acob’s journey
looked different than Moses. He didn’t have to travel around the same old mountain - He experienced a rolling stone. Jacob left Beersheba, his hometown, and traveled to Luz where he had a dream and saw the Lord. In his dream he had a vision of a ladder extending between earth and Heaven. Many angels of God went up and down, and at the top stood the Lord himself. The Lord spoke to Jacob just as he had with Moses, and so many prophets that came after him. The Lord 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 28:12-15 When Jacob woke up 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.” Jacob took the stone that he had used as a pillow, and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He changed the name of town from Luz to Bethel, and made a vow, basically saying, “If God will be with me and take care of me and protect me on this journey, and safely return me to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God 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 28:16-22 Scripture says, “Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.” I would have thought the scripture would have said, the land of the northern people, since Harran is northeast of Israel. It’s interesting that Moses referred to the region of Asia Minor as the East. When Jacob arrived, he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near - waiting patiently for water to come from it. There was a large stone over the mouth of the well - a stone that would be rolled away when the sheep were gathered and ready to be fed. The stone would be placed on again, when the sheep were hydrated and cooled once again. Jacob asked the shepherds, My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Harran,” they replied to him. He said, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” “Yes, we know him,” they answered to him. Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?” And they said, “Yes, he is, and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” “Look,” Jacob said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.” I wonder, why was Jacob so eager to get rid of them? Why did he want them to hydrate and go back to pasture? “We can’t,” the shepherds replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” The men were not intimidated by Rachel the female shepherd. They expected her sheep to drink from the same well as them. “While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.” Jacob himself, removed the large stone from the mouth of the well - He did not sit back and wait for the traditional methods to go on. He was strong and acted in instinct as a true gentleman. This story reminds me of Jesus and the stone and the empty tomb; and it reminds me of the virgins and the bridegroom. “Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah.” As soon as Rachel heard the good news, she ran and told her father, Laban about Jacob, his sister’s son. Laban hurried to meet Jacob. And when he saw him, he embraced him and kissed him. This story reminds me of the father and the prodigal son, but we will soon see it’s actually the other way around. Laban is the bad one, and Jacob is the man who wrestles with God. Laban brought Jacob into his home, and there Jacob told him all the things that had happened to him. Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob stayed with him for a whole month.” Genesis 29:1-14 Unlike Moses, God took Jacob directly to his destination - much like Abraham’s servant when he was sent to find a wife for Isaac. The story of Jacob’s journey had just begun - God brought him out of Canaan - where he was born and had him return as Israel. Israel - the name given to God’s Holy Land.
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