God’s Timeline – Part 34
Jacob’s
Dream at Bethel
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
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SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish
Calendar Year)
- Creation Week (Approximately 4000 B.C.)
o Adam, Eve, and the Fall
-
Cain and Abel
o Evil Fills the World
-
Noah Did All God Commanded
Him
o The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)
o God’s Covenant with Noah
o Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin
o Nations of Noah’s Sons
-
Tower of Babel
-
God calls Abram (2112 B.C.)
o Abram and Lot part ways
o Rescue of Lot
-
The Lord’s Covenant with Abram for Isaac
o Hagar and Ishmael Born (2101 B.C.) Abram 86 years old
o Sarai and Isaac
o The Three Visitors
o Abraham Pleads for Sodom
-
Birth of Isaac (2088 B.C. Abraham 99 years old Sarah 90-Hagar and
Ishmael sent away)
o The Lord tests Abraham (2070-2068 B.C. Isaac 18-20 years old)
o Sarah Dies 127 years old (2051 B.C. Abraham is 136)
-
Isaac marries Rebekah (2048 B.C. Isaac was 40 when he
married Rebekah)
-
Jacob and Esau are born (2028 B.C. Isaac was 60 Abraham 159)
o Abraham dies at 175 (2012 B.C. Isaac was 82)
o Isaac receives the Birthright and his father’s
blessing
o Esau marries two Hittites at 40 (1988 B.C.)
o Jacob travels to his Grandfather’s family to
find a wife
o Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 28:10-22
THE VISION
“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he
reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.
Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top
reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your
father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the
land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to
the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you
back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised
you.”
JACOB’S VOW
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the
Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said,
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is
the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed
under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He
called that place Bethel [means House of God], though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me
and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat
and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then
the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will
be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.””
I.
JACOB IS TRAVELING TO FIND A WIFE FROM HIS
GRANDFATHER’S CLAN
a. Remember Jacobs brother
married Hittite women
i.
Genesis 26:34-35 “When Esau was forty years
old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath
daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and
Rebekah.”
ii.
Genesis 27:46 “Then Rebekah said to Isaac,
“I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a
wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life
will not be worth living.”
b. Abraham warned not to allow
Isaac to marry a Canaanite women
i.
The
savior was to be born from the lineage of Shem
ii.
Canaanites
and Hittites are from the line of Ham
iii.
Genesis
9 25-26 tells us Canaanites (and their descendants the Hittites) were cursed
because of Ham
iv.
So
there was two reasons not to marry Canaanite/Hittite women.
1. They were cursed by God
2. They were from the lineage
of Ham, not Shem
v.
Knowing
this, Isaac would also want his children to marry from the lineage of Shem to
fulfill the promise of God through them, the birth of the Savior!
vi.
This
cannot happen if you marry outside the lineage of Shem!
c. ISAAC SENDS JACOB TO HIS
GRANDFATHERS CLAN TO MARRY FROM THE LINEAGE OF SHEM
i.
The
lineage of Shem were obedient to the Lord while the descendants of Ham were
not.
ii.
Isaac
was the work of God’s Spirit while Ishmael was a work of the flesh
iii.
Ishmael
was never part of the Lord’s plan to bring about the Savior through his lineage
because he was the result of the work of the flesh
iv.
When
Esau finally acknowledged his parents, Isaac and Rebekah were upset he married
Hittite women, he figured he would fix it by marrying a third women, this time
a daughter of Ishmael.
1. Again, this was a work of
the flesh
2. Esau trying to put himself
in a good position
3. However, Jacob was the one
who now had Isaac’s birthright (and the passing of the promise of the Lord,
from Abraham to Isaac now Jacob), as well as his father’s blessing.
v.
It
was ALWAYS God’s intention for Jacob to have these, again, the Lord showing
just as He did with Ishmael and Isaac, it matters NOT who is born first,
rather, whom God chooses.
vi.
It
MUST be the work of the Spirit, because the work of the flesh will always fail.
II.
WHEN JACOB SLEPT IN THE CITY OF LUZ HE HAD A VISION
a. Jacob falls asleep with his
head upon a rock
i.
Jacob
has a vision in his sleep
ii.
He
sees a stairway resting on the earth and the top reaching heaven
1. Remember Creation week!
2. First God creates His abode,
the 3rd heaven where He resides, the 2nd heaven which is
basically the entire universe, and the first heaven which is our atmosphere (Genesis 1:1 “God created the heavens
and the earth”)
3. There is a door between the
3rd heaven where God’s home within creation is and where God Himself
“actually” is. Revelation speaks of the throne room door being opened in
heaven, I believe this is the door between heaven and where God Himself is
4. In Genesis 1:3 God creates TIME in the 1st
and 2nd heaven
5. Because TIME exists in the 2nd
heaven (the universe) and 1st heaven (sky around us) there must be a
scientific/logical way for angels to travel to and from heaven to earth
crossing immeasurable distances between earth and the third heaven.
a. Remember this was written
long before science or even science fiction existed
b. They knew nothing about
space travel, the expanse of the universe or the scientific LAWS God put into
place at the time of creation which allows the universe to operate like an
enormous clock.
c. I believe this stairway
Jacob saw is just that!
d. A wormhole (which is
scientifically possible within the laws of the known universe) which allows angels
to travel the immense distance quickly and efficiently from the 3rd
heaven to earth and back.
6. Again, to me, I believe this
is just more evidence of how true the Word of God is, with science written
within its words before science for man even existed.
b. Jacob has a vision (though
asleep)
i.
Some
visions take place while we are awake, some while we meditate on the Word of
God and some in our sleep.
ii.
A
vision from God is like you are awake, and conscious of what is taking place,
while a dream may be images, words, situations shown to you in which they must
be sometimes deciphered for understanding
c. The Lord speaks directly to
Jacob about His covenant with Abraham
i.
Verse
13 says “there above it” speaking of the stairway, however this would have been
better translated, “there beside him”
ii.
The
Lord tells Jacob who He is, and of the covenant with Abraham and Isaac
iii.
The
Lord them tells Jacob He will do the same for him, give him the land he sleeps
on, and expand his offspring like dust of the earth
iv.
The
Lord also promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes, and never leave him until
what He promises is fulfilled.
III.
WHEN JACOB WOKE HE MADE A VOW TO GOD
a. When Jacob woke he was
afraid
i.
Jacob
says, “the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it!”
ii.
This
is probably because Jacob did not have the Holy Spirit, therefore no
discernment
iii.
“How
awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the
Gate of Heaven!”
b. Jacob built an altar and
declared it the Lord’s
i.
Just
as Abraham did when the Lord met him and made covenant with him
ii.
Jacob
turned the pillow/stone upright like a pillar and named the place Bethel, House
of God
c. Jacob then made his vow
i.
If
God will be with me as He promised, then when I return home safely the Lord
will be my God
ii.
THIS
is where we see the covenant passed from Isaac to Jacob, just as it was from
Abraham to Isaac.
iii.
Jacob
declares this to be the house of God, and swears “of ALL that you give me, I
will give you a tenth.”
CONCLUSION –
As we have witnessed
throughout Genesis, God makes a covenant and gives a command. Those who obey
are viewed as righteous and qualify for the benefits, blessings, and protection
of the covenant while fulfilling God’s will.
The Lord tells Jacob of
the covenant with Abraham and Isaac, and offers it to him.
Jacob accepts and
continues on his way to fulfill his quest, to find a daughter of the lineage of
Shem, and have offspring just as Isaac and Abraham did.
As long as Jacob is
obedient to the Lord, he will receive the blessings, benefits, and protection of
the Lord God.
Next week we will look at Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel
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