Time and time again -
the Lord advised his men not to marry woman from Canaan. In Genesis 28 verse 1, “Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 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.” Genesis 28:1-2 After those words, Isaac blessed Jacob before sending him off to Paddam Aram (the Land of Haran) He said, “May God 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.” Genesis 28:4 Jacob was born in The Land of Canaan, and yet - Isaac called him “a foreigner.” This reminds me of followers of the Way - who live in the world but are not of it. Paddam Aram is said to have been in the Northern portion of Mesopotamia - the region today that we call Turkey. The city of Haran is where Terah settled, when he took where Abram, Lot and Sarai out of Ur, after his son Haran died. It appears Terah also brought his younger son, Nahor because Scripture says Abraham’s brother Nahor, and the daughter of Abraham’s dead brother, Haran, who was named Milcah - had a son and named him Bethuel. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, and Laban was her brother. Laban seemed to have a lot of say over his sisters’ lives. Jacob left Beersheba (a biblical city of southern Israel where the well of 7 was built) and set out for Harran to find his wife. On the other hand, when Isaac, Jacob's father, was ready for a wife, Abraham sent a servant. He would not let Isaac leave the land that was promised to his descendant. But Jacob was sent because he was running for his life from Esau his brother. When Jacob reached the town on Luz, “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. 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 it. 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. 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. 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 28:10-15 The Stairway to Heaven is not just a song from Led Zepplin. It’s a spiritual place that Jacob saw in a vision. “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 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.” Genesis 28:16-17 Stop! Did you just hear that? There is a gateway to Heaven. “And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it - only those who walk in the Way - and fools will not stray onto it.” Isaiah 35:6 “So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.” Isaiah 35:8 Glory! Glory! Glory to God! Back to the story of Jacob - “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. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.” Genesis 28:16-19 Bethel - the location of the gates of Heaven - what a beautiful portal! Jacob took it upon himself to give the Palestinian city of Luz a brand new name. Luz in biblical terms means separation and departure; Bethel means House of God. I praise God for showing me “Jacob’s Ladder.”
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