Genesis 28 Luz to Bethel

Jacob is on his way to Laban. He spends the night near Luz. God meets him in a dream and reaffirms His promises. Jacob changes its name from Luz to Bethel.

This is another one of those stories that MANY people know ‘of’ but few know ‘about’ the story. They have heard of Jacob’s ladder. There is even a formation done with string named Jacob’s ladder. Knowing ‘of’ something is a lot different than knowing ‘about’ it. It is the difference in knowing ‘of’ electricity (knowing that flipping a switch turns on a light), and knowing ‘about’ electricity (knowing how to wire that circuit so the light works without hurting someone). One is simple knowledge, while the other is a deeper understanding. There is still more knowledge available beyond this, for those willing to dig in. MUCH deeper understanding is used in learning how to build a mechanism to create and harness the electricity.

I think I’m getting off track; maybe. Let’s join in this story and see the depths of Jacob’s experience. His leaving ALL he knows for the unknown.

♥ ♦ ♥

Rebekah is making it up as she goes along. She has to get Jacob out of the reach of Esau. After stealing Esau’s blessing, Jacob’s life is in danger from his brother. “The time of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill Jacob” (Genesis 27:41). These very words were reported to her, and she BELIEVED Esau would do it.

She called Jacob to her and told him to flea to her brother Laban. Next, she had to get Isaac on board. Jacob couldn’t just disappear. Isaac had to send him.

Rebekah, still thinking on her feet, convinces Isaac that Jacob needs to seek a wife from the house of her brother. “I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?” (Genesis 28:46).

Isaac is onboard with Jacob seeking a wife from the house of Laban. After all, he did very well this way. And he would also be following, once again, in Abraham’s footsteps.

Jacob stood before his Abba and received a second blessing before leaving. This blessing was more specific. It wasn’t a global ‘You will be blessed above your brothers’ blessing, but one that continued the promises God had made to Abraham and to Isaac onto Jacob. Isaac ‘passed the torch’ onto Jacob. And that ‘torch’ included a special relationship with God.

Jacob had been on the run for several hours. Because of the urgency of this trip, he hadn’t been able to get an early morning start. Jacob hasn’t gone that far from home, but he sun is beginning to set. Jacob is tired and exhausted from his hurry journey. As he approaches the town of Luz, he decides this would be a good place to spend the night.

Jacob’s journey is more than just a journey of miles. It is a journey of thoughts and emotions; the most dominant of both deal with fear. The fear of Esau catching him is the least of his worries. Jacob has no idea what to expect when he gets to Laban’s. How will he find him? Will Laban accept him? Will Laban treat him fairly? And will he actually find a wife? All these things run through Jacob’s head as he runs the steps towards Laban’s home. A place he knows nothing about. Jacob feels alone in all the world.

Jacob brought little in the way of a purse. He has to be careful with his money. It has to last him the rest of his journey. So, finding a place to sleep is going to be difficult. He doesn’t have money to find an inn each night along the way. That’s not a problem for a man raised in tents.

Even though he is exhausted, Jacob knows that some tasks MUST be done in readiness for sleep. Jacob finds an olive tree nearby and cuts a branch from it. He uses this branch to sweep an area of the ground clean. Small rocks and little twigs always make life uncomfortable when you’re lying on them. Jacob spreads his cloak over the clean area, and then selects a stone to use as his pillow. Finally ready, Jacob lies down and pulls a portion of his cloak over him to keep him warm this night.

One would think that, as tired as he was, he would fall right to sleep. But his mind won’t be quiet. Thoughts of what lies ahead ran in circles through his mind. And, let’s face it, a rock is NOT a comfortable pillow.

“ENOUGH” yells Jacob to his racing mind.

His yell didn’t completely silence the thoughts running through his mind, but it startled the night animals into silence, for a moment. Frustrated and desperate for sleep, Jacob tried another avenue. He forced his thoughts onto pleasant memories. Times spent with his Ima preparing a meal. Time with his Abba learning of his Abba’s God. Even time with Esau when they were young. These memories began to calm him and allowed him to drift off to sleep.

As Jacob lies, fast asleep, on the ground, a scene begins to take form in his mind. It grows in intensity as it develops. In the beginning, there was a light in the darkness. The light grew in strength until all around was bathed in it. In the center of the light was the bottom of a ladder.

As Jacob focused on the ladder, more details began to develop. This ladder was unlike any other ladder. Its bottom rested on the earth, while its top reached into Heaven; the very presence of God. Angels were moving up and down this ladder, ministering to those below and carrying messages to the Lord. And, at the very top of the ladder, stood the Lord Himself. Jacob could not see His face but there was NO DOUBT as to His identity.

The Lord spoke directly to Jacob. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, an in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (verses 13b-15).

Jacob was startled awake by the magnitude of this dream. He had never experienced anything like it before. And it left him in awe of the One in his dream.

In a whisper filled with awe, Jacob whispered the conviction of his heart. “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (verse 16). Jacob looked around at his surroundings. They didn’t look any different than when he laid down to sleep. They weren’t grand in appearance. They were humble and unassuming, but they held new meaning now.

“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven” (verse 17).

Jacob knew that he must do something to commemorate this visitation. Something to mark this place as special. Something to show him where to come to again to meet with the God of Abraham and Isaac.

Jacob knew he must anoint this place and consecrate it to the Lord. He had watched his Abba do this over the years. One thing that was included in every altar to the Lord that his Abba built was pouring oil over it. When asked about it, his Abba had told him that it was like sealing or marking the rocks, to set them apart from all the other stones, as he himself had been set apart from all the other people of the earth.

Jacob has no oil. It was not necessary for his journey. He had left with the bare essentials. But there is an olive tree above him. Jacob quickly rises to his feet and begins plucking olives from the tree. They are ripe and full of oil, just waiting to be expressed.

This was not an easy task. He had no olive press, not a jar to store the oil in. That didn’t deter him. It didn’t matter the amount of work that would be required. It was work done unto the Lord. The one who had just promised him a future. One that would eventually touch the whole world!

Jacob took his best robe and cut a good-sized square from the bottom of it. He then gathered several rocks. He wadded up the square and placed it into the center of a small ring of rocks. Jacob then took a sharp rock and placed it the center of the square. On this rock he impaled each olive. With a second stone He ground it against the olives, forcing the oil within to run down into the square of fabric beneath. He continued doing this until the sun began to rise in the east. His hands were raw and tired, but he had what he needed to complete the altar to the Lord.

Jacob took several larger rocks and built a pillar. On top of that pillar, Jacob placed the rock that he had used for his pillow. Then he carefully brought the cloth soaked with oil that he had expressed. He held it above the alter and began expressing this precious gift from the very fibers it had soaked into.

As the oil made its way into the crevices of the rocks, Jacob made a vow to the Lord. One that he would hold fast to for the rest of his days.

“If God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that You give me I will give a full tenth to You” (verses 20-22).

After Jacob had completed his vow, he gave this place a special name. No longer would he call it Luz, but Bethel. The house of God. And he would teach his children and grandchildren to give it this name and honor also.

The sun was fully up now and it was time for Jacob to continue on his journey. He gathered his cloak, bundle, and waterskin from where he had placed them the night before. He arranged then on his body once again and continued his trip to the brother of his Ima; Laban. No longer would he be plagued by fear and doubt. The God of his Abbas had promised to be with him. And he had learned over his life that his Abba’s God was more powerful than ANYTHING.

Jacob walked on, occasionally looking back over his shoulder at the pillar he had set up to the Lord. Once it was beyond his sight, he focused ahead, to the place where his future awaits. But this land would one day be part of that focus again.

(to be continued)

Jacob left for the home of Laban at the age of 70. Until that time, he had never been on his own. He lived in the company of his father. And all his needs were met within it. He had to work, but he was never alone or the only one responsible to see that his needs were met. Food, shelter, clothing, and even water where there when he needed them. There were times of lack, but never of absence. Isaac saw to that; with God’s help.

This is why I believe that Jacob truly had fear as a companion. He probably learned to hunt alongside Esau, but he was no expert. And he had never met his mother’s brother. Some of the stories he could have heard was how Laban tried to delay Abraham’s servant’s departure. Did this make Laban cunning in Jacob’s eyes? Or was he blind to this side of Laban? The side that would mark his time with its indelible stamp.

I experienced a fear similar to his when I moved across the United States to accept a job offer. My four children, our dog Scruffy, and I moved from Portland Oregon to Tazwell Tennessee, sight unseen and knowing no one. I was starting a new career in a field I wasn’t even certain I knew that much about. And, YES, I was filled with fears. But I was also filled with Hope and Faith. I KNEW that my God was always with me and that He had me and my little family in the palm of His hand. I didn’t have a dream like Jacob’s, but I had His Spirit to calm my fears.

Something that struck me in Jacob’s vow to the Lord was that he put conditions on his relationship. He didn’t say “Because…” but “If…” Jacob wasn’t certain if he was ready to buy into the promises of the Lord. Most of the conditions he asked God to fulfill were for his own survival. The final condition though was one that would require work on his brother’s heart. Jacob included God bringing him back to this place “in peace” as part of the requirements. Only AFTER God completed these conditions, would Jacob call Him HIS God. We will see later on, as we go through more of his stories, if he waited that long or not.

I have something similar that I do when I’m going through my daily emails of discount books. If there is a book that I’m not certain if I should get it, I will look to see if it is on the list for the other site. If not, I don’t get it. If it is, I grab it. I only get the books that are FREE. Very seldom do I get one that charges for it. And the ones I’m deciding on are ‘spiritual’ books. Some of these books have fooled me in the past and offer nothing more than ‘one man’s opinion’ on “How to make God ___ .” I like teaching, but do NOT buy into ‘formulas’ of how to make God do ANYTHNG. He is God and we are NOT. I also struggle with “Daily Devotional” books, because I’m already committed to our time together and feel overwhelmed with too many commitments.

One book that I did purchase spoke to me right away because it was written first person. It is Hey God. Hey John: What Happens When God Writes Back by John Rodel.

Father God, THANK YOU for ALWAYS having me in Your hands! You NEVER leave me to figure out things on my own. No matter what mess I’m in, of my own making or another’s, YOU have a plan for me and a way out of it. A LOT of the time, the path through it leads directly to ‘stations’ I need to ‘visit’ in Your ultimate plan for my life. When You bring me to it, I can ALWAYS trust that You will lead me through it. I don’t need and “IF” statement for our relationship. You have ALREADY met ANY conditions I can think of. I trust you “because” of all You have done in the past. You are MY God! And will forever be!!!