To listen to the radio version, click here.
To search archives, click here.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 8, 2009
“I Had Only My Staff When I Crossed This Jordan”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“I had only my staff…”
That’s what Jacob said in Genesis 32:10.
He was talking about the time, 20 years earlier, when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. He had just stolen his brother’s birthright, and Esau decided to kill him. So their mother, Rebekah, sent Jacob packing, off to find a wife in the land of their ancestors.
“I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan…”
Well maybe that’s all he had as far as physical possessions, but there was something else Jacob had – a strong work ethic.
Take, for example, when Jacob first laid eyes on the beautiful Rachel. She was bringing her father’s sheep to be watered at the well. What did Jacob do? He jumped up and moved the big stone and watered the sheep for her.
“Well, Doug, he just did that for the pretty girl.”
Yeah, well listen. There are plenty of young men who won’t do any hard work, even to win the girl.
And that was nothing compared to what Jacob was about to do. In order to marry Rachel, he offered to work for her father for seven years.
Then her father, Laban, pulled the old bait and switch, giving Jacob his older daughter Leah. So Jacob had to work another seven years to get Rachel. Now that’s 14 years of hard labor.
By then Jacob was tired of “working for the man.” He was ready to take his family and go home.
But his father-in-law Laban had realized something. He realized that God was blessing him through Jacob, so he told Jacob, “Please stay. You can name your own wages.”
Well God gave Jacob insight, and Jacob set up the deal in such a way that he ended up amassing great wealth. Laban tried to take advantage of Jacob over and over, but God kept blessing Jacob instead.
Now what was Jacob doing all this time? Was he just sitting back and expecting the Lord’s blessing?
Not at all. Look what Jacob told Rachel and Leah in Genesis 31:6. “You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength…”
And was it easy work? No. Listen to what Jacob told Laban in Genesis 31. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks. The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for 20 years.
Yes, Jacob worked hard – and God noticed. In Genesis 31:42 Jacob said that God had seen his hardship and the toil of his hands.
So anyway, Jacob took all his people and stuff and left for home. And when Laban found out, he went after him. When he caught up him he said, “You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you.”
Of course, Jacob knew that. In fact, Jacob said in verse 42 that he figured Laban would send him away empty-handed.
So what made the difference? In this case it wasn’t Jacob’s work ethic. It was the blessing of the Lord.
When Laban went after Jacob, God came to him in a dream. Who knows what Laban was planning to do, but that all changed when God stepped in.
So what we see here is a one-two combination. Yes, Jacob had a stellar work ethic. He toiled with his hands for 20 years. But in the end he still would have been ripped off by Laban, if it had not been for the blessing of God Almighty.
That led up to this very emotional moment. When the whole affair with Laban was over, Jacob prayed: “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac…I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan…”
And he went on to acknowledge just how much God had given him since then.
Jacob worked hard for 20 years and grew very rich, but he was still humble before God, knowing that he owed it all to Him.
And that’s the attitude I want to have. Yes, I want the great work ethic. Like it says in Colossians 3:23, whatever I do, I want to work at it with all my heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.
But sometimes when we work hard we can lose our humility. We can take on the attitude “I deserve this,” and “I worked hard for this. It’s mine.”
Well I don’t want that. I want to be like Jacob who, even though he had worked hard and grown wealthy, could still humble himself before God, bow his head and say, “I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan…”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment