A Revelation of God

Before the death of Isaac, he called Jacob before him, blessed him, and directed him to go his uncle Laban in Padanaram to seek a wife.  Though Jacob had the birthright and his father's blessing, he was commanded to leave home and all that was familiar.  Unlike his outdoorsman older twin Esau, Jacob was a "plain" man who preferred living the comforts of home.  His dad gravitated to manly Esau, and his mother favoured Jacob.  He was a homebody, and apparently preferred spending his day tending stew over working outside.  In his advancing age Isaac sent Jacob away, and it must have been hard for him to leave.  I imagine many would have felt rejected and ostricised at that moment.

Jacob went from sleeping in the comforts of his tent to sleeping under the stars with rocks for a pillow.  After laying down to sleep in the darkness, in a dream God revealed Himself to Jacob.  Jacob had been sent away by his father, but God's eyes were upon him though he was alone.  Genesis 28:12-15 reads, "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. ¹³ And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."

See how God made a mundane thing like a night's sleep miraculous!  Darkness gave way to the light of divine revelation, and loneliness was swallowed up by God's assurance.  God promised to be with Jacob, to keep him, bring him into the land, and would not leave him until all was accomplished.  When Jacob woke from his dream, the place had not changed but he had.  Genesis 28:16-19 says, "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." ¹⁷ And 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!" ¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously."  A place where out of necessity rocks were used as pillows became "The house of God."  The God of the house had revealed himself to Jacob, and he went forth to Padanaram with blessing and comfort from God's promises.

Jacob trembled at the revelation of the Living God, the One who graciously called to Him and promised to provide and protect Him.  We might feel ostricised, isolated, and rejected, but the God who sees will come to those who cry out to him.  We may be far from others, yet God is always near to us.  Jacob went out from under the watchful eyes of his mother and likely lamented his situation.  After God revealed himself, Jacob knew he was not alone.  Perhaps he spoke within himself words to the same effect uttered by Paul in Romans 8:31:  "If God be for me, who can be against me?"  A man is blessed to go forth even to unknown territory through faith and confidence in God and not in himself.  This is the man who will be prosperous and have good success (Joshua 1:8).