God’s PROMISES will NEVER FAIL in our LIVES!
January
10 Bible Reading: Genesis Chapters 28-30
God’s PROMISES will NEVER FAIL in our LIVES!
And
behold, the Lord stood above it and said: "I
am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which
you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be
as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to
the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the
earth shall be blessed. 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." (Gen 28:13-15)
While Jacob
was traveling to his mother's ancestral home, he stopped at a place called Luz,
which means separation, and lay down
to sleep using a stone as a pillow. At this time Jacob’s heart was probably
filled with regret for the past, loneliness in the present, and uncertainty
about the future. However, while sleeping Jacob had a wonderful dream in which
he saw a ladder extending from earth to heaven and angels going up and coming
down through the ladder.
Then Jacob
saw God standing on top of the ladder speaking to him directly for the very
first time and identified Himself as the God whom both Abraham and Isaac had believed.
Then God gave Jacob some precious promises that He would fulfill in his life.
Through these promises, God graciously made a covenant with him as He had with
Abraham and Isaac. We can clearly see God's promises to Jacob consisted of four different aspects:
- Companionship: “I am with you”
- Safety: “I will keep you wherever you go”
- Guidance: “and will bring you back to this
land”
- Personal guarantee: “I will not leave you until I have
done what I have spoken to you”
Through this
dream, God ratified Isaac’s blessing on Jacob’s descendants (vv. 3, 4), and extended
the promises of Abraham to Jacob (vv. 13, 14) adding His personal assurance of
protection and care (v. 15). Jacob’s dream emphasized God’s initiating grace as
He assured him He is the Lord of the past and future. Jacob was the third generation to receive the promises
of the Abrahamic covenant (13:14–16; 26:24; 35:10–13), not because he was righteous, but because of God’s call and
faithfulness to Abraham!
As we read
Jacob’s story, it is clear that God’s promises never failed in Jacob’s life…every promise was fulfilled eventually.
God was with Jacob working for him throughout his life journey.
Jacob may have been separated from home, but he was not separated from heaven!
In fact, later God was addressed as the ‘God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ (Ex. 3:15). Let us
always remember that God’s promises in our lives will never fail.
