Sermon Notes

28 10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the Lord stood beside him[c] and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring, 14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed[d] in you and in your offspring. 15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.” (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
28 10 Jacob left Beersheba and started out for Harran. 11 He reached a certain place and stopped for the night. The sun had already set. He took one of the stones there and placed it under his head. Then he lay down to sleep. 12 In a dream he saw a stairway standing on the earth. Its top reached to heaven. The angels of God were going up and coming down on it. 13 The Lord stood beside the stairway. He said, “I am the Lord. I am the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your children after you the land you are lying on. 14 They will be like the dust of the earth that can’t be counted. They will spread out to the west and to the east. They will spread out to the north and to the south. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you and your children after you. 15 I am with you. I will watch over you everywhere 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.” 16 Jacob woke up from his sleep. Then he thought, “The Lord is surely in this place. And I didn’t even know it.” 17 Jacob was afraid. He said, “How holy this place is! This must be 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. He set it up as a sacred stone. And he poured olive oil on top of it. 19 He named that place Bethel. But the city used to be called Luz.20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “May God be with me. May he watch over me on this journey I’m taking. May he give me food to eat and clothes to wear. 21 May he do as he has promised so that I can return safely to my father’s home. Then you, Lord, will be my God. 22 This stone I’ve set up as a sacred stone will be God’s house. And I’ll give you a tenth of everything you give me.” (The Message, MSG)

Genesis 28 provides some of the most memorable and referenced biblical imagery in all of the Hebrew Bible. Jacob’s ladder has been artistically depicted by African American artists such as Harriett Powers, Jacob Lawrence, and Derrick Adams. This biblical text is also the lyrical muse of a hymn often quoted by our enslaved ancestors: “We are climbing Jacobs Ladder. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. We are climbing Jacob’s ladder. Soldiers of the cross.” As our enslaved ancestors sang, they interpreted and reinterpreted Genesis to put themselves in the Jacob’s place in Bethel (the place that has become the house of God), where they—not Jacob—dreamed of a stairway to heaven where they could ascend to and experience the presence of God. Like our ancestors, countless “people of the book” also look to Genesis 28 as a reference point for experiencing the presence of God regardless of our character, our pasts, or our present circumstances.

The events of Genesis 28 are set within the larger literary context of the ancestral narratives within the book of Genesis. The Jacob Cycle of the ancestral narratives consists of 25:19-37:1, and introduces readers to a character—Jacob—who is a manipulative, deceitful, and an over-all trifling person. Jacob manipulates his brother, deceives his father, and even tries to force Divine blessings through trickery and malicious cunning. As the Jacob Cycle of stories progress, we see how his actions consistently rupture relationships, seemingly beyond repair. However, we also see how those relationships are repaired because of Divine providence. Eventually, Jacob recognizes God’s providence and grace, despite his malevolent behavior.
In Genesis 25 we are introduced to Jacob through the Genesis writer’s account of an in-utero rivalry with his older twin, Esau. Esau, is described as wild, hyper-masculine, an experienced hunter and Isaac’s favorite. On the other hand, Jacob is described as refined, a shepherd, cunning, smart and Rebecca’s favorite. The writer of Genesis ultimately reveals Jacob will be elevated to “first-born” status although he is not the “first-born” son.
Genesis 26 is an intervening disruption to the Jacob cycle as the narrator tells us another story about an endangered wife-sister. Although Rebekah is not taken as a wife by Abimelech, and Isaac does not receive riches due to his deception, like the situation with Abram and Sarah, the story underscores the Divine grace that abounds despite the trickery of the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In Genesis 27, we see how Esau is displaced by Jacob’s deceitful ways despite being the eldest son due to Rebekah’s aid. In Genesis 28:1-9, Isaac blesses his son Jacob, and sends him away to his uncle Laban in Haran to find a wife among Rebekah’s people as a way of preventing Esau from killing his brother Jacob. The lesson text picks up as Jacob begins his journey.

28 10-12 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it.
In the first verses of the lesson, we pick up the narrative as Jacob journeys to Haran. He has left the comfort and safety of Beersheba and he is alone. (As an aside, the Beersheba in the text is the same Beersheba that Iran has been bombing the last week or so. Talk about the bible coming alive. Beersheba is also where Hagar was met by God.)
This point is significant because up until this point in the Genesis narrative, Jacob has always been surrounded by his mother’s love and her cunning strategic actions. Without her guidance and protection, he must learn to navigate life on his own, all by himself. While Jacob is alone, God appears to him. This reminds contemporary Christians, that sometimes we can’t hear from God until we get off by ourselves, undisturbed by the clutter that we allow to occupy our lives. Often, the only way we can receive a word from God is if we are forced away from distraction—distracting people, distracting situations and distracting possessions—then, and only then, are we in the position to hear God speak.
Before Jacob makes it out of Canaan, night overtakes him, so he must sleep without cover, under the stars. He comes to a place—nothing is extraordinary about this particular place—and finds an acceptable spot to sleep. While sleeping, Jacob has an awe-inspiring, life-altering dream. He sees a stairway set into the ground, which reaches from heaven to earth, with angels going up and down on it. In Ancient Near Eastern religious architecture and imagery, stairways indicated access to heaven and the gods. Priests would ascend and descend stairways in order to provide communication between humans and the gods. Also, the “ladder” image likely evokes the ramps or stairways on Mesopotamian ziggurats thought to allow one to ascend to the place where a deity might appear. Since Jacob is headed toward Haran, a place with strong connections to Mesopotamia, it seems likely that this architectural background informed the story. While angelic beings often serve as intermediaries for God in biblical texts, this is not the case in Genesis 28. Instead, God will directly address Jacob.
13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.”
In verses 13-15, God speaks and recounts the covenant relationship that God established with Abraham and Isaac. However, Jacob also receives a Divine indication that God will personally oversee Jacob’s journey as a migrant. God will accompany him as he seeks protection in a foreign land and then God will return him back to that place. Given the current political climate in this country, and the illegal, immoral, and cruel treatment of immigrants, this text is a timely reminder that in the Bible, God is often on the side of the migrant and the sojourner.
God tells Jacob that the very ground he is sleeping on is promised to him and his descendants. God’s speech is similar to previous covenant declarations that were given to both Abraham and to Isaac. Further, God now confirms Isaac’s pronouncement during his blessing of Jacob in Genesis 28:4. God promises land, prolific progeny, and most importantly, Divine presence. God declares that wherever Jacobs goes, God will go. God will protect him, and bring him back to this certain place—the very ground where he lies. God will stick with Jacob until every Divine promise is accomplished.
16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.”
When Jacob awakens from his sleep, he immediately perceives the importance of what has happened to him. He understands that God has been with him all along. This is significant because up until this point in the narrative, Jacob never mentions God’s name. Nowhere in the Jacob narratives in Genesis does he indicate he knows anything about the God of his father and grandfather. However, after God speaks to him, he now has an intimate knowledge of the presence of God.
Jacob also understands the importance of Divine visitation in an ordinary place. He is in between home and Haran; the familiar and the unknown; what was and what will be; and in this “in between” place, God reveals something to Jacob that blows his mind. Jacob is terrified; awestruck and mystified that God was in “this place” and he did not even know it. He recognizes that the place where he thought he was alone—the stopover—turns out to be God’s house and a gateway to heaven. Therefore, he identifies the place with those two names. Further, these architectural metaphors illustrate Jacob’s direct experience with God in this place. He didn’t imagine that God spoke to him, he knows that God spoke to him. Many times, we are so concerned about the places we find ourselves in, that we miss the God that meets us in those same places. Jacob does not make that mistake. He recognizes God met him in an ordinary—even difficult—place in his life.
18-19 Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then. 20-22 Jacob vowed a vow: “If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I’m setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father’s house, this God will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I’ll return a tenth to you.”
Jacob’s response to God’s presence and pronouncement of blessing culminates with three concrete actions. First, he sets up a pillar (verses 18, 19) that memorializes the place where he met God, and he pours oil on the pillar consecrating the location as a place of worship. The practice of pouring oil over an erected stone pillar is a form of sacrifice, and a recognition that Bethel is a sacred place where people can encounter the Lord.
Second, he formally names the place Bethel—meaning House of God—changing the name of the town from Luz. His action highlights the ongoing significance of this place for Jacob and his future descendants. Bethel will become an important religious sanctuary later in Israelite history. Third, Jacob professes his faith. In verse 20, it says Jacob vowed a vow, indicating he has accepted the LORD as his God. While Jacob’s conditional “if” statements seem to underscore his spiritual immaturity, by repeating God’s declared promises, Jacob does affirm his belief in the God of his ancestors.
The content of Jacob’s vow is directly related to his migratory experience. He does not make reference to the covenantal promises of land or descendants. Instead he references God’s promise to protect him and return him safely to Canaan. If God faithfully stands with him, protects him, and brings him safely back to his father’s house, then Jacob will return to build and altar and tithe in response. The fact that Jacob ties his vow to God’s companionship on his sojourn underscores how central the experience of migration is for this narrative. Jacob’s response to what God is doing to him, and what God will do for him, is expressed in concrete action. This lesson reminds present-day believers that our love for God is best expressed through our actions of devotion, not rhetoric. If we say we love God, then we must do something.

1. See Terence E. Fretheim, “The Book of Genesis: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume I (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015) 188.
2. Ibid, 189.