a dreamlike-mode, but somehow you are aware of what is going on around you. Anyway...
(Genesis 28:12-14) 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed..."
So the LORD appears - somehow - reminding Jacob of the promise that through Jacob's descendants - Jesus will have a physical birth - and will make salvation possible for ALL people. This dream gets Jacob's attention! And Jacob wants God to be the LORD in his life... ha ha ha, but notice how Jacob is still trying to manipulate things... He tells God that IF God will do this and that, etc... THEN...
How typical is that!? How often have we tried to strike up deals with the God of the universe? How often do people tell God, "IF You do this and that for me... THEN I will believe..." Meanwhile, God does what He promises. God has already paid the price for sin in order to save us from eternal death! And if that's "not enough"... God WANTS to bless us. God WILL bless us - when - WE - love HIM.
(Romans 8:28) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
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