An Awesome Place

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

AN AWESOME PLACE

Gen 28:16-22

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 20 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 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD  will be my God 22 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."

NIV

When Jacob woke and realized he had seen a ladder going up to heaven with angels ascending and descending, and that he had heard the voice of Yahweh, he was convinced Yahweh was in this place. He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place!" Jacob had more to say about that place, but first, this should give us a clue about how we should think about any place where we experience God. However, Jacob considered that place nothing other than the house of God and the gate to heaven. Should we not think of our gathering place, the church, as the house of God? Should we not consider it an awesome place? When we gather to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, do we consider that we are standing at the gate to heaven? We should wonder whether we should be more in awe as we enter the sanctuary of the house of God. It may not be appropriate to chit-chat about various personal topics, or even laugh at times. Maybe we should enter the house of God in awe of that place, and as we enter the sanctuary, we should reflect that we are at a gate to heaven. When we sing those words that surely the Lord is in this place, shouldn't we be just a bit in awe, in reverence, almost afraid because we stand in the presence of the LORD? Sometimes, we see God as the God of love, instead of the Almighty God of heaven and earth. Instead, we should stand with a certain fear of the LORD, for as we know, that is the beginning of wisdom. Jacob responded, knowing the LORD would provide him with food and clothing and that he would give back a tenth to the LORD. We are not sure how that would work in Jacob's time, how the tenth would reach the LORD. Some churches today use the tenth to support various expenses and ministries within the church. However, the point we should ponder more is how awesome the place is where the presence of the LORD resides, where the Spirit of the LORD is. We should enter His gate with thanksgiving in our hearts and enter His courts with praise. What an awesome place that is.