If it’s not one thing…it’s your mother! Just ask Jacob. His mother, Rebekah, found out the hard way that manipulating life’s path is a slippery slope.

Rebekah didn’t have much time to think when she overheard her husband promising to give an extraordinary blessing to their oldest son Esau instead of his twin Jacob. Had she had a moment to ponder it and pray, she might have realized what a mistake she was about to make! As it was, all that she knew was that God had promised this particular blessing to Jacob and she had better act quickly before Isaac ruined the entire plan!

Technically speaking, Rebekah was right. (Mom’s almost always are.) Decades earlier, God had told her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). What Rebekah didn’t realize was that it didn’t matter a hill of beans who Isaac gave his blessing to; human words never trump God’s Word.

Very soon Rebekah had to face the consequences of her deceit. Esau was so angry that he vowed to kill his brother in revenge! Afraid for Jacob’s life, Rebekah sent him running to his uncle’s home. She would never see her son again.

Jacob ran through the wilderness, exhausted, bewildered and alone, until he came to an open field where he camped for the night. As he slept, God came to him in an astonishing dream and told him, “I will not leave you, until I have done what I have spoken to you” (Genesis 28:15).

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it’” (v. 16).

That’s the best part of this story! We may blunder. Others may misstep in a way that hurts us. Disaster may strike. We may find ourselves in a wilderness so lonely that we fear even God has abandoned us. Those are the times when, so often, God shows up in the most surprising ways. Look for Him! When you finally see Him you may just whisper with Jacob, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Week Six

Day 1: Genesis 27:30-46 (Rebekah)

Day 2: Genesis 28:1-9 (Esau’s Wives)

Day 3: Genesis 29:1-14 (Rachel)

Day 4: Genesis 29:15-30 (Rachel and Leah)

Day 5: Genesis 29:31-30:13 (Rachel and Leah)