A Head Full of Rocks

Genesis 28:10-11  (Orthodox Jewish Bible)

And Ya’akov (Jacob) went out from Beer-Sheva, and went toward Charan. And he reached a certain place, and tarried there, because the shemesh (sun) was set; and he took of the avanim (rocks) of that place, and put them for his pillow, and lay down in that place to sleep.

In our scripture for the week, Genesis 28:10-22, begins one of the essential stories in the Old Testament…foundational, if you will allow a pun. Jacob has just cheated his elder brother, Esau, out of his inheritance and is off to find a bride amongst his cousins’ people with whom he would build whatever visions of empire and importance were dancing in his head. Meanwhile, Esau dreams of nothing except to bury his dear brother somewhere in the desert where no one will ever find him.

So Jacob’s journey has two elements. First, he knew that once he had completed his treachery, Esau would not take it lying down. The only problem was how and where to make his escape. Luckily, his father, Issac, supplies him with that by commanding him to go to the land of Abraham’s family and find a wife (just as he had been sent), giving him a second purpose for his journey. So off he goes.

I think that we can say with certainty that the pace of his first day’s journey would have been excessive. He would have wanted to get as far away from home as possible, so his small caravan would have been made up of his most trusted servants, his swiftest camels and he would have traveled light. He didn’t even pack a tent or pillows. As the sun sets, he realizes that Esau is not in pursuit and he can rest his weary head. He will fall asleep quickly.

So we have a young man of great destiny, finally at ease, thinking he merely has a weekend with the cousins ahead of him. A short journey, a fun time at the beach, eeny-meeny-miny-moe to pick a wife and back home again to enjoy his inheritance. But God has other plans. God always has other plans…greater plans.

Like Odysseus, Jacob will spend the next 20 years being tested by struggles, scheming, deceit, revelation, disappointment and triumph. God will forge a great man of God from the self-centered lump of clay that is at the core of who this young Jacob is. Jacob piles up a few rocks to use as a pillow. Ironic because Jacob’s heart and head are just a pile of rocks as well. Yet, God will take those rocks and create the pillar upon which our faith in God today will be built.

Our lives are such journeys. Whatever ideas we have about how ordinary any journey might be, God always reserves the right to provide obstacles that may prove to be opportunities. The Holy Spirit may intervene by turning our mistakes into marvelous executions of God’s Will. The familiar Words of Jesus may take hold of our hearts and lead us to those for whom those words are instruments of hope and salvation.

So rest easy tonight, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for we never know what journey God might dare us to live for the Kingdom in our dreams.

Blessings and Joy,

Jim McGrath