Remembering Bethel:
Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it. Then GOD was right before him, saying, “I am GOD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.” Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “GOD is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.” Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). The name of the town had been Luz until then… “This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I’ll return a tenth to you.” — Genesis 28:10-19, 22 (MSG)
This “grandson of Abraham” would be given the same promise God gave his grandfather, that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed…
Scripture:
“All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.” — Genesis 28:14-15 (MSG)
Jacob’s reaction is understandable:
He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.” — Genesis 28:17 (MSG)
Jacob takes the very stone that had been his pillow and turns it into a pillar of praise to God.
Scripture:
Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar… — Genesis 28:18 (MSG)
