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I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15).

The Bible is full of promises: from God\u2019s promise to Adam and Eve to bring redemption all the way to Jesus promise that he is coming back. The Bible\u2019s narrative, one might say, is propelled forward by these promises.

On Tuesday, I spoke about God\u2019s promises to Jacob as he fled from his angry twin. The Bible does not portray Jacob as morally or even spiritually upstanding in any way. Throughout his story, his faults are front and centre. It is important to see this, because the Bible is not about upstanding humans whom we ought to emulate. Rather, it is the story of God\u2019s faithfulness to unfaithful humans.

So, let\u2019s take a look at the promises God made to Jacob and hear them as promises made to us, who are very much like Jacob. We need to hear them in the midst of the mess that life is for us, some of it, of our own making, not from the spiritual mountain tops.

The first part of the promise is that God will be with Jacob as he flees. In Jacob\u2019s day, most people believed that the deities only had power in local areas; they had no power outside it. Thus, it is remarkable that God can go with Jacob wherever he ends up. David explores this in Psalm 139, finding comfort in the reality that he cannot escape God\u2019s presence.

Jesus leaves his disciples with the same promise as he returns to heaven (Matthew 28:18-20). He gives this promise even though some doubted (17). He makes good on his promise by sending his Holy Spirit. This Spirit reminds us that we are the children of the heavenly father.

The second part of the promise to Jacob is that God will watch over him. Again, it is a promise that Israel as a whole, comes to claim. Psalm 121 is probably the most well known that places this promise into the liturgy of Israel and the church. It became part of the liturgy because it is a difficult thing to believe. We sing it to each other to shore up our faltering belief.

Jesus reworked this promise when he said, \u201cI will build my church\u201d (Matthew 16:18). We know it is part of this promise because Jesus is quick to add, \u201cAnd the realm of the dead will not overcome it\u201d. The church is up against the worst kind of enemy, but Jesus will keep his church. He makes this promise to a group who probably would not be permitted to make \u2018profession of faith\u2019 in our church. They just didn\u2019t get who Jesus was, yet the promise is made. And to this day, he has kept it.

God also promises Jacob that Jacob will return to his father\u2019s land. God will see it done. God will bring him back. That part of God\u2019s promise receives all kinds of layers as the biblical story progresses. Too many layers for us to consider today. We\u2019ll save that for next Tuesday.

But let me at least say this about that part of the promise. It ends in a party. So, Tuesday will be party day. And it will lead us into the season of Lent 2021.