The God of Bethel

Spurgeon, Charles Haddon

Genesis 31:13

I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you vowed a vow to me: now arise, get you out from this land…

I. Does not that mean, first, that our God is the God of our early mercies 2 Bethel was to Jacob the place of early mercy. Let us look back upon our early mercies. Did they not come to us, as they did to him, unsought and unexpected, and when, perhaps, we were unprepared for them?

II. Does it not mean, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ? What is "Beth-el" but "the house of God." And the house of God, the true Bethel, is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

III. Still further let us remember that this God of Bethel is the God of angels. We do not often say much about those mysterious beings, for it is but little that we know of them. This, however, we know — that angels are set by God to be the watchers over His people. We shall not come to harm if we put our trust in God. "I will lay me down to sleep, for Thou makest me to dwell in safety." These angels were also messengers. "Are they not all ministering spirits? " and are they not sent with messages from God? Moreover, they are our protectors. God employs them to bear us up in their hands, lest at any time we dash our foot against a stone. We do not see them, but unseen agencies are probably the strongest agencies in the world.

IV. Notice, once more, that the God of Bethel is the God of our vows.

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