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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Then Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him,–and commanded him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. |
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| 2 Rise, go thy way to Padan-aram to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father,–and take thee from thence, a wife, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother. |
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| 3 And, GOD Almighty, bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee,–so shalt thou become a multitude of peoples. |
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| 4 And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee,–that thou mayest possess the land of thy sojournings, which God gave to Abraham. |
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| 5 So Isaac sent away Jacob, and he took his journey to Padan-aram,–unto Laban son of Bethuel, the Syrian, brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau. |
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| 6 And Esau beheld that Isaac, when he blessed Jacob, and sent him to Padan-aram, to take to himself from thence, a wife, that, in blessing him, he laid command upon him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; |
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| 7 And that Jacob hearkened unto his father, and unto his mother,–and took his journey to Padan-aram. |
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| 8 So then Esau beheld that, displeasing, were the daughters of Caanan,–in the eyes of Isaac his father: |
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| 9 Esau therefore went unto Ishmael,–and took Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth, to himself to wife, in addition to the wives that he had. |
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| 10 So Jacob went forth, from Beer-sheba,–and journeyed towards Haran. |
Jacob – A Patriarch, neither Jew nor Christian. R5199:3
Practically a fugitive on account of his faith in the Abrahamic covenant. R3964:6
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| 11 And he lighted on a place, and tarried the night there, because the sun had gone in,–and he took of the stones of the place, and put for his pillow,–and lay down in that place. |
Took of the stones – Following the custom of many in Palestine today. R5199:1
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| 12 And he dreamed, and lo! a stairway, planted earthwards, with, its top, reaching towards the heavens,–and lo! messengers of God, ascending and descending thereon; |
Behold a ladder – The Lord Jesus, the connecting link between heaven and earth. R3483:6, R3965:1
"Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." (John 1:51). D629
The re-establishment of peace and fellowship between heaven and earth. PD28/41; R5199:6
Communication between heaven and earth- the Messianic Kingdom. R5200:4
Behold the angels – Messengers of God, the "princes" of the new dispensation, including Jacob himself. D629
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| 13 and lo! Yahweh, standing by him,–and he said, I, am Yahweh, God of Abraham thy father and God of Isaac,–The land whereon, thou, art lying, to thee, will I give it, and to thy seed; |
LORD stood above it – "All things are of the Father and by the Son." (1 Cor. 8:6). F3965:1
To thee – God recognized Jacob as the legal heir of the Abrahamic promise. R5199:2
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| 14 And thy seed shall become, as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break forth westward and eastward, and northward and southward,–And all the families of the ground shall be blessed in thee, and in thy seed. |
Dust of the earth – The earthly seed, mentioned exclusively to Jacob, to whom Paul refers as a representative of natural Israel. R3965:3
One who receives such unqualified divine approval as did Jacob, ought never to be spoken of lightly. R2863:6
In thy seed shall – First through the "Isaac" seed, the New Creation; and secondly through the Ancient Worthies, developed in the ages preceding this age. Q196:2
All the families – Including the ante-diluvians. HG727:5
Be blessed – See comments on Gen. 12:3.
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| 15 Lo! then, I, am with thee, so will I keep thee in every place whithersoever thou mayest go, and will bring thee back unto this soil,–For I will not forsake thee until I have done that of which I have spoken to thee. |
Into this land – A prophecy of the regathering of fleshly Israel to Palestine. R1630:2
Not leave thee – God has not let go of fleshly Israel from that time to this. R3965:4
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| 16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely, Yahweh was in this place, And, I, knew it not. |
And he said – Being content with the loss of all things since he was acknowledged of God as heir of the promise. R3965:2
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| 17 And he feared, and said, How fearful is this place! None other this, than the house of God! Nor this than the gate of the heavens! |
The gate of heaven – "Wherever two or three are met" (Matt. 18:20) in the Lord's name, there R3965:5
The great Temple of God, composed of living stones, will be the gate of heaven, through which will come to mankind all of the things promised. R5200:1
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| 18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put for his pillow, and put it for a pillar,–and poured out oil upon the top thereof; |
And set it up – It is now our privilege to set up the memorials of baptism and commemoration of the Passover. R3966:4
A pillar – A monument. R5200:4
Poured oil – Signifying its sacredness to God. R5200:4
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| 19 and called the name of that place–Bethel,–nevertheless, Luz, was the name of the city, aforetime. |
Beth-el – The house of God. R3966:4, R5200:1
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| 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying,–If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way whereon, I, am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; |
If God – Since God, or, inasmuch as God. R1630:4
Bread to eat – Jacob did not wish for more than mere necessities and we should have the same disposition. R1630:4
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| 21 and I come back in prosperity unto the house of my father, Then will Yahweh prove to be my, God,– |
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| 22 And, this stone which I have put for a pillar, shall be the house of God,–And, of all which thou shalt give me, a tenth, will I tithe unto thee. |
The tenth unto thee – The consecration on Jacob's part was voluntary; not of constraint, but of love and gratitude. R1630:4
We, of the New Creation, gladly covenant to give all that we have, but we are fortunate if we are able to give directly to the Lord one-tenth of our time and means and other talents. R3966:4
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