LESSON XI.--MARCH 13.

JACOB AT BETHEL.--GEN. 28:10-22.

      GOLDEN TEXT.--Surely the Lord is in this place.--GEN. 28:16.
      TIME.--About B. C. 1760.
      PLACE.--Bethel in Palestine.
      HELPFUL READINGS.--Gen. 25:27-34; Gen. 27:1-40; Gen. 28:1-9; Gen. 35:1-6; John 1:50, 51.
      LESSON ANALYSIS.--1. The Night Vision; 2. The Lord of the Covenant; 3. The House of God.

INTRODUCTION.

      More than a hundred years have passed since the date of the last lesson. Abraham and Sarah were sleeping in the cave of Machpelah. Isaac, an old man, married to his cousin brought from Haran in Mesopotamia, is the father of two sons, Jacob and Esau, now stalwart men. Jacob, the younger, enjoyed the partiality of his mother, was cool, and calculating, and had bought the birthright of his rash, impulsive brother, for a mess of pottage. Afterwards, when Isaac's vision was dim, Jacob, by his mother's artifice, had secured his father's blessing. These advantages had so irritated Esau that he was ready to seek revenge; therefore Rebecca persuaded Isaac to send Jacob back to Haran to seek a wife, thus removing him from the danger of Esau's wrath, and also from the danger of marrying one of the daughters of Canaan. On his way back to Mesopotamia, the former home of his race, the promise made to Abraham is renewed in that singular vision--so expressively symbolical of the universal providence of God--the flight of steps uniting earth and heaven, with the ministering angels perpetually ascending and descending. [90]

      I. THE NIGHT VISION.--10. And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. "Was the migration of Abraham to be reversed? Was the westward tide of events to roll backward on itself? Was the Chosen Race to sink back into the life of the Mesopotamian deserts? The first halt of the wanderer answered these questions and revealed his future destinies."--Stanley. Beersheba, from whence he started, was in southern Palestine. The route to Haran would require him to travel the entire length of Palestine, going north, to the vicinity of Damascus, and thence, to strike across the desert to the Euphrates.

      11. He lighted upon a certain place. The place he had reached was Bethel, then called Luz, formerly an encampment and place of worship of Abraham. It is not impossible that Jacob may have known how hallowed the spot was in the history of his grandfather. It was about 48 miles from Beersheba and twelve miles north of Jerusalem. Tarried . . . because the sun was set. "The night gathered round; he was on the central thoroughfare, on the hard backbone of the mountains of Palestine; the ground was strewn with wide sheets of bare rock; here and there stood up isolated fragments, like ancient Druid monuments. On the hard ground he lay down for rest, and in the visions of the night the rough stones formed themselves into a vast staircase, reaching into the depth of the wide and open sky, which, without any interruption of tent or tree, was stretched over the sleeper's head."--Stanley. He may have been too late to enter the gates of the city, which it was the custom to close at night, or he may not have chosen to cast himself upon the hospitality of strangers. It was common to sleep out of doors, and often greatly to be preferred during the dry, warm summer.

      12. And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth. God was pleased, in this spot where Abraham "had called on the name of the Lord," and where he had revealed himself to the patriarch, to appear also to Jacob. It was in a remarkable vision of the night season, that he appeared to him. A ladder, or staircase, perhaps stony steps of the mountain peaks, reached up to heaven, the sky above the head of the sleeper, and it was crowded with angels, ascending and descending. "The import of the vision is obvious. It [81] is an instructive image of the real though unseen connection of the heavenly agencies with the affairs of earth. Its special design here is to give Jacob the assurance of an ever-active providential agency, though invisible to him, through which the promises that follow would be most surely accomplished. The record of it conveys the like assurance to all who have faith in an overruling providence, and commit themselves to its care."--Conant. "As connecting earth and heaven it was a striking image of mediation and reconciliation by him who is THE WAY. This is the New Testament explanation of it. Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man (John 1:51). Whether it was the vision of a common ladder, or flight of steps, or whether, as some suppose, it was a pile of mountain terraces, matters little. The flight of steps hewn in the rocky sides of the mountain near Tyre, on the edge of the Mediterranean, is called 'the ladder of Tyre.'"--Jacobus.

      II. THE LORD OF THE COVENANT.--13. And, behold, the Lord stood above it. Above the top of the ladder, the place where it ended, stood Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel, superintending all this providential scheme of grace. He is the fountain from whence flows all mercy, the height that the ladder reaches to. I am the Lord God of Abraham. Jacob has received the birthright and is the heir of the spiritual and temporal blessings that had been promised to Abraham. To Abraham God had revealed himself as Jehovah, the covenant God of the Hebrew race; thus again he revealed himself to Isaac and repeated to him the promises first made to Abraham; now he reveals himself to Jacob as the Jehovah God, and makes to him the same promises that had been made to his father and grandfather. As he is the lineal successor of Abraham God who made the covenant with Abraham recorded in Gen. 15:1-21, stood in the same covenant relation to Jacob. It will be observed that the first promise is that the land shall be given to him and his seed, the same promise made to Isaac and Abraham.

      14. And thy seed shall be so the dust of the earth. See Gen. 13:16, where the same promise is made to Abraham, and 26:4, where it is made to Isaac. It will be well for every student, in order that he may take in the full [82] significance of this revelation to Jacob, to note, 1. That God revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in succession; 2. That he revealed himself, not merely as Deity, but under the name of Jehovah, rendered in the Common Version, "Lord," to each one of the patriarchs in succession; 3. That this was the name by which he entered into covenant with Abraham, renewed the covenant with Isaac, and now renews it with Jacob; 4. That to all three he makes the same promises; Palestine as a possession, seed as the dust of the earth, and the Messianic promise that in their seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

      15. Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. The promises before were the promises of the Abrahamic covenant, made to Abraham and his race. This promise comes home to Jacob personally in his present circumstances; a fugitive from Beersheba, on a perilous journey to a far-off land, not knowing what was in store for him. It certainly must have been very comforting to the lonely and fearful traveler to have these strong assurances of the divine protection; protection on his journey, protection abroad and a safe return to his father's house. God's promise of safety is not made to Jacob because of his own deserts, but because he is the heir of the covenant. In him Israel journeyed, and even Messiah, the hope of the world, was in his loins. Hence the divine protection was assured. Jacob is now divinely accepted as the heir of the covenant.

      III. THE HOUSE OF GOD.--16. Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. It is probable that Jacob did not have so intelligent a conviction of God's Omnipresence as we have, and thought that he was more likely to be found in special places. Indeed this narrow comprehension of the Infinite seems to have remained, at least partly, with the Jewish race, until the Savior declared that God might be worshiped with equal acceptance everywhere, in his interview with the Samaritan woman. The Jews thought that God was to be met at Jerusalem, the Samaritans, at Gerizim, and Jacob's idea seems to have been that God had this place, where he had seen the wonderful vision, as his peculiar residence; a place where he met with and made revelations to his worshipers. If he knew that Abraham had erected an altar there, had called on the name of Jehovah, and had had revelations, it would have strengthened his idea that this spot was a Bethel, a house of God. [83]

      17. How dreadful is this place! The idea is, How awe-inspiring! The wonderful vision had left a deep and solemn impression on his mind. This is none other but the house of God. He declares that it is a place where, God dwells where he makes his temple, where a gateway leads to heaven through which angels pass and repass. I suppose that he thought that the gateway, or entrance to heaven, was immediately above this spot. He gives the vision a literal interpretation.

      16. Jacob rose up early in the morning. Sleep had been banished by his wonderful vision. He would hardly have dared to lie down to sleep in a place that seemed the very house of God and gateway to heaven. The revelations called for worship, and a fitting recognition on his part. Hence, as soon as the daylight came, he proceeded to commemorate the events of the night. Took the stone that he had put for his pillows. He took the stone upon which his head had reposed, placed it in an upright position that it might stand as a permanent monument of the vision, and then poured oil upon it, thus anointing it, or consecrating it to God. This was an ancient method of consecration. Aaron and his sons were consecrated by the anointing of oil, when set apart to priestly work; Saul and David were anointed with oil, as kings of Israel. "A pillar erected and anointed was the most ancient monument that marked a consecrated spot or temple, excepting the altar of stones or earth for burnt sacrifice. Whether this is the first example of such erection we cannot determine."--Browne. Jacob erected the pillar to indicate that this spot, under the open sky; was a Bethel, a house of God, a place where the Lord would descend from the opposite gate of heaven.

      19. He called the name of the place Bethel. There was a town near the place where he had encamped, before this time called Luz, though it is spoken of in connection with Abraham's history under the name of Bethel, the name by which it was called when Moses wrote. The name now bestowed upon it by Jacob, the name it bore ever after, means the "house of God," and is a commemoration of the events of this memorable night. Bethel was situated about 12 miles north of Jerusalem; here Abraham built an altar (Gen. 12:8; 13:4); the place consecrated by Abraham's altar was probably the one where Jacob erected his pillar; travelers who have visited the spot all speak of the stony nature of the ground where Jacob had a stone for a pillow. [84]

      20. Jacob vowed, . . . if God will be with me. Jacob's vision is followed up properly by a vow. Special privileges and promises make special obligations. God had in the revelation made certain promises. Jacob vows that he will make certain returns, such as were in his power, for what the Lord promised. Some have said that Jacob made a commercial bargain, because he said he would do thus and thus if God did thus and thus. There is nothing of the kind. God had said that he would make Jacob the heir of the covenant made with Abraham and Isaac and give him all that he had promised them. Jacob, not questioning at all the promise, says, "If God does these things that he has promised then," etc. He is not making a condition, but recites the promise as the ground of obligation for his vow. Christ said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." This expresses no doubt about being lifted up, but means, "As surely as I be lifted," etc. Such is the sense in which Jacob uses "if."

      21. Then shall the Lord be my God. The Speaker's Commentary renders the whole passage: "If God will be with me and keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and I come again in peace to my father's house, and if the LORD will be my God, then shall this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, be the house of God, and of all that thou givest me the tenth will I give surely unto thee." Adam Clarke holds that Jacob made this covenant for himself and his posterity, and that he binds his posterity to build and maintain the house of God and give a tenth of all they received for its support. God had not demanded any such pledge, but it comes from the promptings of a grateful heart. Abraham, before this, had paid tithes to Melchizedek. After him, Jacob is the first of whom we have record who solemnly devoted one-tenth of his income to the service of the Lord. We have in these two examples a proof that the duty of paying tenths was recognized before the Mosaic law was established.

      22. And this stone . . . shall be God's house. If he returns, this place where the pillar marks the spot shall be a place of worship and recognized as God's house. By referring to Gen. 35:1-7, the reader will find how Jacob kept this vow on his return, twenty years later. [86]

PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE.

      The "house of God" is found wherever a devout heart is lifted up to him in spirit and truth.

      The angel of the Lord encampeth around about those who fear and serve him.

      Though homeless and wanderers, if we be God's, the divine protection will be over us.

      Heaven is not afar off or inaccessible. The angels of God, though unseen, are constantly passing and repassing. Jesus is the WAY, and by him all may enter.

      "The Gate of Heaven" is wherever Christ is found. He is the Door. All "who keep his commandments shall have the right to enter through the gate into the city."

      God keeps his promises from generation to generation. The God of our fathers is our God, and he who was faithful to them will be faithful to us.

      When God does, much for us we are called upon to do much for him. In view of his wonderful mercies through the gospel, that we should make our bodies living sacrifices is only our reasonable service.

      Every Christian home should be a Bethel; it should have its altar of Jehovah; It should have its pillar consecrated to God; the church, the ground and pillar of the truth, should be its pillar.

      Jesus is the reality of which Jacob but dreamed in his ladder from earth to heaven. Through him ascend prayers, desires, worship, love, to God; and through him descend from God, answers to prayer, new life, help in daily duties, wisdom, truth, the Holy Spirit, the love of God.

      JACOB.--The life of Jacob is related with more of detail than that of any other person, in the Old Testament history; yet there is great uncertainty concerning the division of its periods. His first sixty years were passed near Beersheba, then twenty years in Haran, and fifty years in Canaan (though some of the best chronologers allow forty years to Haran, and thirty to Canaan), and seventeen years in Egypt. The principal places named in Jacob's journeys are Beersheba, in southern Palestine; Bethel, twelve miles north of Jerusalem; Haran, east of the Euphrates in Mesopotamia; Mizpah, the place afterwards known as Ramoth-Gilead, east of the Jordan; Mahanaim and Peniel, also east of the Jordan; Succoth, in the Jordan valley; Shalem, near to Shechem; Ephrath, near to Bethlehem, the place of Rachel's death.

      BETHEL.--The pillar of Bethel must have been looked upon by the Israelites, and may still be looked upon in thought by us, as the precursor of every "House of God" that has arisen in the Jewish and Christian world,--the temple, the church, the chapel, nay, more, of those secret places of worship that are marked by no natural beauty and seen by no human eye, the closet, the catacomb, the thoroughfare, of the true worshiper. . . . The stone of Bethel remained as the memorial that an all-encompassing providence watches over its chosen instruments, however unconscious at the time of what and where they are. "The Shepherd of the Stone of Israel" was one of the earliest names by which the God of Jacob was known.--Stanley. [86]

POINTS FOR TEACHERS.

      1. Outline the previous history of Jacob; the enmity of Esau; the flight of Jacob, now sixty years old. 2. Note the place to which he was journeying, Haran, the former home of his race, the present home of his kindred, seeking not only a refuge, but a wife. 3. Observe him at Bethel, an old home of Abraham, asleep under the open sky, with a stone for a pillow. 4. Bring out the wonderful imagery of the vision, the ladder; God above, the earth beneath; the messengers of God passing and repassing between. Note the significance of this imagery. It is an object lesson teaching grand spiritual truths. 5. Note the revelation; the acceptance of Jacob as the heir of the Abrahamic covenant; the renewal of the promises; the revelation of Jehovah, the covenant God. 6. Observe Jacob awake, his impressions concerning the place; his awe. 7. Note what he did when morning came, what the pillar signified. 8. Note the covenant that he makes with God; his pledges for the future, and how they were kept. God's pledges to us call for pledges to him. 9. Note the Bethel now reared, and what makes a Bethel. Enjoin that all should be Jacobs to rear Bethels to God. [87]

Source: Barton Warren Johnson. The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1887. Des Moines, IA: