Genesis 28:6 – 22

⁶ Esau realized that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he commanded him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,”

⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

⁸ So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the other wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and went in the direction of Haran.

¹¹ And he happened to come to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

¹² And he dreamed, and see, there was a ladder set up on the land, and the top of it reached to the sky. And see, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

¹³ And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your offspring.

¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the land, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the land be blessed.

¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of the sky.”

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a monument and poured oil on the top of it.

¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at first.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD will be my God,

²² and this stone, which I have set up for a monument, will be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” _________________________________________

the LORD’s unconditional commitment

Both Esau and Jacob manifest immaturity here. Esau thinks that he can improve his family situation by taking another wife, in addition to the two he has. Jacob’s spiritual immaturity is what is highlighted in his case. He’s basing his commitment to God on his anticipated blessing from him.

The LORD’s unconditional commitment is seen by Jacob in a dream. It was either a ladder or a set of steps. What matters is that it reached to heaven, and vice-versa. Jacob saw it in his dream, and he saw God’s angels ascending and descending on it. The LORD spoke to Jacob and assured him of his presence, and that he would fulfill all the promises that he had made to his grandfather Abraham, and his father Isaac.

This story does not highlight Jacob’s commitment to God. Jacob is immature and his faith is very conditional at this point in his life’s journey. But God’s commitment to Jacob is unconditional. He is with Jacob and he will keep him wherever he goes, and he will bring him back to his inheritance at Canaan. He will do what he has promised.

LORD, thank you for your unconditional love and commitment to us. Thank you that Jacob’s ladder was not one of those aluminum portable things.