Jacob at Bethel: The grace of God

Jacob at Bethel: The grace of God

“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 spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:15)

It is difficult to find a more vivid picture of the grace of God in the Old Testament than we do in the story of Jacob. As this man’s life unfolds, there is little to attract us to him. He was called Jacob because he held onto the heel of Esau, his twin brother, as they were born. His name means “supplanter”. And although he was a quiet man, he ruthlessly took advantage of Esau to obtain his birthright and conspired with his mother to rob Esau of his father’s blessing for his firstborn. As a consequence, he fled for his life.

For the first time in his life, alone, and with an uncertain future ahead of him, Jacob falls asleep with a rock for a pillow. It is at this moment God appears to him in a dream. There are many things we would have expected God to address in Jacob’s life. The God of righteousness would have to deal with Jacob’s character and behaviour and where it had led him. God would indeed deal with those features of his life. But He does not begin there. God begins, not with who Jacob was, but Who He is; the God of all grace.

All Jacob’s life was consumed by chasing things which did not belong to him. When God speaks to Jacob, He says, “I am the Lord God … I will give you … I am with you … I will keep you … I will bring you back … I will not leave you … I have spoken” (verses 13, 15). God poured out the richness of His grace on Jacob with holy tenderness and promise. When Jacob awoke from his dream, he took the stone he had rested on and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Then he made a vow which began with the words, “If God …”. Everything he mentioned next was about material things. Then finally, he promises to give back to God a tenth of what God would give him.

In Luke 15 when the Prodigal Son returned in repentance to his father’s house, he discovered what he had never understood before – just how much his father loved him. His brother never left his father’s house and never understood his father’s love. Jacob had yet to learn how much God loved him.

I have to ask myself why it is that I often fail to understand the greatness of the love and grace of God. He never asked Jacob for sacrifice, vows or money. He did not ask Jacob for anything. He does not deal with me based on who I am. He deals with me on the ground of His eternal love displayed through free grace. He doesn’t ask me to pay him back, as if I could, or make impossible vows. He asks me to trust Him and live each day of my life in the majesty of His transforming grace in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jacob had a long way to travel and many lessons to learn: so do we. His life seemed like a rollercoaster and, at times, so can ours. But there is one glorious constant, one never-changing assurance for us to rest in:

“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 spoken to you” (Genesis 28:15).