We will began this lesson in Genesis 28:1 “And Isaac called Jacob,
and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not
take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.”
Isaac knew that this son, whom the blessings of God would flow
through, should not be unequally yoked with these worldly women.
Abraham had sent a trusted servant away to find a wife, so Isaac would
not marry one of these women. Isaac wanted the same for his son, whom
the promise of God would come through. This plan of Rebekah’s to get
Jacob away was working fine, because it fit into Isaac’s plans, as
well.
Genesis 28:2 “Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel
thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters
of Laban thy mother’s brother.”
These girls would be a first cousin to Jacob. This family would
be acceptable to God.
Genesis 28:3 “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee
fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of
people;”
Genesis 28:4 “And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and
to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou
art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.”
Here, again, was the patriarchal blessing passed from Isaac to
Jacob. The blessings are listed all over again. Remember, this was the
spiritual line of Abraham who would be blessed even unto our time.
Genesis 28:5 “And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-
aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah,
Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.”
Genesis 28:6 “When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and
sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that
as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a
wife of the daughters of Canaan;”
Genesis 28:7 “And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother,
and was gone to Padan-aram;”
Genesis 28:8 “And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan
pleased not Isaac his father;”
Genesis 28:9 “Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the
wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the
sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.”
In the Scriptures, above, we see Jacob (the spirit child) pleasing
his father and mother by taking a wife, who was from a family of
similar belief. The other son, Esau, was a rebellious son. Anything
that displeased his parents was what he was interested in doing. He
followed the desires of the flesh and married Ishmael’s daughter. This
tribe was of the flesh. Here, we see dual marriage practiced, as well.
“Mahalath” means sickness. “Nebajoth” means fruitfulness.
This rebellion in Esau was a very bad sin in a Hebrew family.
Rebellion was thought of as witchcraft, and a rebellious child was to
be stoned to death. Such was not the fate of Esau, because Isaac loved
him so much.
Genesis 28:10 “And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went
toward Haran.”
Genesis 28:11 “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.”
Genesis 28:12 “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.”
Genesis 28:13 “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;”
Genesis 28:14 “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.”
This was a special place. A place of meeting God. God spoke to
many of His people in dreams, not only in the past, but even now,
speaks to us, if we will listen. Dreams are just another way to know
God’s will in our lives. Take note here That:
Jacob had been obedient to his parents,
He was alone.
He had left his family and friends behind.
He had an unknown future going into strange lands.
He had no idea whether they would receive him well, or not.
These are the times that God comes and helps us, when we cannot
help ourselves.
There was a ladder that reached to heaven. A spiritual ladder.
Truly Jesus our lord is waiting for us to climb that ladder, and be
with Him. We, Christians, are climbing that ladder that eventually will
bring us to our home in heaven. Sometimes, we slip and fall back a
couple of rungs, but if we will just hang on, we will make it to the
top.
The angels are going and coming all the time as God sends them to
minister to us here on this earth. Each of us have angels helping us
along the way. Some friends of ours sing a song about climbing up the
ladder and going home. Heaven is home to the Christian. Truly our
Lord is at the top of the ladder. The song says “At the top of the
ladder o what joy there will be, as the angels are holding up that
ladder for me”. As we travel through this life, tribulation comes and
sometimes causes us to fall back a little, but with the Lord at the
top, just start again and keep climbing.
When God makes a promise, it is forever. He reiterates these
promises He made to Abraham, then Isaac, and now Jacob. God never
changes His plan.
Genesis 28:15 “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.”
It does not matter how far from home a Christian goes, God is
with him. He will never leave us, or forsake us. Psalms 46:1 “{To
the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.} God
[is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
You see, God is with us wherever we are, for He is in us. He knows
the end from the beginning. He was telling Jacob he was with him, and
would bring him back to the land of promise. Even though Jacob had
problems, God was present to help him. He says that to the Christians,
as well. He is with us. He will help us. We must trust him to do just that.
Genesis 28:16 “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said,
Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew [it] not.”
Genesis 28:17 “And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful [is]
this place! this [is] none other but the house of God, and this [is]
the gate of heaven.”
This word “dreadful”,above, has to do with reverence. I am sure Jacob
felt as Moses did, that this is a very Holy place. Anywhere God is, is
Holy. This was in the same area where many followers of God encountered
this presence of God.
Genesis 28:18 “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took
the stone that he had put [for] his pillows, and set it up [for] a
pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.”
Genesis 28:19 “And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but
the name of that city [was called] Luz at the first.”
Just as his father and grandfather before him, Jacob built an
altar to God. Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone. He is the Rock that we
must build our faith upon. This oil represents the Holy Spirit.
” Bethel”, as we mentioned before, means house of God. “Luz” means
almond tree. This city was near, not at the exact spot.
Genesis 28:20 “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with
me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to
eat, and raiment to put on,”
Genesis 28:21 “So that I come again to my father’s house in
peace; then shall the LORD be my God:”
Genesis 28:22 “And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar,
shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely
give the tenth unto thee.”
Jacob did not ask for his wants, he asked for his needs. He had
already recognized God by building the altar. Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you”.
This is what Jacob had done. He pleased God.
Tithing pleases God, as well. Even now, God will bless those who
give 10% of their income, or more to Him. The tithe is important
because most people worship money, and God wants us to give up the
things we worship. This was Jacob making an agreement with God. The
other was God establishing His agreement with Jacob; the blessings
passed on from Abraham.
In the next lesson, we will begin in chapter 29.