2/25 Through the Bible in Devotions

Genesis 28 Holy Vows

(Gen 28:20 KJV) And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,
(Gen 28:21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

“Then shall the Lord be my God” Is the Lord your God? Today we would ask, Is the Lord “Lord of your life”? Salvation is a holy vow, made by God, and cannot be broken, but we make a vow too when we accept Christ as our Savior! We make a sacred vow, as in the marriage ceremony, to be faithful to Him; it is all implied in the “package” of salvation. Jacob’s vow, however was a vow of the tithe, to give back a portion of what the Lord has given Him. We don’t see it recorded where he performed his vow, but since God so richly blessed him, it is easy to believe that He did. Has God blessed you? Maybe, if the answer is no, it is because of the tithe, and the breaking of sacred vows. God does not take lightly our vows, we need to be sure we do not make them flippantly, but in sincerity, we must not vow a vow we will not keep . (see Acts 5:1-11) Please don’t take your vows lightly, I assure you that God doesn’t! Whether it is a marriage vow, or another sacred vow of giving or some other service, don’t renege on your vow, it may be a matter of life and death! Be assured, “God is not mocked”, but will take our vows seriously, even if we don’t. Christ said “Let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay” and be a man (or lady) of your word, He said “whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil”. (Mt. 5:34-37)

Jacob’s vow, however, seems to be a bit prideful. Think about it, he is making a deal with God, and the only thing God gets out of it is him! None of us have much to bargain with under those terms! It is as if Jacob says, “God, if you will do what I ask, I will give you me, but if not, then we will have to negotiate a little more” Even so, the Lord wants us; he did take the challenge, and blessed Jacob, and Jacob did make the Lord his God. Thank God that we are precious to Him.