Genesis 28:10-11 says, "And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep." He camped in the wilderness with stones for his pillows. His life of discipline had begun. Verses 12-14 say, "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." These were the words we read in Genesis 12. God now gave Jacob the promises He gave to Abraham. When did God give these promises to Jacob? He gave them while he was still supplanting and before his fleshly and natural life was dealt with. God was able to say these words to him because He was confident. He knew that Jacob could not run away from His hand. One day God would finish His work of making him a vessel for His eternal plan. Our God is a confident God; He can reach His goal. If a man were doing this, he surely would have worried. Jacob was such an unreliable person. What would happen if he became involved in some kind of trouble? But God had absolute assurance. He was able to say, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." God had decided. Our hope lies in God's trustworthiness, not in our trustworthiness. Our usefulness depends on God's will, not on the strength of our will. Brothers and sisters, we have to learn to know Him as the God who never fails.
At Bethel Jacob heard God speaking to him in a dream. God did not rebuke him. He did not say, "Look at yourself. What have you done at home these days?" If it were us, we would have rebuked Jacob. But God knew Jacob; He knew that Jacob was a clever, crafty, and supplanting person. He knew that Jacob had more energy than others and a stronger disposition than others. Toward such a person, rebuke and exhortation do not work well. God took Jacob into His hand. Through operating in Jacob's environment, God chipped off a corner here and a corner there; He carved a little here and a little there. If He cannot finish His work in one year, He will do it in two years. If He cannot finish it in ten years, He will finish it in twenty years. God will always finish His work. When God brought Jacob back to Bethel after twenty years, he was changed.
God's promise to Jacob actually exceeded the promise He gave to Abraham. It also exceeded the promise He gave to Isaac. Jacob received something from the Lord that Abraham and Isaac did not receive. God went on to tell Jacob, "And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (28:15). Hallelujah, praise the Lord! The promise that God gave to Jacob was unconditional. He did not say, "If you make Me your God, I will make you My people. If you keep My conditions and commandments, you will receive My promise." An unconditional promise means that God would always have a way to deal with Jacob whether he was good or bad, honest or cunning. God knew that one day He would fulfill "that which I have spoken to thee of." Our God is a God who cannot fail. We cannot stop God, and we cannot cause Him to stop halfway. If God has chosen us, He will definitely fulfill His promise in us.