Genesis 28:16

The Bible says in Genesis 28:16-22, “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 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, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 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.” Jacob said, “Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.” Unfortunately, this is true of many people; and if we are not careful we might also ignore the truth of God’s constant presence with us. God is everywhere because He is God. And Jesus promised to be with every believer. Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” If God was always with Jacob, then what was Jacob’s problem? Jacob’s problem was that he was not aware of God’s presence with him. Once Jacob had the dream of the ladder with angels constantly ascending and descending to the earth from the presence of God, and once Jacob heard God’s promise that God would always be with Jacob; then Jacob was changed by faith. He started believing in God’s continual presence. True religion is a daily relationship with the Lord. First you come to know Jesus as your Savior, and then you walk with Him and talk with all along life’s way.

It is important to know that the Lord Jesus is always with you. With such knowledge a believer will be comforted and strengthened every day of his or her life. One of the great results of the resurrection of Christ is the fact that He is still alive. We did not believe in a dead Christ when we were saved, but in a living Christ who is always with us. Jesus wants His followers to know that He is always there with them. Luke 24:13-31 is a good example of how this lesson was revealed to the believers of the first century. It says, “And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass therein these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.”

This might be the time that Jacob became converted to the Lord. It was definitely a time of spiritual awakening in his own life when Jacob became aware of the presence of the Lord. It was also a time when Jacob made a definite decision to believe in the Lord and to serve the Lord. Jacob said in Genesis 28:21, “then shall the LORD be my God.” Every human being eventually makes a decision to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, or to turn away from Him. The Bible says in Joshua 24:15, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Evidently Jacob understood that the promises from God included having his practical needs taken care of, such as food and clothing. Jacob said in Genesis 28:20, “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, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God.” It is wonderful to be a Christian. God does promise to take care of everyone of us. David wrote in the Psalms 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The last thing that Jacob said in response to all the promises that God gave to him is found in Genesis 28:22. Jacob said, “of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Jacob correctly recognized that every material thing that he gained came from God. Out of appreciation and thankfulness, Jacob wanted to give back to God a portion of what was given to him. Everyone who is rightly related to the Lord will have such a desire to give back to God. They would want to show their thankfulness. There are not many things worse than being unthankful and taking for granted the good things that you have received. That is one of the reasons for praying before we eat: showing thankfulness to God for what He has given to us. One of the characteristics given in the Bible concerning the last days is the fact that wicked people will be unthankful. The Bible says in Second Timothy 3:1-4, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”

Since we are on the subject of giving, maybe we should talk about man’s traditions of the giving of tithes (ten percent). In order to do this we need to look at what the New Testament says about giving. It is important to note that there is not one place in the New Testament where Christians are told to give a tithe. If tithing was a requirement for Christians, then we would expect that the Holy Spirit would have said something about it to followers of Christ. But not one word is said in any of the epistles. Of course, the New Testament has many things to say to Christians on the subject of giving, but in those verses not one thing is said about tithing. For example, one of the great passages on Christian giving is found in Second Corinthians. It says in Second Corinthians 9:7-8, “Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Individual choice, individual liberty, and individual responsibility are at the core of what is required of the Christian in giving of his or her substance to the work of the Lord. A tithe is not given as a requirement for a Christian. It is also important to notice that some individuals who are examples of generous giving actually gave much more than a tithe, which is ten percent. When Jesus honored the widow who gave “two mites,” we know that she gave 100 percent. Jesus said in Mark 12:41-44, “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

Talking about the early Christians in the city of Jerusalem, the Bible says in Acts 4:34-37, “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.” Barnabas gave 100 percent of the money that he gained from selling a parcel of land. We see in the New Testament examples of believers giving much more than 10 percent at times, but there is no rule to the percentage that they gave. When we all stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, we will give an account of what each of us did with everything that the Lord placed into our hands. This includes material possessions, abilities, and opportunities. The New Testament principle for doing this is not 10 percent. The New Testament principle is: “Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” Ten percent might be a good starting point for what you give, but a much larger percentage might be a good ending point to what you give in your life to the Lord Jesus and His work.

After Jacob received the promise of God’s presence, the Bible says concerning the life of Jacob in Genesis 29:1-12, “Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.”

It is amazing that God guided Jacob to the love of his life in a very similar way in which God had provided for Isaac. The most important thing to notice about this is that both Jacob and Isaac left the women of the world and went to women who believe in God to find their wives. After getting saved by faith in Jesus Christ, perhaps the most important thing in life for a believer is to marry another believer, and not just any other believer. It is important to be led by the Lord to the person that you end up marrying.

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