August 5th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Journey Begins

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Opening Prayer

Lord, as I read Your Word, may I suffer no confusion, but walk in confidence. Please guide my steps today.

Read Genesis 28:10-22

[10] Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. [11] When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. [12] He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. [13] There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. [14] Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. [15] I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” [16] When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” [17] He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” [18] Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. [19] He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. [20] Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear [21] so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God [22] and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

God can meet us in unexpected places and unexpected ways. We need to be alert and ready.

Think Further

Prior to setting out on his own, Jacob grew up in an atmosphere of parental favoritism and sibling rivalry. His mother, Rebekah, received a word from the Lord during her pregnancy of great future significance: both her children would father great nations, and the elder would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). A distinct preference for her second twin led to her subsequent manipulation of events with which Jacob colluded. His whole life up to this point has been marked by trickery and lies; if his life could be described as a car driven by his mother, he was a more than willing passenger. 

His life had also been marked by second-hand knowledge of God. His first direct reference to God is impersonal and a lie (Gen. 27:20). All of this hardly makes for an auspicious beginning to his career as a patriarch. Nevertheless, he is one of the people through whom God is ultimately going to bring salvation to the world. In a dream, he experiences a theophany (an appearance of God), and hears the promises first made to Abraham for himself. His response to meeting with God is twofold: first, he makes an altar of his stone pillow and consecrates it; and, recognizing that the Lord has revealed himself there, he names it “the house of God.” Second, he makes a conditional vow, in effect promising that if God does his part in looking after him, Jacob will respond with commitment and tithing. 

Jacob isn’t the only biblical character to demonstrate that, despite being a sinful, flawed individual, he is still of great worth to God and can still be used by him. Through his experiences, Jacob comes to acknowledge the hand of God in his life, and becomes who God intended him to be all along.

Apply

The Lord met Jacob to assure him of his blessing and future promise. Reflect on your own experiences of meeting God. What characterizes them? How do you respond?

Closing prayer

Holy Father, I ask that You open the eyes of my heart, so that I will be aware of Your working in my circumstances and life.

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