Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place
and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the
stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he
dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to
the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it.
Then God was right before him, saying, "I am God,
the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I'm giving the
ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your
descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they'll stretch from west
to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will
bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I'll stay with you,
I'll protect you wherever you go, and I'll bring you back to this very
ground. I'll stick with you until I've done everything I promised you."
Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, "God
is in this place—truly. And I didn't even know it!" He was terrified.
He whispered in awe, "Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God's House.
This is the Gate of Heaven."
Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used
for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over
it. He christened the place Bethel (God's House). The name of the town
had been Luz until then.
Today I went to 2 of my 3 jobs, spending at least 5 hours at each. I also made chili for 35 people, organized Christmas crafts for just as many, and spent most of my evening trying to avoid the whiniest and most annoying child I have ever met in my entire career. She really wanted to be my friend. Someone should have told her that it is a bad idea to try to befriend an introvert at the end of a long day by asking that person to do everything for you in a really, really whiny voice. Also, don't fake-gag on the chili that person spent 3 hours making.
Anyhoo, as such, I hope you will forgive the brevity of today's post. As a bonus, Mr. Man is posting a little something for your reading pleasure. (I haven't read it yet, but knowing him, it will be embarrassing.)
So here goes.
Jacob was a rascal. He was a momma's boy who stole his brother's birthright, he "accidentally" married two women, and he was kind of a whiner. All of this just goes to prove that rascals can still recognize holy places and be loved by God.
Don't believe me? Go visit your local Cathedral.
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