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Genesis 28:12
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Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

10 Now Jacob awent out from Beersheba and went toward bHaran.  
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he adreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there bthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  
13 aAnd behold, the Lord stood above it and said: b“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; cthe land on which you lie I will give to you and your ddescendants.  
14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ato the west and the east, to the north and the south; and bin you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.  
15 Behold, aI am with you and will bkeep you wherever you go, and will cbring you back to this land; for dI will not leave you euntil I have done what I have spoken to you.”  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Genesis 28:11   Genesis 28:13 >>

What Does Genesis 28:12 Mean?



Genesis 28:12-17

Jacob entered this encounter with God as a result of taking the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau through deceitful chicanery. Esau was so indignant, he let it be known that there was a contract on Jacob's life: He was going to kill him.

So Jacob did what anybody would do in that situation—he fled. He decided to go to his mother's relatives, to Laban in Syria. On the way, he stopped at the place described in verses 12-17. Here he encountered God.

Jacob saw a ladder in a dream stretching into heaven, with angels ascending and descending. Verse 13 is very important: "And behold, the LORD stood above it."

"The LORD stood above it" is a mistranslation. The Revised Standard Version, the Revised English Bible, and the New International Version all translate this to say that God stood beside him. God stood by Jacob at the foot of the ladder, not above it.

In other words, God came down the ladder; He revealed Himself as being there. This is why Jacob said, "God is in this place," and why he named it Bethel, meaning "this is God's house." Not that God is in heaven, but that Jacob's God was right there—that was His house. Consequently, Bethel became a shrine in later years.

Jacob did not merely have an encounter with God, but something happened to Jacob himself. He arrived a man with a price on his head and the guilt of many deceitful tricks. He was guilty of stealing, and in one sense of the word, guilty of a sin that was worthy of death. God in no way condoned his actions, yet He had chosen Jacob even before he was born, while he and Esau were still in the womb.

At Bethel, God confirmed that He had chosen Jacob and that He would follow through with him nonetheless. Jacob arrived a man with a price on his head and no future. He was transformed so that he had a future and a hope with which he could live. He was so encouraged that he promised that he would tithe to God all of his days.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Prayer and Seeking God

Related Topics: Bethel | Bethel as a Place of Transformation | Birthright Blessing | Esau and Jacob | God's House | Jacob and Esau | Jacob's Chicanery | Jacob's Cunning | Jacob's Encounter with God | Jacob's Vision | Jacob's Vision of Ladder




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Genesis 28:12:

Genesis 31:8-13
Amos 4:4-5
Amos 5:4-12
Amos 5:5-6
Amos 5:21-24


 
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