Genesis 28:1-22 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 28:1-22. Let’s go!
Genesis 28:1-10 (NIV)
1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples.
4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.
8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac;
9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
On verses 1-10: Pursuant to his father Isaac’s advice, Jacob heads to Paddan Aram for his uncle Laban’s house with the prospect of possibility finding a wife among Laban’s daughters. Meanwhile, contrary to his father Isaac’s wishes, Esau intentionally marries a Canaanite woman to spite his parents. Here we see the two brothers, Jacob and Esau, going in very different directions both geographically as well as in marriage.
Esau undoubtedly felt mistreated by his parents and harboured bitterness toward his parents and his brother. He dealt with that bitterness by trying to get back at his parents by hurting them in return. Later on, Joseph, the son of Jacob and the nephew of Esau, would also be mistreated by his immediate family, in particular his brothers, but Joseph learned to forgive and let go. As a result Joseph’s relationship with his family and his life generally was blessed greatly in the end.
What can we learn from this? You can’t control what others do to hurt you, but you are responsible for how you respond to the hurt. How you respond to the biggest hurts in your life will largely determine your destiny.
Genesis 28:11-17 (NIV)
11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever 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.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
On verses 11-17: On his way to Paddan Aram to see his uncle Laban, Jacob stops for the night to rest. With a rock for a pillow, Jacob dreams about a stairway resting on the earth reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. Jacob sees the Lord above the stairway speaking a blessing that recalls the blessing God spoke to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac before him (v13-14). God also promises to watch over Jacob wherever he goes and to bring him back to this place (v15). Jacob wakes up, amazed that he has just met with God in this place (v16-17).
What can we learn from this? Many centuries later, Jesus would say to one of his first disciples Nathanael, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51). In other words, recalling Jacob’s dream here, Jesus is referring to himself as the stairway from earth to heaven. It is because of Jesus that heaven and earth can connect and a holy God and can meet unholy sinners. Jesus is our stairway to heaven.
Genesis 28:18-22 (NIV)
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
21 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God
22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
On verses 18-22: In response to the vision God showed him, Jacob vows to make the Lord his God and to tithe one tenth of what he makes to God (v22), much like Abraham tithed to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:20. He also sets up this stone where he met God as a pillar in God’s house.
What can we learn from this? When God speaks to you, when you experience God’s power, protection, presence or provision in a powerful way, commemorate it by recording it and giving to God a thank offering.
Heavenly Father, thank You that from generation to generation You are willing to bless Your people. Since how I respond to hurt is important, I pray I would respond to hurts in my life in a productive, healthy way. May I not take for granted those times when You have spoken to me, but may I celebrate, commemorate and thank You for each of those times. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
