December 6

“And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” Genesis 28:12 ESV

Jacob was running for his life. He had deceived his father, stolen his brother’s birthright, and now Esau held plans in his heart to kill him.

I have often wondered if Jacob regretted his actions. The scripture doesn’t let us know what his thoughts are at this point. Sometimes it is what we don’t see that lets us know what happened. We don’t read about Jacob’s repentance nor was there an apology recorded. There was no promise to Esau to make things right or a speech to his father about his wrong doing.

Still, when his parents direct him to take a wife, Jacob obediently travels to find her among his mother’s people. It can be pointed out that this conveniently gets him away from an angry brother. It is on these travels to Haran that Jacob encounters God in a dream. He is told that his offspring will be given the land that he was sleeping on and they would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. This act affirms the promise made to Abraham years before.

What a remarkable promise to someone we see as undeserving. The beauty of this story is that God uses imperfect people and he keeps his promises. The God of Jacob is the same merciful God that sent his Son to us— not to condemn us, but to save us. We deserve this no more than Jacob did. This Advent, choose to follow the God that doesn’t only make plans for the righteous, but for every single one of us.

Prayer for today:

Heavenly Father, we praise your steadfast love. You find us in the wilderness and show us how much you care for us. Help us to recognize when we do things that don’t honor your name and set us back on the right path to holiness. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.