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JACOB'S VOW

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 6, 1888

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 14.

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JACOB'S VOW.

LESSON 16.—SABBATH, APRIL 21.

1. RELATE the means by which Jacob secured the blessing.
2. Was this honorable on the part of Jacob? "And he said, Thy brother came with subtility, and hath taken away thy blessing." Gen. 27:35.
3. What is the meaning of the name "Jacob"? "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob [a supplanter]? for he hath supplanted me these two times; he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?" Verse 36, and margin.
4. How did Esau regard Jacob for his course in securing the birthright? "And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him." Verse 41, first part.
5. What did he purpose to do? "And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob." Verse 41, last part.
6. What did Jacob's mother advise him to do? "And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him; then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?" Verses 42-45.
7. Into how many years did the "few days" expand?—More than twenty.
8. What sort of a sleeping-place did Jacob have one night on his journey? "And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep." Gen. 28:10, 11.
9. What dream did he have there? "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to Heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." Verse 12.
10. Who stood at the head of the ladder? "And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed." Verse 13.
11. What promise did the Lord make to him? "And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of." Verses 14, 15.
12. What did Jacob say when he awoke? "And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." Verse 16.
13. What did he say of that place? "And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." Verse 17.
14. When the Lord appeared to certain of his servants what did he say to them? "And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." Ex. 3:5. "And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." Josh. 5:15.
15. What may we learn from this?—That the presence of God in any place makes that place holy.
16. Where has the Lord promised always to be? "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt. 18:20.
17. What lesson should this teach us?—That places dedicated to the worship of God are sacred, and should always be entered with reverence.
18. What did Jacob do in the morning? "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city was called Luz at the first." Gen. 28:18, 19.
19. What vow did he make? "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, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God; and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." Verses 20-22.
20. What was the extent of Jacob's desire from the Lord? Verse 20.
21. Could he have asked for less?
22. Yet what did he purpose to do? Verse 22.
23. Is it right to make vows or pledges to the Lord? "Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God; let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared." Ps. 76:11.
24. When a person makes a vow, what should he be careful to do? "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed. Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." Eccl. 5:4, 5.
25. Why should we be so careful to pay our vows? "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it; for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee." Deut. 23:21.

NOTES.

SOMETIMES the question is asked, "How could Jacob pay tithe, if he received only food to eat and raiment to put on?" It is very evident that he could not, if he received only necessary clothing ready made, and had his food furnished him just at meal-time. His idea was not that the Lord would put into his mouth just enough to sustain life; for the Lord doesn't feed us in that way. The Lord gives us richly all things to enjoy, but he leaves to us the preparation of it, and he expects us to make an exertion to get it. Jacob's idea was that if the Lord would prosper him, even though he should give him what would seem barely sufficient for a livelihood, he would pay a tithe of it, and live on the remainder. The lesson to be learned is, that nine-tenths of what we think would support us, is better, with the blessing of God, than the entire amount that might seem necessary, without God's blessing.
GOD is able to make a small quantity equal to the largest amount. When the widow had only a handful of meal, and a small cruse of oil, the Lord made that small amount sufficient support for a family of three for a full year. 1 Kings 17:8-16. With only five loaves and two small fishes, the Lord fed more than five thousand people. It may be said that these were miracles. So they were; and he who does not see a miracle in his being kept alive and provided with daily food, "knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning." Lam. 3:22, 23. Surely since God gives us everything that we have, working miracles daily for our support, and is able to multiply a handful of meal into many barrels, he may well be depended on to make a little go a great ways for one of his servants.
SOME people there are who refuse ever to make a pledge for the Lord's cause. They profess to believe that it is wrong to do so. How they can think so in the face of the Scripture record is a mystery. Not only does the Scripture contain instances of vows that have been made, but it expressly commands us to make vows. The man who refuses to make a reasonable pledge to the Lord's cause, for fear that when the time comes he may be unable to pay, is in the same condition as one who refuses to make a profession of religion, for fear he will not be able to hold out. Such ones show a total lack of confidence in God, indicating that they expect to have to do in their own strength all that is done. Their action is equivalent to saying, "I am afraid that the Lord will fail me; I dare not run the risk." And yet those very persons who are afraid to promise to do what they know to be their duty, have no hesitancy in giving a note to a man, promising to pay him a certain sum of money at some future time. The sincerity of any who profess to think it wrong to pledge, may well be doubted.
THE Lord has said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt. 18:20. Yet how many who go to the prayer-meeting, where there undoubtedly are more than two who have come in the name of Jesus, could say, "The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not"? The Lord was at Bethel before Jacob had his dream; so the presence of the Lord in any place does not depend upon our recognition of it. We do not have to wait until the prayer-meeting is over, in order to be able to say that the Lord was present. Those who do so, lose a great deal of the blessing of his presence. But we should begin the meeting knowing that he is there because he has promised to be there; in that case we shall be prepared to receive the fullness of his blessing.
W.