Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.
Title: Jacob at Bethel
Jesus made a reference to Jacobs ladder that we read of in chapter 28. Where was this recorded in the New Testament?
John 1:51-AV And he saith unto him, 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.
Geneva Bible
28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a {d} 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.
(d) Christ is the ladder by which God and man are joined
together, and by whom the angels minister to us: all
graces are given to us by him, and we ascend to heaven
by him.
Peoples New Testament
"#Jo 1:51"
"The angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man".
Jacob, old Israel, in his dream at Bethel, saw the ladder that reached
to heaven with the angels upon it ("#Ge 28:12"). Christ is that ladder,
the way from earth to heaven, the way heaven sends messages to the
world and the way we must go to reach it. Nathanael would be permitted
to see that Jesus was the Mediator, that through him the Father speaks
to man; that through him there is intercommunication between earth and
heaven.
41. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his
father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of
mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother
Jacob.
Esau was hoping that his father would die soon and he would have a chance to kill his brother.
42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah:
and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him,
Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself,
[purposing] to kill thee.
Here goes the plotting again.
43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou
to Laban my brother to Haran;
44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn
away;
45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget
[that] which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch
thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in
one day?
She has figured out a way to save her son. And remember her favorite son. Unknowing to her in saving him she herself also lost him. After he leaves he would not return for 20yrs and during this time Rebekah dies. Who is Laban to Rebekah?
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of
the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of
Heth, such as these [which are] of the daughters of the land,
what good shall my life do me?
She now involves Isaac in her plot. She finds away for Jacob to agree with her plan. She convinces him that it would be a great idea.
Genesis 28:1. 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.
Isaac her is telling Jacob of a truth that has been known all though out scripture. No not marry of the sinners. Be ye separate. What is wrong with a Christian and a non-Christian marring?
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for
what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?
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.
What is odd about these verses? Didn't earlier Isaac get mad because he was deceived by Jacob? Wasn't Isaac wanting to bless Esau with these same blessings that he just blessed Jacob? Now he is telling of God's blessings.
Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith.
5 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.
Here we see the decent of the Israelites? They were Syrian as their relatives were. But with Jacob God forms a new nation. Twelve tribes and a new name. The name is Israel.
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.
Esau began to think. He said that if Jacob could please his father by taking a wife of the relatives of Abraham the he must do the same. But he took his wife from the line of Ishmael, What was wrong with this? Look at the difference in the spiritual perception between these.
10. 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.
Jacob has traveled for a good while so he is probably a little weary. So he finds a place to rest. He is probably homesick. Do you remember the first time that you were a long way away from home? It was probable dreary also. So he finally gets to sleep in Bethel let us see what happens.
12 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.
Here is that ladder that I mentioned earlier. The ladder is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is the connection between us and God. Our only access to God is through the mediator of Jesus. Angels play a big part in our lives. They protect us and do the will of the father.
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;
He is still not the God of Jacob. Just the God of Abraham and Isaac.
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.
These are the same promise given to his father and grandfather.
16. 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.
Why do you think Jacob said, "How dreadful is this place!"?
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(the house of God): but the name of
that city [was called] Luz at the first.
20 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:
What is wrong with this statement of Jacob?
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.
