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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 1 of 5
Genesis 28:1-22
Jacob is leaving his father’s house, but God is going to bring him to know His own house (Bethel means "house of God"). It is not necessary for us to wait until we have left our parents’ home to meet the Lord. But one day this meeting must take place and the God of our parents must also become our God. What a strange dream Jacob has! What is the meaning of this ladder with the angels going up and down it? It speaks of relationships between heaven and earth and we think of the One who has established them for us by coming down here and then returning to glory (John 3:13; ; John 3:31; Ephesians 4:10). The grace of God shows the gate of heaven (v. 17) to the poor tired sinner and imparts His glorious promises to him. "How dreadful is this place!" the traveller cries when he wakes up. A guilty conscience cannot be at peace even in the presence of the God of grace (compare Luke 5:8). In this strange bargain which he dares to make with the LORD, Jacob makes these explicit promises of God conditional and offers to serve Him in exchange for the benefits which he will receive. Many people, like him, hesitate to grasp by faith the free gift of God and think that their efforts must themselves merit His favour.
