AN EVER-SPEAKING ALTAR

AN EVER-SPEAKING ALTAR

READ: Genesis 28:10-22 (NKJV)

10. Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder [was] set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13. 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.
14. “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.
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 spoken to you.”
16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know [it.”]
17. 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!”
18. Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
20. 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,
21. “so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.
22. “And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

THE MESSAGE:

The very place where Jacob passed the memorable night of encounter with God (verses 12-15), happened to be the place of the second altar, an altar of prayer built by his grandfather, Abraham (Genesis 12). That altar was so strong that after several years of Abraham’s death, his grandchild, Jacob, was drawn by its force. Jacob had already started off on a path of deceit and supplanting (Genesis 27: 19-33), a path of estrangement from God’s presence, regrets, and premature death (Psalm 101: 7; Proverbs 20: 17; Psalm 55: 23).

Yet, by the force of this altar, God’s mercy found him. “…for I will not leave you, until I have done what I have spoken to you” (verse 15b). Did Jacob deserve this favour? On what ground did God commit Himself not to leave him? No, God was simply acting according to His words. Abraham had paved the path of mercy for his progenitors through the altar of prayers he raised. Jacob eventually committed his life to serving the God of his fathers (verses 20-22). He could not do otherwise! Do you have such an altar, where you consistently and fervently intercede -paving a path of mercy for your posterity? Arise now and build one!