Genesis 28:10-17 New King James Version
Jacob’s Vow at Bethel
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep[a] you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
There are some bible stories we can’t get out of our heads.
They keep showing up; they keep tapping us on the shoulder and whispering, “Hey there.”
And we meet something new and surprising sometimes as the story shape shifts, providing something we need to hear, at the moment we need to hear it.
For me, lately, it’s this story from Genesis 28, where Jacob receives a message from God.
It’s a familiar story to many…Jacob is on the run, fleeing from a mess of his own making.
He had hatched up an elaborate scheme to cheat his brother and trick his father, but the whole rotten plan came crashing down around him.
Instead of getting everything from his father, Jacob had to run for his life.
And so this night he finds himself far from home all alone in the wilderness with a stone for a pillow.
That sounds like he might be getting what’s coming to him—“He’s made his bed now sh he should lie in it.”
But that night God appears in his dreams.
Instead of a message of judgment and punishment, which is what you might expect, God tells him good news about his life–God is going to bless him!
Jacob wakes up saying,
“Surely God is in this place and I did not know it. How awesome is this place…it is the gate of heaven.”
He names the place Beth-El, the house of God.
The story of Jacob is part of one of the biggest messages of the Bible.
It’s the message that God cares about us despite our mischievously hard heart, and is continually reaching out to us–not always in any typical and predictable ways, not in ways that make any sense to us and seldom as we would expect.
If there was a vote, Jacob would have been voted, “Man least likely to succeed, be trustworthy, be reliable, to have many friends, be given a vision from God.”
I often pray that God would give me more than my fair share, clear examples of his presence and beauty in my life. I hear of Christians who’ll have that vibrant prayer life, or who feel the presence of God so surely, and I wish that I had those experiences more often myself. I pray God would show more beauty in my life.
Those are good desires to have and good prayers to pray.
But I could also pray for the ability to see 1% more of God’s beautiful salvation already present in my life and in and throughout our world of neighborhoods.
That’s what Jacob was able to see. He had a dream about a stairway with the angels of God going up and down on it. God spoke directly to Jacob in that dream, reminding him of God’s promises to love him and care for his family.
When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
The incomparable beauty of God’s salvation had been with him all along.
That doesn’t always happen in our dreams, but God does assure us that he is always true to his promises. I am thankful that God’s presence is always with me, whether I am aware of it, I recognize it, or not.
The good news that there is a connection between the earth and heaven, that image of the ladder, it still touches us all. His vision still reminds us that we are not alone; we are always connected to God, God is always watching out for us.
We want assurance, we want awareness, we want direction, want promises that the kingdom of heaven is as close to us as our own skin and things will turn out.
I pray God will keep me aware he is near.
I pray I will be aware, able to recognize, God’s presence and beauty all around.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Praying ….
84 1-2 What a beautiful home, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
I’ve always longed to live in a place like this,
Always dreamed of a room in your house,
where I could sing for joy to God-alive!
3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
How blessed they are to live and sing there!
5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!
8-9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, listen:
O God of Jacob, open your ears—I’m praying!
Look at our shields, glistening in the sun,
our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.
10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 