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Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow,
saying, "If God will be with me and will watch
over me on this journey I am taking and will
give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that
I return safely to my father's house, then the
LORD will be my God and this stone that I have
set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of
all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
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March 3
An Agreement
It is an unwise thing to
attempt to bargain with God. To put it
simply, we have nothing to offer Him except our
praise and thanksgiving which should be His
regardless of our circumstances. But many
times we find ourselves trying to make a deal
with God. "God, if you'll just see me
through this sickness, I promise that I'll come
to church every Sunday and live a better life."
We can't be sure if God
ever accepts such agreements or if a person is
healed as a result of God's will apart from the
prayer bargain. But one thing is certain,
if we make such a prayer, we better follow
through with our side of it.
Jacob's vow is not that of
a desperate man looking for rescue from a bad
situation. And it isn't even conditional
even though it is phrased as such. Jacob
knows that God will hold up His end of the
bargain as He has promised many times, not just
to Jacob but also Abraham and Isaac. He
has seen God at work before and knows that He
will continue to watch over him.
Jacob's agreement could be
phrased another way. "God, I know you're
going to continue to watch out for me and
because of that, I'm going to continue to
worship you." Instead of trying to make
desperate bargains with God that we may not
follow through on, why not live every day in
worship of God to begin with? When
problems come about, we'll be much better
equipped to handle them. |
