Read Genesis 28:10-19a
10 Jacob
left Beersheba and started towards Haran. 11At sunset he came to a
holy placel
and camped there. He lay down to sleep, resting his head on a stone. 12He
dreamt that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going
up and coming down on it. 13And there was the Lord standing beside him.m “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac,” he
said. “I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are
lying. 14They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the
earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and
your descendants I will bless all the nations.n 15Remember,
I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back
to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised
you.”
16 Jacob
woke up and said, “The Lord is
here! He is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” 17He was afraid
and said, “What a terrifying place this is! It must be the house of God; it
must be the gate that opens into heaven.”
18 Jacob
got up early next morning, took the stone that was under his head, and set it
up as a memorial. Then he poured olive oil on it to dedicate it to God. 19He
named the place Bethel.o
Think
Jacob has just tricked his
father into blessing him with Esau's birth right. Remember that Jacob had bought it with a pot
of stew - so Esau squandered it. Esau
was angry with Jacob and Jacob ran away to the wilderness, alone he lies down
to sleep - with his head on a stone, alone and afraid.
He has a dream. In the dream he realises that God is with
him.
Pray
Sometimes I feel a bit like
Jacob, alone in the wilderness with a stone for a pillow. Help me to remember
that you are with me.
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