Daily Devotions
Genesis
"Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance." Psalm 89:15
Text: Genesis 28:1-22
FROM RECOGNITION TO WORSHIP
How precious were the promises of God! How they lifted up the weary and dejected spirit! Jacob had recognized the Person who had spoken to Him! He was the covenant-keeping God of Abraham and Isaac! He was now his personal God too. He would now be the God of Jacob as well. How should he respond to this great and loving God? He must have remembered all that his father had told him about the worship of God. That knowledge helped him to raise an altar to worship this great God!
“Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took
the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar,
and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place
Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.”GENESIS 28:18-19
“Then Jacob rose early in the morning…”
There was a sense of haste and urgency in the way Jacob offered worship to God. The night’s event of hearing the voice of God speaking to him demanded an appropriate response. The manner in which he responded was of great significance too! The very first thing in the morning he did was to offer personal, heart-felt worship! What a way to begin a day! What a way to begin a brand new lease of life! He had found genuine faith in the God of Abraham and Isaac!
“Poured oil on top of it…”
The stone that he had chosen to rest his head must have been quite large. That stone pillow would now be specially consecrated! Through pouring oil on it, Jacob consecrated that pillar of stone and it became his altar to worship the Lord! He had nothing to offer the Lord… only the oil that he had with him! But God saw beyond all the physical trimmings and accepted the worship that had come from the heart!
“He called the name of that place Bethel…”
Jacob had rested in the vicinity of the city Luz. However, the significance of the night’s event was the commencement of a faith-relationship with God. As far as he was concerned, he had come to the House of God. The most appropriate name was to call the place Beth-El meaning, “House of God”.
A NEW-FOUND FAITH
Jacob had run away from the wrath of his brother. He did not know if he could ever return to see his mother again! He was not even sure if he would survive the trip to Haran! But the doubts and fears he had sustained in his heart were dealt a severe blow! God’s Word to him had changed many things! In his heart arose a new found faith in God! A single night had changed everything! This one encounter with God had been the most significant event in his entire life! What a great thing it was to have faith in God!