After getting the family blessing he had deceptively wangled from his twin brother Esau, Jacob obeyed his father and set off on a journey of a few hundred lonely miles to find a wife.
And so, “Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. Before sunset he arrived at a good place to stop for the night and set up camp. When he found a stone for a pillow, Jacob lay down to sleep, and as he slept, he dreamed of a ladder (or stairway) reaching from earth to heaven with angels of God going up and down. At the top of the ladder stood the LORD, Who said, ‘I Am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. The ground you are lying on now belongs to you. I Am giving it to you and your descendants, who will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. They will spread in all directions—to west and east, to north and south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. More importantly, I Am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. Someday I will bring you back to this land, but I will not leave you until I have given you everything I promised.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place‘," Genesis 28:10-16.
“The next morning Jacob got up early and carefully placed the stone pillow as a pillar to remind him where he had been visited by God. He then poured olive oil over the stone and named the place Bethel (meaning house of God) even though it had previously been called Luz. Then Jacob made this vow, ‘If God will indeed be with me and if He will protect me on my journey, and if He will provide me with food and clothing, and if I get safely back to my father’s home, then the LORD will be my God. And this memorial pillar I set up will become a place to worship God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything He gives me.” Genesis 28:18-22.
Even though Jacob deceived his father (at his mother’s suggestion!) he inherited the blessings God had promised Abraham. God honored this, too, by giving the young man a vision of heaven and by renewing the covenant He had made with Jacob’s family on earth.
As it’s been said, God has no grandchildren. And so, this vision let Jacob see that, like his father and grandfather, he, too, now had a direct relationship with God, even though his ambivalent response did not include worship but wariness.
Question: When you make a promise to God, does it contain contingencies or escape clauses as did the “if’s” of Jacob? Do you think Jacob showed lack of faith by delaying worship and acceptance of the LORD as his God? Or did he believe God meant exactly what He said? After all, God Himself had promised to stay with Jacob until He had fulfilled His promises, which then gave the young man plenty of time to decide!
Prayer: Dear LORD God Almighty, thank You for honoring Your promises whether we deserve such an honor or not! Thank You for Your faithfulness and devotion to us even when our faith ebbs and we put off devoting time to You. Forgive us our uncertainties about You, and help us to worship You in Spirit and in truth – forever but also right now.
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© 2012, Mary Sayler, all rights reserved.
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