"The Place Named Bethel"
Genesis 28:18-22
Bethel was about ten miles north of Jerusalem and 60 miles north of Beersheba, where Jacob left his family. This was where Abraham made one of his first sacrifices to God when he entered the land. At first, Bethel became am important center for worship; later it was a center of idol worship. The prophet Hosea condemned its evil practices.
Was Jacob trying to bargain with God? It is possible that he, in his ignorance of how to worship and serve God, treated God like a servant who would perform a service for a tip. More likely, Jacob was not bargaining by pledging his future to God. He may have been saying, in effect, "Because you have blessed me, I will follow you." Whether Jacob was bargaining or pledging, God blessed him. But God also had some difficult lessons for Jacob to learn.
TODAY'S BLACK HISTORY FACT:
On this date in 1966 Bill Russell becomes the first African American to coach a National Basketball Association team, the Boston Celtics.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"If something is worth fighting for, it doesn't matter who won, as long as something good came out of it." - Richard Brooks
Posted By: Alban Burney
Thursday, October 11th 2007 at 8:39AM
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