Verses 1-4 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
With Rebekah instigating the removal of Jacob from the presence of his very angry and vengeful brother, Esau, Isaac does what his father, Abraham, had done in order to obtain an appropriate wife for him many years before. Jacob’s wife was to be from the relatives back in Syria. He, like Isaac, was to marry a cousin. Isaac further blessed Jacob, assuming that he would return with a wife and that they would have children. Isaac passed on the blessing Abraham had received from God regarding possession of the land in which they had been dwelling.
Verses 5-9 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. 6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; 8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
The verses above help the reader to understand the sibling rivalry that existed between Jacob and Esau. Esau was always trying to keep up with his brother and trying to get parental approval. So off to his uncle Ishmael he went to get another wife that would be a relative and not a Canaanite. He must have reasoned that his actions would please his mother as he was marrying a cousin just like Jacob would do. The name “Mahalath” means “stringed instrument”.
Application: People not familiar with the Bible stories often think that all the people written about in the pages of Scripture are saints who never did anything wrong. However, this is far from the truth, as God uses all these Old Testament people and events to teach others how not to proceed through life. Parents need to pay attention to the story of Jacob and Esau because it shows clearly what can happen when sibling rivalry is excessive within a family, and it shows that parents can be the cause of this problem.
Verses 10-11 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
Today there is an arrogance among many people who believe that, because of technology, their generation is the brightest and most advanced civilization that has ever existed. However, this is definitely not true. Jacob traveled without GPS or a smart phone, without a map, without a motorized vehicle or airplane or train, through wilderness terrain, and he got to where he wanted to go. Furthermore, he did not check in to a hotel or motel for the night and dine in a fine restaurant, but slept on the ground with rocks for a pillow. Ask yourself if you or anyone you know could accomplish this. Think about it.
Verses 12-15 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
It is not known if Jacob had experienced an audience with God before this particular moment. However he would have been well aware of the content of the LORD’s visits with Abraham and Isaac because in the verses above Isaac spoke about the blessing of Abraham regarding inheriting the land. And here he experienced firsthand the same promises and blessing that his father and his grandfather had received when they were alone with the LORD. God promised never to leave Jacob and that must have been a great comfort to him at this time in his life when he was running away from his brother who wanted to kill him and traveling to a people he did not know to seek a wife he had never met. Once again, the seed of Jacob that would bless all the families of the Earth was a Messianic reference to the LORD Jesus Christ. The physical Hebrew nation of Israel in Scripture and today’s fake or impostor nation called Israel have never blessed all the families of the Earth, but both have engaged in rebellion against God, in idolatry, in witchcraft, and in oppression of non-Jewish people or Gentiles. Notice also that God’s promise to be with Jacob and to keep him in all the places that he went and to bring him back to the land he was sleeping on was a promise to Jacob and not a blanket promise to generations of descendants. That promise was fulfilled and Jacob returned to his homeland after serving his uncle for years in Syria.
Application: God never changes. The promises to the patriarchs of the Bible are the believer’s today. There is a promised land, life eternal in Heaven, waiting for every believer, and Jesus will never leave the believer until he/she has safely arrived at this destination. Take comfort.
Verses 16-19 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
God had given Jacob a glimpse into the supernatural spirit world. After this nighttime experience, Jacob had a healthy fear and respect of God. This was an event he would never forget. He offered oil upon his rock pillow and named the place Beth-el, which means “house of God”. Oil has always been used for the purpose of anointing something or someone. It is equated with healing and with the presence of God and is metaphor for the Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Application: There are millions of Beth-els on the Earth today as every believer has the presence of God in the form of the Holy Ghost/Spirit living inside of his/her physical body. Every believer’s body is a temple or house of God Almighty. Each believer is a house of God and a gate into Heaven for the unbeliever, as it is through believers that the Gospel is spread to unbelieving people.
Verses 20-22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
The God of the universe had just vowed to bless, prosper, multiply, stay with and always protect Jacob and he responded by bargaining with the LORD. “If you, God, will do this and that, then I will let you be my God.” What patience the LORD displays when dealing with sinful man!! Notice that there is an emergence of the 10% tithe that is done today in many church congregations.