Jacob's Dream - Genesis 28

1. An expositional study taught by Harry Morgan

2. For those of you online, post your comments or questions in the “comment section” on your screen. As time affords, they may be read to the class.

3. 1. Who is the main character of Genesis 28?

4. 1. Who is the main character of Genesis 28? • Jacob is directly referred to in 20 of the 22 verses in this chapter. • His name appears 350 times in the Bible. • His other name, Israel, appears 150 times in the Bible. • The “Generation (Toledot) of Jacob” is the focus of Genesis 26-37.

5. • In Abraham Divine sovereignty & the life of faith; • In Isaac Divine sonship & the life of submission; • In Jacob Divine grace & the life of conflict. • In Abraham, election; • In Isaac, the new birth; • In Jacob, the manifestation of the two natures. Pink, A. W. (2005). Gleanings in Genesis (p. 247).

6. 2. What is the main theme of Genesis 28? What is the context? Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.

7. An Outline of Genesis 28 What did Jacob do? What happened to him? Ø The Action of Yahweh (28:1–13) Ø The Reaction of Jacob (28:14–22) Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1987). Genesis (Vol. 1, pp. 226–227). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

8. 3. What is the main theme of Genesis 28? 1. This is Jacob’s first real spiritual experience, and God now becomes the God of Jacob as well. 2. The Abrahamic Covenant was reconfirmed only through Jacob. So Esau was rejected, and Jacob was elected. 3. The basic motifs of the covenant are repeated: the Land, the seed, and the spiritual blessings. Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (2008). Ariel’s Bible commentary: the book of Genesis (1st ed., p. 439). San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries.

9. 3. What is the main theme of Genesis 28? 4. God’s basic provisions for Jacob are as follows: • The Land is promised to both Jacob and Jacob’s seed (13, 15); • The Seed is to be multiplied (14a); and • The Blessing will someday extend to the Gentiles through this Seed (14b). Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (2008). Ariel’s Bible commentary: the book of Genesis (1st ed., p. 439). San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries.

10. 4. What thoughts are associated by the conjunction “and”? Genesis 28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Then Isaac called… blessed… charged… said…

11. 5. When do the events in chapter 28 occur? Then Isaac called… • Esau’s declaration of revenge (27:40, 41) • Rebekah lamented of life due to her daughters-in-law (27:46)

12. 6. Explain the significance of the 4 verbs used of Isaac toward Jacob. Genesis 28:1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Then Isaac called… when Rebekah lamented blessed… empowered to obey charged… commanded (ṣāwâ) said… declared in detail

13. 7. What directives did Isaac give Jacob? Genesis 28:1-2 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. – negative: prohibition “You shall not take a wife” – timing: dual imperatives, immediacy of the departure – positive: marry a daughter of your maternal grandfather “Arise, go” “take yourself a wife”

14. 8. Why the prohibition? Deuteronomy 7:3-4 Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.4For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. (2 Corinthians 6:14)

15. 9. Where is Paddan-aram in relation to Gerar? Genesis 28:2 Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. (Padan Aram) Genesis 26:17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar and dwelt there. approximately 516.98 miles

16. 10. What events are previously recorded to take place at Haran in Genesis? What significance would these events have to Jacob?

17. 11. Why did Isaac send Jacob to Paddan- aram? Genesis 28:2 Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

18. 12. What blessing did Isaac give Jacob before they parted? 1 Genesis 28:3-4 “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; 4And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 2 3 4

19. 13. What was the basis of Isaac’s blessing on Jacob? Genesis 28:3-4 “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; 4And give you the blessing of Abraham… בּ ְ ר ָ כ ָ ה “Blessing” = a statement of praise; a divine empowerment or gifting given to fulfill a divine purpose or responsibility (berā·ḵāh) El Shaddai The all-sufficient God

20. 14. What was Isaac’s objective in pronouncing this blessing? Genesis 28:4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” “Blessing” בּ ְ ר ָ כ ָ ה = a statement of praise; a divine empowerment or gifting given to fulfill a divine purpose or responsibility (berā·ḵāh)

21. 15. Who was Jacob to find in Paddan- aram? “Laban” (lā·ḇān) = white ל ָ ב ָ ן

22. 16. What relation was Laban to Jacob? Laban = Jacob’s uncle Rachel = his cousin

23. 17. How did Esau react to his father’s blessing of Jacob and Jacob’s obedience? Genesis 28:6-8 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,”7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram.8Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac.

24. Jacob traveled 50 miles of a 517-mile journey.

25. 18. How did Esau attempt to rectify his relationship with his father Isaac?

26. 19. Who was Mahalath? מ ָ ח ֲ ל ַ ת (mā·ḥǎlǎṯ) = dance or writhe, sickness or sad song “Mahalath” Also called “Basemath” (Gen. 36:3) = sweet-smelling

27. 20. Where do the events of this chapter occur? “the” certain “place” ( mā·qôm) מ ָ ק וֹ ם 11So 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. 12Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder… 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17And 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!”

28. 21. Why is this significant? “The framework of the journey (vv. 10-11) is not very important except that the event happens ’between places,’ where nothing unusual was expected. Jacob’s encounter with God happened between safe, identifiable places, but here, everything is uncertain. Suffice to say at this point, that his ‘non-place’ is transformed by a visitation from God into a crucially important place. The transformation takes place during sleep, when Jacob has lost control of his destiny…in the process, this ‘non- person’ (i.e. exiled, threatened) is transformed by the coming of God to a person crucial for the promise.” Brueggermann, Walter (2010) Genesis Interpretation. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. p. 242.

29. 22. What is the location of the “certain place” mentioned in verse 11? Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. Jacob had traveled 3 days.

30. 22. What is the location of the “certain place”?

31. 23. What would have been the significance of Bethel to Jacob?

32. 24. Why does Jacob sleep outdoors, when there is a major Canaanite city there? (Genesis 19) • Cp. Joshua 2:1 “So they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there.” • Abram “pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east” (12:8). • Heb 11:9,10 cites as evidence of Abraham’s pilgrim status that he was “dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob.” • Jacob is not a city boy. Application: “Evil communications corrupt good manners,” 1 Cor 15:33.

33. 25. What did Jacob use for a pillow? The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, and often referred to in England as the Coronation Stone. It is also known as Jacob's Pillow Stone. The Stone of Scone was last used in 1953 for the coronation of the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

34. 26. What did Jacob use for a pillow? A headstone is not a place to lay your head.

35. 27. What function did “the stone” serve Jacob if not for a pillow? “The Hebrew literally reads, ‘at his head,’ not ‘under his head.’ It means the stone was placed at his head, as was the case with Saul’s spear in I Samuel 26:7, where the same terminology is used.” Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (2008). Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis (1st ed., p. 436). San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries.

36. 28. What has God done while men slept? Adam – God created Eve (Gen. 2:21) Abram – God unilaterally ratified His covenant (Gen. 15:12) Jacob – God reconfirmed the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 28:13-15) Jacob, the “grasper”, deceiver, who typically manipulated, was, being asleep, completely controlled by God. It is God who sought after Jacob, not Jacob seeking for God!

37. 29. What happens when we sleep? Improves brain function Elevates mood Benefits heart Increases energy Stabilizes blood sugar Reinforces immune system Regulates hormones (i.e., leptin & ghrelin) that control appetite and control weight Dream • • • • • • • •

38. 30. Why do we dream? • The unconscious is made conscious. Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, wrote that dreams are "...disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes."

39. 30. Why do we dream? • Activation-Synthesis model J. Allan Hobson and Robert McClarley (1977) proposed that dreaming is "…our most creative conscious state, one in which the chaotic, spontaneous recombination of cognitive elements produces novel configurations of information: new ideas. While many or even most of these ideas may be nonsensical, if even a few of its fanciful products are truly useful, our dream time will not have been wasted."

40. 31. What was the context of Jacob’s dream? Genesis 28:11–12 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 dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

41. 31. What was the context of Jacob’s dream?

42. 32. When do we dream?

43. 33. What’s going on when we dream? NREM REM = least active = most active

44. 34. What’s going on when we dream?

45. 35. What are the purposes of dreams? • Warn a person not to do something (Gen. 20:3, 31:24, Matt. 27:19). • Convey what will happen either in the near or distant future (Gen. 37:5,9; 40:8-19; 41:1-7,15-32; Dan. 2,7). • Convey a spiritual truth (Gen. 28:12). • Confirm a promise (Gen. 28:13-14). • Offer encouragement (Gen. 28:15). • Inform someone or a group to do something (Gen. 31:11-13; Matt. 1:20-23; 2:12-13,19,22). • Convey to an enemy their destruction (Judg. 7:13-15). • Offer a person a gift from God (1 Kgs. 3:5). • Warn a person they will receive punishment for their sins (Dan. 4).

46. 36. Who had dreams in the Bible? • Abimelech. Gen. 20:3–7. • Jacob. Gen. 28:12. Gen. 31:10. • Laban. Gen. 31:24. • Joseph. Gen. 37:5–9. • Pharaoh’s butler and baker. Gen. 40:5–19. • Pharaoh. Gen. 41:1–7. • Midianite. Jud. 7:13–15. • Solomon. 1 Kin. 3:5–15. • Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. 2:1, 31. Dan. 4:5, 8. • Daniel. Dan. 7. • Joseph. Mat. 1:20, 21. Mat. 2:13, 19, 20. • Wise men. Mat. 2:11, 12. • Pilate’s wife. Mat. 27:19

47. 37. Does God still communicate through dreams? Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.

49. 38. What is the significance of the threefold repetition of “behold”?

50. 39. What did the “ladder” look like? ס ֻ לּ ָ ם ( sǔl·lām) = ascending structure, i.e., a stair- way or ladder as a connector between two levels of a structure; a stepped ramp “The root word means ‘lift up,’ so if your imagination can stand it, ‘escalator’ would be the most appropriate English word, and that describes the scene perfectly!” Mills, M. S. (1998). Genesis: A Study Guide to the Book of Genesis. Dallas: 3E Ministries. “ladder”