Jacob, Jacob
(Vs2)
The sound of God’s speech has been absent for a while. After Jacob’s wrestling we haven’t heard from him. God’s sounds seem to be strongest when Jacob is on the move. Possibly, it is moving from one place to another that makes us far more alert than being in a cosy settled state.
The contrast between the nomad and the settler is a deep background sound in scripture. Cain and Abel are the first archetypes within the texts. Through history the nomads and settlers have had deep tensions. Is the response to immigration today a reflection of this?