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The Promise Is Sure Jacob's Faith
Is Tested 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.—John 1:51 A verse by verse study in Genesis 28 Jacob was in flight and his emotions must have been high. He had what he wanted. Not only did he have the birthright, which he purchased for a bowl of porridge, he also had the family blessing thanks to deception. The birthright and the blessing were different things. The birthright was temporal and related to the inheritance of the family property. Under the law, the birthright was a double share which, in the case of Jacob, would have amounted to two-thirds had the law been in effect at the time. The blessing, on the other hand, was spiritual and related to the genealogical line of the promise to Abraham, that of being an ancestor of the Messiah. This distinction is clearly shown in these words: “And the sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the prince; but the birthright was Joseph’s)” (1 Chronicles 5:1,2, ASV). Joseph’s birthright was shown in the fact that his inheritance in the land was a double portion: his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, inherited as though they were the direct sons of Jacob, and not his grandsons. Isaac’s blessing is recorded in these words: “And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed: and God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine: let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be every one that blesseth thee.” (Genesis 27:27-29, ASV). While this blessing includes temporal provisions, its emphasis is on the position of Jacob as head of the family. Note that in verse 29, his “mother’s sons” were to bow down to him. Since his mother had only one other son, the plural “sons” must apply to future generations. Jacob’s Flight—Genesis 28:1-5 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. Arise, go to Padan-aram, 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. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 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. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. There were two reasons for Jacob’s flight. After he deceived Isaac to receive the blessing meant for his brother, his brother Esau determined to kill him after Isaac died (Genesis 27:41). As a result, Rebecca told Jacob to flee (Genesis 27:42-44). She then persuaded Isaac to urge Jacob to select a wife from the daughters of Laban (Genesis 27:43-46). In contrast with Isaac, for whom a wife was sought from the family in Haran by Abraham’s servant who arrived with camels loaded with gifts, Jacob was sent to Haran with nothing. This indicates the degree of anger Isaac had toward Jacob for deceiving him. However, Isaac did say that the blessing of God be with him and that he be fruitful. He also indicated that the blessing of Abraham, that of the promised seed, be with him and that his birthright would include not only the possessions of Isaac, but also the entire land of Canaan, promised to his grandfather, Abraham. In other words, he was to inherit not only two-thirds of the land, but the entire territory promised to Abraham. So Jacob fled to the home of his uncle Laban, son of Bethuel, the Syrian. Laban is called a Syrian because he lived in Syria, not because he was of Syrian ancestry. Esau’s Third Wife—Genesis 28:6-9 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, 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; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 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. Even though Esau is often cast as the villain in the story, he was not a bad man. The apostle merely characterizes him as “profane” (Hebrews 12:16). The word profane is a Latin word combining the prefix pro, meaning “before,” with fanos, meaning “the temple.” Thus the word profanos means literally “outside the temple.” We would define it today as secular or non-religious. Esau was a hunter, a “macho man.” Jacob, in contrast, had a spiritual interest. Although Esau tended to be hotheaded, his anger soon cooled (Genesis 27:44). One evidence of this was that, although strongly desiring the birthright, he voluntarily gave it up and moved his family to the east side of the Dead Sea in what came to be known as the land of Edom. Esau had two Hittite wives, Judith and Bashemath. Realizing these marriages troubled Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:34,35) and noting that Isaac had sent Jacob away to choose a wife from the family, he also resolved to choose a wife related to him. However, instead of going to the family of Laban, he chose a third wife, Mahalath, from the family of Ishmael. This may have been a well-intentioned decision, but it was still wrong. In the words of Pastor Russell, he typified those Christians who barter their glorious inheritance as prospective heirs of the divine nature and the Messianic kingdom for the enjoyment of the fleeting pleasure of the present life—“a mess of pottage!” (Reprints, p. 5452). This describes the Great Company. Jacob’s Dream—Genesis 28:10-12 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 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. 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. The text does not say that he arrived at this place of the dream on the first night. It is more likely it was on the second or third night since it was about seventy miles from his home in Beersheba. It evidently was an uninhabited place since he did not find a home there but slept under the stars with only a stone for a pillow. It had been previously inhabited and probably the stones were from one of the ruined houses. That night he had a dream of a long ladder or staircase stretching from earth to heaven and he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on it. It was a reassuring dream to Jacob, who must have been still struggling with mixed emotions of fear and delight. He felt that God was assuring him that he still had a connection with his heavenly Father and that his prayers would be answered. He was right, but there was more, much more. The Dream Explained—Genesis 28:13-15 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; 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. 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. Jehovah was at the top of the ladder and told Jacob that He was indeed Jehovah, the One who had dealt with his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. He made three promises to Jacob:
Thus, Jacob was assured that he indeed had received the blessing he so much desired and that he would be a progenitor of the Messiah. Sarah Adams, in “Nearer My God to Thee,” the famous hymn sung as the Titanic was sinking, used this dream as the basis for these verses:
Jacob’s Immediate Reaction—Genesis 28:16,17 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 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. Jacob’s reaction is one of surprise. He had not expected the dream and realized that Jehovah was with him even in the barren spot where he had slept in his flight. It filled him with a feeling of awe. The Jewish Publication Society’s translation for verse 17 reads, “And he was afraid, and said: ‘How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ ” He felt like he was standing in the very temple of God and that the stairway was the means of entrance into the presence of Jehovah. Bethel—Genesis 28:18,19 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. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. Jacob took two actions in the morning. First he took his stone pillow and erected it upright for a pillar. He also anointed the pillar with oil, thus sanctifying it. That pillow, which had been so hard at night, now proved to be so comforting, because it was to him the symbol by which God showed him that he still had access to the heavenly throne and that the blessing, though obtained by deceit, was surely his. Second, he changed the name of the place from Luz to Bethel. In five instances where Bethel is mentioned (Genesis 28:19; 35:6; Joshua 16:2; 18:13; Judges 1:23), the Bible makes the connection between Luz and Bethel, seemingly implying there is an importance to this connection. Luz means “almond tree.” The original town might have been built near such a tree.{FOOTNOTE: In addition to the almond tree there was a noted oak tree at Bethel. It was named Allonbachuth, “the oak of mourning,” used as a grave marker for the burial of Deborah, the nurse for Jacob’s beloved Rachel and probably the midwife for his most beloved son, Joseph.} In the Jewish tabernacle in the wilderness, there was an almond branch in the ark of the covenant. This branch was put there when the authority of Moses and Aaron was contested by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16:1). The almond branch signified God’s election of the house of Aaron as the priestly house.{FOOTNOTE: The city of Luz was later relocated in the land of the Hittites (Judges 1:26). This is a possible illustration of the fact that the election, pictured by the almond tree, would go out from the Jews to the Gentiles.} Notice that Jacob’s dream was under an almond tree; whereas, when Jesus first saw Nathaniel, Nathaniel was under a fig tree (John 1:48). One might expect the reverse, that Jacob, representing Israel might be associated with a fig tree, while Nathaniel being called to the church, would be seen under an almond tree. Why was it not that way? We know that Israel was also an elect group. They were also under an almond tree, though not the same almond tree as represented in the ark of the covenant.{FOOTNOTE: In fact the word for the almond branch used in the Tabernacle (Numbers17:8) was a different Hebrew word. Instead of luwz the word there used is shaqed. This may tend to show that there is a distinction between the general selection of Israel as God’s people and the specific selection of the Church as part of his anointed.} Nathaniel, while praying under a fig tree, was called out from there to be one of the disciples of Christ much like the other disciples who were called from their fishing boats to be fishers of men. Years later, when Jacob resolved to return to Canaan, Jehovah addressed him saying: “I am the God of Bethel” (Genesis 31:13). And then, when he did return, he was instructed by God to “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God” (Genesis 35:1). Bethel thus became a hallowed place in the holy land for Jacob. Jacob’s Vow—Genesis 28: 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, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 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. Jacob’s faith was still weak. His vow at Bethel was conditional. He placed five conditions on God:
5. If God will bring me back again to my father’s house in peace, THEN shall the LORD be my God. If these conditions were fulfilled, then not only would he acknowledge Jehovah as his God, but he would give him a tenth of all he possessed. Jacob, like so many Christians, was a work in progress. Christians do not always start out strong; they often have to grow through their experiences. It is like the father of the demoniac child whom Jesus disciples’ could not cure. Jesus said to the father, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The father’s response was: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:23,24). Many times, like Jacob at Bethel and the father of the demoniac, there is a mixture of belief and unbelief. This a Christian finds discouraging. But he must realize that faith is a growing element and does not come in one big leap; it comes by seeing small instances of overruling providence in life’s events. Jacob’s entire life demonstrates this. He deceived his father into giving him the blessing. Then he was deceived by his father-in-law, Laban, when Leah became his wife instead of his beloved Rachel. Later, he deceived his father-in-law when he acquired the majority of the new-born sheep. He may have even conspired with Rachel in the taking of the family images, which were a type of title deed to Laban’s possessions. Then, in timidity, he fearfully awaited the reunion with his brother Esau, only to find that Esau voluntarily left the inheritance to him. Esau ran to meet him when he saw him, embraced him, kissed him, and together they leapt for joy (Genesis 33:4). In many ways, Esau proved to be more noble than Jacob. However, Jacob was the recipient of both the birthright and the blessing. Jesus and the Ladder In John 1:51 Jesus associates himself with Jacob’s dream: “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” Jesus is our “Bethel,” our gateway to God, and like Nathaniel, we have the assurance that we have access to the heavenly Father’s throne through Jesus. What a precious promise is given to Christians: “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Therefore, let us resolve to make prayer a vital part of our life, for it is our “Jacob’s ladder” between heaven and earth. |