Jacob Blessed (1-5)

Working again off of Rebekah’s deceit, Isaac called Jacob to his bedside and forbade him from marrying a Canaanite woman as his brother had done (1). This was deceitful because the real reason to send Jacob to Laban was to keep him from getting killed.

It would appear, after the hope of Esau being the favored one, Isaac became more serious about Jacob's destiny, wanting to make certain that obedience to the covenant was made certain through Jacob marrying the right wife who would prize the promise. Jacob was sent back to Rebekah’s home to search for a bride with her brother Laban (2).

Isaac then pronounced and conferred a blessing in faith on Jacob:

• To be fruitful and multiply

• To become a company of people (3)

• To receive the blessing of Abraham—both him and his offspring

• To inherit the land of Abraham’s sojourning (4)

In these words, by faith (Hebrews 11:20), Isaac conferred the full blessing of the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram, to Laban, his mother’s brother (5).

Esau Marries Again (6-9)

Esau was spiritually thickheaded, unable to grasp the true nature of following Yahweh. As Esau watched Isaac send Jacob off to Paddan-aram for a wife and forbid him to marry a Canaanite woman, he realized his marriage to the Hittite women was not pleasing to his father. Focused not on pleasing Yahweh but his father, he decided to take a wife from among the great-granddaughters of Ishmael, hoping a wife from a close relative would bring him the approval he so longed for from his father (6-9). It would seem Esau could never demote his quest for his father’s approval and respond to the call of Yahweh to follow Him as his ultimate pursuit.

Jacob's Dream (10-15)

Jacob left Beersheba and probably traveled about three days before he came to the city of Luz. The sun had set and the gates were closed, so Jacob took a stone and made a pillow for his head. The Scripture paints a clear picture. Eliezer was sent with ten servants and camels, loaded with gifts to give to Abraham's family as a dowry for Isaac’s wife. Jacob was sent alone with no servants and not so much as a pillow upon which to rest his head. While Jacob had been blessed by Isaac, he had been sent away from home with not much more than enough money to make the journey and the clothes on his back (10-11).

In that place, Jacob had his first of seven encounters with Yahweh. The encounter outside the city of Luz came by way of a dream. The dream consisted of angels ascending and descending a ladder (12) and a voice revealing Yahweh as the God who:

• was the father of Abraham and his father Isaac

• was giving the land to Jacob’s offspring (13-14)

• would make the numbers of his offspring innumerable and expansive

• would make his family a blessing to the whole earth 

• would be his Ultimate, with him wherever he went

• would bring him back to the land he was traveling through

• would not leave him until He had fulfilled all of His promises (15)

Jacob's Response (16-19)

When Jacob arose from his sleep and considered the dream, he realized he had been visited by God. He knew this common piece of ground where he had been sleeping had been turned into a place where Heaven, or Yahweh, met Earth, and Jacob knew it was a house of God. Further, at that place where the vision took place, at the rock where he had laid his head, was the metaphorical gate into Yahweh’s heart. In other words, Jacob somehow knew this was a place where he would meet with God and thus Yahweh’s heart again (16-17). It was there he realized he had a connection with God, for angels were taking messages to God from him, and angels were bringing messages from God for him. These angels were doing so on a special ladder connecting Jacob to Yahweh. Later Jesus would claim Himself to be the Ladder connecting Yahweh to Earth (John 1:51).

Jacob then, in the early hours of the morning, took the stone he had been sleeping on and built it into a pillar. He then poured oil on the pillar and named the place, just outside the city of Luz, Bethel (house of God) (18-19).

Jacob's Vow (20-22)

Jacob then began to express awe in Yahweh for His amazing favor and grace. In amazement, he rehearsed what Yahweh had promised to do for him:

• Yahweh would be with him.

• Yahweh would keep him in the way.

• Yahweh would give him bread and clothing to survive and thrive—despite his having nothing at that moment (20).

• Yahweh would bring him back to his father’s house, causing there to be peace with his father Isaac and brother Esau, those he had deceived.

Jacob then claimed the stone and pillar he had set up, the place where Yahweh touched Earth, as His house on Earth, the place where He would talk to Jacob. As an act of faith, Jacob declared it would be at that spot where he would return and give God a tenth of everything Yahweh gave him, while on his journey to find a wife and keep clear of Esau’s murderous retribution (21-22).