Jacob was on the run. He had convinced his brother, Esau to sell his birthright for a bowl of red, red stew but then he had deceived his mostly blind father into giving him the blessing meant for Esau.
According to Genesis 28, Jacob rested for the evening at a place he later named Bethel or the house of God. It was here that Jacob dreamed of a ladder extending from earth to heaven and he saw angels ascending and descending.
In this dream, Jacob heard the Lord speaking. The Lord added Jacob to the covenant of his father and grandfather, again promising to make his descendants as numerous as the dust of the earth.
In response, Jacob makes an oath that if the Lord would provide food, clothing and a peaceful return to his father’s house, that Jacob would call the Lord his God and give Him a tenth of what he earned.
It can be easy to over-complicate the promises of God and transform them into something the Lord never said or intended. Read for yourself Genesis 28:10 till the end of the chapter and you will find that what the Lord promised Jacob is basic but powerful.
The Lord promised to be with Jacob, just as He does with us. He promised to not leave him. He promised to meet Jacob’s basic needs and protect him. But most of all He promised to bless Him.
The blessing of God is often misunderstood. It goes far beyond wishing someone well when they sneeze.
Maybe the best understanding of being blessed by God is to give or receive and inheritance. We see this in God blessing the animals and humans just after creation in order for them to reproduce.
When reading the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 we see that when a nation dedicated to God obeys Him they are blessed with children, produce, livestock, economic abundance and so much more. They will even continue on the land that God gave them.
In contrast, the nation that rejects God’s ways will not have the inheritance of children and a productive economy that can be passed down. The wealth that they do have becomes a curse instead of a blessing.
This brings us back to the promises of God. The only promise of God we should be concerned with is having fellowship with Him. A relationship that brings an inheritance. The only way to have that is through Jesus Christ.