The Living Word

KING JAMES VERSION

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

— Isaiah 40:8

Genesis 28

Listen to the Word

Initializing audio...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

1

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

WhatsApp Copy

2

Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

WhatsApp Copy

3

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

WhatsApp Copy

4

And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

WhatsApp Copy

5

And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

WhatsApp Copy

6

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;

WhatsApp Copy

7

And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;

WhatsApp Copy

8

And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

WhatsApp Copy

9

Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

WhatsApp Copy

10

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

WhatsApp Copy

11

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

WhatsApp Copy

12

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

WhatsApp Copy

13

And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

WhatsApp Copy

14

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

WhatsApp Copy

15

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

WhatsApp Copy

16

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.

WhatsApp Copy

17

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

WhatsApp Copy

18

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

WhatsApp Copy

19

And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

WhatsApp Copy

20

And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on,

WhatsApp Copy

21

So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

WhatsApp Copy

22

And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

WhatsApp Copy

Previous Next

Chapter Study & Analysis

Overview

Jacob flees toward Haran. While sleeping with a stone for a pillow, he dreams of a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. God speaks to him from the top. Jacob wakes and cries, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God." He names it Bethel.

Practical Lessons

1. God Reaches Down: The ladder shows that God initiates the connection between heaven and earth.
2. God’s Presence: God is with us even when we are alone and fleeing from our mistakes.
3. Commitment: Jacob vows to give God a tenth (tithe) of all he receives if God preserves him.

Copied to clipboard!