Ep. 15. Genesis 28 | The House of God
EPISODE 15
THE HOUSE OF GOD: GENESIS 28
It would be easy to overlook the riches of Genesis 28. This dream, however, is seared in my brain from childhood. I remember the coloring page of Jacob sleeping on a rock and a ladder reaching heaven with angels going up and down on it. It would barely be worth talking about without a subtle statement by Jesus in John chapter 1, "Truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Jesus reveals to his early followers that he is the ladder, the point of contact between heaven and earth. We know the only way to come to the Father is through Jesus. There is no other name given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus alone brings us near to the house of God. Jacob awakes from his dream and names the place Bethel. (Beth, meaning house, and El, meaning God) In our world, many people proclaim there are multiple ways to reach heaven and enjoy fellowship with the Father, but the Scripture insists that Jesus is the only means for one to come to salvation.
God speaks to Jacob the same words already proclaimed to Abraham, "Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed." We know by now the significance of this blessing and that, in truth, it speaks to the souls of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation redeemed by the blood of Jesus, for the Glory of the Father, by the working of the Spirit.
Don't miss Jacob's vow where he says he will serve the Lord if God is faithful to provide "bread to eat and clothing to wear." This is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses reminds the Israelites of God's provision, "He fed you with manna, which you did not know. Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these forty years." Speaking to the Jews, Jesus says, "Do not be anxious, saying 'what shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Again, Paul says, "If we have food and clothing, with these, we shall be content." I have loved this theme for many years. I have had nothing, and I have had plenty, but I have always had enough. My food may have been scarce and my clothes worn out, but God has always graciously supplied my basic needs. I want to point out that "and all these things will be added to you" are food and clothing. Sometimes, people quote that verse to talk about jobs, cars, spouses, and all manners of other things, but the context is food and clothing.
You may have caught that Bethel is mentioned as early as Genesis 12. Don't let that throw you. Moses is traditionally considered the author of Genesis, and he retells the story of Abraham using names of the cities that the Jews making their way to the Promised Land would know and understand. Though Bethel is called "Bethel" in Genesis 12, it would have been called Luz in the days of Abraham and was only renamed at this point by Jacob.
ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Timothy 6: 6-8; Matthew 6: 25-34; Deuteronomy 8:1-8; John 1: 43-51
