Signs
It seems that
all through the ages people have wanted God to give them a
sign. Some to know that He is really there and sometimes to
show them the way. God has done this in the past as
providing the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day
for the Israelites. Today it seems like you have a number of
people going from this church to that church looking for
some miraculous sign that God is moving more in that church
than in any other. There were even people who saw Jesus who
asked him for a sign that He was who He said He was. Most of
the time if one receives a sign he doesn't believe it or
needs another sign soon to urge him on his Christian life.
Jacob was given a great sign included in a dream. In this
dream he actually heard from god who was at the top of the
ladder or staircase which went from that spot where Jacob
slept to heaven.
Genesis 28:13-22 (NRSV) 1"And the Lord stood beside him
and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and
the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to
you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like
the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the
west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and
all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in
your offspring. Know that 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.' Then Jacob woke from his sleep and
said, 'Surely the Lord is in this place-and I did not know
it!' And he was afraid, and said, 'How awesome is this
place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven.' So Jacob rose early in the
morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his
head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of
it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the
city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow,
saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this
way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to
wear, so that I come again to my father's house in
peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which
I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all
that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.'"
God made a promise to Jacob. Then when Jacob set up the
altar he gives and "If.then" statement. If God does this for
me then he will be my God. God has already spoken to Jacob.
Jacob knows the accounts of God's faithfulness from his
ancestors. Does it have to be proven that God will do what
he says he will do?
I can understand this by looking at Jacob's life. He has
always been a cheater. He took his brother's birthright and
then stole his blessing. Jacob is probably thinking that god
wouldn't bless him because of all the bad things he has
done. The Hebrew word which is translated "if" in about all
the translations I checked does have other meanings. We see
how the young's Literal Translation puts it:
Genesis 28:20-22 (YLT) "And Jacob voweth a vow, saying,
'Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I
am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment
to put on- when I have turned back in peace unto the
house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God, then
this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of
God, and all that Thou dost give to me-tithing I tithe to
Thee.'"
So actually Jacob has seen everything the Lord had done for
him in the past and trusts him to do what he promised in the
future.
You can trust all the promises of god. The Bible contains
hundreds of promises which God has made. I believe that not
all of them are for every Christian. As you read your Bible,
pay attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit. At times
when you are reading and come upon a promise God gave to
someone in the Bible, he will be whispering to your spirit
that the promise is for you. Claim this as one of God's
promises for you.
Don't go looking for signs. Read your bible and pray and God
will let you know what you are to do and what he will do for
you. Then live your life obeying what he tells you and
trusting totally in Almighty god for all he has promised
you.
By Dean Masters
homefurn@preferred.com
Unedited redistribution approved.
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