FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 28: Jacob travels north
v.1-4
Isaac sends Jacob to Laban with his blessing
v.5-9
Out of Spite Esau marries outside the family
v.10-12
Jacob has a Dream at Bethel
v.13-15
In the Dream the Lord blesses Jacob
v.16-22
Jacob's response
v.1-4
Isaac sends Jacob to Laban with his blessing
v.1
So
Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him:
“Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
v.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.
v.3
May
God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your
numbers until you become a community of peoples.
v.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 reside
as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
[Notes:
Following
directly on from the previous chapter, heeding his wife's counsel,
he instructs Jacob not to take a Canaanite wife but to go [as
he had done via his father's servant] to Paddan Aram [the area
in the north including Haran] to Laban so see if he can marry
one of his daughters, before returning to take this land as part
of Abraham's blessing.]
v.5-9
Out of Spite Esau marries outside the family
v.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.
v.6,7
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,” and
that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan
Aram.
v.8,9
Esau
then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his
father Isaac; 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.
[Notes:
Hearing
that Isaac had sent Jacob off with a blessing, out of spite, knowing
his parents' not wanting the sons married to Canaanites, he nevertheless
went and married yet another women, now from Ishmael's family.
If he thought to get his parents approval he forgot that Ishmael
was not the approved family line, only that from Isaac.]
v.10-12
Jacob has a Dream at Bethel
v.10
Jacob
left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
v.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.
v.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.
[Notes:
Dreams
often appear as significant in the Bible and this one no less
so. He sees an entrance to heaven.]
v.13-15
In the Dream the Lord blesses Jacob
v.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.
v.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.
v.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.”
[Notes:
From
the entrance God speaks, confirming the land where he still is,
is part of the Land promised to Abraham and thus to him. He also
confirmed the family will make up a great multitude and the world
will be blessed through them. Further assurance is given that
the Lord will watch over him and bring him back here eventually.]
v.16-22
Jacob's response
v.16
When
Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord
is
in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
v.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.”
v.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.
v.19
He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called
Luz.
v.20-22
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 so
that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will
be my God 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.”
[Notes:
Jacob
awakes and realizes the import of the dream. He makes an altar
and a vow to bless God with a tenth of his goods if God does do
what He said.]
Lessons
or Challenges to Ponder from Genesis Chapter 28
1.
At the beginning of this chapter, Isaac shows the same determination
his father had shown for none of them to be married to Canaanites
but remain true to their own family tree. I wonder how many Christian
(young people especially) hold firm to the ‘Christian family'
– see 2 Cor 6:14,15?
2.
On his journey north Jacob has a God-dream. Do we take notice
of God's signposts?
3.
Afterwards Jacob bargains with God, not realising you DON'T bargain
with God. He is Lord!
Continue to Chapter 29