THEME 8 YOUR DIRECTION FOR US
SCRIPTURE [1]
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. He came to a place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone there and laid his head on it to go to sleep. Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven. And he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder. And then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder. The Lord said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your grandfather. And I am the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping. Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. I am with you, and I will protect you everywhere you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
Then Jacob woke from his sleep. He said, “Surely the Lord is in this place. But I did not know it.” Jacob was afraid. He said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven .Jacob rose early in the morning. He took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it. At first, the name of that city was Luz. But Jacob named it Bethel.[a
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “I want God to be with me and protect me on this journey. I want God to give me food to eat and clothes to wear. Then I will be able to return in peace to my father’s house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God. This stone which I have set up on its end will be the house of God. And I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.”
THINK ABOUT IT
Jacob was on his way to find a wife, not one from the Canaanites. In the next chapter he meets Rachel and Leah, but this story happens before that event.
God speaks to Jacob in a dream. Some say there was a ladder to heaven; some say it was more like a stairway. In either case, God shows He is reaching down to Jacob, assuring Him that the same promise given to Abraham, is his. This is important because God is establishing His generations for Jesus to be born. Important for us is the blessing given to Jacob and to us, that God will bless us and offer His protection. After Jacob awakens, he realizes He has been in the presence of God and makes an altar, then pledges a tithe, ten percent of everything to God as an offering and remembrance of this occasion in his life.
[1] Genesis 28: 10-22 Children’s International Bible
About the Author
