It's God's Plan: Genesis 35:5-8

God will work with our imperfections to bring about His glorious will.  This is a fact for which we are all grateful.  However, this can also be a major stumbling block.  It’s easy to understand how God can use people with relatively minor sin in their life.  What can be challenging is when someone has significant sin in their life and God still works wonders through them.

Having set things in order, Jacob journeys on to Bethel.  God goes before Jacob and protects him.  Jacob’s sons murdered an entire town of Canaanites and then took their women and children as servants.  The act was unjustifiable. 

Yet, God goes before Jacob and protects his family from retribution as they go to Bethel.  Why is God protecting the very people who committed the genocide of Shechem?  This seems like a very uncharacteristic thing for God to do.

The answer to this question is not easy.  God protects Jacob because of His promise to Him.  God protects Jacob because He promised that Jacob’s offspring would be numerous and that nations would come from him.

We need to be careful is in our understanding of this teaching.  God is not protecting Jacob because Jacob is great.  God is not protecting Jacob’s family because they deserve it.  God is protecting Jacob’s family because God plans to bring the Messiah out of Jacob’s family.  Out of Jacob’s family will come the savior of the entire world.  Out of Jacob’s family will come the one who can take our sin upon Himself and redeem us in God’s sight.  God is protecting Jacob for the sake of God’s plan, not because the sons of Jacob earned it.

This gives an indication of God’s power.  God can take people who commit genocide and bring something good out of them.  God can take people who continually make bad choice after bad choice and bring good out of them.  God does not need perfect people to complete His plan.  God’s plan solely depends on His righteousness, not ours.

The other point that comes out of this story is a point of God’s forgiveness.  God is willing to give second chances, even if we do atrocious acts.  Our actions will have worldly consequences; we’ll eventually get to the consequences for the sons of Jacob.  Still, God gives the sons of Jacob a second chance.

This is a theme we’ve seen all throughout Genesis.  Adam and Eve sinned and God gave them a second chance.  Cain sinned and was given a second chance.  Abraham fell short  multiple times and God continued to be with him.  Isaac stumbled and God allowed him to continue.  Jacob stumbled and God stayed with Him.  Jacob’s sons stumble, and God remains true to His plan. 

We all have fallen short of the glory of God.  We are all tainted with sins of varying degrees.  God will work with our imperfections to bring about His glorious will.