And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram. Genesis 28:1-5 The beginning of Jacob's pilgrimage T. H. Leale. I. THE CAUSES WHICH LED HIM. TO UNDERTAKE HIS PILGRIMAGE. 1. His brother's anger. 2. His mother's counsel. II. THE DIVINE PROVISIONS FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE. 1. The peculiar blessing of the chosen seed. 2. The ministry of man in conveying this blessing. ( T. H. Leale. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Good fathers disdain not the wise and gracious advice of mothers for their children's good. 2. Good men may change their minds upon God's convictions for disposal of blessing. 3. Blessing and command go together from God, by His instruments unto His covenant ones. 4. Matches of the true seed with the idolaters are expressly forbidden by God (ver. 1). 5. Fathers have their due power to dispose of children in marriage. 6. It is good for fathers herein to follow the dictates and guidance of God, to dispose children, where the knowledge of God is (ver. 2.) ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. God's blessing needs to be repeated and confirmed unto souls, to answer temptations, and to prevent unbelief. 2. Obedience yielded to the charge of God foregoing, the blessing shall follow after. 3. God Almighty and All-sufficient is the only fountain of blessing. 4. The issues of good from God Almighty, upon poor creatures, they are blessings indeed. 5. God's All-sufficiency gives fruitfulness for the increase of His Church (ver. 3). 6. Abraham's blessing from the Almighty is that which passeth from generation to generation upon the Church. 7. The rest typical as well as spiritual and eternal, is made the inheritance of God's Israel from His Almightiness. 8. God's gift to Abraham is the just title of all the seed of promise to that inheritance eternal, typed out in Canaan (ver. 4). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Providence makes parents willing to part with dearest children in order to accomplish His will. 2. Providence ordereth children's hearts in readiness to obey the father's charge to execute God's purpose. 3. Providence sometimes sends out creatures naked and helpless the more to glorify Himself (ver. 5). He keeps them while they believe on His promises. ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Then went Esau unto Ishmael. Genesis 28:6-9 Esau, the type of worldliness and hypocrisy T. H. Leale. I. HIS CONDUCT WAS MERCENARY. II. HIS CONDUCT WAS ONE-SIDED. III. HIS CONDUCT WAS FRAMED BY THE PRINCIPLE OF IMITATION. ( T. H. Leale. ) Lessons G. Hughes, B. D. 1. Hypocrites hearing of blessing upon others, pretend to make to it as well as any. 2. Hypocrites hearing God's charge to accompany His blessing, would seem to observe it (ver. 6). 3. Hypocrites seeing the obedience of saints, would seem to imitate it (ver. 7). 4. Hypocrites perceiving what is displeasing to God and His servants, would seem to avoid it (ver. 8). 5. Hypocrites in all their pretences for God, take their own ways without His counsel. 6. Hypocrites in all their pretended imitations of the saints do but add sin to sin (ver. 9). ( G. Hughes, B. D. ) Mistaken imitation A. Fuller. See what awkward work is made when men go about to please others, and promote their worldly interests, by imitating that in which they have no delight. Ignorance and error mark every step they take, Esau was in no need of a wife. His parents would not be gratified by his connection with the apostate family of Ishmael. In short, he is out in all his calculations; nor can he discover the principles which influence those who fear the Lord. Thus have we often seen men try to imitate religious people for the sake of gaining esteem, or some way promoting their selfish ends; but instead of succeeding they have commonly made bad worse. That which to a right mind is as plain as the most public highway, to a mind perverted shall appear full of difficulties. "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city" ( Ecclesiastes 10:15 ). ( A. Fuller. ) And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Genesis 28:10-15 Jacob at Bethel D. O. Mears, D. D. I. THE WANDERER. It had been a desolate day, and there was only desolation at night. In his weariness he slept, and as he slept, he dreamed. If dreams reflect the thoughts of the day, a new life must have begun within him. It was not Esau, or the plotting mother, or the aged father, upon whom he looked. The old tent was not over him, nor did he long for the pillows of home. It was a new experience, and the story of his vision has been told all down the centuries for more than three and a half thousand years. What does it mean? II. THE MEETING-PLACE. It was upon the barren mountainside. Tier on tier of rocks reaching to the mountain-summit were the stairs of nature's cathedral. The winds of the mountains roused him not. The audience of that night was asleep. If the beasts came forth from their retreats, they did not disturb him. His own sin had driven him into solitude. Voice of friend or foe, there was none. He was alone; but God was there even when he knew it not. What meetings there have been alone with God I What night-scenes of grandeur and awe! Amid sufferings from sin, in deepest trials and in roughest places, many a soul has exclaimed with the waking Jacob, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." III. THE VISION AND THE DIVINE COVENANT. Two thoughts are suggested at the outset by this vision: the reaching up of earth to heaven, and the reaching down of heaven to earth. IV. THE PILLAR OF REMEMBRANCE. Gratitude should be the very first fruit of religion. What less has God reason to expect? What else can man prefer to give? ( D. O. Mears, D. D. ) Jacob at Bethel G. R. Leavitt. I. THE DREAMER. 1. A lonely faith. 2. An exile from home. 3. A fugitive from his brother. II. THE DREAM. 1. The ladder. Heaven not closed to man. 2. Angels of God ascending and descending. Ministry. 3. God at the summit of the ladder. III. THE IMPRESSION OF HIS DREAM. 1. An overpowering sense of the presence of God. 2. His sin rose before him. ( G. R. Leavitt. ) Jacob's vision T. H. Leale. I. IT WAS VOUCHSAFED TO HIM IN A TIME OF INWARD AND OUTWARD TROUBLE. II. IT SATISFIED ALL HIS SPIRITUAL NECESSITIES. 1. It assured him that heaven and earth were not separated by an impassable gulf. 2. It assured him that there was a way of reconciliation between God and man. 3. It assured him that the love of God was above all the darkness of human sin and evil. 4. It imparted to him the blessings of a revelation from God. III. IT REVEALED THE AWFUL SOLEMNITY OF HUMAN LIFE, IV. IT RESULTED IN JACOB'S CONVERSION, 1. He erected a memorial of the event. 2. He resolved to make God supreme in all his thoughts and actions. ( T. H. Leale. ) Jacob's vision A. D. Davidson. I. CONSIDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES under which the vision was granted. II. LOOK AT THE NATURE of the vision. 1. The angels are interested in the well-being of God's people. 2. Heaven is a place of activity. 3. There is a way of communication open between heaven and earth. This way represents the mediation of Christ. III. LOOK AT THE PROMISES which on this occasion were made to Jacob. 1. God promised to be with Jacob. 2. God promised His protection and guidance to Jacob. 3. God promised him final deliverance from all trouble. ( A. D. Davidson. ) Jacob's dream H. W. Beecher. I. A way set up between earth and heaven, making a visible connection between the ground on which he slept and the sky. II. The free circulation along that way of great powers and ministering influences. III. God, the supreme directing and inspiring force, eminent over all. Lessons: 1. Every man's ladder should stand upon the ground. No man can be a Christian by separating himself from his kind. 2. Along every man's ladder should be seen God's angels. 3. High above all a man's plans and resolves, there must beta living trust in God. ( H. W. Beecher. ) The vision at Bethel F. D. Maurice, M. A. I. The vision at Bethel was the first step in Jacob's Divine education — the assurance which raised him to the feelings and dignity of a man. He knew that though he was to be chief of no hunting tribe, there might yet come forth from him a blessing to the whole earth. II. Jacob's vision came to him in a dream. But that which had been revealed was a permanent reality, a fact to accompany him through all his after-existence. Now the great question we have to ask ourselves is, "Was this a fact for Jacob the Mesopotamian shepherd, and is it a phantasm for all ages to come? Or was it a truth which Jacob was to learn just as he was to learn the truth of birth, the truth of marriage, the truth of death, that it might be declared to his seed after him; and that they might be acquainted with it as he was, only in a fuller and deeper sense?" If we take the Bible for our guide we must accept the latter conclusion, and not the former. The Son of Man is the ladder between earth and heaven, between the Father above and His children on earth. ( F. D. Maurice, M. A. ) What Jacob saw in sleep S. A. Tipple. Sleeping to see. One may be too wide-awake to see. There are things which are hidden from us until we lie down to sleep. Only then do the heavens open and the angels of God disclose themselves. I. It does not follow that God is not, because we cannot discern Him. Little do we dream of the veiled wonders and splendours amid which we move. To Jacob's mental fret and confusion, the wilderness where God brooded was a wilderness and nothing more. But in sleep he grew tranquil and still; he lost himself — the flurried, heated, uneasy self that he had brought with him from Beer-sheba; and while he slept the hitherto unperceived Eternal came out softly, largely, above and around him. We learn from this the secret of the Lord's nearness. II. No man is ever completely awake; something in him always sleeps. There is a sense in which it may be said with truth that were we less wakeful, more of God and spiritual realities might be unveiled to us. We are always doing — too much so for finest being; are always striving — too much so for highest attaining. Our religion consists too much in solicitude to get; it is continually " The Lord, the Father of mercies," rather than "The Lord, the Father of glory." We require to sleep from ourselves before the heavens can open upon us freely and richly flow around us. ( S. A. Tipple. ) A ladder between heaven and earth T. Champness. I. JESUS, THE LADDER, CONNECTS EARTH WITH HEAVEN. II. THIS LADDER COMES TO SINNERS. III. GOD IS AT THE TOP, SPEARING KIND WORDS DOWN THE LADDER. IV. ADVICE TO CLIMBERS: 1. Be sure to get the right ladder; there are plenty of shams. 2. Take firm hold; you will want both hands. 3. Don't look down, or you will be giddy. 4. Don't come down to fetch any one else up. If your friends will not follow you, leave them behind. ( T. Champness. ) Intercourse between earth and heaven R. Winterbotham, M. A. I. The ancient heathens told in their fables how the gods had all left the earth one by one; how one lingered in pity, loath to desert the once happy world; how even that one at last departed. Jacob's dream showed something better, truer than this; it showed him God above him, God's angels all about him. II. The intercourse between God and man has been enlarged and made perpetual in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son. III. When Jacob awoke he consecrated a pillar, and vowed to build a sanctuary there and give tithes. We cannot altogether commend the spirit in which he made his vow. He tried to make a good bargain with the Almighty; yet God accepted him. The place was holy to him, because he knew that God was there. ( R. Winterbotham, M. A. ) The nearness of God to men D. Rhys Jenkins. I. GOD IS NEAR MEN WHEN THEY LITTLE THINK IT. "He is near — 1. When we are not aware of it. 2. When sin is fresh upon us. 3. When we are in urgent need of Him. II. GOD IS NEAR MEN TO ENGAGE IN THEIR RELIGIOUS TRAINING. 1. God assured Jacob of His abiding presence with him. 2. Jacob was taught to recognize God in all things. 3. He was taught to feel his entire dependence upon God throughout the journey of life. III. GOD IS ALWAYS NEAR MEN TO EFFECT THEIR COMPLETE SALVATION. Intercourse has been established between earth and heaven; the whole process of man's salvation is under the superintendence of God. ( D. Rhys Jenkins. ) Jacob's conversion F. W. Robertson, M. A. I. JACOB'S IMPRESSIONS. First time of leaving his father's home. When night came on, and there was no tent to repose under, and no pillow but a stone on which to lay his weary head, then a feeling of loneliness came over him, then tender thoughts awoke. He felt remorse, tears came unbidden. He felt, "I shall never be in my father's house the boy I was." In all this observe — 1. A solemn conviction stealing over Jacob of what life is, a struggle which each man must make in self-dependence. 2. But beside this conviction of what life is, Jacob was impressed in another way at this time. God made a direct communication to his soul. "He lay down to sleep, and he dreamed." We know what dreams are. They are strange combinations of our waking thoughts in fanciful forms, and we may trace in Jacob's previous journey the groundwork of his dream. He looked up all day to heaven as he trudged along, the glorious expanse of an Oriental sky was around him, a quivering trembling mass of blue; but he was alone, and, when the stars came out, melancholy sensations were his, such as youth frequently feels in autumn time. Deep questionings beset him. Time he felt was fleeting. Eternity, what was it? Life, what a mystery! And all this took form in his dream. Thus far all was natural; the supernatural in this dream was the manner in which God impressed it on his heart. Similar dreams we have often had; but the remembrance of them has faded away. Conversion is the impression made by circumstances, and that impression lasting for life; it is God the Spirit's work upon the soul. 3. Jacob felt reconciliation with God. There is a distance between man and God. It is seen in the restlessness of men, in the estrangement which they feel from Him. Well, Jacob felt all this. He had sinned, overreached his brother, deceived his father. Self-convicted he walked all day long; the sky as brass; a solemn silence around him; no opening in the heaven; no sign nor voice from God; his own heart shut up by the sense of sin, unable to rise. Then came the dream in which he felt reconciliation with God. Do not mind the form but the substance. It contains three things: (1) The ladder signifying heaven and earth joined, the gulf bridged over. (2) The angels signifying the communication which exists between earth and heaven. (3) The voice which told him of God's paternal care. (4) The last impression made on Jacob was that of the awfulness of life. II. THE RESOLUTIONS WHICH HE MADE. 1. The first of these was a resolution to set up a memorial of the impressions just made upon him. He erected a few stones, and called them Bethel. They were a fixed point to remind him of the past. 2. Jacob determined from this time to take the Lord for his God. He would worship from henceforth not the sun, or the moon, not honour, pleasure, business, but God. With respect to this determination, observe first" that it was done with a kind of selfish feeling; there was a sort of stipulation, that if God would be with him to protect and provide for him, that then he would take Him for his God (ver. 20, 21). And this is too much the way with us; there is mostly a selfishness in our first turning to God. A kind of bargain is struck. If religion makes me happy then I will be religious. God accepted this bargain in Jacob's case; He enriched him with cattle and goods in the land whither he went ( Genesis 31:18 ): "for godliness has the promise of the life that now is." Disinterested religion comes later on. Observe, secondly, what taking God for our God implies. It is not the mere repetition of so many words; for as our Lord has said, "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God." To have God for our God is not to prostrate the knee but the heart in adoration before Him. God is truth: to persist in truth at a loss to ourselves, that is to have God for our God. God is purity: resolve to shut up evil books, turn a countenance of offended purity to the insult of licentious conversation; banish thoughts that conjure up wicked imaginations; then you have God for your God. God is love: you are offended; and the world says, resent; God says, forgive. Can you forgive? Can you love your enemy, or one whose creed is different from your own? That is to have God for your God. ( F. W. Robertson, M. A. ) The heavenly pathway and the earthly heart A. Maclaren, D. D. I. CONSIDER THE VISION AND ITS ACCOMPANYING PROMISE. We are to conceive of the form of the vision as a broad stair or sloping ascent, rather than a ladder, reaching right from the sleeper's side to the far-off heaven, its pathway peopled with messengers, and its summit touching the place where a glory shone that paled even the lustrous constellations of that pure sky. Jacob had thought himself alone; the vision peoples the wilderness. He had felt himself defenceless; the vision musters armies for his safety. He had been grovelling on earth, with no thoughts beyond its fleeting goods; the vision lifts his eyes from the low level on which they had been gazing. He had been conscious of but little connection with heaven; the vision shows him a path from his very side right into its depths. He had probably thought that he was leaving the presence of his father's God when he left his father's tent; the vision burns into his astonished heart the consciousness of God as there, in the solitude and the night. The Divine promise is the best commentary on the meaning of the vision. The familiar ancestral promise is repeated to him, and the blessing and the birthright thus confirmed. In addition, special assurances, the translation of the vision into word and adapted to his then wants, are given — God's presence in his wanderings, his protection, Jacob's return to the land, and the promise of God's persistent presence, working through all paradoxes of providence, and sins of his servant, and incapable of staying its operations, or satisfying God's heart, or vindicating his faithfulness, at any point short of complete accomplishment of his plighted word. Jacob's vision was meant to teach him, and is meant to teach us, the nearness of God, and the swift directness of communication, whereby His help comes to us and our desires rise to Him. These and their kindred truths were to be to him, and should be to us, the parents of much nobleness. Here is the secret of elevation of aim and thought above the mean things of sense. It is the secret of purity too. It is also the secret of peace. II. NOTICE THE IMPERFECT RECEPTION dream indicates a very low level both of religious knowledge and feeling. Nor is there any reason for taking the words in any but their most natural sense; for it is a mistake to ascribe to him the knowledge of God due to later revelation, or, at this stage of his life, any depth of religious emotion. He is alarmed at the thought that God is near. Probably he had been accustomed to think of God's presence as in some special way associated with his father's encampment, and had not risen to the belief of His omnipresence. There seems no joyous leaping up of his heart at the thought that God is here. Dread, not unmingled with the superstitious fear that he had profaned a holy place by laying himself down in it, is his prevailing feeling, and he pleads ignorance as the excuse for his sacrilege. He does not draw the conclusion from the vision that all the earth is hallowed by a near God, but only that he has unwittingly stumbled on His house; and he does not learn that from every place there is an open door for the loving heart into the calm depths where God is throned, but only that here he stands at the gate of heaven. So he misses the very inner purpose of the vision, and rather shrinks from it than welcomes it. Was that spasm of fear all that passed through his mind that night? Did he sleep again when the glory died out of the heaven? So the story would appear to suggest. But, in any ease, we see here the effect of the sudden blitzing in upon a heart not yet familiar with the Divine Friend, of the conviction that He is really near. Gracious as God's promise was, it did not dissipate the creeping awe at His presence. It is an eloquent testimony of man's consciousness of sin, that whensoever a present God becomes a reality to a man, he trembles. "This place" would not be "dreadful," but blessed, if it were not for the sense of discord between God and me. ( A. Maclaren, D. D. ) The angel-ladder F. B. Meyer, B. A. I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THIS REVELATION WAS MADE TO HIM. 1. Jacob was lonely. 2. Jacob was standing on the threshold of independence. 3. Jacob was also in fear. II. THE ELEMENTS OF WHICH THIS REVELATION CONSISTED. 1. The ladder. 2. The angels. 3. The voice of God. ( F. B. Meyer, B. A. ) Bethel: a picture and its lesson C. S. Robinson, D. D. I. THE PICTURE. 1. A solitary man. 2. A guilty man. Sin pierced his hand more than his staff did. 3. An injured man. "A child may have more of his mother than her blessing." 4. A fugitive man. "He had, like a maltreated animal, the fear of man habitually before his eyes." He cringes one moment, and dodges the next; deprecating the blow he invites, expects, and gets. 5. He is a weary man. There he lies. Now look at him. Mark these — the nameless spot, the shelterless couch, the comfortless pillow, the restless slumber. II. THE LESSON. 1. In this world wicked success is real failure. No security after sin save in repenting of it. 2. In this world God pays in kind, but blesses sovereignly. That is to say, retribution is often like crime, but grace is a surprise. 3. Turning over a new leaf does not always show a fresh page. It does no good to take up a journey from Beer-sheba to Padan-aram when one means to do the same thing right along. God demands a change in the heart, not in the habit; not so much in the record and show of the life as in the life itself. 4. Sometimes unhappiness is our chief felicity. Jacob has one good, valuable characteristic — he cannot sleep soundly when the angels of covenant grace are coming for him. It was a grand thing for this fugitive that he was restless while the ladder of love was unfolding over him. 5. Retribution is lifted only by redemption. God's mercy gave Jacob chance of becoming a new man that night. It would have saved him Penuel and a forty years' wreck had he accepted it. He might have beckoned an ascending angel to his side, and sent by him a prayer up the ladder; and then an angel descending along the shining rounds would have instantly brought him a message of pardon. Surely any man can show some sign of a penitent heart. We can be sorry we do not sorrow. ( C. S. Robinson, D. D. ) A man asleep C. S. Robinson, D. D. I. Jacob is the type ISRAELITE Of his lineage. From this night Jacob becomes the pattern Jew. All that is good or bad in his descendants has its natural beginning in him. II. Jacob is the type MAN of his race. Far from God. Homesick. What man wants is God. III. Jacob is the type CHRISTIAN of the Church. 1. He was chosen even before he was born. 2. He is now in the thick of the conflict between nature and grace. 3. He will eventually be saved in the kingdom of heaven. ( C. S. Robinson, D. D. ) The ladder of doctrine C. S. Robinson, D. D. I. THE PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SCENE. 1. It could not have been exclusively personal to Jacob. 3. Furthermore, the vision is not exhausted in any mere engagement of God's providential care. 3. Hence the vision must be interpreted as belonging to the kingdom of grace. 4. This vision, therefore, is discharged of its full weight of meaning only when we admit it to be a fine, high symbol of Jesus Christ. II. ITS DOCTRINAL REACH. The plan of redemption comes out in this symbol. Jesus Christ became the medium of grace and restoration. If, now, no mistake has been made in our inquiry thus far, the conclusion we have attained will be fairly corroborated from the disclosures presented of Jesus' person and work. 1. Begin with His Person. Surely no more felicitous image could have been presented. Christ's double nature is well shown. It would have been only a mockery to Jacob to disclose a ladder coming almost to this earth, yet falling short by a round or two, so as to be just out of reach. Then the angels could not have alighted, and no human foot could have risen. Nor would the case have been anywise better if he had been made to see that his ladder reached nearly to heaven, not quite. For then the angels would have had as great need as he, and an uncrossed gulf would have been beyond them in the air. 2. As to the work of Christ, furthermore, we may remark the same exquisite aptness of this figure in Jacob's vision. Examining it closely, we find that it teaches the sovereign assumption, the perfect completion, the evident display, and the free offer, of the plan of grace. ( C. S. Robinson, D. D. ) The ladder of life C. S. Robinson, D. D. I. RECONCILIATION IS NOW OFFERED IN GOOD FAITH TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL OF THE HUMAN RACE. II. THE NECESSITY OF AN INSTANT AND DETERMINATE DECISION IN OUR DEALING WITH THE OFFERS OF GRACE. III. HOW ESSENTIAL IT IS FOR EVERY SOUL THUS ADDRESSED BY THE GOSPEL OFFER TO MEASURE ALTERNATIVES. IV. WHAT FELICITOUS DISPOSAL THIS VISION MAKES OF THE VEXED QUESTION CONCERNING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS. V. GROWTH IN GRACE IS ALSO GROWTH IN EXPERIENCE. VI. RESPONSIBILITY BEGINS THE MOMENT THE FIRST STEP OF DUTY IS DISCLOSED TO AN INTELLIGENT MAN. VII. PERSONAL ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOUR AND SURETY. ( C. S. Robinson, D. D. ) The vision of God C. S. Robinson, D. D. I. ANALYSIS. 1. It is evident that God Himself was the sum and substance, the centre and glory, of that entire vision. The Almighty was disclosed in presence and purpose, in prediction and promise, as standing up over the ladder of grace for a fallen world. 2. See the effect of this discovery upon Jacob. (1) The first thing it did was to frighten him. (2) The next effect seems to have been some sort of sense of guilt. He vaguely feels the need of propitiation. II. LESSONS. The truest way to produce conviction of sin is to make a disclosure of Divine holiness. 2. The uselessness of mere religious emotion without establishment of principle. 3. God really offers a chance of salvation to every man who will enter upon the new life. ( C. S. Robinson, D. D. ) A turn in the tide D. G. Watt, M. A. I. THAT ERRING MEN NEED DIVINE HELP. II. THAT THIS SPECIAL HELP WAS GRANTED TO JACOB IN VIEW OF THE FUTURE. Lessons: 1. The presence of God comes closer than we often think. 2. The earthly may be in unison with the heavenly. 3. Avoid bargain-making with God. Do not say, "I could believe I am saved if only I felt happy!" Say, "He calls me to come; and as He will in no wise cast me out, I must be accepted by Him. What more dare I ask for? " Do not say, "If only I had more time, if I were not so pressed with poverty, if I had but some friend to direct me, I would serve God!" What I You do not need God because you are moneyless, friendless! What! You would walk with God in a calm, but not when a storm was yelling and dashing! Oh, foolish people and unwise! Away with all reserves! God is for us: Christ is with us. Receive what He proffers. Do as far as you know of His will, and leave all consequences with Him, sure that He will secure everlasting blessings. ( D. G. Watt, M. A. ) Jacob at Bethel W. J. Evans. I. THE VISION GRANTED TO JACOB. 1. This dream taught Jacob that there is a close connection between this world and the next. 2. It taught him that God rules over all. 3. It taught him the solemnity of life. II. THE PROMISES MADE TO JACOB. 1. That he should be greatly blessed. 2. That he should be a blessing. 3. That God would watch over him. III. THE RESOLUTIONS FORMED BY HIM. 1. He resolved to make a memorial of the night vision and the promises. 2. He resolved to accept the Lord as his God. 3. He also resolved to give back to God a tenth. ( W. J. Evans. ) Divine providence W. L. Watkinson. I. THERE IS A DIVINE PROVIDENCE. II. THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT IS VEILED AND SILENT IN ITS OPERATION. III. THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT IS ACCOMPLISHED BY MANY AGENTS. IV. THE DIVINE PURPOSE IS ACCOMPLISHED AMID MUCH APPARENT CONFUSION. V. THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT IS CONTINUED WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR HINDRANCE. VI. THE GRAND DESIGN OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT IS MORAL AND SAVING. ( W. L. Watkinson. ) Bethel T. S. Dickson. I. THE PILGRIM. "The way of transgressors is hard." He is without a guide, friendless, defenceless. II. THE PILGRIM'S VISION. "In Me is thy help." "Lo, I am with you alway." III. THE PILGRIM'S VOW. ( T. S. Dickson. ) The dreamer A. F. Joscelyne, B. A. I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VISION. 1. The close connection between earth and heaven; between things unseen and things seen. 2. The ministry of heaven to earth; the communication between things unseen and things seen. 3. The assurance of Divine love and care. II. WHAT THIS VISION AND REVELATION OF GOD TAUGHT JACOB. 1. The universal presence of God. 2. The sacredness of common things. III. WHAT THIS VISION AND REVELATION LED JACOB TO DO. 1. TO set up a memorial of that night. 2. To consecrate himself to God. ( A. F. Joscelyne, B. A. ) Bethel; or, the true vision of life Homilist. I. IN THE TRUE VISION OF LIFE THERE IS A RECOGNITION OF OUR CONNECTION WITH OTHER WORLDS. II. IN THE TRUE VISION OF LIFE THERE IS A RECOGNITION OF GOD'S RELATION TO ALL. 1. As the Sovereign of all. 2. As the Friend of man. Two things show this. (1) Man's continuation as a sinner in such a world as this. (2) The special means introduced for his moral restoration. III. IN THE TRUE VISION OF LIFE THERE IS THE RECOGNITION OF A DIVINE PROVIDENCE OVER INDIVIDUALS. 1. This Biblical doctrine agrees with reason. 2. It agrees with consciousness. IV. IN THE TRUE VISION OF LIFE THERE IS THE RECOGNITION OF THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR EARTHLY POSITION. "How dreadful is this place!" 1. Jacob's discovery introduced a new epoch into his history. 2. Jacob's discovery introduced a memorable epoch in his life. ( Homilist. ) Man's spiritual capacity Homilist. I. THE EXISTENCE OF A SPIRITUAL CAPACITY IN MAN. 1. Jacob saw angels, and God Himself. 2. He heard the voice of the Infinite. 3. He felt emotions which mere animal existence could not experience. II. THE AWAKENING OF THIS SPIRITUAL CAPACITY IN MAN. 1. It is sometimes unexpected. 2. It is always Divine. 3. It is ever glorious. 4. It is ever memorable. ( Homilist. ) Jacob's vision R. Thomas, M. A. I. TAKE NOTE OF THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE VISION. 1. The ambitious schemings of Jacob and his mother to supplant his brother Esau. 2. Jacob is an illustration of a man in whose soul faith struggles with ambition. II. EMPHASIZE THE REVELATION WHICH THE VISION CONTAINS. 1. God as the God of providence. 2. The intimate union of the seen and unseen. III. NOTICE ITS EFFECT UPON THE MIND OF HIM TO WHOM IT WAS GIVEN. 1. A sense of the universal presence of God. 2. A sense of awe which possesses the sinning soul at the revelation of God's presence. 3. A sense of penitence at the revelation of God's goodness. ( R. Thomas, M. A. ) Jacob's dream Homilist. I. THAT THE MORAL DISTANCE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH IS GREAT. 1. Heaven is distant from the thoughts of the ungodly. 2. The conceptions of man prove the same thing. 3. The conduct of sinners seems to confirm this statement. II. THAT THERE IS A SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH. 1. This confers dignity upon our globe. 2. This imparts honour to man. 3. This communication is of Divine origin. 4. Heavenly communications are not dependent on the outward circumstances of man. III. THAT THROUGH THIS COMMUNICATION ALONE MAN CAN HAVE A TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 1. Because the human and divine are united. 2. Because through it a covenant relationship is formed between us and God. 3. It secures to us the protection of God. 4. It provides for the consummation of our highest conceptions of felicity. IV. THAT TRUE COMMUNION WITH GOD PRODUCES REVERENTIAL FEAR IN THE HEART. ( Homilist. ) The spirit world Homilist. I. THIS VISION SUGGESTS THE IDEA OF A SPIRIT WORLD. 1. We think of a spirit —(1) As a self-modifying agent or being.(2) As a religious being.(3) As

Benson Commentary Genesis 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Genesis 28:1 . Isaac blessed him — That is, purposely and designedly, and in faith now confirmed that blessing to him, which before he had given him unknowingly. And hereby God confirmed Jacob’s faith against doubts and fears, and comforted him against future troubles that might befall him. And charged him — Those that have the blessing must keep the charge annexed to it, and not think to separate what God has joined. Genesis 28:3-4 . God Almighty bless thee — Two great promises Abraham was blessed with, and Isaac here entails them both upon Jacob. 1st, The promise of heirs; God make thee fruitful and multiply thee. Through his loins that people should descend from Abraham which should be numerous as the stars of heaven; and through his loins should descend from Abraham that person in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. 2d, The promise of an inheritance for those heirs, Genesis 28:4 . That thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings — (So the Hebrew.) Canaan was hereby entailed upon the seed of Jacob, exclusive of the seed of Esau. Isaac was now sending Jacob away into a distant country to settle there for some time; and lest this should look like disinheriting him, he here confirms the settlement of it upon him. This promise looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan was a type. That was the better country which Jacob, with the other patriarchs, had in his eye when he “confessed himself a stranger and pilgrim on the earth,” Hebrews 11:16 . Genesis 28:2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. Genesis 28:3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; Genesis 28:4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. Genesis 28:5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Genesis 28:6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; Genesis 28:6 . This passage comes in, in the midst of Jacob’s story, to show the influence of good example. Esau now begins to think Jacob the better man, and disdains not to take him for his pattern in this particular instance of marrying a daughter of Abraham. Genesis 28:7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; Genesis 28:8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Genesis 28:9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. Genesis 28:9 . Esau went unto Ishmael — That is, the family of Ishmael, for Ishmael himself, no doubt, was dead before this time, (see Genesis 25:17 ,) and took Mahalath to be his wife. It is probable that he thought by this means to ingratiate himself with his father, and so to get another and a better blessing. But, alas! he mends one fault by committing another, and taking a third wife, when he had one too many before. Genesis 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. Genesis 28:10 . Jacob went out from Beer-sheba — Unattended and alone, God, in his wise providence, so ordering it, for the greater illustration of his care over, and kindness toward him. But the great simplicity, humility, and innocence of those times, made many things usual then, which would now appear ridiculous. Genesis 28:11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. Genesis 28:11 . The stones for his pillows, and the heavens for his canopy! Yet his comfort in the divine blessing, and his confidence in the divine protection, made him easy, even when he lay thus exposed: being sure that his God made him to dwell in safety, he could lie down and sleep upon a stone! Genesis 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12 . Behold a ladder set up on the earth — This might represent, 1st, The providence of God, by which there is a constant correspondence kept up between heaven and earth. The counsels of heaven are executed on earth, and the affairs of this earth are all known in heaven. Providence doth his work gradually and by steps; angels are employed as ministering spirits to serve all the designs of Providence, and the wisdom of God is at the upper end of the ladder, directing all the motions of second causes to his glory. The angels are active spirits, continually ascending and descending; they rest not day nor night. They ascend to give account of what they have done, and to receive orders; and descend to execute the orders they have received. This vision gave seasonable comfort to Jacob, letting him know that he had both a good guide and good guard; that though he was to “wander from his father’s house,” yet he was the care of Providence, and the charge of the holy angels. 2d, The mediation of Christ. He is this ladder: the foot on earth in his human nature, the top in heaven in his divine nature; or, the former is his humiliation, the latter is his exaltation. All the intercourse between heaven and earth since the fall is by this ladder. Christ is the way: all God’s favours come to us, and all our services come to him, by Christ. If God dwell with us, and we with him, it is by Christ: we have no way of getting to heaven but by this ladder; for the kind offices the angels do us, are all owing to Christ, who hath reconciled things on earth and things in heaven, Colossians 1:20 . Genesis 28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; Genesis 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 28:14 . In thy seed shall the families of the earth be blessed — All that are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in Christ, and none of any family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude themselves. Genesis 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. Genesis 28:15 . Behold, I am with thee — Wherever we are, we are safe, if we have God’s favourable presence with us. He knew not, but God foresaw, what hardships he would meet with in his uncle’s service, and therefore promiseth to preserve him in all places. God gives his people graces and comforts accommodated to the events that shall be, as well as to those that are. He was now going an exile into a place far distant, but God promiseth him to bring him again to this land. He seemed to be forsaken of all his friends, but God gives him this assurance, I will not leave thee. Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. Genesis 28:16 . Surely the Lord is in this place; I knew it not — God’s manifestations of himself to his people carry their own evidence along with them. God can give undeniable demonstrations of his presence, such as give abundant satisfaction to the souls of the faithful, that God is with them of a truth; satisfaction not communicable to others, but convincing to themselves. We sometimes meet with God there, where we little thought of meeting with him. He is there where we did not think he had been; is found there where we asked not for him. Genesis 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. Genesis 28:17 . He was afraid — So far was he from being puffed up with this divine vision. The more we see of God, the more cause we see for holy fear and blushing before him. Those to whom God is pleased to manifest himself, are laid and kept very low in their own eyes, and see cause to fear even “the Lord and his goodness,” Hosea 3:5 . And said, How dreadful is this place! — That is, the appearance of God in this place is never to be thought of but with a holy awe and reverence; I shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by this token as long as I live. Not that he thought the place itself any nearer the divine visions than any other place; but what he saw there at this time was, as it were, “the house of God,” the residence of the Divine Majesty, and “the gate of heaven,” that is, the general rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper world, as the meetings of a city were in their gates; or, the angels ascending and descend ing, were like travellers passing and repassing through the gates of a city. Genesis 28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. Genesis 28:18 . He set up the stone for a pillar — To mark the place against he came back, and erect a lasting monument of God’s favour to him: and because he had not time now to build an altar here, as Abraham did in the places where God appeared to him, Genesis 12:7 , he therefore “poured oil on the top of this stone,” which probably was the ceremony then used in dedicating their altars, as an earnest of his building an altar when he should have conveniencies for it, as afterward he did, in gratitude to God, Genesis 35:7 . Grants of mercy call for our returns of duty; and the sweet communion we have with God ought ever to be remembered. Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. Genesis 28:19 . It had been called Luz, an almond-tree, but he will have it henceforward called Beth-el, the house of God. This gracious appearance of God to him made it more remarkable than all the almond-trees that flourished there. Genesis 28:20 And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on, Genesis 28:20 . Jacob vowed a vow — That is, bound himself by a solemn promise and obligation. This being the first instance of a religious vow which occurs in Scripture, it may be proper to observe, that such a vow is a binding of the soul by a solemn and voluntary promise, made to God, to do, or more carefully to do a thing, which otherwise by our duty and God’s law we are bound to do; or to do certain things, lawful in themselves, but otherwise left indifferent to be done or not; or to abstain from some things otherwise lawful to be used; and all this in a way of thankfulness to God for some extraordinary blessings received, ( Jonah 1:16 ,) or for the obtaining of some special benefits which we greatly desire, and stand in need of, Numbers 21:1-2 ; Jdg 11:30 ; 1 Samuel 1:2 ; Proverbs 31:2 . Jacob was now in fear and distress; and in times of trouble it is seasonable to make vows. Jacob had now a gracious visit from heaven, and when God ratifies his promises to us, it is proper for us to repeat our promises to him. If thou wilt be with me and keep me — We need desire no more to make us easy and happy wherever we are, but to have God’s presence with us, and to be under his protection. Then shall the Lord be my God — Then I will believe, love, and rejoice in him as my God, and I will be the more strongly engaged to abide with him. And this pillar shall be God’s house — That is, an altar shall be erected here to the honour of God. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee — To be spent either upon God’s altars, or upon his poor, which are both his receivers in the world. The tenth is a very fit proportion to be devoted to God, and employed for him; though, as circumstances vary, it may be more or less, as God prospers us. Genesis 28:21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: Genesis 28:22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Genesis 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 6 JACOB’S FLIGHT AND DREAM Genesis 27:41 - Genesis 28:1-22 "So foolish was I and ignorant: I was as a beast before Thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee."- Psalm 73:22 IT is so commonly observed as to be scarcely worth again remarking, that persons who employ a great deal of craft in the management of their affairs are invariably entrapped in their own net. Life is so complicated, and every matter of conduct has so many issues, that no human brain can possibly foresee every contingency. Rebekah was a clever woman, and quite competent to outwit men like Isaac and Esau, but she had in her scheming neglected to take account of Laban, a man true brother to herself in cunning. She had calculated on Esau’s resentment, and knew it would last only a few days, and this brief period she was prepared to utilise by sending Jacob out of Esau’s reach to her own kith and kin, from among whom he might get a suitable wife. But she did not reckon on Laban’s making her son serve fourteen years for his wife, nor upon Jacob’s falling so deeply in love with Rachel as to make him apparently forget his mother. In the first part of her scheme she feels herself at home. She is a woman who knows exactly how much of her mind to disclose, so as effectually to lead her husband to adopt her view and plan. She did not bluntly advise Isaac to send Jacob to Padan-aram, but she sowed in his apprehensive mind fears which she knew would make him send Jacob there; she suggested the possibility of Jacob’s taking a wife of the daughters of Heth. She felt sure that Isaac did not need to be told where to send his son to find a suitable wife. So Isaac called Jacob, and said, Go to Padan-aram, to the house of thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence. And he gave him the family blessing-God Almighty give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee-so constituting him his heir, the representative of Abraham. The effect this had on Esau is very noticeable. He sees, as the narrative tells us, a great many things, and his dull mind tries to make some meaning out of all that is passing before him: The historian seems intentionally to satirise Esau’s attempt at reasoning, and the foolish simplicity of the device he fell upon. He had an idea that Jacob’s obedience in going to seek a wife of another stock than he had connected himself with would be pleasing to his parents; and perhaps he had an idea that it would be possible to steal a march upon Jacob in his absence, and by a more speedily affected obedience to his parents’ desire, win their preference, and perhaps move Isaac to alter his will and reverse the blessing. Though living in the chosen family, he seems to have had not the slightest idea that there was any higher will than his father’s being fulfilled in their doings. He does not yet see why he himself should not be as blessed as Jacob; he cannot grasp at all the distinction that grace makes; cannot take in the idea that God has chosen a people to Himself, and that no natural advantage or force or endowment can set a man among that people, but only God’s choice. Accordingly, he does not see any difference between Ishmael’s family and the chosen family; they are both sprung from Abraham, both are naturally the same, and the fact that God expressly gave His inheritance past Ishmael is nothing to Esau-an act of God has no meaning to him. He merely sees that he has not pleased his parents as well as he might by his marriage, and his easy and yielding disposition prompts him to remedy this. This is a fine specimen of the hazy views men have of what will bring them to a level with God’s chosen. Through their crass insensibility to the high righteousness of God, there still does penetrate a perception that if they are to please Him there are certain means to be used for doing so. There are, they see, certain occupations and ways pursued by Christians, and if by themselves adopting these they can please God, they are quite willing to humour Him in this. Like Esau, they do not see their way to drop their old connections, but if by making some little additions to their habits, or forming some new connection, they can quiet this controversy that has somehow grown up between God and His children, -though, so far as they see, it is a very unmeaning controversy, -they will very gladly enter into any little arrangement for the purpose. We will not, of course, divorce the world, will not dismiss from our homes and hearts what God hates and means to destroy, will not accept God’s will as our sole and absolute law, but we will so far meet God’s wishes as to add to what we have adopted something that is almost as good as what God enjoins: we will make any little alterations which will not quite upset our present ways. Much commoner than hypocrisy is this dim-sighted, blundering stupidity of the really profane worldly man, who thinks he can take rank with men whose natures God has changed, by the mere imitation of some of their ways; who thinks, that as be cannot without great labour, and without too seriously endangering his hold on the world, do precisely what God requires, God may be expected to be satisfied with a something like it. Are we not aware of endeavouring at times to cloak a sin with some easy virtue, to adopt some new and apparently good habit, instead of destroying the sin we know God hates; or to offer to God, and palm upon our own conscience, a mere imitation of what God is pleased with? Do you attend Church, do you come and decorously submit to a service? That is not at all what God enjoins, though it is like it. What He means is, that you worship Him, which is a quite different employment. Do you render to God some outward respect, have you adopted some habits in deference to Him, do you even attempt some private devotion and discipline of the spirit? Still what He requires is something that goes much deeper than all that; namely, that you love Him. To conform to one or two habits of godly people is not what is required of us; but to be at heart godly. As Jacob journeyed northwards, he came, on the second or third evening of his flight, to the hills of Bethel. As the sun was sinking he found himself toiling up the rough path which Abraham may have described to him as looking like a great staircase of rock and crag reaching from earth, to sky. Slabs of rock, piled one upon another, form the whole hillside, and to Jacob’s eye, accustomed to the rolling pastures of Beersheba, they would appear almost like a structure built for superhuman uses, well founded in the valley below, and intended to reach to unknown heights. Overtaken by darkness on this rugged path, he readily finds as soft a bed and as good shelter as his shepherd-habits require, and with his head on a stone and a corner of his dress thrown over his face to preserve him from the moon, he is soon fast asleep. But in his dreams the massive staircase is still before his eyes, and it is no longer himself that is toiling up it as it leads to an unexplored hill-top above him, but the angels of God are ascending and descending upon it, and at its top is Jehovah Himself. Thus simply does God meet the thoughts of Jacob, and lead him to the encouragement he needed. What was probably Jacob’s state of mind when he lay down on that hill-side? In the first place, and as he would have said to any man he chanced to meet, he wondered what he would see when he got to the top of this hill; and still more, as he may have said to Rebekah, he wondered what reception he would meet with from Laban, and whether he would ever again see his father’s tents. This vision shows him that his path leads to God, that it is He who occupies the future; and, in his dream, a voice comes to him: "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land." He had, no doubt, wondered much whether the blessing, of his father was, after all, so valuable a possession, whether it might not have been wiser to take a share with Esau than to be driven out homeless thus. God has never spoken to him; he has heard his father speak of assurances coming to him from God, but as for him, through all the long years of his life he has never heard what he could speak of as a voice of God. But this night these doubts were silenced-there came to his soul an assurance that never departed from it. He could have affirmed he heard God saying to him: "I am the Lord God of thy father Abraham. and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it." And lastly, all these thoughts probably centred in one deep feeling, that he was an outcast, a fugitive from justice. He was glad he was in so solitary a place, he was glad he was so far from Esau and from every human eye; and yet-what desolation of spirit accompanied this feeling: there was no one he could bid good-night to, no one he could spend the evening hour with in quiet talk; he was a banished man, whatever fine gloss Rebekah might put upon it, and deep down in his conscience there was that which told him he was not banished without cause. Might not God also forsake him-might not God banish him, and might he not find a curse pursuing him, preventing man or woman from ever again looking in his face with pleasure? Such fears are met by the vision. This desolate spot, unvisited by sheep or bird, has become busy with life, angels thronging the ample staircase. Here, where he thought himself lonely and outcast, he finds he has come to the very gate of heaven. His fond mother might at that hour, have been visiting his silent tent and shedding ineffectual tears on his abandoned bed, but he finds himself in the very house of God. cared for by angels. As the darkness had revealed to him the stars shining overhead, so, when the deceptive glare of waking life was dulled by sleep, he saw the actual realities which before were hidden. No wonder that a vision which so graphically showed the open communication between earth and heaven should have deeply impressed itself on Jacob’s descendants. What more effectual consolation could any poor outcast, who felt he had spoiled his life, require than the memory of this staircase reaching from the pillow of the lonely fugitive from justice up into the very heart of heaven? How could any most desolate soul feel quite abandoned so long as the memory retained the vision of the angels thronging up and down with swift service to the needy? How could it be even in the darkest hour believed that all hope was gone, and that men might but curse God and die, when the mind turned to this bridging of the interval between earth and heaven? In the New Testament we meet with an instance of the familiarity with this vision which true Israelites enjoyed. Our Lord, in addressing Nathanael, makes use of it in a way that proves this familiarity. Under his fig-tree, whose broad leaves were used in every Jewish garden as a screen from observation, and whose branches were trained down so as to form an open-air oratory, where secret prayer might be indulged in undisturbed, Nathanael had been declaring to the Father his ways, his weaknesses, his hopes. And scarcely more astonished was Jacob when he found himself the object of this angelic ministry on the lonely hill-side, than was Nathanael when he found how one eye penetrated the leafy screen, and had read his thoughts and wishes. Apparently he had been encouraging himself with this vision, for our Lord, reading his thoughts, says: "Because I said unto thee, When thou wast under the fig-tree I saw thee, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these-thou shalt see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." This, then, is a vision for us even more than for Jacob. It has its fulfilment in the times after the Incarnation more manifestly than in previous times. The true staircase by which heavenly messengers ascend and descend is the Son of man. It is He who really bridges the interval between heaven and earth, God and man. In His person these two are united. You cannot tell whether Christ is more Divine or human, more God or man-solidly based on earth, as this massive staircase, by His real humanity, by His thirty-three years’ engagement in all human functions and all experiences of this life, He is yet familiar with eternity, His name is "He that came down from heaven," and if your eye follows step by step to the heights of His person, it rests at last on what you recognise as Divine. His love it is that is wide enough to embrace God on the one hand, and the lowest sinner on the other. Truly He is the way, the stair, leading from the lowest depth of earth to the highest height of heaven. In Him you find a love that embraces you as you are, in whatever condition, however cast down and defeated, however embittered and polluted-a love that stoops tenderly to you and hopefully, and gives you once more a hold upon holiness and life, and in that very love unfolds to you the highest glory of heaven and of God. When this comes home to a man in the hour of his need, it becomes the most arousing revelation. He springs from the troubled slumber we call life, and all earth wears a new glory and awe to him. He exclaims with Jacob, "How dreadful is this place. Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." The world, that had been so bleak and empty to him, is filled with a majestic vital presence. Jacob is no longer a mere fugitive from the results of his own sin, a shepherd in search of employment, a man setting out in the world to try his fortune; he is the partner with God in the fulfilment of a Divine purpose. And such is the change that passes on every man who believes in the Incarnation, who feels himself to be connected with God by Jesus Christ; he recognises the Divine intention to uplift his life and to fill it with new hopes and purposes. He feels that humanity is consecrated by the entrance of the Son of God into it: he feels that all human life is holy ground since the Lord Himself has passed through it. Having once had this vision of God and man united in Christ, life cannot any more be to him the poor, dreary, commonplace, wretched round of secular duties and short-lived joys and terribly punished sins it was before: but it truly becomes the very gate of heaven; from each part of it he knows there is a staircase rising to the presence of God, and that out of the region of pure holiness and justice there flow to him heavenly aids, tender guidance, and encouragement. Do you think the idea of the Incarnation too aerial and speculative to carry with you for help in rough, practical matters? The Incarnation is not a mere idea, but a fact as substantial and solidly rooted in life as anything you have to do with. Even the shadow of it Jacob saw carried in it so much of what was real that when he was broad awake he trusted it and acted on it. It was not scattered by the chill of the morning air, nor by that fixed staring reality which external nature assumes in the gray dawn as one object after another shows itself in the same spot and form in which night had fallen upon it. There were no angels visible when he opened his eyes: the staircase was there, but it was of no heavenly substance, and if it had any secret to tell, It coldly and darkly kept it. There was no retreat for the runaway from the poor common facts of yesterday. The sky seemed as far from earth as it did yesterday, his track over the hill as lonely, his brother’s wrath as real; -but other things also had become real; and as he looked back from the top of the hill on the stone he had set up, he felt the words, "I am with thee in all places whither thou goest," graven on his heart, . and giving him new courage; and he knew that every footfall of his was making a Bethel, and that as he went he was carrying God through the world. The bleakest rains that swept across the hills of Bethel could never wash out of his mind the vision of bright-winged angels, as little as they could wash off the oil or wear down the stone he had set up. The brightest glare of this world’s heyday of real life could not outshine and cause them to disappear; and the vision on which we hope is not one that vanishes at cockcrow, nor is He who connects us with God shy of human handling, but substantial as ourselves. He offered Himself to every kind of test, so that those who knew Him for years could say, with the most absolute confidence, "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word of Life…declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." Jacob obeyed a good instinct when he set up as a monumental stone that which had served as his pillow while he dreamt and saw this inspiring vision. He felt that, vivid as the impression on his mind then was, it would tend to fade, and he erected this stone that in after days he might have a witness that would testify to his present assurance. One great secret in the growth of character is the art of prolonging the quickening power of right ideas, of perpetuating just and inspiring impressions. And he who despises the aid of all external helps for the accomplishment of this object is not likely to succeed. Religion, some men say, is an inward thing: it does not consist of public worship, ordinances, and so forth, but it is a state of spirit. Very true; but he knows little of human nature who fancies a state of spirit can be maintained without the aid of external reminders, presentations to eye and ear of central religious truths and facts. We, have all of us had such views of truth, and such? corresponding desires and purposes, as would transform us were they only permanent. But what a night has settled on our past, how little have we found skill to prolong the benefit arising from particular events or occasions. Some parts of our life, indeed, require no monument, there is nothing there we would ever again think of, if possible; but, alas! these, for the most part, have erected monuments of their own, to which, as with a sad fascination, our eyes are ever turning-persons we have injured, or who, somehow, so remind us of sin, that we shrink from meeting them-places to which sins of ours have attached a reproachful meaning. And these natural monuments must be imitated in the life of grace. By fixed hours of worship, by rules and habits of devotion, by public worship, and especially by the monumental ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, must we cherish the memory of known truth, and deepen former impressions. To the monument Jacob attached a vow, so that when he returned to that spot the stone might remind him of the dependence on God he now felt, of the precarious situation he was in when this vision appeared, and of all the help God had afterwards given him. He seems to have taken up the meaning of that endless chain of angels ceaselessly coning down full of blessing, and going up empty of all but desires, requests, aspirations. And if we are to live with clean conscience and with heart open to God, we must so live that the messengers who bring God’s blessings to us shall not have an evil report to take back of the manner in which we have received and spent His bounty. This whole incident makes a special appeal to those who are starting in life. Jacob was no longer a young man, but he was unmarried, and he was going to seek employment with nothing to begin the world with but his shepherd’s staff, the symbol of his knowledge of a profession. Many must see in him a very exact reproduction of their own position. They have left home, and it may be they have left it not altogether with pleasant memories, and they are now launched on the world for themselves, with nothing but their staff, their knowledge of some business. The spot they have reached may seem as desolate as the rock where Jacob lay, their prospects as doubtful as his. For such a one there is absolutely no security but that which is given in the vision of Jacob-in the belief that God will be with you in all places, and that even now on that life which you are perhaps already wishing to seclude from all holy influences, the angels of God are descending to bless and restrain you from sin. Happy the man who, at the outset, can heartily welcome such a connection of his life with God; unhappy he who welcomes whatever blots out the thought of heaven, and who separates himself from all that reminds him of the good influences that throng his path. The desire of the young heart to see life and know the world is natural and innocent, but how many fancy that in seeing the lowest and poorest perversions of life they see life-how many forget that unless they keep their hearts pure they can never enter into the best and richest and most enduring of the uses and joys of human life. Even from a selfish motive and the mere desire to succeed in the world, every one starting in life would do well to consider whether he really has Jacob’s blessing and is making his vow. And certainly every one who has any honour, who is governed by any of those sentiments that lead men to noble and worthy actions, will frankly meet God’s offers and joyfully accept a heavenly guidance and a permanent connection with God. Before we dismiss this vision, it may be well to look at one instance of its fulfilment, that we may understand the manner in which God fulfils His promises. Jacob’s experience in Haran was not so brilliant and unexceptionable as he might perhaps expect. He did, indeed, at once find a woman he could love, but he had to purchase her with seven years’ toil, which ultimately became fourteen years. He did not grudge this; because it was customary, because his affections were strong, and because he was too independent to send to his father for money to buy a wife. But the bitterest disappointment awaited him. With the burning humiliation of one who has been cheated in so cruel a way, he finds himself married to Leah. He protests, but he cannot insist on his protest, nor divorce Leah; for, in point of fact, he is conscious that he is only being paid in his own coin, foiled with his own weapons. In this veiled bride brought in to him on false pretences he sees the just retribution of his own disguise when, with the hands of Esau he went in and received his father’s blessing. His mouth is shut by the remembrance of his own past. But submitting to this chastisement, and recognising in it not only the craft of his uncle, but the stroke of God, that which he at first thought of as a cruel curse became a blessing. It was Leah much more than Rachel that built up the house of Israel. To this despised wife six of the tribes traced their origin, and among these was the tribe of Judah. Thus he learned the fruitfulness of God’s retribution-that to be humbled by God is really to be built up, and to be punished by Him the richest blessing. Through such an experience are many persons led: when we would embrace the fruit of years of toil God thrusts into our arms something quite different from our expectation-something that not only disappoints, but that at first repels us, reminding us of acts of our own we had striven to forget. Is it with resentment you still look back on some such experience, when the reward of years of toil evaded your grasp, and you found yourself bound to what you would not have worked a day to obtain?-do you find yourself disheartened and discouraged by the way in which you seem regularly to miss the fruit of your labour? If so, no doubt it were useless to assure you that the disappointment may be more fruitful than the hope fulfilled, but it can scarcely be useless to ask you to consider whether it is not the fact that in Jacob’s case what was thrust upon him was more fruitful than what he strove to win. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.