Jacob’s journey of faith still had a long way to go. Earlier in this Chapter, God had made Himself known to Jacob, and in verses 13-15 God assured Jacob that he was in fact the promised carrier of both the seed and the Covenant of Abraham. God unconditionally vowed to Jacob his personal safety and blessing until Jacob would return to the Promised Land…but Jacob wanted to hedge his bets, so he bargained with God. Jacob’s vow here was entirely conditional. It was contingent on God holding up His end of the deal and subject to Jacob’s safe return…then and only then, Jacob would acknowledge God for Who He was, and his personal God. We can laugh at Jacob, but how many times have we ourselves “bargained” with God? “If You do this God, then will I do that.” is putting conditions on our faith and trust in God and not what He desires of us.
Safetypinlove 