Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 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. 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. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
Jacob’s life turns a corner in a lot of ways after he steals Esau’s blessing. Scripture doesn’t tell us why or when or how, but there’s a distinct shift in Jacob’s demeanor somewhere between chapters 27 and 28, where we open with a request from Isaac concerning his future wife. For the first time in his Biblical story, Jacob is compliant. Something changed. There’s an untold chapter in the story. There are untold chapters in all our stories.
One of the more curious things to me about the story above is the mention of the rock Jacob slept on. At the end of the story, he converts it to an altar, a practice his grandfather and father both had some experience with. Authentic worship is quite the legacy to leave with the next generations. Before it becomes an altar, though, it’s where he rests his head. He’s lived a divided life. He’s alienated the most significant people in his life. He’s now on a one-man journey on his way to meet strangers in the hopes of finding a wife. He left home empty-handed and his future is entirely uncertain. He is out in the wilderness when the sun sets and he’s got a rock for a pillow.
Let’s just sit with that for a moment. If you need to, read that paragraph again. Please don’t move on until you get the sense that you’re there with him.
Then God shows up. He shows up in a unique way but with familiar promises. He shows up in Jacob’s life like He did in Abraham’s life and Sarah’s life. Like He did in Isaac’s life and Rebekah’s life. He’s big enough to show up in all of our lives. He’s big enough to hold Jacob’s past and mine and yours and all of the pasts of all the people in all of time. He shows up. And when He does, it’s always with a glimpse into His own heart. A heart that’s big enough to show all of us something.
So walk in your wilderness. Go on your journey. Head out into the who-knows-where with who-knows-what ahead of you. Take a breath or ten. And when the sun sets, rest your head on a rock, close your eyes and meet the God that is there, even though, and especially because you might not be aware of it.
Reflect:
On your untold chapters. The bits and pieces that are unknown to all but you and a few, to you and God. On the ways that God is in the process of transforming you.
Journal:
About your rock-in-the-wilderness experience. We all have at least one time in our lives that comes close to this. The specific circumstances are different in our lives, but there’s something about this that resonates with each of us. Take a few moments to re-member it and write about it.
Pray:
To see God in ways you weren’t aware of. To encounter Him and His heart for you, your family, your circles, and creation. To hear His promises echo in your own heart and to come clear in your life. Pray to wake up to the ways that God is, has been, and will continue to move in the world. Know that God is and will be with you.