Living in the Spirit

July 17, 2023

Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:10-19a
Jacob left Beersheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the 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. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 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.

A frightened young man who had just cheated his brother out of his birthright finds himself on the run. Worn out, no doubt, he lays on the ground to sleep, and he dreams of a benevolent God appearing to him in a dream, assuring him he still has a future and a God who is with him despite his behavior.  This is not the first time Jacob gets caught in a mess. He will eventually wrestle with God on his return trip home.

None of us are perfect; we all make mistakes, and God is always there to help us find ourselves and learn from those mistakes.  

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your presence with us and for helping us find who we are and what we can positively contribute to building a better world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.