Devotional Reading: Psalm 42:1-5
This fall quarter focuses on God’s World and God’s People. We are in Unit III “God Blesses and Re-creates Regardless” of the three units of the quarter. This is the third lesson of the four lesson study. Last week we studied how Jacob deceitfully obtained the blessing God had already destined for him. In this lesson we shall review how Jacob established a relationship with God while he was at his lowest. As one of our teachers always said, “God plans His works and He works His plans.”
We know Jacob had been successful in cheating his older brother, Esau, by obtaining the irreversible birthright blessing from his father Isaac (Gen 27:28-29). What did he receive? (1.) Prosperity, (2.) dominion (3.) and divine protection.
Esau was quite taken by surprised and wanted to know if there was any blessing left for him. The only promises Esau was able to receive from Isaac was that he and his descendants, the Edomites, would live in desert places, would be warriors, would be subject to the Israelites, but would one day rebel against this rule. (See Gen 27:39-40) Because he was cheated Esau planned to kill his brother Jacob as soon as their father died and the period of mourning was over.
Rebekah discovered Esau’s plan to murder his brother and felt it necessary to implement a scheme to protect her beloved son, Jacob. There was no way their relationship would heal immediately. Distance was needed. She did not explain to Isaac that Esau planned to kill Jacob. Instead Rebekah explained she didn’t want Jacob to marry a woman among the pagan Canaanites as Esau had done. She wanted him to be sent to her brother, Laban, to find a wife among her people to please God just as Abraham had done. Isaac agreed that now that Jacob had the blessing, he must not allow Jacob intermingle and marry a pagan woman. He gave Jacob an additional blessing and charged him to go to Padan Aram to seek a wife. (Gen 28:1-4)
Rebekah thought Jacob would be gone for a short period of time in order for Esau to experience a cooling off period toward his brother. However, she would never see her beloved Jacob again. Rebekah died before he returned. When Jacob did return years later with his family, he was able to see his father and brother again. (Gen 33 and 35)
We are not told much about the specifics as Jacob journeyed from the only home he had ever known where he was the son of an overprotective mother to a land and an uncle unknown to him. We know that he had to flee in a hurry on foot from his brother. We also know Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, would not allow Isaac to travel to the land of his brethren to choose a wife as Abraham was afraid his son, Isaac, would not return to the Promised Land. And yet Isaac has blessed Jacob to go out alone on foot to seek a wife and receive the blessing of God.
Jacob got what he so desperately wanted, which had been promised by God anyway, but can you imagine his thoughts along the way. All alone and probably believing Esau is in hot pursuit, Jacob continues to walk for above forty miles outside the Promised Land toward the land of Abraham’s kindred before he decides it to be safe enough to take a rest. Gen 28:10-11 indicates Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. (NKJV)
No money and no friends. Sooner or later, God will bring people to the place where they must choose whether they will depend on Him. I can only imagine how Jacob, the son who loved to be at home indoors, must have felt in an unknown land all alone and sleeping on the ground with a stone as a pillow. He had to have felt a sense of guilt for having deceived his loving father, cheated his brother, and causing his mother to create deceitful plots. He was going from his comfort zone and potential death camp to his future labor camp. How did he get in this mess? Better still, how was he going to get out of this mess? Until this time he has only had faith in the God of his father and mother. When and where is he going to find the strength to develop his own relationship with God?
Jacob had to be tired to get a good night’s rest with all this on his mind and a cold ground for his bed and a cold stone for his pillow. But he not only slept well, he had a famous dream on this night. Jacob meets God for the first time and begins his walk with Him. Gen 28:12-15 states, Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (NKJV)
Jacob had a most surprising dream where he saw a staircase or a ladder was positioned between heaven and earth. On the staircase there were angels or messengers very actively moving, going up to heaven and coming down this ladder to earth to distribute messages and handle their mission as they were instructed by God. God was at the top of the staircase, sitting and ruling the world in all His glory, directing the correspondence and traffic so to speak. However, the angels are not the staircase/the ladder/the mediator. The Mediator is Christ Himself. He is the staircase between heaven and earth. This staircase is meant to be travelled. No one can get to God except through Him. (John 14:6) He is the Door to the Father by which we are saved. (John 10:9) Christ is to us as Jacob’s ladder, by whom angels continually ascend and descend for the good of the saints. (John 1:51) The kind benefits we receive through the ministering angels are all owing to Christ.
It is at this point that the Father God chooses to make his first appearance and speak to Jacob in his dream. He speaks encouraging words, not scolding him for his terrible deeds although Jacob shall still be punished. God’s will had been done, despite the means. Now the LORD starts fresh by introducing himself to Jacob as the LORD of his grandfather and father. He then reaffirms His promises of land and heirs. I found it interesting as I thought how God had this planned. Until this moment, God’s promises to the fathers were that He would make a great nation of their seed and that He would give them the land. Here, however, He promised an individual (1.) divine companionship, (2.) divine protection, and (3.) His faithfulness. Deut 7:9 states, Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (NKJV)
Jacob awakes and he is afraid and amazed. The door to heaven had opened and God’s omnipresence with a stairway was available to him. Gen 28:16-19 describes his actions following his life-changing dream as, Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. (NKJV)
Jacob had given little thought that God would come meet him where he was, or would come meet him at all, after all he had done. He thought God dwelt only in the Promised Land. He had no idea that God was omnipresent. But he now has this revelation and states, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” You will note that Jacob did not state Surely the LORD was in this place tonight. He knew what was happening in the here and now, and he was afraid. Many times God speaks and we don’t listen. But Jacob listened and heard God speak the blessings of his forefathers into his life and not a judgment. Jacob not only realized how important God’s blessings are, he noted how faithful the LORD is in His promise to always be present, protect, and to bring him back to the Promised Land one day. These words of encouragement were needed for comfort at a time when Jacob’s spirit was at an all-time low.
Not only did Jacob hear God speak blessings and additional promises into his life, he witnessed the stairway to heaven activity. How could he ever forget living through such a dream? Yes, he was afraid with the fear of God. He knew not what to do at first. But as he pulled himself together and analyzed the situation, he knew it was definitely a place where he was supposed to worship. It was the house of God, and this was awesome. Where else would you find God sitting on his throne dispatching and receiving angels ascending and descending on a staircase between heaven and earth?
So Jacob got up to worship God. He took the stone he had used for a pillow, set it upright, and demonstrated his love by pouring oil on top of the stone. We don’t know how big the stone was and that’s not important. What is important is that he used the oil which was highly symbolic in the Jewish faith. The Jews believe the oil is to be used for anointing purposes, when something is to be chosen by God. He memorialized the event by consecrating the stone with oil as an act of worship. So Jacob changed the ancient name of the city of Luz, which means separation, to Bethel, which means House of God.
Jacob had now had a gracious visit from heaven by way of a dream. God had renewed his covenant promise with him. Now Jacob believes he must make a promise to God. He’s not asking for anything but the bare necessities from God. He has to leave this awesome place because he believes Esau is yet in a murderous hot pursuit. Jacob also needs to go find a wife. But he promises as if he is seeking an assurance from God. His vow to change his ways and commit his life are found at Gen 28:20-22, Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (NKJV)
Jacob’s vow appears to be based on a contingency that God keep up His side of the bargained promise. (If you do this God, I’ll do that) However, Jacob did not realize that God is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19). The unilateral promises given by God were going to be kept. God had already chosen him. But He allowed Jacob to respond in his conversion experience by promising to give God his life, his worship, and his possessions.
God kept his promise to Jacob and continues to keep His promises to this very day. Jacob still had to be dealt with for his deceptive sins, but he has been forgiven. Now he has to find the strength and endurance to finish strong. Jacob chose Bethel (House of God) and not Luz (separation). We must be forever thankful that we have the opportunity to have salvation vs everlasting separation.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Deborah C. Davis
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