A Blessing, An Order, A Visit from God

Good morning from a cold Panhandle. I bet some of you wondered if I was ever going to get back to our study in Genesis. Yes we are and here is Chapter 28. Remember Jacob tricked Esau out of his birth right and his blessing. Because of this Esau was out for blood and Jacob was having to leave. But before he left Isaac gave Jacob another blessing and gave him orders where to find a wife. So with his father's blessing and order on where to find a wife, Jacob headed out. But along the way he would see and hear something amazing.

The blessing of his sons was the last passage in the active life of Isaac, after which he retires from the scene. Jacob now becomes the leading figure in the sacred history. His spiritual character has yet come out to view. But even now we can discern the general distinction in the lives of the three patriarchs. Abraham's is a life of authority and decision; Isaac's, of submission and acquiescence; and Jacob's, of trial and struggle.

(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

Jacob leaves home and comes to Bethel where God appears to him and confirms to him the covenant made to Abraham.

Gen 28 At A Glance:

I. Jacob parting with his parents, to go to Padanaram; the charge his father gave him v. 1-2, the blessing he sent him away with v. 3-4, his obedience to the orders given him v. 5,10, and the influence this had upon Esau v. 6-9.

II. Jacob meeting with God, and his communion with him by the way. And there,

1. his vision of the ladder v. 11-12.

2. The gracious promises God made him v. 13-15.

3. The impression this made upon him v. 16-19.

4. The vow he made to God, upon this occasion v. 20, etc..

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Genesis 28:1-5

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

1. ISSAC BLESSES JACOB AND SENDS HIM ON HIS WAY (vv. 1-5)

Even though Esau was his favorite and even though Jacob had lied to him and had stolen Esau's blessings Isaac did not let Jacob just sneak out.

Isaac did not let Jacob go away without a blessing. He also told Jacob that he was to seek a wife among his relatives in Haran, but he was to be most concerned with entering into the rich inheritance promised to Abraham. Isaac called on (` El Shadday), God Almighty (v. 3), to provide health, prosperity, and keen understanding to equip Jacob for spiritual leadership. He prophesied that if his son would commit his way to the Lord, the blessings God had promised to Abraham would all be his. Through Isaac, God gave Jacob a command, a challenge, an assurance, and direction for the journey.

(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

Genesis 28:6-9

6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

2. ESAU TAKES ANOTHER WIFE (vs. 6-9)

It seems that Esau was trying to please his parents. He had heard Isaac tell Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. To do so would displease his parents. So in an effort to head in the right direction, and possibly to atone for all his former mistakes; Esau went to his uncle Ishmael's house to get himself a wife.

Having heard the advice which Isaac gave to Jacob, he went and took Mahalath from the family of his grandfather Abraham, as Jacob was suppose to do out of the family of his maternal uncle Laban. Mahalath stood in the same degree of relationship to Isaac his father as Rachel did to his mother Rebekah. Esau married his father's niece; Jacob married his mother's niece.

So it was for these reasons that Esau took this additional wife. But he only made bad worse; and though he did not marry a "wife of the daughters of Canaan." he married into a family which God had rejected. For Esau it showed a partial reformation, but no repentance, because he showed no signs of forgiving his brother. It was because he was basically worldly, his life in the land of Edom fell short of behavior that could please the Lord Jehovah.

Genesis 28:10-17

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 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."

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."

3. JACOB’S DREAM AT BETHEL (vs. 10-17)

Jacob set for Haran, his first camp on this long trip was at Bethel , about 48 miles from Beer-sheba. It was about twelve miles north of Jerusalem. He was far from any dwelling, or he did not wish to enter the house of a stranger so he had to spend the night in the open field. However this is no great hardship; because a native, winding himself in the ample folds of his cloak, and selecting a smooth stone for a pillow, sleeps comfortably under the open canopy of heaven. A warm climate, and an indifference to dirt and dew, easily reconcile an him to such necessities.

He dreams. In the night he was honored with a special communication from God. He saw ladder or stairs reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This was a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass to and fro on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. But this ladder has re-established the contact. It here serves to bring Jacob into communication with God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator.

The ladder was a visible symbol of the real and uninterrupted fellowship between God in heaven and His people upon earth. The angels upon it carry up the wants of men to God, and bring down the assistance and protection of God to men. The ladder stood there upon the earth, just where Jacob was lying.

Above in heaven stood Jehovah, and explained in words the symbol which he saw. "The Lord stood above it," and Jacob, the object of his mercy, beneath. First, God reveals himself as "the Lord" (Gen 2:4), "the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac." Notice that Abraham is called his father, yet is, his actual grandfather. It is more than likely that God was referring to Abraham as his covenant father.

Second. God renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole race of man. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to go forth. This expression points to the world-wide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, that shall subdue all that went before, and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural seed of Abraham.

Third. He then promises to Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety. This is the third announcement of the seed that blesses to the third in the line of descent (Gen 12:2-3; 22:18; 26:4).

Jacob recognized in that place that God was by his side, promising him guidance through life, and future greatness. Jehovah said, I am with thee, and will keep thee ... and will bring thee again into this land ... I will not leave thee (v. 15). No wonder Jacob exclaimed: The Lord is in this place .... How dreadful (awesome) is this place! (vv. 16,17). He was profoundly moved. Perhaps for the first time in his life he was conscious of the presence of God at his side. The voice, the words of hope, the actual presence of (` El Shadday) brought him around to worship and awe and commitment.

Gen 28:18-22

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

4.  DOES JACOB MISS THE POINT? (vs. 18- 22)

Jacob ignores God’s gracious promise and instead tried to bargain with god. Jacob has a long way to go before he is willing to believe God and walk in faith rather than flesh.

To make this a never-to-be-forgotten experience, he set up a stone pillar to indicate that this was a holy spot, a sanctuary where intimate fellowship with God would always be possible (v. 18). Spiritually, he still had a long way to go, but he had made progress in this encounter with God. He also pledged the Lord his life and a tenth of all possessions that would become his along the way. But he made this promise conditional: If God would remain with him, keep him in the way, and bring him safely home again, he would carry out his part of the pledge. It was a long step forward. The stone (masseba) he erected would stand as a permanent reminder of the vow he had made (v. 22).