AMAZING GRACE AT BETHEL

I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:13-15

These are the words God spoke to Jacob in his dream at Bethel.

Jacob, the usurper. Jacob, the stealer of birthrights. Jacob, the deceiver of his father. Jacob, the robber of blessings. Jacob, the con artist. What an unimaginable example of sovereign grace! It is so obvious that Jacob did nothing to deserve these blessings. God did not give him the land because he was a godly man. He did not say the Messiah would come through his line because he was more righteous than Esau. He did not promise his protection because Jacob sought holiness. God sovereignly decided to bless Jacob for his own glory!

God does not judge as man judges. God is not beholden to man’s sense of justice. God does as he pleases and always works his will in the lives of men. We see the hand of God and fall on our faces with our hands over our mouths! Who are we to question the ways of the Almighty?

Praise God for his sovereign grace! Had he left the matter up to me I would never have sought him! If he granted righteousness only to those who pursued it I would never be righteous! I am his only because he chooses people like Jacob and pours out his grace and mercy upon them!