Like a stone, laying dormant...

"And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep." Genesis 28:11. Jacob was on his way out-away from his family, and especially away from Esau his brother who was still angry at Jacob for taking his blessing. Jacob found a "rest stop" to rest on his journey to find a wife from his mother's side of the family. Jacob set up a place to sleep, and for a pillow, he used a stone...how comfy. It may seem like a small detail, but I noticed another pattern in this reading-this pattern is all about the stones in our lives!

As Jacob slept, he had a dream. In that dream was a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, angels going up and down upon it, and God above it all. (Genesis 28:12-13). God then renewed the promise of Abraham and Isaac with Jacob: "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 28:14. Sounds great, right? And it was! Now I know you're wondering-why was the stone he was sleeping on important? Well: "And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." Genesis 28:16.

Again, things sounded great! So great in fact, that Jacob was startled by the presence of God. I'm sure at times we can relate-waking up feeling like a dream was so real. Jacob then desperately looked around for whatever he had, and he took the stone he was sleeping on, set it up for a pillar for The Lord, and poured oil on it (Genesis 28:18). Jacob used the stone which once lay dormant as he slept as a resource to honor God. Anything we do and all that we have can be used for God's glory; however, we will see that some stones take a little more effort than others!

Jacob finally arrives at a well, in the land of the family of his mother...and there was another significant stone: "And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place." Genesis 29:2‭-‬3. Trying to understand this process, Jacob asked the men to roll the stone away again. But the men said they had to wait for all the flocks to be gathered...however, Jacob saw Rachel and her flock approaching, and so he did what was normal for him and took it upon himself to roll the stone away (Genesis 29:10).

It took more effort than the first small "stone pillow" he moved before. But, Jacob moved it nonetheless and gave water to Rachel's flock. Just as water springs up and splashes, Jacob was overjoyed to go speak to his mother's family about marrying Rachel. Was he a little impatient? Most definitely. But as we can see from the stones, Jacob is willing to do some work in his life and shift things around in order to succeed...and oh, did he have some work ahead of him!

In the next couple chapters, Jacob would have to work 7 years in order to take Rachel to be his wife, but "...they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her." Genesis 29:20. Unfortunately, a certain pattern followed Jacob-he was deceived and given Leah to be his wife first! Leah was Rachel's older sister, who wasn't as beautiful from the outside, but was more tender on the inside. Laban, Jacob's uncle, said it was important that the first daughter be married first. So...

Jacob had to work ANOTHER 7 YEARS! What a great stone to roll away...and after that, since Leah was hated, she was able to have children first, and Rachel was barren for a long time before she had her son Joseph.

So yes, Jacob was willing to roll some great stones away in his life to achieve his dreams and goals...but remember, the dream & promise came from GOD! Jacob used a lot of physical strength, but he needed to learn to rely on God's strength in many situations of his life. He always got where he needed to be, but when we trust in God, we sweat less! If Jacob didn't sow the seed of deception earlier in life, he probably wouldn't have had to reap it double time in working for his wife Rachel.

What stones are you trying to move? Are you asking for God's help? Let's be willing to work, but I pray God allows us to recognize His presence in every situation, and that we would not be startled, but that we would start trusting in Him! In Jesus' Name!