Jacob Leaves the Promised Land
Jacob
Leaving the Promised Land.
Forced to leave the security of home.
God’s Promises
To Jacob
To us
Jacob’s responses to God’s promises.
Our responses to God’s promises.
Genesis 28:10-22 (NLT)
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 28:10-22 (NLT)
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.
Paddan-aram
The city of Haran, where Abraham and his father Terah settled after leaving Ur of the Chaldees, while en route to Canaan, according to the Genesis 11:31, was located in Paddan Aram
Haran, the home of Terah and his descendants.
Genesis 28:2 (CEB)
Get up and go to Paddan-aram, to the household of Bethuel, your mother’s (Rebekah) father, and once there, marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
Rebekah the wife of Isaac
Genesis 24:24 (NLT)
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.
Genesis 24:29 (NLT) (Abraham’s brother)
29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring.
Review map and genealogy.
11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.
God’s Promises
12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
Interaction between heaven and earth.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said,
- God made His presence known to Jacob.
- God wants to make His known to us.
“I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
- God reiterated to Jacob the covenant made with Abraham and Isaac.
- God gave us the Bible which is full of His promises for us.
Psalm 89:34 (NLT)
No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.
15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go.
- God promised Jacob His protection outside of the Promised Land.
- God promises us His protection wherever we go.
- God is not confined to the Promised Land.
One day I will bring you back to this land.
- God promised to bring Jacob back to the Promised Land.
- God promises to bring us to the Promised Land (Heaven).
John 14:1-3 NLT
1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
- God will finish the work he began in us.
- God promises to be with us wherever we go.
Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Matthew 28:20
“Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Hebrews 13:5 (NLT)
… For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
Zephaniah 3:17
Jacob’s (our) responses.
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”
Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
- Learn to recognize the presence of the Lord.
17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
Fear the Lord – reverent awe – ultimate respect.
Isaiah 6:3 (NLT)
They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Job 28:28 (NLT)
And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
- Develop a healthy fear of the Lord. (reverent awe, ultimate respect)
Psalm 33:8 (NLT)
Let the whole world fear the Lord,
and let everyone stand in awe of him.
Psalm 34:11 (NLT)
Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
Typical O.T. behavior
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God,
Worship
Psalm 100 (NLT)
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
- Worship the Lord with gladness
and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
Give back
Malachi 3:10 (NLT)
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NLT)
You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
- Give back to God a portion of everything He gives you.
