Genesis 32; Mark 3; Esther 8; Romans 3 WHAT A TRANSFORMATION IN
JACOB (Gen. 32)! Superficially, of course, not much has changed.
He left Beersheba for Paddan Aram because he was afraid for his
life; his brother Esau had reason enough, according to his own
light, to kill him. Now he is returning home, and Jacob is still
frightened half to death of his brother. No less superficially,
one might argue that much has changed; Jacob fled the tents of
his parents a single man, taking almost nothing with him, while
here he returns home a rich, married man with many children. But
the deepest differences between the two journeys are reflected
in Jacob’s changed attitude toward God. On the outbound trip,
Jacob takes no initiative in matters divine. He simply goes to
sleep (Gen 28). It is God who intervenes with a remarkable
vision of a ladder reaching up to heaven. When Jacob awakens, he
acknowledges that what he experienced was some sort of
visitation from God (28:16-17), but his response is to barter
with God: if God w