Monday, June 20, 2005

The House of Jacob

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (Genesis 28:17)
Abraham passed the inheritance of his house on to Isaac, the son of promise and of faith, and God confirmed the covenant to Isaac.

Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Though they were twins, Esau was the first-born, and rightful heir to the double-portion of the inheritance. But Esau had little regard for the inheritance and bartered it away for a bowl of soup.

Jacob, on the other hand, valued the inheritance highly, so highly, in fact, that he was even willing to resort to trickery to gain it. But the trick was soon found out and Jacob had to go into exile. However, the blessing of the inheritance, once it is given cannot be revoked, so Jacob was now the rightful heir.

Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, directed him to Padan Aram, the home of her father Bethuel. There he was to take a wife from the daughters of Laban, her brother. Jacob was not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, a house under curse and doomed to failure.

On his way, between Beersheba and the crossroads of Haran, Jacob lay down with a stone for his pillow. That night he dreamed a dream. He saw a ladder set up on the earth and reaching up to heaven, and on it the angels of God were ascending and descending.

The LORD spoke to Jacob and confirmed to him the covenant He made with Abraham. He spoke of the expansion of Jacob’s house, the blessing that would be to all the families of the earth through his seed, and the promise of the land through which he was passing.

When Jacob awoke, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:16-17).

Jacob called the place Bethel (“house of God”) and he made a vow to God:
If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going; and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all the You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (Genesis 28:20-22)
God blessed Jacob with twelve sons and from him came the twelve tribes of Israel, through whom God has blessed the world with the revelation of Messiah.

When you are in covenant with God, He blesses your house beyond measure, revealing His own house to you in the midst of it. The purpose and destiny of the house of God becomes the purpose and destiny of your house, and your house becomes the gate of heaven.

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