Coffee With The Lord

I Had a “Bethel” experience this morning as I read Genesis 28:10-22 during “coffee with the Lord”!

Jacob, having deceived his father and angered his brother, was forced to flee for his life! Esau wanted to kill him!  It had to be one lonely night, filled with fear and guilty feelings! But God in His mercy revealed Himself to Jacob in a powerful dream/vision and reaffirmed/re-established His covenant!

“And behold, the Lord 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.  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 in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  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 promised you!’” (vss.13-15)

Jacob awakens from this revelation – blown away by God mercy and grace!

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! … How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’  So 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.  HE CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE BETHEL [i.e. the house of God].” (vss. 16-19)

Jacob’s response is noteworthy and instructive for us, who as guilty sinners, have experienced the mercy and grace of God… When this happened to Jacob he worshipped and consecrated himself afresh to God. As I read this passage during my time of “coffee with the Lord” this morning I did the same… I worshipped and rededicated myself to the Lord – I HAD A “BETHEL EXPERIENCE!”