God's trial - Chapter 7
People's "vows" are fragile
He named the place Beth-El.Then Jacob made a vow to the Lord:”If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing,and if I return safly to my father's home,then you will be my God.This memorial stone which I have set up will be the place where you are worshiped,and I will give you a tenth of everything you give me.”
【Genesis 28:19～22】
The Conflict Between Spiritual Impressions and Human's natural excitements
As we know, Jacob is a man whose human's natural thoughts are particularly strong.Even though he had a wonderful spiritual experience through the revelation of a dream,the spiritual conflict, that is,the struggle between the human's natural thoughts and the spiritual thoughts,continued throughout the day.
Finally,the next morning,He made a decision.He consecrated the place as a memorial of God speaking to him,named it Beth-El,and prayed the vow.Strangely enough,he foolishly offered two deals to the Lord in his vow prayer.
In some respects,human vows are like glass vessels that can be broken under certain conditions. For example,we sometimes experience spiritual impressions,such as being touched by the Holy Spirit and being in the presence of God,at a big holy meeting.
However,when we experience such spiritual impressions,Satan also works nearby and tries to replace the spiritual impressions with physical excitement by showing us various three-dimensional realities.This is why we,like Jacob,sometimes make foolish deals with God.
Thus,we need to know that spiritual impressions and human's natural excitement are incompatible. We want to be moved spiritually,but at the same time,our human's natural excitement begins to work like a reaction to counteract it.We are,quite frankly,fragile vessels,especially against to verbal information.
The Chain of Seen and Unseen Fears
For example,right now,a word is spreading around the world with fear through various information and rumors.It is an epidemic called the "new coronavirus.Normally,the word "new" is associated with good interest because it is the latest thing, but the mere mention of a new virus is enough to cause unprecedented fear because there is currently no vaccine for it.
In this way,even in the invisible spiritual dimension,Satan works on our sin factors,manipulating information such as fears and emotional wounds that some people are more susceptible to,as well as various stresses that we have suffered in our relationships,to spread spiritual virus such as fear in the visible dimension.
But remember!That is why the Lord is the God of Emmanuel!To the God who created all things,whether a new type or any type,those fears are powerless,and only the fact of God,which can completely destroy the fear of words,precedes and protects and guides us.
All we have to do is call out to Him, "Jesus, our Savior!” we can be completely delivered from the spiritual bondage of all sins,sickness,fear and curse by simply calling on His name!Jesus Christ is the one who proved that."He who is sick,be of good health!" and "He who is wounded, immediately get up！ as a person having a new body.let him be healed！” He always redeems us with His powerful living words.
Two "Vows" of People
Jacob anointed this stone pillow,which he named Beth-El,and prayed."Lord,I will follow you all the days of my life,using my experience here as a spiritual token!” These were the true spiritual words of his spiritual mind.But immediately after that,his
human's natural thoughts brought in fear and anxiety,and he made two foolish "vows" to God.
Why?Nothing has started yet! Because his human's natural thoughts were trying to destroy the spiritual facts.The two vows he offered were not bad,but they may have been prayed because he is a fragile being.Yes! These are the wishes and vows that arise from human's natural thoughts. And we do offer our human 's natural vows to God from time to time.
But the Holy Spirit warns us."Don't let prayer become a transaction! "If you are ････,I would like to････” It is our weakness to deal in various ways.But remember! "The Lord will continue to give you true love and grace in abundance,no matter what your condition is!And so on.”But when we,the recipients,say,"Really? I'm not worthy to receive it." We tend to be reserved and want to trade off the prayer as a vow.
What exactly did Jacob vow?The first vow was a very childish one:"If you will be with me,and will always protect and guide me,and will give me food to live on and clothes to wear,････."(Even though in reality no calamity had come to him.)
The second vow was,"If you could return me safely to the house of my father Isaac,････", again exposing his own stupidity.Why is this?There are no bad signs,such as Esau's pursuers right in front of us! And yet, we are afraid.
We are weak creatures who can only take a step forward when we see a little sign of something good.That's why we try to fulfill our vows to God with a little bit of a deal,rather than honestly exposing our weaknesses.
Jacob was a simple man spiritually,but he was also conspicuous for his honesty in the human's nature.Later on,these two "vows" that he made would take a long time to deal with him spiritually.
In fact,there is spiritual comfort in these two foolishnesses of Jacob.It's okay that we are fragile! It is because of sin.We are weak without support,without protection,and without the constant grace of God! When we make foolish vows,it is only through the Holy Spirit that our weakness is revealed.
In response to the two vows,the Lord does not get angry,but simply remains silent.And the Holy Spirit,the Helper,would have continued to be with Jacob and encourage him.
Even though we know the goal of our life's journey,we still have a long way to go. ”I don't know what will happen to me in the future!" or "Will God's goodness really be done to me? I don't know what my future journey will be like!”
But remember!The Lord is not one to ignore the foolish vows we make!The Lord will cover our honest hearts with the shade of His wings and deal abundantly with our first confession of our weaknesses.
May the True God always protect and guide you to the rich realm of God.I pray in the Holy Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you will be able to move forward step by step,confirming in faith that God's will,which is far beyond human desire,is ahead of you. Amen!(Message on 9/Feb/2020)
