Read with Me
Genesis 28:18-22 (HCSB)
Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to You a tenth of all that You give me.”
Listen with Me
In the vision God had given to Jacob, He had made several amazing promises. He had promised him land, abundant descendants, blessings, and His protection on his journey.
Now in the light of morning, Jacob decided that he would take God up on what He had promised, but only provisionally. He would “allow” God to be his God if, and only if, He was able to make good on His promises.
Jacob had to admit that, as far as gods went, this God was unique. He was, of course very familiar with many of the gods that were worshiped in Canaan, including those worship by the Hittite wives of his brother, Esau. And he had heard his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, talk about how this God who had made amazing promises to them actually spoke and acted in ways that could be clearly seen. That was something that none of the Canaanite gods ever did.
But even with that testimony, and even with the vision that God had shown him, Jacob remained skeptical. He set up the stone that had been near his head during the night and anointed it with oil, setting it apart as a sacred stone, a marker to commemorate an amazing event. He named the place where the stone was “Bethel”, or “House of God”, erroneously believing that God lived in that specific location.
All-in-all, the 75-year-old Jacob was very rough material to work with. He was set in his ways and was established in a very pagan world view. For now, he was willing to tentatively own God as his God, and to use Him to move his own plans forward. But he didn’t understand yet that God had chosen him to be His promise bearer, and that God would instead be using HIM to move His own plans forward.
Pray with Me
Father, this points out the great truth that those who treat You lightly, or who try to use You or Your power for their own ends, don’t actually know You very well. As I have gotten to know you more and more over the years, I hold You in greater honor and respect, not in greater casualness or familiarity. Even though You are my father as Jesus showed us, You are my Father in heaven, the almighty, completely holy God of the universe. You are the boss of me, not the other way around. Help me, Lord, to continue to honor and serve You with my whole life every day I live. Amen.
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