November 29, 2023

Genesis 28:1-22 (HCSB)
Jacob’s Departure
28 Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him: “Don’t take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you become an assembly of peoples. 4 May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 And Jacob listened to his father and mother and went to Paddan-aram. 8 Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women, 9 so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.
Jacob at Bethel
10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.13 Yahweh was standing there beside him, saying, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on. 14 Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”  17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.” 18 Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it 19 and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, if He provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to You a tenth of all that You give me.”

Becky Jenkins
Do you remember a dream you’ve had recently? Today’s scripture includes a really crazy dream. Jacob had a dream about a ladder that reached up to Heaven. Jacob started on a long journey to a town called Haran. When Jacob reached a certain place, he stopped to spend the night. Jacob took a large stone and rested his head on it and went to sleep. Does that sound like a comfortable pillow to you? Not me! As he slept Jacob had a dream. In Jacob’s dream, there was a ladder that reached from the ground all the way up to heaven. There were angels running up and down the ladder. Jacob looked and saw God Himself standing at the top of the ladder. God spoke to Jacob and told him that He was going to bless him and his people and that He would watch over him and keep him wherever he went. When Jacob woke up he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place.” Then Jacob took the stone he had used for a pillow and poured oil on it. He named the place Bethel, which means the house of the Lord. This is a wonderful story of how God blessed Jacob, but it is much more than that. It is also a picture of what Jesus has done for you and me. Jesus came down to earth to make a way for you and me to get to Heaven. Jesus is the way, the only way, for us to get to Heaven.