INTRODUCTION

It seems clear that Jacob wanted what Isaac had, namely, his father's blessing, he wanted the stature, respect and influence that he knew came with fulfillment of the promises to Abraham. 

Jacob certainly did not undervalue the “gift from God”.  Rather, he could not believe that God would give all these great things to him for nothing.  So when we look at the life of Jacob we see an example of a man who spends his life trying to earn, by his own effort, what God was giving him as a gift. 

In chapter twenty-seven we learned that Isaac preferred Esau, the man of the outdoors, the hunter, the hero figure, the man who fought against the desert and the elements and won.  This Esau was almost like his older brother Ishmael who made his home in the wilderness.  It was as if Isaac longed to experience the life of his older brother, but since as the heir of promise neither his father nor his mother would allow him to do that, it seems he was now vicariously living his life through Esau. 

It seems strange that Isaac did not cling to the quieter Jacob who hung around the house and behaved in many respects like he did.  This man who Sarah had obviously coddled and kept close to her bosom did not seem to like the son who his wife loved and who she kept close to her bosom.

Though God had told Isaac and Rebekah that it was Jacob who would inherit the “blessing” before their birth, it did not matter to Isaac what God said, for he loved Esau the man of action and adventure better. 

It was left to Rebekah to coddle her favorite son and nurture him. Strangely, even when he was grown up, she kept telling him what to do and how to do it.  This led to a man who was not independent in his thinking and who was eventually manipulated and taken advantage of by his uncle Laban. One writer comments:

“In short, if we were to summarize Jacob’s life experience growing up in his family, we could say that he was duped by his uncle, dominated by his mother, threatened by his brother and rejected by his father.” 

Jacob got ‘burned’ for playing the supplanter and trickster, faced a death threat from his brother Esau, was forced to leave his beloved mother on whom he depended so much, was rejected by his father and had to run for his life to Mesopotamia. 

Now God faced the situation of how to reassure a man who believed that he had inherited the “birthright” but who was now running for sanctuary and convince him that He loved him and would protect him. 

In his situation Jacob was not sure he could trust anybody.  He had been listening to many voices and the ones he had chosen to heed had not turned out quite as helpful as he expected. So God would now speak to him of His love, tell him that He approved of him and that He wanted him as His companion. Jacob was to be called on to decide whether or not he would believe the voice of God or believe the other voices. Scripture tells us that it took Jacob twenty years to make his choice.   

But now he was running away to Haran, fearful, alone, uncertain about the future he faced, constantly remembering his brother’s threat to get even with him and kill him. (27:41). 

Let us not fool ourselves about what had happened.  Both Rebekah and Jacob had been very successful in putting over the deception on Isaac and had him bless Jacob when he had rather foolishly intended to bless Esau. But both had not considered the cost of their successful hoax. 

They had succeeded in deceiving and mocking Isaac. (27:12) when he was old and almost blind. This was treating the old with less than the expected respect. 

It is almost certain that when Isaac found out about the deception of his wife, he must have resented her.  Esau was obviously extremely unhappy and comforted himself that when his father died, which he wrongly expected to be soon, he would have his revenge. 

After her successful enterprise, Rebekah now realized that emotions were running so unexpectedly high, that Jacob would have to leave for a few days to cool matters down.  But the ever resourceful Rebekah realized that she would one more time have to skilfully manipulate Isaac, so that he would accept Jacob's going away to Haran, to her brother Laban's home. She would tell him that Jacob needed to get a wife there.  So she let Isaac know how Esau's marriage to the Canaanite women had caused her great distress and if Jacob did the same, no one could live with her grief and anger.  

So poor Isaac had to send Jacob off to Haran, ostensibly to get a wife, even though we do not read before this that there had been any mention by either Isaac or Rebekah that it was time that he should get married and produce an heir of promise.   

This was their casual behavior even though chapter 26: 35 tells us that Esau's marrying pagan woman were “a grief of mind” to both of them. 

We should bear in mind that Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah.  Esau and Jacob were born when Isaac was sixty years old.  Esau married the Canaanite women when he was forty years old. We also know that Jacob served Laban after his hasty flight for twenty years.   

It is estimated by some scholars that when the incident occurred where Isaac blessed Jacob instead of Esau and Jacob had to flee to Haran, Jacob was over seventy years old. 

It is somewhat unbelievable that Isaac and Rebekah had not seriously initiated marriage plans for Jacob before this. They were so casual about this important matter.  They did not seem to have trained their sons spiritually and now it seemed to have been too late. 

Now Rebekah would use this disaster as an excuse to suggest that Jacob go away to get married, to avert any possible marital association with Canaanite women.  But of course survival was the primary reason for his going away; it was not marriage. Little did Rebekah know that instead of being away from her for a few days, her beloved Jacob would be away for over twenty years and would never see her alive again.  But Isaac did survive to hear the voice of Jacob. (36: 27). 

So Jacob left to escape Esau's revenge, traveling four hundred and fifty miles to Haran.  This was dangerous territory with many fortified cities.  Secular literature tells us that at that time there were giants in the land.  When Moses sent spies into the same area five hundred years later they also reported these giants and fortified cities abounded in the land.  So this was not a cakewalk for Jacob.  He was rightly afraid.   

This was not a trip like that done by Abraham’s servant previously, for Abraham had sent his servant with a strong party to get a wife for Isaac.  He took no chances.  But now we see a totally different picture, for here there was no arrangement and no protection for the ‘son of promise’. 

The breakdown in the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah was even more on display, for Esau had now strayed even further away from God.  When he saw that Isaac had sent Jacob to find a wife where his mother came from, he tried to please his father by marrying a daughter of Ishmael, the other son of Abraham. 

He obviously was not very spiritually aware, for his actions showed he did not understand how God was working by rejecting Ishmael and his line, marking them outside the line of promise.  Ishmael was outside the messianic line and Esau’s marrying in that line showed that he did not understand God's will, but was hell-bent on following his own conception of what was right.   

Meanwhile the “son of promise” Jacob was learning the hard way.  God had to seek him out to begin to teach him.  His parents had obviously not taught him.  God had to do it the hard way. 

At every stage in this story God uses the sins of men and women to accomplish His purposes. So as we begin our study of the text we should note carefully the comments of this writer:

“This great story teaches that when God's people know His will they should not resort to deceptive, manipulative schemes to attain spiritual success but must pursue  God's will righteously. Every member of Isaac's family behaved in a self-centered and unprincipled manner, yet God graciously overcame their sins.  This reminds us that His mercy is the ultimate ground of salvation.”

THE TEXT

Verse 10.   Jacob now takes center stage in the book of Genesis. He had been living most of his life in what we now call the Negev, the southern part of Canaan.  The only thing he has is his staff and his thoughts.  His aim is to travel the approximately four hundred and fifty miles to his parent’s homeland. 

He is about fifty miles from Beersheba, about two days journey, probably terrified and looking over his shoulder to see if Esau the hunter was chasing after him.  

He would probably be thinking that when he reached the house of Laban he would have nothing to offer him as a dowry for a wife. Would Laban be willing to give him a wife without a dowry?  If so, what kind of wife would that be?

Verse 11.  As night was falling Jacob stumbled on the ancient Canaanite city of Luz, which now laid in ruins.  He found a spot to his liking, took a stone for a pillow and laid down to sleep.  This would be the first of two night encounters with Heaven for Jacob; both instances he was in a fearful and lonely situation.

Verse 12.  Jacob slept and he dreamed.  He saw a ladder or stairway with one end on earth and the top reaching into Heaven.  Angels were coming down the stairway and some were going up the stairway into Heaven. 

Therefore there was real and continuing fellowship between God in heaven and the people on earth and the angels, as messengers of God, were very intimately involved in this fellowship.  They seem to have been coming down to earth with instructions from God which would include what to do with respect to caring for the saints and reporting back to God. 

This picture teaches that believers and others have continued access to God and the requests and needs of people on earth were constantly going up to God and God was always acting to meet those needs. 

It would strike Jacob that God was closer that he thought.  It might have appeared that God was not involved in what was going on in his life, but that was not so.  There was always interaction between Heaven and Earth. 

This text puts us in mind with Jesus’ statement in John 1:51.  This text indicates that Jesus is the “ladder” or access to Heaven.

Verse 13.  This must have been an extremely magnificent and glorious scene.  Jacob would have been overwhelmed. The Lord stood at the top of this beautiful stairway and he addressed Jacob directly. 

God now confirms what Isaac had said in his brief blessing, but goes beyond that, confirming in the fullest possible way, all the covenant promises to the fathers, as well as promising him protection on his journey and a safe return to his father. 

In this first of seven appearances to Jacob, the Lord identifies himself as the Lord God of the Patriarchs and he now links Jacob with the Patriarchs, promising Jacob the same things he promised Abraham and Isaac. He reaffirms the covenant. 

First, Jacob and his seed, his children, would have the land. The land of Caanan, from the Euphrates to the River of Egypt, would be his and the land included the very spot on which he was sleeping.

The Land of Palestine belongs to the sons of Jacob by divine right. 

This promise would have a great impact on Jacob since he was preparing to leave the Promised Land. The land was his and he would come back to it. 

Second, he would have children.

Verse 14.   He would be the father of many children. He would have numerous descendants. Millions of Israelites would come from Jacob. They would spread to the west, the east, the north and the south. 

Third, he would be father of Messiah. All the families of the earth would be blessed because of his “seed”. 

This aspect of the promise has spiritual connotations. 

The Hebrew word for “seed” is a collective noun, which means that it can be used either as singular or plural. In the singular it refers to Messiah, but in the plural it would refer to all of Jacob's physical descendents. 

In Galatians 3: 16 Paul makes it clear that this promise refers to Jesus Messiah and to all those who are believers in Messiah, for they are identified with Christ. 

So the “seed” refers spiritually to Christ and all those who are in Him.  So when the verse talks about the “seed” being as the dust of the earth, this is absolutely true, for there are billions who belong to Christ and who will be in the New Jerusalem

Verse 15.   The next promise was a particularly great promise to Jacob for it was filled with comfort for him personally. The Lord told him that wherever he went He would be with him.  He would be his protector and companion for all of his life.  Every single day of his life God would be with him, right there, supplying his every need. 

God confirms that He would be faithful to His promises.  Jacob would never really need to fear.  He would have access to God.  He should not feel that he was abandoned. 

This promise is pretty well restated to all believers in Philippians 1:6. 

This is exactly what Jacob wanted to hear in this time of loneliness, fear, distress, with all the things in his life apparently being stripped away from him. 

Later we know that in a confrontation with Laban after he fled from Laban's farm Jacob told Laban that God was his protector.  He said in his angry confrontation with Laban in 31:36-42:

“This 20 years have I been with thee… I served thee 14 years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty.

God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight”. 

Interestingly, in Genesis 32:11-12 the always smart, slick and ingenious Jacob

(his emory of promises were really great) quoted this promise back to God. On his way back to Caanan and still terrified of Esau’s hostile reaction, He reminded God that He had promised to protect him and his family from Esau’s attack.  So Jacob told God that if Esau did attack him and his family and kill them this promise of God to make his descendents as the dust of the earth would not be fulfilled.  So he now called on God to live up to His promises. 

So in this dramatic vision, as Jacob was about to leave the land of promise for twenty years, during which time he might have been tempted never to return, God made it clear to Jacob that the land and his possession of it was most significant. It was in the land that God would bless him and his people and so Jacob had to return to the land. 

Note that Jacob was going into a situation where even his own mother's family had become untrustworthy, cruel and very deceitful.  It seems that the place to which he was headed had become very idolatrous by this time. 

In Genesis 31: 30-35 we learn that Laban had chased after Jacob when he fled from him, but was more interested in finding his family gods than anything else.  He insisted on searching everybody to see who had taken them. (Genesis 31:30-35). 

In this vision from God, Jacob would know that wherever he was the ‘Gates of Heaven’ would be there.  He would always have access to God for God was there with him wherever he went. 

Believers should note now from this that God is right there wherever we are. 

People have some erroneous idea that God is only present in a church building or at some holy site.  But just remember that wherever you go that this House of God and the ‘Gate of Heaven’ is present.  One writer comments in this regard:

“This means that your house -which may seem a cold and loveless place to you -is the house of God.

There are angels ascending and descending upon you as you move about in that house.  Your kitchen sink is the house of God, when you are there.  That ought to change your attitude about washing dishes…

God is available to you right there.  For some of you businessmen, your car is your office, and in it you go from place to place….. Remember, that car is the house of God.  Your office or workbench, or wherever you are throughout the day, is the house of God.” 

Given this statement by the Lord God about the importance of the land, it is no wonder then that all believing Jews have such an immense desire to be back in the land, for it is in the land that the glorious and magnificent promises to the patriarchs will be fulfilled.

Verse 16.   Jacob was suitably impressed by God directly speaking to him and telling him about His purposes.  He was absolutely right in acknowledging that God was there, but he seemed to feel that there was something particularly significant about that place which he had not known.  His knowledge about the omnipresence of God was a little bit weak. Later, for the nation of Israel, this spot would be a historical land mark with much sentimental value with reference to the life of this patriarch.

Verse 17.   So when Jacob got up early in the morning he was afraid and described the place as being an awesome place. 

The term “fear”, according to the translation of the word used, really describes a mixture of terror and adoration, with elements of worship involved.  So Jacob was overwhelmed. With his obviously limited knowledge of God, Jacob felt that this place must be the very “house of God” and at that location would be found the gate of Heaven. 

Jacob was obviously still looking at things from a fleshly perspective and he did not realize that God had to be with him in every place he was in order to fulfill His promise to him.  So God was not based in one location only. He was God and He would be able to protect him everywhere.

Verses 18-19.   In that state of mind Jacob took the stone that he had used for a pillow, put it up on a pillar of stones and poured oil in it.  This pouring of oil on the pillow stone was an act of consecration. 

Clearly Jacob had a holy fear of God.  He realized God had spoken to him and he had to respond, so he did not just leave and go on his way, but his actions showed that he did believe God. 

Jacob had faith but his fear and his actions shows that he also lacked in his faith.  This shows up in the way he was impressed with the place where he had the vision, rather than with being impressed with God.  He was really saying that this must be a holy place and his pillow must have been holy and that is why he had this remarkable dream. 

This of course would imply that if somebody else had gone there, they would have had the same kind of experience, but he was just fortunate to have come to that very spot.   

So notice now what he did.  He called the name of the place Bethel, which means “the house of God” or the place where God dwells.  He was really renaming the place for it before had been called Luz.

Verse 20.  Jacob now shows the state of his heart again for he begins to bargain with God.  God had promised him something tremendous and Jacob in response wanted in some way to confirm this promise. 

He seemed to be trying hard to believe God and so he makes a vow to God. 

He was concerned about the important things of life like clothes, food, shelter, and protection, the practical things of life, so he promises that if God would give him all of those things and take him back safely to his father's house, then the Lord would be his God.  He would never desert God.

Jacob seems to be setting the terms of his covenant with God and does not seem to be submitting completely to God.   

So God obviously would have to teach him true submission and dependence on Him by placing him in a tough classroom with his uncle Laban as teacher. 

Some would say that Jacob was suspicious and was questioning God's character, making a deal with God and offering him a measly ten percent if God would look after him.  

We should remember that even though Jacob is not in total submission, he is still reacting in somewhat of a selfish way and seems to be trying to set some terms in this covenant with God which would operate in a practical way to his benefit, Jacob was a believer in God already.  By setting up this pillar as a memorial and consecrating it, he was in fact swearing that he would like all the other patriarchs build an altar to God on his return to the Promised Land and his return home. 

Jacob definitely planned to return to his father's house and he was saying that at that time he would build an altar and give a tithe to God.  This he did in 35:7.  Once he would build an altar he would have to offer sacrifices on the altar. He would be doing like Abraham did. This shows that Jacob was moving along the path that God directed. 

But now it must admitted that though Jacob was all alone and beginning a hard journey he was still falling short of being a powerful man of faith at this point in his life. 

It is to be noted that Bethel was mentioned in Old Testament Scripture second only to Jerusalem.  It played an important role in Israel's history though not a glorious role. Later it became a high place, totally corrupted and famous for idolatrous sacrifices. 

God accepted much of Jacob's intentions and later in Genesis 31: 3 would call himself the God of Bethel, reminding Jacob that there he had vowed a vow to Him and he erected a pillar there, consecrating it as a memorial to God the Lord.

CONCLUSION

The subsequent life of Jacob showed that from his point of view he was still uncertain exactly how God would meet his needs.   

He tried to make deals with his uncle but he was just not up to par.  He had to deal with a rather vicious uncle, and wives who always quarrelled with each other and fought bitterly over him.  This was not an easy life. 

Despite Jacob’s weaknesses, God was gracious to look at Jacob’s carnality, and yet not call off his covenant with Jacob. He was still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

The next twenty years of his life would really be terrible years.  His uncle Laban was a conniving and scheming man, a real chiseller. Things got so bad that God had to really protect Jacob during his time in Haran, for these were pretty bad people by this time.  It is interesting to note how God did it. 

The God of Bethel was always there.  One writer comments:

This is what Paul is teaching in Philippians 4:6. 

Just remember that the Lord, our Lord is at hand, near.  We have access to Him at all times, for He will never leave us nor forsake us. 

Do not depend on the flesh, depend on God. 

This lesson specifically addresses parents however.

Note Isaac's lack of instructing his sons from their youth and the disastrous result.

Note his relatively casual behaviour to Esau's pagan marriages and his delay in having Jacob marrying in the godly line.

Notice the type of love Isaac had for Esau which depended on Esau's hunting performance (25:28).

Note Rebekah’s unconditional love of Jacob which took her toward extreme behaviour.  Love like hers is not a good thing for children. 

Look at Esau's insecurity.  He was in his seventies but still trying desperately to win the love and approval of his father.  Not a pretty picture.  We must pay attention to our children's insecurities and deal with them before the children become adults.  That will save us much pain. 

Note the lack of discipline of the two sons of Isaac.  The parents should have known that discipline is a manifestation of genuine love.  Don't as parents go along that route. 

It is abundantly clear that it is futile to scheme, plan and even work hard in order to achieve acceptance by God.  Jacob and Esau's behaviour illustrates this clearly. 

Esau's sincere efforts to marry a daughter of Ishmael was worth nothing since his actions were not according to the requirements of God. Warn your children about marrying unbelievers and getting into families that do not accept the God of Abraham. 

If we are to do anything to please God it must be based on divine revelation.  No matter how sincere we are, or how diligent we are, it matters nothing if it is not based on the word of God.

Jacob tried to achieve the blessing of God in a foolish way.  It led to great distress. 

But note that God found him when he was sleeping, not when he was striving.  That is the kind of God we are dealing with.  Stop fighting to do things by your own effort and live in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, just note that when we enter into relationship with God it does not guarantee only good times.  When we are imperfect and as long as we are imperfect, God will give us a dose of his own medicine so that we will be transformed.  Don't be afraid of God's medicine.