*Genesis 28:10-22
Fleeing Esau’s anger, Jacob arrives at a place where he dreams of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven.
- Jacob’s Journey:
- Jacob leaves his home in Beersheba and heads toward Haran to find a wife from his mother’s family.
- As night falls, he rests at a place and takes a stone for a pillow.
- Jacob’s Dream:
- While sleeping, he dreams of a ladder set up on the earth, reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it.
- The Lord stands above the ladder and promises Jacob the land on which he lies, the promise of descendants, and divine protection.
- Divine Assurance:
- God reassures Jacob that He will be with him, protect him, and bring him back to his homeland.
- Jacob awakens from his dream and realizes the significance of the place, calling it Bethel, meaning “house of God.”
- Jacob’s Response:
- Overwhelmed by the encounter, Jacob sets up the stone he used as a pillow as a pillar and anoints it with oil as a memorial to the encounter.
- He makes a vow, promising to serve God faithfully if God fulfills His promises to him.
Genesis 28:10-22 teaches us that God is always with us and has a plan for our lives. When Jacob was alone and on a difficult journey, God gave him a dream to remind him of His presence and promises. This reminds us that even in hard times, we are never truly alone—God is with us, guiding and protecting us. Like Jacob, we should trust in God’s plan and respond with faith and commitment. This passage encourages us to seek God, trust His promises, and remember that wherever we go, He is always near.
Genesis 28:10-22 (WEB)
28:10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”16 Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.” 17 He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”18 Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 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 clothing to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”