Day 13

Genesis 28:1–29:35; Matthew 9:18-38; Psalm 11:1-7; Proverbs 3:11-12

AS JACOB FLED to the north and away from his brother, Esau, he stopped at the city of Luz to sleep. Here the God of Abraham and Isaac revealed Himself to Jacob in a vision of a stairway to heaven, reaffirming His promise that one day He would give the land to the family of Abraham.

“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” Jacob said when he awoke (Genesis 28:16). Jacob renamed the place Bethel, which means, “house of God” (Genesis 28:19). Its ruins remain today, and the terraced terrain indeed looks like a stairway.

Jacob made a vow at Bethel:

If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the LORD will certainly be my God.

And thus, the God of Abraham and Isaac became the God of Jacob.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus stepped into a funeral that was a bit premature. A synagogue official’s little daughter was gravely ill, and the desperate father sought Jesus out. But the girl died before they could return. A crowd of people had assembled, and the funeral dirges were already underway.

Jesus chased everyone off. “The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep,” He said (Matthew 9:24). And these words turned their mourning into laughter, but not in a good way. The people mocked Jesus because they’d seen the girl, and as far as they were concerned, she was dead. But Jesus approached her and lovingly reached for her hand. She stood up, to the obvious amazement of the onlookers.

Our reading today invites us to ponder many of the impossible situations in our lives. Would our mourning turn to mocking laughter if we heard the words “It’s not dead; it’s only asleep”? Or would we, like Jacob, declare, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it”?

MEDITATION:

The LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.