Jacob’s Vow

Most of us are familiar with the story of the twin sons of Isaac, Jacob and Esau.  Jacob decieved his father into giving him the blessing that Isaac intended for Esau.  Esau was angry and planned to kill his brother after his father died.  Rebekah heard of this and had Isaac send Jacob back to her home area to get a wife.   That is where we pick up the story in Genesis.

Genesis 28:10-22

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

¹³ And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

I.  The Promise

A.  The Land:  God appears to Jacob and informs him that he will be the one through whom the promise given to Abraham and Isaac will be fulfilled.  His descendants will inherit the land.

B.  The Blessing:  In Jacob’s seed, all the earth will be blessed.  Of course there is no greater blessing than Jesus Christ through whom salvation is offered to all the earth.

C.  The Promise:  Jacob is a young man going on a difficult journey.  God promises to be with him, protect him provide for him and bring him safely home again.

II.  The Presence

A.  The Ladder:  Jacob sees a ladder with angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth.  There is a connection between heaven and earth.  God hears our prayers.  He is involved in life on earth.  His angels are sent to do His will.

B.  The Awareness:  When Jacob awakes he is aware of God’s presence in that place.  There are places where the presence of God is more easily noticed.  Anytime that two or three are gathered in the name of Christ, Jesus promises to be among us.  Actually, we believe that God is present everywhere.

Are we aware of His presence?

III.  The Vow

A.  The Request:  Jacob was not asking for riches.  He merely asked for food and clothing.  We also, should learn the secret of being content with our basic needs being met.  “Godliness with contentment is great gain”  (I Timothy 6:6)

B.  The Return:  Jacob did desire for a safe journey with a return home.  I am sure he did not think that it would be twenty years before he would return home.

C.  The Tithe:  Jacob vowed to give back to God a tithe of all that God gave to him.  This vow helps to clarify the principle of tithing which is commanded in the Mosaic law.  Jacob’s vow shows again that the tithing precedes the law.  (Abraham also gave a tithe to Melchizedek. cf. Genesis 14)

God will take care of us in this journey through life.  We can trust Him.  We can demonstrate that trust by the practice of tithing.   May we grow in our ability to sense His presence with us each day.

 

These are the sermon notes from 9/1/19.  All scripture references are from the New King James Version of the Bible.  Any advertisements that might appear are placed by WordPress.  I have no control over them, nor do I receive any money from them.