Creator, Father, King #60

I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.

JACOB WAS IN QUITE a predicament. The deceitful “heel-grabber” was on a 550-mile journey from his family’s home in Beersheba to Haran, fleeing from Esau, who wanted to kill him after Jacob connivingly stole his older brother’s valuable birthright and blessing. Apparently, in his haste, Jacob forgot to pack a pillow and had to fluff a rock before lying down to sleep.

Oops.

While Jacob slept, God came to him in a marvelous dream. In it, a stairway stretched from heaven to earth, with angels ascending and descending and God standing at the top. Then God reaffirmed the covenant he had made with Jacob’s forefathers:

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! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 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 you.

What extraordinary promises! Shaken and amazed, Jacob woke up, constructed a memorial pillar, and worshiped God.

What’s It Mean?

Jacob had been running from his vengeful brother. But really, he had been fleeing from his calling as God’s chosen instrument to bless the nations. Like his rocky pillow, Jacob’s heart had been hard toward God. But through one dream, the Lord unforgettably softened his heart like a down pillow.

God wasn’t about to let hard-hearted Jacob go. He is a God who compassionately pursues stubborn heel-grabbers like Jacob . . . and like us.

Are you running from God? Is there a specific area of your life that you’re not submitting to him? Or perhaps you are in complete rebellion against him right now. Surrender to him through repentance and faith as Jacob ultimately did. If you do, he will be with you and will protect you wherever you go.

Now What?

Read the entire account of this story in Genesis 28:10-22.

Did You Know?

Jacob and Esau eventually reconciled. You can read about it in Genesis 33.