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Daily Devotions

Genesis

Genesis 
Day 
Day 209

"In Your Name they rejoice all day long, And in Your righteousness they are exalted." Psalm 89:16

Text: Genesis 28:1-22

A SACRED VOW

As Jacob offered worship, presumably for the very first time, he also made a most solemn vow. It is interesting to note that neither Abraham nor Isaac made any vow to God!

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying,
‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way
that I am going, and give me bread to eat and
clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house
in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which
I have set up as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that
You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

GENESIS 28:20-22


CONTENT OF JACOB’S VOW

A close study of Jacob’s vow would help us understand why he said what he did. His vow may be divided into two parts. We need to understand why he made a vow in the first place. Only after that would we be able to appreciate the second part of his vow.

(Part 1 of Jacob’s Vow)

1. A Tentative and New Experience

Jacob was new at the idea of relating to God. How should he relate to Him? Yes, He is a God to be respected and feared, but Jacob knew little else about the Lord. Making a vow was his idea of relating to God, in terms that he (Jacob) would understand.

2. An Uncertain Future

God had mercifully appeared to Jacob. The Lord had given him wonderful assurance that He would watch over him wherever he chose to go! To Jacob, while those were wonderful words, nevertheless, he had to deal with practical daily needs – such as safety, food and clothing! These were basic things he would badly need. Would God provide him with all these things too?

3. A safe return home

Jacob did not intend to stay in Haran for too long. However, at the back of his mind, he was concerned about the threat that Esau had made on his life! Would God bring him home “in peace”?


THE FIRST FEW STEPS OF FAITH

The vow of Jacob may be seen as his first few steps of faith in God. The promise he made to God expressed his sincere commitment to believe in what the Lord had promised. However, the solemn fact was that he did not have a strong and deep faith in the Lord at that point of time. It would take a long while before his faith could be as clear and strong as that of Abraham at its height. How gracious God was not to dismiss these words as foolish. The Lord must have understood fully how Jacob felt!