12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Genesis 28
Jacob first met the Lord at Bethel (means house of God) when he was fleeing from his brother Esau and his home in Canaan. His mother Rebekah conspired with him to steal Isaac’s blessing from his elder brother, Esau.
The first time Jacob met the LORD he was asleep and God spoke to him in a dream. How many of us are literally or figuratively asleep when we first meet with God.? Much of the church has been asleep in our own time and God has been applying pressure through different means to awaken us. It’s dangerous to be asleep when we have an enemy looking for someone to destroy.
8 BE ALERT AND OF SOBER MIND. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
The next time we hear of Jacob and Bethel is after his sons Simeon and Levi have taken revenge on Shechem, son of Hamor and all their men for violating their sister. Jacob was worried that the Canaanites and Perizzites might join forces against him and destroy the entire family, but God met with him once again and reassured him.
35 Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.’ Genesis 35:1
Jacob told all those with him to get rid of their idols and they obeyed him. We asked the question yesterday, ‘Are there doors we need to close for God to be with us and bless us?’
5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. Genesis 35
God protected Jacob and his family as they set out for Bethel. Many times God protects us and we may not even have been aware that He has intervened on our behalf but after Jacob obeyed God He met with him a second time at Bethel.
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob,(literally he deceives) but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. (means he struggles with God).’ So he named him Israel. Genesis 35
Jacob knew a lot more about God on his second encounter at the place he called Bethel. We should be grateful that God cares for us enough to protect us, even while we’re asleep, but how much better to stay awake and alert and give the enemy no opportunity to harm us. God blessed Israel with a new name to mark how different he’d become before him. May we also grow in character and maturity as we walk out our lives before Him.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.