Originally posted: 01/27/2019

Jacob, running for his life… And the LORD, God Almighty, visits the fugitive in his dream, to speak His Words.

Jacob, running for his life, to a place he does not know, alone in the wilderness, lies down with a stone for his pillow, and perhaps a shroud of bleakness as his blanket. And the LORD, God Almighty, visits the fugitive in his dream, to speak His Words. Words that would bring His blessing, as Isaac had prayed, “May God Almighty bless you…” (28:3).

He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.¹³ And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth 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 promised you,” (28:12-15).

Consider His Words

His Words Declare His Deity. “I am the Lord.”

His Words Confirm His Covenant. “The God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.”

His Words Initiate His Intention. “The land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.”

His Words Bring His Blessing. “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

His Words Promise His Presence. “Behold, I am with you.”

His Words Communicate His Care. “And will keep you wherever you go.”

His Words Reveal His Restoration. “And will bring you back to this land.”

His Words Give His Guarantee. “For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

How can we respond to His Words?

• Let us come to His Word with an all-consuming attitude of awe and reverence.
  • …my heart stands in awe of Your words, (Psalm 119:161).

• Let us come to His Word with prepared hearts. May we daily examine our hearts and confess our sins, so that He will hear us when we call.
  • If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear, (Psalm 66.18).

• Let us come to His Word expecting Him to speak His great and mighty Words.
  • “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know,” (Jeremiah 33:3).

• Let us come to His Word in humility.
  • “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,” (1 Samuel 3:9).

• Let us come to His Word to obey, not merely to hear.
  • For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does, (James 1:23-25).

• Let us allow His Word to harvest hope in our lives.
  • Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, (Romans 15:13).

• Let us so fall in love with His Word that it becomes all we can think about!
  • O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day, (Psalm 119:97).

Let’s Grow Together!