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Week 3, Day 4 — Genesis 32-34

Jeremy Paschall
01/14/24 - Podcast

And now, a minute with the Word…

After his ladder dream (Genesis 28.10ff), “Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me…so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God” (verses 20-21). Throughout Jacob’s subsequent journeys, the LORD is repeatedly referred to as “the God of…” (31.5, 13, 29, 42, 53), but never “the God of Jacob” or the like. It is not until Jacob’s return to Canaan (33.18), and with it his name change to “Israel” (32.24-32), that “he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel” (33.20) — i.e. God, the God of Israel. At some point, regardless of how long or what it takes, God must become your God — i.e. a living and personal faith that transforms who and what you really are.