The One Year Chronological Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 43
page 39
Day 10 •
•
JANUARY 10
JANUARY 10
God meets with Jacob after he departs for Haran. He reiterates to Jacob the promises previously given to
Abraham and Isaac and promises to protect Jacob and bring him back to Canaan. Jacob marks the occasion
and promise by naming the place Bethel, meaning “house of God” (Genesis 28:19).
The record of the expansion of Jacob’s family serves as the heritage of the Israelite nation—their identity
as twelve tribes comes from the twelve sons of Jacob, born through Jacob’s two wives and their servants,
who became Jacob’s concubines. Jealousy, favoritism, bitterness, and competition reveal the deep sinfulness of God’s chosen family. Yet even in all the relational brokenness, God’s hand is evident. In the same
way that He strengthened Abraham’s faith, He also interacts with Jacob to reveal His character and build
Jacob’s faith. Through Laban, God teaches Jacob (whose name means “schemer” or “heel grabber”) the
pain and folly of scheming, reminding him of his own wrong and the pain he inflicted on others.
Jacob Arrives at Paddan-Aram •
GENESIS 29:1-14a
Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the
land of the east. 2 He saw a well in the distance.
Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open
field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a
heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.
3 It was the custom there to wait for all the
flocks to arrive before removing the stone and
watering the animals. Afterward the stone
would be placed back over the mouth of the
well. 4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and
asked, “Where are you from, my friends?”
“We are from Haran,” they answered.
5 “Do you know a man there named Laban, the
grandson of Nahor?” he asked.
“Yes, we do,” they replied.
6 “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here
comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
7 Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—
1
END & NEW
BEGINNING
SILENT
RETURN
CAPTIVITY
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled
toward Haran. 11At 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. 12As 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.
13At 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
MISSIONS
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel • GENESIS 28:10-22
CHURCH
Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed
Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a
wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must
not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew
that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to
Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that
his father did not like the local Canaanite women.
9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and
married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition
to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name
was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and
the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
6
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. 22And
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.”
GOSPEL
Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter •
GENESIS 28:6-9 / 1929 or 1763 BC
