Genesis 27:18-19,21-24 KJV
[18] And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
[19] And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
[21] And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
[22] And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
[23] And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
[24] And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am .
And Isaac blessed him. Jacob deceived his father, and got from his mouth another man’s blessings. He changed his name and called his name what it was not. He covered his arms with goat’s skin and wore the cloth and the body odor and the sweat of another man to collect his blessing. He played his game perfectly, with the help of his mother. His father, Isaac, ate his food and sat up to heap upon him, all what he wanted to give to his brother.
His brother Esau came back with his prepared food for his father, but his father was extremely shocked that he had been scammed.
Genesis 27:35 KJV
[35] And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
In an attempt to escape his brother Esau’s wrath, he ran out of the house, to Laban, his mother’s brother, in Haran. And that was it! He entered into slavery in the hand of a master scammer! A Master Cheat! a Chief Schemer whom he served for seven years because he loved her daughter. And when the seven years elapsed, on the night of ceremony when he would be given his wife for whom he had labored for 7 years, he was so deceived and schemed that he never knew it was a wrong lady they gave him, until the next morning. He too cried aloud and was angry for the scheming. Laban came to him and persuaded him, if he really loved and wanted Rachel, he would have to serve another seven years for that. He agreed.
Therefore,, for 14 years, he served as shepherd for Laban under a very strict condition of service and also was compelled to serve an additional six years:
Genesis 31:38-41 KJV
[38] This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
[39] That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
[40] Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
[41] Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
He served for 20 years under serious conditions, with his wages reduced on ten different occassions. He left Laban’s house, going back to his home battered, humbled and flattened out, though by the mercy of God, blessed with children and his two wives with a lot of flock of sheep and goats. But, he was so insecure and homeless, confused and scared.
For 20 long years after he left the presence of his father, collecting a blessing with a fake identity card, he never enjoyed his life to the fullest. He was in one slavery or the other till he had another chance to redefine himself. As he was alone in the middle of the night along the journey, an angelic being was sent to him to wrestle with him all through the night. When the day was dawning, the angel ask him the pertinent question that would determine a transformation of his life again: WHAT IS YOUR NAME? This time, he could no longer carry another person’s identity.
Genesis 32:27
[[27] And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
He had carried another person’s identity and had suffered another man’s sufferings. He had put on another person’s personality and name just to get a blessing and despite all the pronouncement of blessing and joy, his 20 years after the hijacking of another person’s identity had been full of distress, disappointment and frustrations and fear and insecurity. so, he was blessed with another opportunity to answer the Lifeline Question again: “What is Your Name?”. 20 years ago, he told his heavenly-ordained father a wrong answer: “Esau”, but now, a stronger messenger from heaven has been sent to come and wrestle with him on this issue and ask the question again: What is you name? This time, he was dying, his joint has been dislocated, he answered rightly: JACOB.
AHa-a-ah! Heaven felt relieved at last. Now the plan of God could continue. The building of the future people of God could not be laid on a wrong foundation, on a wrong identity, there must be truth. Ah! The messenger from heaven opened his mouth and declared the decree from heaven, which had waited for 20 wasted years unclaimed:
Genesis 32:28
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel:…”
And that was all!…God wanted to be called “The LORD GOD OF ISRAEL!” not “God of Esau’
Then everything began to change from that moment. His children became the children of Israel. His land became the Land of Israel, not “Land of Esau” The Bible had declared thus:
Romans 9:13 KJV
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Malachi 1:3 KJV
And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage
waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Now, my dear brothers and sisters, have you put on another person’s identities? Are you bearing another person’s name instead of the name given to you. In an attempt to travel overseas, some people have claimed the name of a dead person or a living destitute. Some people have agreed to carry another person’s identities just to secure a work. some people have reversed their years backward to deceive the government about their retirement age. Some have claimed another person’s Jamb results to enter the Universities, thereby building their academic life on another man’s sweat, and carrying another man’s assigned burdens, problems and life challenges. Some people have been working with another persons’ certificate and thereby living with the persons’ curses and predicaments.
WHOSE IDENTITIES ARE YOU CARRYING? YOURS OR SOMEONE ELSE’S?
Whose name have you taken up as pet name? Whose life are you living? your life or some else’s life?
There was another chance presented to Jacob to make an amend and he did not waste time to use the chance and rebuild the faulty altar.
When a life is built on lies and falsehood, it crumbles sooner or later. But when a life is built on the word of God, it lasts in peace.
There is room for corrections and repentance in Jesus Christ and He will amend all distortions in crooked lives.
WHOSE LIFE ARE YOU LIVING? Sort it out with God.
God bless your day.
MIKE BAMILOYE
#mikebamiloyedevotionals
mikegloria.blogspot.com