City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word 

“16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’ 17 And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.’”

Genesis 28:16-22 (ESV)

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Galatians 6:14 (ESV)

Megan’s Musings

Before Jacob fled, he lived like a prince. He must have been in a hurry to have only a rock as a pillow and had literally hit rock-bottom (yes, I had to say that). In Jacob’s dream, God promised that he and his descendants would be given the land, they would be numerous, and God will watch over Jacob and bring him back home (Genesis 28:13-15). 

Why was Jacob afraid? Maybe he wasn’t very close to God at that time. But he did not dismiss his dream nor forget it. He didn’t say, “Ugh, what a weird dream, well, time for breakfast and get ready to hit the road.” He knew he saw the gateway to heaven and wanted to keep it in his memory, so he set up a memorial. He took the very stone he had used as a pillow – a reminder of his humiliating hardship – and set it up as a pillar, poured oil on it, and sanctified it. Jacob changed the place into a reminder of how low he had gone and gives the place a new name, Bethel meaning house of God. He changed it from the name of Luz, which was the name of a royal Canaanite city. Jacob turned an idolatrous city into a sacred place for the One True God. 

As God’s promise was three-fold, so is Jacob’s vow: if God will be with him, provide for his needs, and allow him to return home, then God will be his Lord, the stone will be a representative of God’s House, and Jacob will give a tenth of what he has to Him. Many years later, God would call Jacob to return to Bethel and build an altar (Genesis 35:1-3,6-7). As Jacob was leading his family to their destination, I’d like to think he told the story of his fleeing, sleeping on a stone, seeing the ladder to heaven in his dream, of God’s promises, and of the very stone he slept on being consecrated to his children and grandchildren, savoring their reactions. 

Just as Jacob turned a humiliating hardship into a sacred place, and renamed an idolatrous city into a godly one, Jesus turned what was considered a symbol of humiliating hardship, the cross, and made it into a sacred sign to the world. The apostle Paul called the cross of Jesus something to boast about, which in the days when crucifixion was still being practiced, shocked his readers. Jesus’ death on the cross meant the salvation of those who believe in who He is and receive what He has done for them.  

Application

What has happened in your life that was difficult but God turned it into good? It’s part of your testimony. Or maybe something troubling is happening right now that you’re wondering how can God make good out of this? God can and will take what is difficult and turn it into good, it’s His specialty. And this difficulty will become part of your testimony. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

Prayer

            Dear Jesus, I know You can and will turn all things that are wrong into right, what is bad into good, and what is difficult into a blessing. Please Lord, help me through my hardships to see Your face through it all. In Your name I pray, amen.