Our Venerable Father John Climacus, Author of The Ladder of Divine Ascent (c. 649).
Great Fast Day 39. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
Sixth Hour – Isaiah 65:8-16; Vespers – Genesis 46:1-7; Proverbs 23:15-24:5.
Read Genesis 46:1-7
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Our path in life can abruptly change. Things can look different from that perspective and that can raise questions about the whole journey we are on. In today’s reading, the patriarch Jacob (Israel) is dealing with a disorienting 180-degree change of direction.
Jacob’s father Isaac was previously told by God to not go to Egypt during a time of famine, that God would give him the land of Canaan He had promised to his father, Abraham. In our first verse, Jacob is shown to be keeping his eye on that promised destination, even while God tells him the exact opposite – to go to Egypt. Jacob literally “pulls up stakes,” indicating a resumption of nomadic existence in the journey to Egypt, not a permanent move.
Every journey requires a point of reference and a compass to find it. God was Jacob’s point of reference and prayer was his compass. God gave Jacob guideposts to show that he was on the right path: God used the same form of address used for Abraham at the sacrificing of Isaac; God used the same covenantal language used with Abraham and Isaac; God said that, unlike the “gods” of Jacob’s neighbours, He is not confined geographically.
Our journey toward the destination God has called us to is not limited by our path or perspective, it is defined by the Person we are with: “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again.” The circumstances of our journey do not constrain the One we are journeying with. Yes, we must prayerfully deal with the circumstances of our paths, but God who is working His purposes through them will be with us all the way to our destination as we walk in trusting obedience.