Jacob’s Vision At Bethel In a Dream He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven]. [Joh_1:51]
And behold, the LORD stood above and around him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your [father’s] father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land [of promise] on which you are lying. Gen 28:12-13
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
2. The History of Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 25:19-35:29
51. How did God meet Jacob on the threshold of his new career?
JACOB’S DREAM
Now Jacob left Beersheba [never to see his mother again] and traveled toward Haran.
And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep].
He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven]. [Joh_1:51]
And behold, the LORD stood above and around him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your [father’s] father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land [of promise] on which you are lying.
Your descendants shall be as [countless as] the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed through you and your descendants. [Gen_12:2-3; Gen_13:16; Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4; Act_3:25-26; Gal_3:8, Gal_3:16]
Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the LORD is in this place, and I did not realize it.”
So he was afraid and said, “How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven.”
So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone he had put under his head and he set it up as a pillar [that is, a monument to the vision in his dream], and he poured [olive] oil on the top of it [to consecrate it].
He named that place Bethel (the house of God); the previous name of that city was Luz (Almond Tree).
Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear,
and if [He grants that] I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.
This stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument, memorial) will be God’s house [a sacred place to me], and of everything that You give me I will give the tenth to You [as an offering to signify my gratitude and dependence on You].” [Deu_12:8-11; Deu_14:22-26; Deu_26:1-11]
JACOB’S VISION AT BETHEL
This is the Ladder chapter, in which a wayward, weak man is seen holding fellowship with the Eternal God, who loves us, notwithstanding our unworthiness, and desire to lead us into a life of power and blessedness. It is all wonderful! Notice the four Beholds! Gen_28:12-15. Sunset. Overtaken on a moor by the swift fall of the Oriental night, Jacob had no alternative than to sleep in the open. But he slept to see! Night. There is an open way between heaven and earth for each of us. The movement of the tide and circulation of the blood are not more regular than the inter-communication between heaven and earth. Jacob may have thought that God was local: now he found Him to be omnipresent. Every lonely spot was His house, filled with angels. Morning. Worship, consecration, the vows of God. Put down thy foot on God’s promises. He will do more than He has said. Thou shalt come to thy Father’s house in peace.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 28:10-22
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
C. Jacob (27:1–36:43)
2. Jacob’s Flight to Haran (Chap. 28)
28:10-19 At Bethel, Jacob had a wonderful dream in which he saw a ladder or staircase extending from earth to heaven. This suggested “the fact of a real, uninterrupted, and close communion between heaven and earth, and in particular between God in His glory and man in his solitude.” In His encounter with Nathanael, the Lord Jesus made an apparent reference to this incident and connected it with His Second Advent and millennial glory (Joh_1:51). But believers even now can enjoy moment-by-moment fellowship with the Lord. At this time when Jacob’s heart was probably filled with regret for the past, loneliness in the present, and uncertainty about the future, God graciously made a covenant with him as He had with Abraham and Isaac. Notice the promise of companionship: “I am with you”; safety: “I will keep you wherever you go”; guidance: “and will bring you back to this land”; and personal guarantee: “I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Conscious that he had met God there, Jacob changed the name of the place from Luz (separation) to Bethel (house of God).
“Prior to Bethel, where Jacob was ‘surprised by joy’ and ‘transfixed by awe,’ he had had no personal contact with God. Everything had come to him second-hand” (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union).
28:20-22 Next Jacob seems to be bargaining with God. He was actually bargaining for less than God had promised (v. 14). His faith was not strong enough to take God at His word, so he had to make his tithe conditional on God’s performance of His part of the agreement, Another interpretation, however, is that the “if” is simply an inherent part of all Hebrew oaths and that Jacob was binding himself to give a tenth unconditionally (see Num_21:2; Jdg_11:30-31; 1Sa_1:11 for similar Hebrew oaths).
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