Genesis 28:21

21 and 1I return to my father's house in safety, 2then the LORD will be my God.

Genesis 28:21 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 28:21

So that I come again to my father's house in peace
In safety from Esau, and all other enemies, as God promised him he should: then the Lord shall be my God;
not as if he should not be his God if he did not do all this for him; which would savour not only of a mercenary spirit, but of great impiety; neither of which were to be found in Jacob: but the meaning is, that he should not only continue to own him as his God, and to worship him, but having fresh obligations upon him, should be stirred up more eagerly and devoutly to serve him in a very singular way and manner, and particularly by doing what is expressed in ( Genesis 28:22 ) . Some think he has respect to the Messiah, owning him to be the true God with the Father and the blessed Spirit, who had appeared to Abraham, and was the fear of Isaac, and whom Jacob now owned as his God: this receives some confirmation from the Targum of Jonathan, which begins the paragraph thus,

``if the Word of the Lord will be my help then the Lord shall be my God.''

Genesis 28:21 In-Context

19 He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,
21 and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.
22 "This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Cross References 2

Footnotes 1

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.