Hard Rock Hotel

(Genesis 25-28)

Preparation was quickly made for his escape. His mother knew that his older brother was angry, and held a grudge. Threats to kill him were in the air, and so he was sent away with just the clothes on his back, and precious little else. His uncle would take him in, and when tempers had calmed at home, he could return. Hopefully, that would not take long, perhaps just a few days.

His father said his good-byes to his son, and gave him a special blessing and words of advice. Then, with nothing else left to say or do, he fled out the tent door, and into the wilderness. As he walked alone, with nothing to his name, thoughts must have flooded his mind. "Was it really worth it?" "What have I now to show for my greed?" "Will I ever see home again? Mother, Father...even my brother?" "Will he ever forgive me, as my mother seems to think?" With no one to travel with, his thoughts were his only companions. Those thoughts could hardly have been a comfort to him. As he walked further and further away from the life he knew, he must have wondered why he had been so willing to sacrifice it all for something that belong to his brother. Now as he wandered through the day, he knew that night would soon be upon him, with terrors of its own.

Greed, trickery, covetousness, selfishness, and falsehood had all led him to this point in his life. He had betrayed those closest to him---his brother and his father. True, his mother had encouraged him, but he was a man capable of making his own decisions. And to think, he was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. He knew the God of Abraham and of Isaac. He knew better, but yet he had failed. Perhaps, out in this wilderness alone, it would be time to pay for those mistakes.

As night fell, Jacob searched for a place to stay. He probably longed for a warm, safe place,with a friendly face. Instead he found a rock. Instead of a comfortable bed and pillow, he found a piece of ground, and nothing but a rock for his head. Welcome to the Hard Rock Hotel, Jacob. Being tired, and wanting to shut out his thoughts, he had no choice but to lie down on the cold, hard ground, and snuggle up with his rock, and try to sleep. Sleep did not come easily that night. His mind was still active and full of thoughts, and his sleep was filled with dreams. As strange as it seems, his dream was filled with angels---and with God.

This must be where Jacob is going to pay for those mistakes! God is really going to throw the book at him now! Maybe God will sky drop rock tablets on Jacob as he sleeps! Even though they had not been written on tablets yet, Jacob had violated many of the 10 Commandments. God will probably rehearse those "Thou shalt nots... and Thou shalts..." with him now!! Whatever happens to Jacob he deserves! Or does he?

What happened that night, Jacob probably never saw coming. After all, he was running. He was running away from his home, his brother, his parents, his inheritance, and proably, even his God. When you have really screwed up, to within an inch of your life, God is proably not Someone you want to see just then. But, here HE was, in his dream as he lay on the cold, hard ground, with nothing but a rock for a pillow. God certainly knows how to get someone's attention!

But, instead of those "Thou shalt nots..." which Jacob deserved, and we would expect, God approached Jacob with a heart of love. God took away the "baggage" that Jacob was traveling with--- the greed, covetousness, selfishness and trickery; and began filling Jacob's heart and mind with precious promises for his journey. "The land on which you lie, I will give it to you...your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth...in you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed...I am with you and will keep you wherever you go...I will bring you back to this land...I will not leave you."

What power there is in promises! Commandments reveal to us God's holiness and our unworthiness, but power is in God's promises. Jacob arose from his sleep a new man. He no longer dwelled in the Hard Rock Hotel, but because of this display of God's love and promises to him, he realized that he indeed was dwelling in the House of God! This outpouring of God's goodness and grace to him, caused Jacob to commit his heart and life to God. God's promises gave Jacob the strength and desire to serve and follow Him!

What power there is in promises! This is the secret that Peter shares with us in his seond letter: "He has granted us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature..." (II Pet. 1:4)

Peter declares to us that we have also been given His precious and magnigicent promises!! Like Jacob, we don't always get what we deserve, and aren't we glad! Like Jacob, isn't it time to check out of the Hard Rock Hotel, and grab ahold of the "precious and magnificent promises" of God that will give us strength for our journey? Are you ready to commit to following the God of Promise, the God Who will never leave you, the God Who will keep you wherever you go,the God Who will do for you exactly as He promises, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? God's grace and mercy is waiting for you.