Genesis Chapter 28

GENESIS 

CHAPTER 

28

1.So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.³May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

(Genesis chapter 28 verses 1 to 5)

One day Isaac called Jacob and commanded him not to marry a Canaanite woman and he should go to Laban  paddan aram  to bethuel his mother father house and to select his wife among the daughter of Laban his mother's brother. Furthermore, Isaac further blesses Jacob by saying that may God bless him and he he produce enough offspring’s  till they become a community of people, he further blesses him by saying may lord bless you and your family just like the lord has blessed Abraham and he may take possession of the lands that once belonged to Abraham and sent him off on his way.

In this verse Isaac place his trust in God in finding a wife for his son. God guides Jacob to his destination and tells him about it and blesses him by saying that Jacob and his descendants will inherit the blessing given by God to Abraham since Abraham followed God’s orders and trusted him completely. This lead to the creation of an unbreakable bond between God and Abraham. Similarly in our lives we all must try to make such a bond with God by placing our trust in Him as His blessings are always upon us and he will be always there for guiding us.

⁶ Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.⁸ Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac;⁹ so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

(Genesis chapter 28 verses 6 to 9)


Esau realises the mistake he had done and how much his father strictly forbade his descendants to marry Canaanite women as according to the will of God therefore he, went to Ishmael and married Mahalath the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael ( son of Abraham ) in spite of being already married.

In life we tend to make a lot of mistakes due to the fact that we are not perfect like God. Just as Esau made a big mistake by marrying Canaanite women this made his parent’s lives bitter or utterly sad (as referred to in chapters 26 verse 34 & 35 ) moreover he realised his mistake and try to correct it. In our lives we  tend to make mistakes but the  Lord always look upon us and see us lovingly and compassionately. He is always there for us to help us, although sometimes we are to naive and may not be aware of God. We foster this negative attitude towards God in spite of  the fact that God is always the first to lend a helping hand and always gives us a chance to correct our mistakes.

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

(Genesis chapter 28 verses 10 to 11)

After  Isaac had given Jacob clear instructions in relation to from where he would seek his future wife, Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran to find a wife for himself thus as according to the will of God. After having had travelled for some time, he came to a certain place and stayed there for the night to, rest because the sun had set and it would have been to difficult to navigate at the proper direction, so he took one of the stones and put it under his head and used it as a pillow and went to sleep.

When reflecting on this verse we can infer Jacob was being tested by God to obey both Him and others. The first test or trial was when in total obedience to the will of his father Jacob set out on to a path that he did not know the actual outcome of his journey in the sense if it would be a success or not. In life we are often tested by God in some way or other. Some may view a situation as a problem or difficulty but in fact it may be God who is testing us because it is by means of these tests they are a way of helping us to know God better and getting closer to him. God never gives us problems that are too tough to handle. He always gives us tasks or challenges that in the end increase our happiness that when based on God will last forever. Therefore we are always to thank God, for giving us a chance to know him better.

^12. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

(Genesis chapter 28 verses 12 to 15)

During his sleep he had a dream. He dreamt that there was a ladder that had its base set up on the earth and that its upper stairs reached heaven from where angels were ascending and descending following God’s commands and the lord stood right above of them.God introduces himself to Jacob and blesses him by saying that God had promised to give the land on which he was to him and to his offspring’s that would increase so much as to spread abroad to the west and to the east to the north and south. Lord told Jacob that both himself and his offspring and all the families on earth shall be blessed and further more God assured his promise to Jacob that he would always be with him and keep him safe no matter where he is. God even promised him that He would give Jacob the land that had once belonged to Abraham and God would never leave him until He had fulfilled his promise through Jacob and his descendants.

Just as God helped Jacob and assured him and promised to help him this is a source  of inspiration for us during our journey on earth. As a result Jacob was able to place trust in him and so should all believers even if they are not Christians. In our lives God plays an important role. He is active and always look upon us and always help us in our good or bad times by being a source of inspiration, confidence ,etc or by sending someone in our lives whether it be friends or family ,etc. He directly or indirectly help us as he did with Jacob as sons and daughters of God we should place our complete trust in him and follow his path, as he will never lead us to wrong way.

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

(Genesis chapter 28 verses 16 to 22)

Next morning Jacob when Jacob realised that God was on his side previously  he may have been unaware of this thing He interpreted is dream as though that special location was the house of God and the true gateway. He took the stone and set up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it and named that place bethel (That was previously called Luz) and he makes a vow that if God will be with him and on his journey and provides him with food and clothes ensuring a safe return to his father then he would truly accept God as his God. Moreover the pillar that he erected was done so in order to commemorate the covenant done between Jacob and God thus sealing the covenant as in a business transaction.

Just as God was with Jacob and helped him and promised him that He would always be with him. God is also always on our side he is always there for us and he never deceives us or try to trick us. God is a kind father who looks upon his children and is always there for us. Although at times we sometimes may realise or not whether we are vowed or promised to God in some way or other at one moment or another especially during times of crisis we are to place our complete thrust in him. It is during such moments that we will become closer to Him.

I would like the reader to take few minutes  of your time and try to recollect or remember  when you think God has,  played an active part in your life.  I believe that most of us on reflecting about it this  will find ,discover and realise how and when God has played an important role in our lives as when he found us  a lovely wife/husband, friend/best friend or just saved us from some life threatening accident. These  are not coincidences or may not be called miracles but they are all acts of God’s intervention in our lives. God loves us so much that He will never want to see us unhappy. Although at times He may test us but in the end, He always gives us a never ending happiness.

I would like to end this chapter with the  following prayer

Thank you GOD our loving, father, for looking over us and taking care and thank you very much for making me realise my mistake which may cause many sins, thank you for playing an active role in my life by testing and helping me in life directly or indirectly and  as without you playing an active part in my life I don’t know what would become of my life thank you

Ahmen