“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” (Genesis 28:13 KJV)
Wow! A dream… A ladder… Angels… A promise from God himself… Why? Clearly God wanted Jacob to know something. Let’s take a couple steps back in this story to see if we can piece this together. Why was Jacob there? On his way to get a wife. Does it not seem odd that he was there alone and penniless? When Abraham got a wife for his dad, Isaac did not even have to go. Abraham sent an abundance of provisions. The wife returned paid for and ready for her husband. How comforting do you think it would be to know that God was present and had a plan for you at this moment? A plan that he personally would see through to completion. A plan that would show all who were watching that what He promised Abraham was true and that no human effort (or lack of effort) was going to accomplish it (or end it).
We were told earlier that Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness (see Genesis 15:6). How do we know that Jacob trusted God? This chapter ends with Jacob promising a tenth back. Why a tenth? Nowadays we know this as a tithe. If you start out in your younger years investing, a tenth is the perfect amount to start stashing away. It is that portion of whatever you earn that you want to protect and invest as someday you will need to live off of that when you can no longer work. It is a way of realizing that I may not have much now, but if I work hard and save and invest and set some of that aside; I will have enough one day. Jacob is promising that investment as something that belongs to the Lord. A place that he will not likely retrieve back with his own hands. Yet a place that is secure and strengthens his faith that even when he cannot provide; the Lord will.
It is amazing how God carries his promises through these two generations. Isaac’s generation looks allot like an entitled generation. “Grace”. The most misunderstood term to an entitled generation. They have no idea what unmerited is. What a clever scheme of the enemy. Granting entitlements actually keeps them in bondage. Jacob’s generation looks allot like a generation that has to work by the sweat of their brow and is full of weeds. Schemes for changing wages, schemes for changing work efforts, and schemes for escape. Each of these two generations reflect challenges that we still see today. Yet, in the end, we see what was previously predicted as actually fulfilled so that man may know that God is there and that he carries his promises to completion.
“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.” (Genesis 28:15 KJV)