BRAGADAYJAH 92

Waking out of his sleep, and remembering his dream, Jacob became afraid and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. O how dreadful is this place. It is none other than the house of God, the very gate of heaven.” Jacob, therefore, took the stones he had used for a pillow and formed them into a pillar and poured oil unto the top of it. And having done so, he called the place, which up to that time had been called Luz, Bethel, that is to say, House of God. Having built his altar, Jacob set about worshipping God, and he vowed unto god, that if He should provide him with food and water, and clothes on my back, and keep me safe and lead me back again to my father’s house, I will serve the Lord, and he will be my God. And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s house; and of all that thou gives me I shall give thee the tenth part. Clearly Jacob as a young man was abiding under his father Isaac’s blessings. He had not experienced God for himself. Certainly he knew of the God of his father Isaac and of his grandfather Abraham. But he up to this time had no personal experience of God for himself. In his dream just that past night, God had revealed to Jacob a vision of who He was and had made him promises which went far beyond what he was now vowing conditionally to God who had made to him unconditional promises; for God had promised him. “I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places wither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; I will not leave thee until I have done to thee that which I have spoken to thee of.” So, then in truth and in fact Jacob’s promises were redundant, since God had already given to him assurances to which God had not attached any conditions. More