28:1 Jacob has become the patriarch to inherent Abraham's blessing from God: promised generations of love, leadership and land. As such, Jacob must marry a woman of the same compassionate nature as himself and his faith. Together they will produce the children who God has promised to guide and bless and therefore it is imperative that their children are raised according to this particular faith.
Isaac implores Jacob to never take a wife from the region of Canaan. Canaan was known for being a faithless place, or at least a place of faith very contradictory to the one Abraham, Isaac and now Jacob were establishing in the world. For Isaac to be successful in rearing compassionate and faith-focused children, he would need a wife who held the same objectives.
28:2 Isaac's vehement advice is for Jacob to travel to his mother's family's region and find a wife. Abraham had made an identical arrangement in finding Isaac's wife, Rebekah. The population of the world now is quite smaller than it was in Jacob's time and it was custom to marry distant relatives.
28:3 Isaac's prayer for his son is not dissimilar to what any parent in present day would wish for their child: May God enabled you and motivate you to be productive and successful. May God build a loving and faithful community of family and friends around you.
28:4 May God bless you as He blessed Abraham: meaning that if we give to God the same trust and commitment Abraham gave him, may He bless us with faithful descents and place for them to live and thrive, love and create. May we always have a home in Him and on Earth while we are here.
28:5 Jacob follows his father's advice. Isaac was a known-mediator; he communicated with God, reflected on his life and his journey and surely he spoke to God about the lives of his twin boys. Isaac sent Jacob to find a wife from the same place Rebekah was found for he found compassionate love and prayed the same for his children.
28:6-7 Esau did not follow his father's advice. In fact, Esau was still infuriated with losing his father's blessing as the family patriarch (the head of the family household, the head of the family business, the head of the family faith) that he endeavored to spite his father and live in complete opposition to his wishes.
28:8-9 Upon here that Jacob was journeying to find a wife outside of Canaan, Esau determined to choose a wife specifically from Canaan. Esau had already taken multiple wives but added another, a descendant of his uncle Ishmael, son of Hagar.
It is important to remember that Esau was angry about something he essential arranged himself: he gave his birthright to Jacob but went back on his word. Jacob only received what Esau promised to give him. Do not be a roadblock to your own success the way that Esau did. Be grateful and responsible for your opportunities and responsibilities.
28:10-11 God reaches us in different ways and for various reasons. He knows our hearts, minds and souls. He knows where we struggle and where we thrive. The messages he sends to individuals are highly specific to them. Jacob is about to receive a dream from God. He has been travelling, following his father's advice, to find a wife in the region of his uncle Laban. He stops to rest, places his head on a stone and falls asleep.
28:12 Jacob dreams of a ladder extending from heaven all the way down to the Earth. On the ladder were a flurry of angels ascending and descending the ladder. This dream suggests to us that God and his messengers (the angels) are constantly working and flowing between Earth and Spirit.
28:13 In the dream, God spoke to Jacob: "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac..." God continues his promise to Abraham by establishing the same promise to his grandson. By doing so, God reaffirms that He will remain with this faithful family (the family through which the messiah would come) blessing them (us) in all ways without deterrence.
28:14 God prophesies the coming of the messiah for through Abraham (and now Jacob) would come the spiritual entity Who would unite the entire Earth with God's love and compassion.
28:15 God makes this promise to Jacob but He also makes this promise to you. The New Testament is more personalized because that was Jesus's mission: to personalize the faith for all people as it had been to the prophets of this Old Testament. The promise is this: "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go...". Remember always that the only thing you require in your life is that promise... and you have it. God promises to lead Jacob until together, they fulfill his entire purpose on Earth. God's promise is to be with us every moment until we leave this earth to be with Him.
28:16-17 Jacob wakes up astonished. It is incredulous to him that God is present with him. This gives us a clue as to what was inside of Jacob's mind: perhaps he was struggling to envision a tangible, manifested presence of God. God reassured Jacob of his constant and true presence. Jacob and his family existed so long before us but in our behavior alone, our similarities are pronounced and declare our kinship with them all on their own.
For we have these same struggles! We're told of blessings and promises from God but still, individually, we sometimes struggle with the concept. With the truth and possibility of the promises. Yet God promises us that if we work to discover and known Him, Jeremiah 29:13, He ensures that we find what we are looking for. For Jacob to receive such a vivid dream from God, we know that he truly reached out for Him (not only in his mind but in the way that he lived his life).
28:18-19 Renewed, Jacob woke up early in the morning and prayed to God! Jacob was passionate and dedicated to this faith. He was productive, contemplative and focused on his faith.
28:20-21 Yet remember that Jacob is human, like we are. He's still in the process of establishing and developing his faith. He grasps onto the promise of God saying that with it, he will always endeavor in faith.
The New Testament encourages us to endeavor in faith even if there were no promises... simply because it is the right thing to do, to be truthful, compassionate and productive. But Jacob isn't perfect and that is the beauty of God's love for us: He knows we are flawed yet loves and works with us anyway. Our efforts are endearing to Him and when we stumble (whether we deserve to or not) He's right there offering His hand to help us up.
28:22 Jacob makes a commitment here to return God's generosity. It's a modest yet firm start. Part of the balance of healthy faith is being able to return the generosity from God we freely receive. Miraculously, giving from a compassionate heart gives one the feeling of being gifted. God is constantly pumping blessings into our lives, to receive them humbly and gratefully, it is imperative that in some way, we keep the flow of giving strong. We all have something to contribute, it isn't always or only money. Our friendship is a gift, our listening ear, our personality can be a gift... our talents, our time, our shoulder... there are so many ways to give back.
Jacob realizes that he must tangibly express his gratitude to God. Throughout the development of your faith, you will come to feel the same way as Jacob.
Jacob realizes that he must tangibly express his gratitude to God. Throughout the development of your faith, you will come to feel the same way as Jacob.
