God Speaks To Jacob

Jacob had been forced to leave his parent’s home to escape his brother’s anger as a result of his actions.  The first night, he came to a place called Luz by the Canaanite people, near where Abraham had built an altar when he first came into Canaan.  Because it was late, he spent the night there, as Genesis 28:10-15 describes.  “And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.  And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.  And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

It was a time of emotional upheaval in Jacob’s life, and God used a dream to speak to Jacob, reminding him of the promises to give that land to Abraham and Isaac’s descendants.  He also promised to protect him and bring him back to the land safely.  While he had heard about his father and grandfather talking with God, it was the first time Jacob had experienced a personal contact himself, and it frightened him, according to Genesis 28:16-17.  “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.  And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 

Nearly every time someone saw a vision of God for the first time in scripture, their reaction was the same, as they recognized his holiness and power.   Today many who claim to have seen God or had a near death experience describe a a great sense of peace and comfort that leaves one wondering if they actually saw the Lord, or if they saw Satan posing as God.  The vision had a great impact on Jacob. 

Genesis 28:18-22 tells us, “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.  And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” 

Jacob set up a memorial to remind himself of that vision and what God had promised, renaming it Bethel, the “House of God.”  Unlike Abraham in Genesis 15:6 Jacob did not simply believe God would keep his promise.  Instead, he tried to make a deal with God, promising that if God kept his promise then he would allow God to be his God, making the Bethel a place of worship and giving God a tithe of what he was blessed with.   It is not a statement of faith but a conditional promise in response to emotional effects of the moment.   It would be another twenty years before he made a commitment to God in faith.   Sadly, many times such an emotional response is frequently mistaken for real faith and people are assumed to have been saved.  Many times they later turn away, because they are like the seed that fell on rocky ground in Matthew 13:20-21, which respond dramatically, but have no root in themselves to carry them past conflicts and trials.