Beginning of the Change
Genesis 28: 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.”
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GOD showed Jacob a gateway to heaven in a mysterious dream.
Jacob got excited and wanted to mark the exact location that GOD showed him. He
took the stone he used as a pillow and anointed it with oil so it would stand
out, even if it rained.
My Observations:
- Jacob
responded to the dream with excitement.
- Jacob
must have realized that everything Isaac told him about GOD was true.
- Jacob
vowed the the LORD shall be his GOD and that he would give a tenth back to
HIM.
It is undetermined why Jacob chose to give a tenth of
everything given to him from GOD. Perhaps he recalled what he was told about
Abraham giving a tenth of all he recovered
of Sodom’s wealth, to Melchizedek. Or perhaps the HOLY SPIRIT led him to
choose this number.
He did not say how he was going to give a tenth, only that
he would do it. This was a change for Jacob. He was moving from scheming and
sneaking around to being generous. GOD’s vision seemed to be the catalyst of
change in Jacob.
Challenge
- Why
does GOD tell Moses about Jacob’s vow?
- Have
you ever been excited about what GOD told you or showed you?
- Are
you excited by what GOD is doing and will you show HIM your excitement by
being generous to someone today?
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