“Bethel”
This is none other but the house of God. —Genesis 28:17
Read Genesis 28:10-22
After a day’s travel, Jacob found a place to sleep, and that night the Lord sent him a dream. In his dream Jacob saw a ladder connecting heaven and earth. The Lord stood at the top of this ladder as angels were ascending and descending on it. This ladder por-trays the Lord Jesus’ intercession to God on man’s behalf. Not only did the Lord repeat the promises made to Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, but He also made new ones: “I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places” (v.15). Jacob experienced a small part of God’s glory and majesty, and he feared the Lord. To commemorate the dream, he set the stone which he had used as a pillow in an upright position as a sign. He called the place “Bethel,” which means house of God.
At Bethel, the Lord spoke to Jacob, as He does to us in church to-day. In response, the congregation sends its prayers to Him and sing their Psalms of praise and penitence. God’s house of worship is also the place where the “ladder” is lowered and Christ is pro-claimed as the Saviour of sinners. Have you had a “Bethel” moment in your own life, when God spoke to you personally during a sermon? Did the Word contain a promise and an invitation, or did it warn you to break from a bosom sin? Jacob took God at His word: “Then shall the LORD be my God” (v.21). Jacob could resume his journey with God, for the Lord Himself had comforted him. Is it the longing of your heart that the Lord would speak to you through His Word and Spirit? That is the best way for you to begin a new day.
Is the church a “House of God” for you?