When God Repeats Himself

Scripture: Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. Genesis 35:9-10

Observation: Jacob and his family return to Bethel, the place where Jacob departed from when he was initially afraid of Esau. This time, he is again afraid of retribution from the Shechemites, but he obeys God and goes to Bethel. He further obeys the Lord the builds an alter there, to commemorate the time that the Lord appeared to him when he was fleeing from Esau.

What happens next is ... God appears to him again ... God blesses him again ... God repeats the act of renaming him Israel ... God repeats his promise to give Israel the land promised to Abraham and Isaac ... Israel builds a second alter, sacrifices on it again, and names it Bethel same as the first.

God made a promise to Jacob, and then gave him instructions. Jacob (eventually) learned to trust those promises, and became a man willing to obey the word of the Lord. Therefore, God repeated his promise to Jacob. Jacob celebrated and honored God again.

Application: As I spend time seeking the promises of God in my life, I see this model. It is very likely God has made promises to me, and he will repeat them and remind me of them as I grown in my faith, obedience, and love for God. The challenge I have is not that God has not given me good promises in my life, but likely that I wasn't listening or understanding at the time.

I look forward to God repeating himself.

Prayer: Lord, I see how you work with imperfect people, and I am certainly one of those, an imperfect person. Please forgive my sins and help me to repent further every day, so that I may be better prepared to hear your voice and your promises in my life. Amen.