G
E N E S I S
CHAP. XXVIII.
We have here, I. Jacob parting with his
parents, to go to Padan-aram; the charge his father gave him (ver. 1, 2), the
blessing he sent him away with (ver. 3, 4), his obedience to the orders given
him (ver. 5, 10), and the influence this had upon Esau, ver. 6-9. II. Jacob
meeting with God, and his communion with him by the way. And there, 1. His
vision of the ladder, ver. 11, 12. 2. The gracious promises God made him, ver.
13-15. 3. The impression this made upon him, ver. 16-19. 4. The vow he made to
God, upon this occasion, ver. 20, &c.
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Jacob Dismissed with a Blessing.
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B. C. 1760.
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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. 2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, 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. 5 And Isaac sent away
Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the
brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
Jacob had no
sooner obtained the blessing than immediately he was forced to flee from his
country; and, as if it were not enough that he was a stranger and sojourner
there, he must go to be more so, and no better than an exile, in another
country. Now Jacob fled into Syria, Hos. xii. 12. He was blessed with
plenty of corn and wine, and yet he went away poor, was blessed with
government, and yet went out to service, a hard service. This was, 1. Perhaps
to correct him for his dealing fraudulently with his father. The blessing
shall be confirmed to him, and yet he shall smart for the indirect course he
took to obtain it. While there is such an alloy as there is of sin in our
duties, we must expect an alloy of trouble in our comforts. However, 2. It was
to teach us that those who inherit the blessing must expect persecution; those
who have peace in Christ shall have tribulation in the world, John xvi. 33.
Being told of this before, we must not think it strange, and, being assured of
a recompence hereafter, we must not think it hard. We may observe, likewise,
that God's providences often seem to contradict his promises, and to go cross
to them; and yet, when the mystery of God shall be finished, we shall see that
all was for the best, and that cross providences did but render the promises
and the accomplishment of them the more illustrious. Now Jacob is here
dismissed by his father,
I. With a solemn
charge: He blessed him, and charged him, v. 1, 2. Note, Those
that have the blessing must keep the charge annexed to it, and not think to
separate what God has joined. The charge is like that in 2 Cor. vi. 14, Be
not unequally yoked with unbelievers; and all that inherit the promises of
the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, must keep this charge,
which follows those promises, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation, Acts ii. 38-40. Those that are entitled to peculiar favours
must be a peculiar people. If Jacob be an heir of promise, he must not take
a wife of the daughters of Canaan; those that profess religion should not
marry those that are irreligious.
II. With a solemn
blessing, v. 3, 4. He had before blessed him unwittingly; now he does
it designedly, for the greater encouragement of Jacob in that melancholy
condition to which he was now removing. This blessing is more express and full
than the former; it is an entail of the blessing of Abraham, that blessing
which was poured on the head of Abraham like the anointing oil, thence to run
down to his chosen seed, as the skirts of his garments. It is a gospel
blessing, the blessing of church-privileges, that is the blessing of Abraham,
which upon the Gentiles through faith, Gal. iii. 14. It is a blessing from God
Almighty, by which name God appeared to the patriarchs, Exod. vi. 3. Those are
blessed indeed whom God Almighty blesses; for he commands and effects the
blessing. Two great promises Abraham was blessed with, and Isaac here entails
them both upon Jacob.
1. The
promise of heirs: God make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, v.
3. (1.) Through his loins should descend from Abraham that people who should
be numerous as the stars of heaven, and the sand of the sea, and who should
increase more than the rest of the nations, so as to be an assembly of
people, as the margin reads it. And never was such a multitude of people
so often gathered into one assembly as the tribes of Israel were in the
wilderness, and afterwards. (2.) Through his loins should descend from Abraham
that person in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, and to
whom the gathering of the people should be. Jacob had in him a multitude of
people indeed, for all things in heaven and earth are united in Christ (Eph. i.
10), all centre in him, that corn of wheat, which falling to the ground,
produced much fruit, John xii. 24.
2. The promise of
an inheritance for those heirs: That thou mayest inherit the land of thy
sojournings, v. 4. Canaan was hereby entailed upon the seed of
Jacob, exclusive of the seed of Esau. Isaac was now sending Jacob away into a
distant country, to settle there for some time; and, lest this should look
like disinheriting him, he here confirms the settlement of it upon him, that
he might be assured that the discontinuance of his possession should be no
defeasance of his right. Observe, He is here told that he should inherit the
land wherein he sojourned. Those that are sojourners now shall be heirs for
ever: and, even now, those do most inherit the earth (though they do not
inherit most of it) that are most like strangers in it. Those have the best
enjoyment of present things that sit most loose to them. This promise looks as
high as heaven, of which Canaan was a type. This was the better country, which
Jacob, with the other patriarchs, had in his eye, when he confessed himself a
stranger and pilgrim upon the earth, Heb. xi. 13.
Jacob, having
taken leave of his father, was hastened away with all speed, lest his brother
should find an opportunity to do him a mischief, and away he went to
Padan-aram, v. 5. How unlike was his taking a wife thence to his
father's! Isaac had servants and camels sent to fetch his; Jacob must go
himself, go alone, and go afoot, to fetch his: he must go too in a fright from
his father's house, not knowing when he might return. Note, If God, in his
providence, disable us, we must be content, though we cannot keep up the state
and grandeur of our ancestors. We should be more in care to maintain their
piety than to maintain their dignity, and to be as good as they were than to
be as great. Rebekah is here called Jacob's and Esau's mother. Jacob is
named first, not only because he had always been his mother's darling, but
because he was now made his father's heir, and Esau was, in this sense, set
aside. Note, The time will come when piety will have precedency, whatever it
has now.
6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed
Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, 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 Padan-aram; 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.
This passage
concerning Esau comes in in the midst of Jacob's story, either, 1. To show the
influence of a good example. Esau, though the greater man, now begins to think
Jacob the better man, and disdains not to take him for his pattern in this
particular instance of marrying with a daughter of Abraham. The elder children
should give to the younger an example of tractableness and obedience; it is
bad if they do not: but it is some alleviation if they take the example of it
from them, as Esau here did from Jacob. Or, 2. To show the folly of an
after-wit. Esau did well, but he did it when it was too late, He saw that
the daughters of Canaan pleased not his father, and he might have seen
that long ago if he had consulted his father's judgment as much as he did his
palate. And how did he now mend the matter? Why, truly, so as to make bad
worse. (1.) He married a daughter of Ishmael, the son of the bond-woman, who
was cast out, and was not to inherit with Isaac and his seed, thus joining
with a family which God had rejected, and seeking to strengthen his own
pretensions by the aid of another pretender. (2.) He took a third wife, while,
for aught that appears, his other two were neither dead nor divorced. (3.) He
did it only to please his father, not to please God. Now that Jacob was sent
into a far country Esau would be all in all at home, and he hoped so to humour
his father as to prevail with him to make a new will, and entail the promise
upon him, revoking the settlement lately made upon Jacob. And thus, [1.] He
was wise when it was too late, like Israel that would venture when the decree
had gone forth against them (Num. xiv. 40), and the foolish virgins, Matt. xxv.
11. [2.] He rested in a partial reformation, and thought, by pleasing his
parents in one thing, to atone for all his other miscarriages. It is not said
that when he saw how obedient Jacob was, and how willing to please his
parents, he repented of his malicious design against him: no, it appeared
afterwards that he persisted in that, and retained his
malice. Note, Carnal hearts are apt to think themselves as good as they should
be, because perhaps, in some one particular instance, they are not so bad as
they have been. Thus Micah retains his idols, but thinks himself happy in
having a Levite to be his priest, Judg. xvii. 13.
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Jacob's
Vision at Bethel.
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B. C. 1760.
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10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba,
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. 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. 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; 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.
We have here
Jacob upon his journey towards Syria, in a very desolate condition, like one
that was sent to seek his fortune; but we find that, though he was alone, yet
he was not alone, for the Father was with him, John xvi. 32. If what is
here recorded happened (as it should seem it did) the first night, he had made
a long day's journey from Beersheba to Bethel, above forty miles. Providence
brought him to a convenient place, probably shaded with trees, to rest himself
in that night; and there he had,
I. A hard lodging
(v. 11), the stones for his pillows, and the heavens for his
canopy and curtains. As the usage then was, perhaps this was not so bad as it
seems how to us; but we should think, 1. He lay very cold, the cold ground for
his bed, and, which one would suppose made the matter worse, a cold stone for
his pillow, and in the cold air. 2. Very uneasy. If his bones were sore with
his day's journey, his night's rest would but make them sorer. 3. Very much
exposed. He forgot that he was fleeing for his life; or had his brother, in
his rage, pursued, or sent a murderer after him, here he lay ready to be
sacrificed, and destitute of shelter and defence. We cannot think it was by
reason of his poverty that he was so ill accommodated, but, (1.) It was owing
to the plainness and simplicity of those times, when men did not take so much
state, and consult their ease so much, as in these later times of softness and
effeminacy. (2.) Jacob had been particularly used to hardships, as a plain man
dwelling in tents; and, designing now to go to service, he was the more
willing to inure himself to them; and, as it proved, it was well, ch.
xxxi. 40. (3.) His comfort in the divine blessing, and his confidence in the
divine protection, made him easy, even when he lay thus exposed; being sure
that his God made him to dwell in safety, he could lie down and sleep upon a
stone.
II. In his hard
lodging he had a pleasant dream. Any Israelite indeed would be willing to take
up with Jacob's pillow, provided he might but have Jacob's dream. Then, and
there, he heard the words of God, and saw the visions of the Almighty.
It was the best night's sleep he ever had in his life. Note, God's time to
visit his people with his comforts is when they are most destitute of other
comforts, and other comforters; when afflictions in the way of duty (as these
were) do abound, then shall consolations so much the more abound. Now observe
here,
1. The
encouraging vision Jacob saw, v. 12. He saw a ladder which reached from
earth to heaven, the angels ascending and descending upon it, and God himself
at the head of it. Now this represents the two things that are very
comfortable to good people at all times, and in all conditions:-- (1.) The
providence of God, by which there is a constant correspondence kept up between
heaven and earth. The counsels of heaven are executed on earth, and the
actions and affairs of this earth are all known in heaven are executed on
earth, and the actions and affairs of this earth are all known in heaven and
judged there. Providence does its work gradually, and by steps. Angels are
employed as ministering spirits, to serve all the purposes and designs of
Providence, and the wisdom of God is at the upper end of the ladder, directing
all the motions of second causes to the glory of the first Cause. The angels
are active spirits, continually ascending and descending; they rest not, day
nor night, from service, according to the posts assigned them. They ascend, to
give account of what they have done, and to receive orders; and then descend,
to execute the orders they have received. Thus we should always abound in the
work of the Lord, that we may do it as the angels do it, Ps. ciii. 20, 21.
This vision gave very seasonable comfort to Jacob, letting him know that he
had both a good guide and a good guard, in his going out and coming in,--that,
though he was made to wander from his father's house, yet still he was the
care of a kind Providence, and the charge of the holy angels.
This is comfort enough, though we should not admit the notion which some have,
that the tutelar angels of Canaan were ascending, having guarded Jacob out of
their land, and the angels of Syria descending to take him into their custody.
Jacob was now the type and representative of the whole church, with the
guardianship of which the angels are entrusted. (2.) The mediation of Christ.
He is this ladder, the foot on earth in his human nature, the top in heaven in
his divine nature: or the former in his humiliation, the latter in his
exaltation. All the intercourse between heaven and earth, since the fall, is
by this ladder. Christ is the way; all God's favours come to us, and all our
services go to him, by Christ. If God dwell with us, and we with him, it is by
Christ. We have no way of getting to heaven, but by this ladder; if we climb
up any other way we are thieves and robbers. To this vision our Saviour
alludes when he speaks of the angels of God ascending and descending upon
the son of man (John i. 51); for the kind offices the angels do us, and
the benefits we receive by their ministration, are all owing to Christ, who
has reconciled things on earth and things in heaven (Col. i. 20), and made
them all meet in himself, Eph. i. 10.
2. The
encouraging words Jacob heard. God now brought him into the wilderness, and
spoke comfortably to him, spoke from the head of the ladder; for all the glad
tidings we receive from heaven come through Jesus Christ.
(1.) The former
promises made to his father were repeated and ratified to him, v. 13,
14. In general, God intimated to him that he would be the same to him that he
had been to Abraham and Isaac. Those that tread in the steps of their godly
parents are interested in their covenant and entitled to their privileges.
Particularly, [1.] The land of Canaan is settled upon him, the land whereon
thou liest; as if by his lying so contentedly upon the bare ground he had
taken livery and seisin of the whole land. [2.] It is promised him that his
posterity should multiply exceedingly as the dust of the earth--that, though
he seemed now to be plucked off as a withered branch, yet he should become a
flourishing tree, that should send out his boughs unto the sea. These were the
blessings with which his father had blessed him (v. 3, 4), and God here
said Amen to them, that he might have strong consolation. [3.] It is added
that the Messiah should come from his loins, in whom all the families of the
earth should be blessed. Christ is the great blessing of the world. All that
are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in him, and none of any
family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude
themselves.
(2.) Fresh
promises were made him, accommodated to his present condition, v. 15.
[1.] Jacob was apprehensive of danger from his brother Esau; but God promises
to keep him. Note, Those are safe whom god protects, whoever pursues them.
[2.] He had now a long journey before him, had to travel alone, in an unknown
road, to an unknown country; but, behold, I am with thee, says God.
Note, Wherever we are, we are safe, and may be easy, if we have God's
favourable presence with us. [3.] He knew not, but God foresaw, what hardships
he should meet with in his uncle's service, and therefore promises to preserve
him in all places. Note, God knows how to give his people graces and comforts
accommodated to the events that shall be, as well as to those that are. [4.]
He was now going as an exile into a place far distant, but God promises him to
bring him back again to this land. Note, He that preserves his people's going
out will also take care of their coming in, Ps. cxxi. 8. [5.] He seemed to be
forsaken of all his friends, but God here gives him this assurance, I will
not leave thee. Note, Whom God loves he never leaves. This promise is sure
to all the seed, Heb. xiii. 5. [6.] Providences seemed to contradict the
promises; he is therefore assured of the performance of them in their season:
All shall be done that I have spoken to thee of. Note, Saying and doing
are not two things with God, whatever they are with us.
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.
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 Beth-el: 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: 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.
God manifested
himself and his favour to Jacob when he was asleep and purely passive; for the
spirit, like the wind, blows when and where he listeth, and God's grace, like
the dew, tarrieth not for the sons of men, Mic. v. 7. But Jacob applied
himself to the improvement of the visit God had made him
when he was awake; and we may well think he awaked, as the prophet did (Jer.
xxxi. 26), and behold his sleep was sweet to him. Here is much of Jacob's
devotion on this occasion.
I. He expressed a
great surprise at the tokens he had of God's special presence with him in that
place: Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not, v.
16. Note, 1. God's manifestations of himself to his people carry their own
evidence along with them. God can give undeniable demonstrations of his
presence, such as give abundant satisfaction to the souls of the faithful that
God is with them of a truth, satisfaction not communicable to others, but
convincing to themselves. 2. We sometimes meet with God where we little
thought of meeting with him. He is where we did not think he had been, is
found where we asked not for him. No place excludes divine visits (ch.
xvi. 13, here also); wherever we are, in the city or in the desert, in
the house or in the field, in the shop or in the street, we may keep up our
intercourse with Heaven if it be not our own fault.
II. It struck an
awe upon him (v. 17): He was afraid; so far was he from being
puffed up, and exalted above measure, with the abundance of the revelations (2
Cor. xii. 7), that he was afraid. Note, The more we see of God the more cause
we see for holy trembling and blushing before him. Those to whom God is
pleased to manifest himself are thereby laid, and kept, very low in their own
eyes, and see cause to fear even the Lord and his goodness, Hos. iii. 5. He
said, How dreadful is this place! that is, "The appearance of God
in this place is never to be thought of, but with a holy awe and reverence. I
shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by this token, as long as
I live:" not that he thought the place itself any nearer the divine
visions than other places; but what he saw there at this time was, as it were,
the house of God, the residence of the divine Majesty, and the gate
of heaven, that is, the general rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper
world, as the meetings of a city were in their gates; or the angels ascending
and descending were like travellers passing and re-passing through the gates
of a city. Note, 1. God is in a special manner present where his grace is
revealed and where his covenants are published and sealed, as of old by the
ministry of angels, so now by instituted ordinances, Matt. xxviii. 20. 2.
Where God meets us with his special presence we ought to meet him with the
most humble reverence, remembering his justice and holiness, and our own
meanness and vileness.
III. He took care
to preserve the memorial of it two ways: 1. He set up the stone for a pillar (v.
18); not as if he thought the visions of his head were any way owing to the
stone on which it lay, but thus he would mark the place against he came back,
and erect a lasting monument of God's favour to him, and because he had not
time now to build an altar here, as Abraham did in the places where God
appeared to him, ch. xii. 7. He therefore poured oil on the top of
this stone, which probably was the ceremony then used in dedicating their
altars, as an earnest of his building an altar when he should have
conveniences for it, as afterwards he did, in gratitude to God for this
vision, ch. xxxv. 7. Note, Grants of mercy call for returns of duty,
and the sweet communion we have with God ought ever to be remembered. 2. He
gave a new name to the place, v. 19. It had been called Luz, an
almond-tree; but he will have it henceforward called Beth-el, the house
of God. This gracious appearance of God to him put a greater honour upon
it, and made it more remarkable, than all the almond-trees that flourished
there. This is that Beth-el where, long after, it is said, God found Jacob,
and there (in what he said to him) he spoke with us, Hos. xii. 4.
In process of time, this Beth-el, the house of God, became Beth-aven,
a house of vanity and iniquity, when Jeroboam set up one of his calves
there.
IV. He made a
solemn vow upon this occasion, v. 20-22. By religious vows we give
glory to God, own our dependence upon him, and lay a bond upon our own souls
to engage and quicken our obedience to him. Jacob was now in fear and
distress; and it is seasonable to make vows in times of trouble, or when we
are in pursuit of any special mercy, Jon. i. 16; Ps. lxvi. 13, 14; 1 Sam. i.
11; Num. xxi. 1-3. Jacob had now had a gracious visit from heaven. God had
renewed his covenant with him, and the covenant is mutual. When God ratifies
his promises to us, it is proper for us to repeat our promises to him. Now in
this vow observe, 1. Jacob's faith. God had said (v. 15), I am with
thee, and will keep thee. Jacob takes hold of this, and infers, "Seeing
God will be with me, and will keep me, as he hath said, and (which is
implied in that promise) will provide comfortably for me,--and seeing he has
promised to bring me again to this land, that is, to the house of my
father, whom I hope to find alive at my return in peace" (so
unlike was he to Esau who longed for the days of mourning for his
father),--"I depend upon it." Note, God's promises are to be the
guide and measure of our desires and expectations. 2. Jacob's modesty and
great moderation in his desires. He will cheerfully content himself with bread
to eat, and raiment to put on; and, though God's promise had now made him heir
to a very great estate, yet he indents not for soft clothing and dainty meat.
Agur's wish is his, Feed me with food convenient for me; and see 1 Tim.
vi. 8. Nature is content with a little, and grace with less. Those that have
most have, in effect, no more for themselves than food and raiment; of the
overplus they have only either the keeping or the giving, not the enjoyment:
if God give us more, we are bound to be thankful, and to use it for him; if he
give us but this, we are bound to be content, and cheerfully to enjoy him in
it. 3. Jacob's piety, and his regard to God, which appear here, (1.) In what
he desired, that God would be with him and keep him. Note, We need desire no
more to make us easy and happy, wherever we are, than to have God's presence
with us and to be under his protection. It is comfortable, in a journey, to
have a guide in an unknown way, a guard in a dangerous way, to be well
carried, well provided for, and to have good company in any way; and those
that have God with them have all this in the best manner. (2.) In what he
designed. His resolution is, [1.] In general, to cleave to the Lord, as his
God in covenant: Then shall the Lord be my God. Not as if he would
disown him and cast him off if he should want food and raiment; no, though he
slay us, we must cleave to him; but "then I will rejoice in him as my
God; then I will more strongly engage myself to abide with him." Note,
Every mercy we receive from God should be improved as an additional obligation
upon us to walk closely with him as our God. [2.] In particular, that he would
perform some special acts of devotion, in token of his gratitude. First,
"This pillar shall keep possession here till I come back in peace, and
then it shall be God's house," that is, "an altar shall be erected
here to the honour of God." Secondly, "The house of god shall
not be unfurnished, nor his altar without a sacrifice: Of all that thou
shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee, to be spent either
upon God's altars or upon his poor," both which are his receivers in the
world. Probably it was according to some general instructions received from
heaven that Abraham and Jacob offered the tenth of their acquisitions to God.
Note, 1. God must be honoured with our estates, and must have his dues out of
them. When we receive more than ordinary mercy from God we should study to
give some signal instances of gratitude to him. 2. The tenth is a very fit
proportion to be devoted to God and employed for him, though, as circumstances
vary, it may be more or less, as God prospers us, 1 Cor. xvi. 2; 2 Cor. ix. 7.
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