Before Jacob left Bethel, he made a vow unto the Lord in response to all that God had done for him and His promise to be with him and keep him. It was a look backward in gratitude for God’s preserving care and a look forward in confident assurance of the Lord’s presence with him until he returned to his father’s house.
Samuel acknowledged the Lord’s help in the past, setting up a stone and calling it Ebenezer, and said, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” We, too, as believers, can look back over the past and recognize the Lord’s hand in preserving and keeping us up until this very moment.
We have the confident assurance that He will be with us and keep us until He brings us to the Father’s house. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy of his confidence in the Lord’s keeping power until he reached heaven and home: “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever” (2Ti 4:18).1
Jacob served Laban fourteen years for his two daughters, Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:1-27). Even though Laban deceived Jacob and changed his wages ten times (31:7,41), Jacob experienced the blessing of God, not because of his own righteousness but because of God’s grace.
We have been saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9). Paul wrote to Titus, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). We are saved by grace and we are kept and sustained by grace along life’s pilgrim pathway (2Co 9:8; 12:9).
Jacob’s patience under Laban’s hardhearted wrongs testifies that he had submitted to God. All of God’s dealings with him were intended to reveal His eternal, unchangeable character. As children of God, we may experience difficulties and trials, but in all our circumstances, God is ever present, revealing His eternal character and His divine purposes for our life.
The Lord promised His continued presence with Jacob, saying, “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee” (Gen 31:3). Jacob took his family and his possessions and left Laban. When Laban caught up with Jacob, he was angry with him, because he had learned by experience that God had blessed him for Jacob’s sake (30:27). They made a covenant together not to do harm to one another. Jacob made a heap of stones and set them for a pillar, calling it Galeed and Mizpah, meaning “witness” and “watchtower.”
To Jacob, the pillar was a testimony to the faithfulness of God’s unchanging and unfailing promises. Jacob was learning something of the faithfulness of God’s promises despite his own failure. God is working in the circumstances of the lives of those of us who belong to Him for His glory and for our ultimate blessing and good.
At Peniel, Jacob wrestled with an angel of God, determined not to let him go until the Lord blessed him (32:24-31). Jabez, who was more honourable than his brethren, called on the God of Israel and said, “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me.” It is recorded that “God granted him that which he requested” (1Ch 4:10).
Might we, too, as the people of God, know much of laying hold of God, wrestling, as it were, in prayer and supplication. It is His great desire to bless us. We are exhorted to pray without ceasing (1Th 5:17). We are exhorted to pray without fainting or becoming discouraged (Luk 18:1).
On that occasion, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, meaning “prince of God.” Twice in the book of Revelation, overcomers are promised a new name. At the end of the letter to the church in Pergamos, the Lord promised the overcomers a new name which no man will know except the person who receives it (Rev 2:17). In writing to the church in Philadelphia, the Lord promised the overcomer that He would write upon him the name of His God and His new name (3:12).
The angel touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh, and from that moment on Jacob would be reminded of his own weakness and of his dependence on God. May we, too, as the people of God, be ever reminded of our dependence on Him.
The Lord told Jacob to return to Bethel and build an altar. Jacob built an altar as the Lord had told him, and in it he was reminded of God’s faithfulness and keeping power. The Lord there renewed His promise of blessing to Jacob, and, as a display of his thankfulness for all that God had done for him, Jacob set up a pillar of stone in the place where God talked to him and poured a drink offering on it and poured oil on it (Gen 35:1-14).
Let us too, as those who have been redeemed by precious blood, return daily to the altar and offer up our worship and thanksgiving to God for His unfailing faithfulness. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews exhorts us, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb 13:15).
On the way to Bethlehem, Rachel died. At her death, love marked her burial place with a pillar to keep her name in perpetual remembrance. She had been the object of Jacob’s love and affection and of his care. You and I have been and continue to be the objects of God’s love and affection and of His tender care. He has promised to keep us until we reach heaven and home.
Jacob left his father’s house with only a staff; he returned with two bands. He acknowledged his own unworthiness and committed himself to the Lord (Gen 32:10). Throughout his pilgrimage, Jacob learned much of the faithfulness of God’s promises and God’s provision and preservation. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us of Jacob’s last days: “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff” (Heb 11:21).
Let us, as the people of God, acknowledge the faithfulness of God through the various scenes of life. Let us look back upon His faithfulness and reverently worship.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
