I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep 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 promised you. (28:13-15)
I love the fact that although it takes many generations for God to fulfill His promise, He has been repeating it to each generation. I imagine that the fathers passed these momentous promises on to their sons, but to hear it directly from God must have been quite powerful.
As Jacob is on his journey, God repeats the promise of the land, numerous descendants, and all the families of the earth being blessed in Jacob and his offspring. Moreover, God promises His presence, and that God will bring Jacob back to his land. And Jacob’s reaction? Fear and awe:
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” 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” (Genesis 28:16-17).
But in spite of the fear and awe, Jacob says that if God fulfills what He said, provides for him, and he is able to return to his father’s house in peace, then the Lord will be his God.
God puts up with a lot!
I am astonished at Jacob’s audacity! The Lord had spoken to Jacob and made promises and yet Jacob makes accepting the Lord as his God contingent on God’s keeping His promises. But as we read recently, his own mother was an example to Jacob of taking matters into her own hands, rather than trusting God to fulfill His promises. Let’s examine our lives and see where we are being a good example to others of trusting God, and deal with those places where we’re not doing so.
Prayer: O God! Help me to examine myself and show me where I am not trusting Your Word! Help me to trust You and all that You say in Your Word, for in trusting You lies peace, and by Your Word, I will be able to do all that You call me to do. Amen.
