JACOB SERIES: A PLACE CALLED BETHEL

In my last blog post in this series, I shared that Jacob was being sent to Haran to find a wife among his mother’s family. So Genesis 28 starts with Isaac blessing Jacob and reiterating that he is going to Padanaram, to the home of Bethuel, his mother’s father, to find a wife. Isaac’s blessing confirmed God’s blessings, fruitfulness, multiplication of family, and Abraham’s inheritance for his lineage, which was the land of Canaan.

At sundown, as Jacob journeyed from Beersheba toward Haran, he stopped, found a rock to use as a pillow, lay down, and fell asleep. While sleeping, Jacob had a dream in which he saw angels ascending and descending a ladder that reached from earth to heaven. God stood at the top of the ladder, and He declared several things to Jacob. He is the God of his forefather Abraham and father Isaac; he and his lineage will inherit the land; they will be numerous as the dust of the earth; they will spread to the cardinal points of the earth; and his family will bless the earth. God ended with, “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.” 

When Jacob awakened, he was fearful and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob took the stone and used it as a monument; he poured oil on it and renamed Luz to Bethel. Then he made a vow, “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.”

Here is additional information and nuggets on this chapter:

This chapter records Jacob’s first encounter with the God of Abraham and Isaac. As far as the scriptures revealed, he had lived approximately 77 years without communicating with God.

The blessing, which was first received fraudulently, is now reiterated with the acknowledgment that, though the second-born son, Jacob, was the apparent heir.

The blessing that comes from Abraham’s lineage is Jesus Christ, and through Him the world is redeemed.

Though not realized by Isaac, Rebakah, and Jacob, God orchestrated Jacob’s going to Haran so that the family’s bloodline would not be contaminated by the Canaanites.

It was 500 miles to Haran, and it took approximately 3 days to get there.

The name Bethel, meaning “the house of God,” was known as Luz until Judges 1, when Israel defeated the Canaanite inhabitants and took over the territory.

Commentators noted that Luz, where Jacob stopped, was also the first place Abraham encamped when he came into Canaan.

When I read Jacob’s closing statement, I thought to myself that he was audacious, offering a shocking response to the words God spoke to him. How dare he vow “If” as if he is bargaining with God.

Jacob’s vow to willingly give God a tenth of his possessions revealed that a form of tithing was practiced before the laws of tithing God gave to Moses.

God reveals things to people through dreams and visions

When Jacob was alone and on the run, that is when God met him.

When you realize that God’s presence is near, you can become overwhelmed and fearful.

It was at Bethel that Jacob had his first encounter with God. It was here that he recognized the God of his forefathers was also with him, and it was here that he made a vow to God to serve Him and pay tithes to Him. Additionally, he displayed his materialistic nature in wanting things from God rather than wanting a relationship with God. He, like us, needs to know the God of the house.