Verse of the Day 5/31

Through the Bible - 2 Kings 24-25, Matthew 17

 

Good morning,

One of the passages that we considered last week was the "great commission" from Matthew 28, specifically the call to "go and make disciples".  The very last words that Jesus said in that passage were, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age".  Jesus came as Immanuel, "God is with us".  This concept is central to the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

 

This week, Lord willing, we'll go back to the book of Genesis and look at the "I am with you" statements that we have from various stages in Jacob's life.  For today's verse we'll go to Genesis 28 where Jacob here's this message from God when he thought he was alone, but God was with him.

 

Genesis 28:15 (English Standard Version)   ¹⁵Behold, 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."

 

Jacob had grown up with people around him.  Now he was alone.  This is when God first came to meet him.

 

J.M. Boice writes, "How precious it must have seemed as it came to Jacob in that den of a place, where he lay with the hedges for his curtains, the heavens for his canopy, the earth for his bed, stones for his pillows and God for his companion."

 

At some point we come to a point in our life where we come to what Henry Blackaby has called "a crisis of belief".  They may occur at times of crisis, whether they be over an illness, a loss, a decision to be made or what path to take in the fork of the road.  We may feel utterly alone as Jacob did, we may retreat from the comforts of our everyday surroundings to gather our thoughts and to call on God.  For the believer, it is a time when we come to realize that no matter what God, is with us, now and always, even to the end of the age.

 

Think of the Bible characters that have exhibited this faith, this knowledge and applied it in their lives.  Think of some of your friends that have testified of such heartfelt knowledge. 

 

If you are in the "crisis mode" yourself, seek Him, may He speak those words to you in your heart and mind "I am with you".

 

Jacob took this to heart, and though the outward circumstances hadn't changed he could go forward and face the challenges in hope, in confidence, and in peace.  

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Genesis 28:10-22 (English Standard Version)

Jacob's Dream

 ¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹²And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³And behold, the LORD stood above it 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. ¹⁴Your 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 in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵Behold, 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." ¹⁶Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." ¹⁷And 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."

 ¹⁸So early in the morning Jacob 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. ¹⁹He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰Then 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, ²¹ so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, ²²and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."