Genesis 28

Isaac sends Jacob to Padam Aram (vs. 1-5)—Just as Rebekah requested at the end of the previous chapter, Isaac dispatches Jacob to the home of his family to “take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother” (v. 2). So Jacob will marry a near relative, too—first cousin, in this case. Again, this wasn’t unusual in ancient times; sometimes, it was physically harmful, but not always. However, Jacob will end up with far more than he bargained for, as we shall see.

Esau marries again (vs. 6-9)—The older brother “saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac” (v. 8). So ”Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had” (v. 9). Let’s give Esau credit for sincerely trying to please his father here. Ishmael was Isaac’s half-brother, of course, and we don’t really know what kind of relationship the two had. Whether this new wife pleased Isaac or not the text does not say; but he didn’t send Jacob to find a wife among Ishmael’s people, either. So it might be fair to assume that a daughter of Ishmael was better than a Hittite, but still not ideal. Esau’s heart appears to be right, though his actions might not have been quite up to standard.

Jacob’s dream and vow (vs. 10-22)—On his way to Padam Aram, Jacob had his famous dream—a ladder all the way from heaven, with angels ascending and descending. During the dream, the Lord “stood above it”—the ladder, surely—and repeated to Jacob the promise He had made to father and grandfather: God would be with him, his descendants would be numberless, they would inherit the land, and—most importantly—“in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (v. 14), the Messianic promise. This is the last time God will make this grand promise to an individual; Jacob will have twelve sons, and we will discover later which one is chosen for the Messianic line.  Do you know?

When Jacob wakes from his dream he was in awe of what had happened: “’How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'" (v. 17). He took the stone he had used for a pillow, poured oil on it, in effect consecrating it, and called the place Bethel, or “house of God.” He then made an interesting vow: “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God” (vs. 20-21). Was Jacob implying here that if all these things didn’t happen that he would resort to pagan worship? Well, it’s moot because the Lord did take care of him, but I do find the language peculiar. In verse 22, he ends the vow by promising God a tenth of all he earned--the “tithe,” which was part of the Old Testament, but is not part of the New. We are to give, of course, but “as [we] may prosper” (I Cor. 16:1-2), and as we “purpose in our heart” (II Cor. 9:7). That may be a tenth, it may be more, it may be less. The Lord is looking at our hearts here—“how much do you love me?” That makes the decision a little more difficult than just knowing we can give a tenth and be done with it.

One final interesting historical anecdote: “There is a foolish tradition that the stone set up by Jacob was afterwards brought to Jerusalem, from which, after a long lapse of time, it was brought to Spain, from Spain to Ireland, from Ireland to Scotland, and on it the kings of Scotland sat to be crowned…Edward I. had it brought to Westminster; and there this stone, called Jacob's pillar, and Jacob's pillow, is now placed under the chair on which the king sits when crowned!"—Adam Clarke's Commentary. Clarke wrote about 200 years ago, but if I understand correctly, that stone is still there, in Westminster Abbey, under Edward I’s throne, and British monarchs have been crowned upon that throne ever since. Clarke thinks the idea that the stone is actually Jacob’s pillar is “foolish,” and I agree with him wholeheartedly. But it’s a nice tale.