GENESIS CHAPTER 28 ------------------ Verse 1, This verse looks back to the previous chapter. Ge 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? This occurs before Isaac leaves because of Esau's fury. Isaac blesses him (confirms the blessing upon him), and charges him not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan as Esau had done. According to Gill and other writers, Jacob is now 77 years of age. Verse 2, Isaac charges Jacob to go to Padanaram, where the city of Haran (see 27:43) is located in which Laban, Rebekah's brother, lives. He lives in the house of Bethuel, his and Rebekah's father. Jacob is to take a wife (not wives) of the daughters of Laban, Rebekah's brother. Verses 3-4, Isaac confirms that the blessing of Abraham is upon him. The promise given to Abraham, which continued through Isaac is to continue through Jacob. Speaking of Abraham, the book of Hebrews says, "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:" (Heb 13:9). Verse 5, Jacob departs to his mother's brother's house. Verses 6-8, Esau sees, or learns of, what had happened. 1) Isaac blessed Jacob, confirmed the blessing upon him. 2) Seeing that the wives he has taken of the daughters of Canaan have displeased Rebekah and Isaac (in verse 8 we see Isaac, also was displeased with the daughters of Canaan), which thing was probably related to him before he had ever taken them. 3) He saw how that Jacob obeyed the voice of his parents and went to Padanaram. 4) And Esau wanting to be in his father's favour. Verse 9, Esau goes to Ishmael, that is Ishmael's house, Ishmael being now dead for about 14 years. "and took unto the wives which he had" - that is in addition to the wives that he already had which the daughters of Heth. He takes Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. Mahalath = "stringed instrument"; marginal notes: Mahalath: or, Bashemath. The sister of Nebajoth, who was the eldest son of Ishmael, who now being dead, makes Nebajoth the principle in the family. Verse 10, We see that Jacob departs toward Haran, which is where Laban lived. Verse 11, He stops at a certain place, which is by God's providence. Which seems to always indicate that God is ready to do something. He makes a pillow out of stones and goes to sleep, the sun being set. Verses 12-15, God speaks to Jacob in a dream. 1) Here we see God's grace bestowed upon an unlikely person. A fugitive, in a sense, from his father's house, fleeing from the wrath of his brother, with probably no thought of God in his mind. 2) As we see Jacob lying on the bare ground, in the dust of the earth, with stones as his pillow, fast asleep, we see a picture, in a sense of a dead man, that is a spiritual dead man, the condition of every lost sinner; the man in his natural state. Pink says, that man is never so helpless as when he is asleep, and it is in this condition that the Lord appears unto Jacob, who had done nothing to deserve such an honour. 3) The ladder: it reached from the earth, where it had been set up, into heaven; and the angels of God ascended and descended upon it. This ladder is symbolic of Jesus Christ himself. He is the only way for a man to reach unto heaven. He came to this earth and lived a perfect life as a man and became the way, not showed us the way, but IS the very way to God. Jesus said, "I AM THE WAY." Compare: Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Here we see two of the persons of the Godhead represented. The LORD God (the Father) who stood above the ladder, and the LORD Jesus Christ, who was the ladder of way to the Father. Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 4) We see that God confirms the blessing of Abraham and Isaac upon him. Notice that there is no condition to this promise given to Jacob. Notice the words, "I [am] with thee;" "and will keep thee;" "and will bring thee;" "I will not leave thee, until I have done [that] which I have spoken to thee of." 5) His seed would be as the dust of the earth and they would inherit the land that he had promised to Abraham and Isaac. It would be in his seed that all of the families of the earth would be blessed, which all are blessed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who would come from his seed. Verses 16-17, Jacob awakes out of his sleep and is afraid. He had not known the LORD before and he knew that the LORD was in this place. He feared and called it a dreadful place. God is to be feared and He is dreadful, to those who do not know Him. Da 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and DREADFUL God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; Mal 1:14 But cursed [be] the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I [am] a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name [is] DREADFUL among the heathen. Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and DREADFUL day of the LORD: Verses 18-19, He took the stones that he had used as a pillow and set up a pillar. Compare Josh 4:3-9 Not that he set up an idol, but a memorial. However the heathen did worship stones. Lev 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up [any] image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I [am] the LORD your God. {standing...: or, pillar} {image of...: or, figured stone: Heb. a stone of picture} Deut 7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. {their images: Heb. their statues, or, pillars} Deut 12:3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. {overthrow: Heb. break down} He called the name of the place Bethel, which means "the house of God." The name of the city was called Luz at the first. Luz = "almond tree" 1) the early name of Bethel and probably the name of the town in close proximity to the actual location of the altar and pillar of Jacob Verses 20-21, Gill interprets the "if" as not doubt, but "since" Gid will be with me. However Pink thinks that Jacob did as most men do, put what they will do into the mix, when it is all of grace and not of our works. Ec 5:5 Better [is it] that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. "So that I come again to my father's house in peace;" that Esau not wishing to kill him. If all of which God has spoken come to pass, "then shall the LORD be my God." Verse 22, He would build an altar here. Compare: Ge 35:3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. Gen 35:6 So Jacob came to Luz, which [is] in the land of Canaan, that [is], Bethel, he and all the people that [were] with him. 7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. {Elbethel: that is, The God of Bethel}