Genesis 28 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Genesis 28:10-15

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, 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. 12 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.

13 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. 14 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. 15 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.’

A. Find Out:

1. Where did Jacob set out for? v.10
2. What was remarkable about the stairway? v.12
3. How did the Lord identify himself? v.13b
4. What did he promise about the land? v.13c
5. What did he say about Jacob’s descendants? v.14
6. What did he say about His presence? v.15

B. Think:

1. What contact had Jacob had with the Lord before this?
2. Was Jacob seeking the Lord?
3. How therefore would you summarize what has happened?

C. Comment:

We find the Lord bringing the same promise to Jacob as He did to his father, Isaac, (Genesis 26:3,4) and his grandfather, Abraham (Genesis 12:2,7). The promise was clearly fulfilled, with the nation of Israel becoming a great nation that first took the land that eventually was used to be the home of Jesus, who was the blessing to all the earth.

We should note in passing that Jacob’s prior knowledge and experience of the Lord was through his parents and that there is no indication whatsoever that he was seeking the Lord. This is a sovereign act of God in choosing Jacob, not because he’s good or worthy, but simply because he is Jacob, son of Abraham – chosen by God! Why does God choose one and not another? That is a mystery. Perhaps with His foreknowledge He knows who will respond and what He will be able to do with a particular person.

Note how the Lord identifies Himself – by reference to the people with whom He has already had dealings. He is the God of history who acts within time and space within the lives of men and women, ordinary people like you and me.

D. Application?

1. Praise the Lord that He is Sovereign God Almighty.
2. Thank Him, if you are a committed Christian that He HAS chosen you, and that He has plans for you.

Passage: Genesis 28:16-22

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ 17 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.’

18 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. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God 22 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.’

A. Find Out:    

1. Why was Jacob afraid? v.16,17
2. What did he do when he awoke next morning? v.18
3. Where was it that he had the dream? v.19
4. In his vow what did he want God to do? v.20,21a
5. What did he say he would do in return? v.21b
6. What else did he say he would do? v.22b

B. Think:

1. How is Jacob’s response, first of all, good?
2. How is Jacob’s vow self centred?
3. How is Jacob’s understanding of God very limited?

C. Comment:

When Jacob wakes with the dream still very vivid, his initial response is very good. He senses the awesomeness of God’s presence. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. Fear or awesome respect is a good start to a relationship with the Lord, indeed without some sense of it we don’t have a real relationship with Him. His next move is less clear. It seems he sets up a simple altar in the manner of the people of his day. However there seems an element of superstition in it, in that he uses the stone he had rested upon, as it seems special to him. He then calls the place ” Bethel ” which means “the house of God”. He has yet to learn that God is the God of the whole world, not just some small location (or church building?).

Finally his vow appears to be an understanding of God’s promise in the dream, and he responds with personal commitment. For each of us who have become Christians, it is because we have understood something of our need, and God’s love for us through Jesus, and have responded to that wonderful truth. Being a believer is being a RESPONDER to God’s initiatives of love, mercy and grace towards us.

D. Application?

1. Do I know the Lord as an awesome, almighty, holy God AND as my loving heavenly father?
2. Have I realized that my faith is a response to what the Lord has shown me? I need to allow Him to show me more and more!