Today’s Reading: Genesis 28, 32, 35:1-15; Psalm 103
In order to find a wife, Jacob was sent away by his father to travel to the home of his mother’s brother. And as he set up camp and laid under the stars with a rock for his pillow, Jacob encountered God. This moment was a turning point in Jacob’s life — a moment when God let him know that He was not only the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, but He was also the God of Jacob. How wonderful it must have felt for Jacob in that moment when He heard God’s promise:
“I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth!…What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised.” — Genesis 28:13b-15
ENCOUNTERING GOD
In this encounter with God, provision was promised — provision for Jacob and for his numerous descendants. God promised to both provide and protect. He promised to be with Jacob, and what could be better than the provision of God’s presence? So Jacob took the pillow God had provided and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil on it and named it Bethel. And in this moment, he made a vow to God just as God had made a vow to Him — If you are with me, then I am with you!
“If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.” – Genesis 28:20b-22
That day Jacob began a covenant relationship with God. He responded to God’s promise and committed to being present in the relationship. Just as God was reaching out to Jacob, Jacob was seeking after God. But life has a tendency to get busy, distracting us from our purpose and causing us to lose our focus on the directions God has given us. And that is what Jacob experienced in Paddam-aram.
WRESTLING WITH GOD
Fast forward twenty years to Genesis 32 and we find Jacob encountering God again. After two decades of being on the receiving end of his uncle’s deception, Jacob made peace with Laban, and now it was time for him to return home and make amends with his brother, Esau. Knowing all that Jacob was feeling, God sent angels to meet with him.
Fear set in when Jacob heard the news that Esau was on his way to meet him. He began dividing out his household in hopes of saving at least half of his family. Next Jacob began to pray to God, recognizing the kindness and unfailing love that God had so generously shown him over the years. He took the time to verbalize his fears, asking for the God of his fathers to rescue him once again.
Jacob positioned himself to be alone in the camp in order to spend some time with God. A man appeared and Jacob wrestled with him until dawn. When the man told Jacob to let go of him, Jacob demanded a blessing from the man.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” — Genesis 32:28
HEARING FROM GOD
In Genesis 35, God called Jacob to return to the place where he had first encountered God. So Jacob returned to Bethel. Life had been difficult for Jacob, but it was evident that God had been present with him through it all. Jacob recognized that God had faithfully kept His covenant but that he, himself, was in need of renewing the promise He had made to God. The influence of the world around him had made an impact on Jacob’s family, and he needed to once again cleanse himself. He needed to bury the idols his family had accumulated and recommit himself to God.
The God of Jacob’s past faithfully appeared to him again and blessed him, showing Jacob that God was not only the God of yesterday, but the God of today and the God of tomorrow. And God reminded him that his identity had been changed; he was no longer Jacob with a rough past, but he was now Israel with a beautiful future.
Perhaps God is calling us back to the place where we entered into a covenant relationship with Him. This world we live in tends to have an impact on us with its stress and constant striving. There are moments when we recognize our need to RENEW our promise to God. This morning, let’s declare that the God of our yesterday is still who we desire to be the Lord of our today and the Keeper of our tomorrows. God has been faithful and will continue to display His faithfulness in our lives, daily transforming us into who He has created us to be.
I AM YOUR GOD AND I AM WITH YOU!
IF YOU ARE WITH ME, THEN I AM WITH YOU!
Lord, I choose to renew our covenant and desire to keep it fresh and growing stronger each day. I promise to look to you as the God of my past, to make you the Lord of my day, and to trust you to be the Keeper of my tomorrow. Thank you for making your presence known to me this morning. If you are with me, then I am with you. I love you and choose to act out of that love today, depending on you to provide and protect. Amen.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! – Psalm 103:1-5