AUGUST 10th
THE FIRST VOW (Continued)
Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:20-22
20 And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,
21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
Briefly reviewing, Jacob’s vow was evidently affected immensely by his dream, what he saw and what he heard God say to him. Upon awakening, he knew things were vastly different. The difference could not be calculated naturally because heaven and earth had met in One. Jacob awaked out of his sleep and the first words used to express his mind were, "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not." As always when one encounters Eternal Spirit he was afraid. There is a reverence that moves God to the center and top at once. Still reverencing his experience he exclaimed, "How dreadful is this place!" One thing for certain in his mind was that this was none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:17-18)."
None other but the house of God! Hebrews 3:6 reads, "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we…" Oh the eternal truths now affecting the vow. Jacob reasoned that he was at the house of God and the gate of heaven also. When considering the root meaning of the Hebrew word for gate which means to split open, reason out or think, a picture comes into view of one becoming aware of whom he really is. Proverbs 23:7 states, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:" As with Jacob, when one is at rest and hears God under an open heaven, he then recognizes his true position and state. In other words, one gets his spiritual bearing.
Continued