Where is God right now? My daughter and I were talking some years ago about the possibility of a future marriage. I said, “Well your brothers did not get married at Tallowood, so if you get married, you should get married here.” She said, “When I get married it will be in a field with a barn and some cows, preferably cows that I know.” A bit tongue in cheek, I asked urgently, “And what about God? Why not at Tallowood?” She said, “Dad, wherever I get married, God will be there.”
Jacob left home in a storm caused by his own decisions. His brother was angry with him and his parents worried about him. With no pillow, he stopped along the way, near a place where his grandfather Abraham had prayed. He took a rock and on it rested his head. Then he saw God in a dream at the top of a ladder with angels ascending and descending. The Lord identified himself and promised Jacob the same blessings that he had promised Abraham and Isaac.
What would you do if you had that dream? To this point in his life, Jacob, the “Grasper” has taken whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it. He was what Roger Duck used to call “an extreme personality.” Nobody else wanted to be around Jacob at this point. But God did. This is grace in the Old Testament. God’s love grasped the “Grasper,” and would not let him go. It turns out God’s grip is stronger than ours.
Jacob made promises to God. Always the deal-maker, he set out the terms for his contract. God scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. The rock was set up as a marker for God’s residence. Tithes were promised in exchange for safe travel. Though Jacob was sincere, his deal with God reveals he still had much to learn. God would go before him, stay with him and bring him back. Wherever Jacob went, wherever he fell in love, wherever he worked, God would be there.
The one promise God makes most often in the Old Testament narratives is the promise of presence. “I will be with you.” Whether or not we know it, wherever we are, God is already with us. Are we with God, conscious of his presence, surrendered to his purpose? Vaya con Dios. Go with God. Go with God, or just don’t go.
