Jacob Receives the Promise

Genesis 28:10-22

THE story of Jacob and Esau is most revealing in the outworking of the divine plan. To Esau—the firstborn of the twin brothers—belonged the birthright. This was a valuable possession, for it pertained not only to the material riches of Isaac, but more important, to the promise which God made to Esau’s grandfather, Abraham—the promise that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.

But Esau apparently did not appreciate overmuch being an heir of the Abrahamic promise, and had readily sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Jacob having purchased the birthright, his mother, Rebekah, made sure that he obtained also the parental blessing which more or less ratified it, by working with Jacob to deceive his aged parent, Isaac. Now that Jacob had received the blessing which belonged with the birthright, Esau was angered, and threatened to kill him, so Jacob was advised by his mother to flee to the home of her brother Laban in Padan-aram.

Isaac, realizing now that Jacob was the true heir of the Abrahamic promise, instructed Jacob that he should not take a wife from among the daughters of the Canaanites, but seek a bride from among the daughters of Laban his uncle, Rebekah’s brother. Thus did the Lord overrule to prevent the promised seed from becoming contaminated. Both his mother and father advised him to seek the home of Laban—his mother’s motive being Jacob’s escape from the wrath of Esau, while his father’s desire was that he take a wife from among their own people.

Our lesson finds Jacob on the way to Padan-aram. His leaving home had probably not been easy, and many sacrifices must have been involved, but there was no alternative. The Lord seemed clearly to be indicating this to be his will for Jacob, and Jacob had great respect for the will of God. It was apparently at the close of the first day’s journey that “he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night.”

That night the Lord appeared to Jacob to reassure him of his guidance and blessing. This was the occasion when Jacob, in his dream, saw a ladder reaching from heaven to earth. The Lord stood above, or at the upper end of the ladder, while angels ascended and descended upon it. “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac,” he heard the Lord say. And then from the Lord came a reaffirmation of the covenant which he had made with Abraham concerning the land, the seed, and the blessing of all the families of the earth through the seed.

What could have been more comforting to Jacob just at this time than to be reassured that the promises of God really belonged to him, that he had actually obtained the birthright which originally was the inheritance of Esau. When Jacob awoke from his sleep he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” “How dreadful is this place!” said Jacob, meaning apparently, that it was a place to be reverenced because it had been made sacred by the presence of God as manifested in the vision.

“This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven,” Jacob explained. The house of God is where he meets with his people, and he had there met with Jacob. The “gate of heaven” suggests the availability of blessings which flow from the God of heaven. The God of Abraham was not one of wood or of stone, but the great invisible Creator of the universe, and identified over and over again throughout the Scriptures as the “God of heaven.” Daniel prophesied that the “God of heaven” would set up a kingdom—not in heaven but in the earth. So the “gate of heaven” is not a symbol of a way to go to heaven, but of a provision whereby heavenly blessings may reach the earth, and it had proved so in the case of Jacob.

In his dream, Jacob saw angels both ascending and descending on the ladder which connected heaven and earth. Jesus seems to allude to this ladder, when, to Nathanael he said, “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” (John 1:51) This suggests that Jacob’s dream was prophetic of the harmonious relationship that would later be established between God and men, based upon the redemptive work and mediatorship of Christ.

The word “angel” in the Bible simply means a messenger. Some of these are clearly shown to be spirit beings. Paul describes them as “ministering spirits” who are sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation.

But in the divine plan of reconciliation between God and man, other servants (angels) are also used. Paul wrote that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and that he has committed unto “us,” the church, the “ministry of reconciliation.” (II Cor. 5:18-20) Paul explains that in this service we are “ambassadors for Christ.” In the judgment day Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus speaks of coming in his glory and that “all the holy angels” will be with him. (Matt. 25:31) These “angels” are his church, and they will serve with him in the work of judgment and restoration pictured in the parable.

During the thousand years of Christ’s reign there will be others who will assist in the work of reconciliation, those described in Psalm 45:16 as “princes in all the earth.” These will be the human representatives of the divine, invisible Christ. In the prophecies they are sometimes referred to symbolically as Jerusalem. In the prophecy of the kingdom recorded in Micah 4:1-4, we are told that the “Word of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem.” These ancient worthies, then, will also be very important “angels,” or messengers, to acquaint the world of mankind with the provision of divine love whereby, upon the basis of their belief in Christ as their Redeemer and obedience to the laws of his kingdom, they can return to harmony with God and live. But regardless of who may be used by the Lord as “angels,” or messengers in the divine plan whereby oneness between heaven and earth is restored, it can only be upon the basis of Christ’s atoning work. Thus, as he explained to Nathanael, Jesus is the “ladder” upon which the “angels” ascend and descend, bearing the message of a “great salvation” for a few who will become associated with Jesus in the heavenly phase of the kingdom, and of the general salvation which the God of heaven has provided for all mankind, even the “restitution of all things.”—Acts 3:19-21

The dream made a tremendous impression upon Jacob, and he “vowed a vow” unto the Lord, promising that for all time the God of Abraham would be his God. He promised the Lord he would give him one-tenth of all that he received. Tithing is first mentioned in Genesis 14:20, but apparently it did not become a definite requirement by God until the Law was given to the nation of Israel by Moses.

QUESTIONS

What caused Jacob to leave his parents’ home?

Explain Jacob’s dream and suggest some of the lessons it might teach?

How did Jacob express his appreciation of the great encouragement he received from his dream?

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