The Bethel Experience

Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Photo by Tom Robertson on Unsplash

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Genesis 28:15 (NASB)

Next weekend my daughter and her partner are getting married, which there is a certain amount of excitement about…okay a huge amount of excitement! It has been a long time in the planning and also under the uncertainty of what Covid restrictions would be in place at the time, would it go ahead and how many guests could we have etc. One thing we have a laugh about in all this that our daughter is escaping from the burden of having to spell our surname countless times a week, now that she will have an easier surname to spell. But the main thing that it all comes down to is the promises made during the ceremony, I remember our wedding day and the promises we made that day nearly 25 years ago. These are not just mere words but to use the Biblical words, they are an everlasting covenant.

Our verse today comes from a covenant sworn by Almighty God to Jacob in a dream, on his way to Paddan-aram. Beside it I found a wee gem, a handwritten note of a sermon highlights on the scrap of an envelope. It is undated and the preacher unnamed but the notes are an excellent commentary on the this verse. The first point being “I am with you.” The bridegroom promises to be with his  bride, and God promises Jacob where he slept that He was with him. He also promises to be with His children too. The second point “I will keep you.” The bridegroom  promises  to “love, honour and protect” his bride  – to keep them. Almighty God promises to keep Jacob and his descendants; He promises to keep us His children safe today. The third point is “I will bring you back” is a promise of constant guidance. The bridegroom promises to share all with his bride “through thick and thin” the good and bad, together they will walk the path of life. God promises this constant guidance to Jacob and to His future children. The fourth and final point is “I will not leave you.” The bridegroom promises to be with his bride forever, only being separated by death. God promises His unending presence to Jacob and his descendants, until His promise is fulfilled. His promise lasts as long as life itself and beyond, and is extended to us His children in Christ.

Dear reader, rejoice on this Lord’s day! If you are a child of God then these promises made to Jacob in his dream all these centuries ago are active and include you. You can count on Father God for His presence and constant protection, as long as you are in Jesus His Son. You are heirs of the Bethel Experience!

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