Chapter 28:
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Introduction 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 Revelation Exodus
Genesis 28
We have here,
I. Jacob's parting with his parents to go to Padan-aram: the charge
his father gave him, ver. 1, 2. the blessing he sent him away with,
ver. 3, 4. his obedience to the orders given him, ver. 5-10. and the
influence this had upon Esau, ver. 6.
II. Jacob's meeting with God, and his communion with him by the
way. And there,
1. His vision of the ladder, ver. 11, 12.
2. The gracious promise God made him, ver. 13, 14, 15.
3. The impression this made upon him, ver. 16-19.
4. The vow he made to God upon this occasion, ver. 20, 21, 22.
Verse 1. Isaac blessed him, and charged him - Those that have the
blessing must keep the charge annexed to it, and not think to
separate what God has joined.
Verses
3, 4. Two great promises Abraham was blessed with, and Isaac
here entails them both upon Jacob.
1. The promise of heirs, God make thee fruitful and multiply
thee.
(1.) Through his loins that people should descend from Abraham
which should be numerous as the stars of heaven.
(2.) Through his loins should descend from Abraham that person in
whom all the families of the earth should be blessed.
2. The promise of an inheritance for those heirs, ver. 4. That
thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings - (So the Hebrew)
Canaan was hereby entailed upon the seed of Jacob, exclusive of
the seed of Esau. Isaac was now sending Jacob away into a distant
country to settle there for some time; and lest this should look like
disinheriting him, he here confirms the settlement of it upon him.
This promise looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan was a
type. That was the better country which Jacob, with the other
patriarchs, had in his eye when he confessed himself a stranger
and pilgrim on the earth, Heb. xi, 16. See note at "ver. 3"
Verse
5. Rebekah is here called Jacob's and Esau's mother - Jacob is
named first, not only because he had always been his mother's
darling, but because he was now made his father's heir, and Esau
was postponed.
Verse
6. This passage comes in, in the midst of Jacob's story, to shew
the influence of a good example. Esau now begins to think Jacob
the better man, and disdains not to take him for his pattern in this
particular instance of marrying with a daughter of Abraham.
Verse
11. The stones for his pillow, and the heavens for his canopy! Yet
his comfort in the divine blessing, and his confidence in the divine
protection, made him easy, even when he lay thus exposed: being
sure that his God made him to dwell in safety, he could lie down
and sleep upon a stone.
Verse
12. Behold a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached
heaven, the angels ascending and descending on it, and the Lord
stood above it - This might represent
1. The providence of God, by which there is a constant
correspondence kept up between heaven and earth. The counsels
of heaven are executed on earth, and the affairs of this earth are
all known in heaven. Providence doth his work gradually and by
steps; angels are employed as ministering spirits to serve all the
designs of providence, and the wisdom of God is at the upper end
of the ladder, directing all the motions of second causes to his
glory. The angels are active spirits, continually ascending and
descending; they rest not day nor night. They ascend to give
account of what they have done, and to receive orders; and desend
to execute the orders they have received. This vision gave
seasonable comfort to Jacob, letting him know that he had both a
good guide and good guard; that though he was to wander from
his father's house, yet he was the care of Providence, and the
charge of the holy angels.
2. The mediation of Christ. He is this ladder: the foot on earth in
his human nature, the top in heaven in his divine nature; or the
former is his humiliation, the latter is his exaltation. All the
intercourse between heaven and earth since the fall is by this
ladder. Christ is the way: all God's favours come to us, and all our
services come to him, by Christ. If God dwell with us, and we
with him, it is by Christ: we have no way of getting to heaven but
by this ladder; for the kind offices the angels do us, are all owing
to Christ, who hath reconciled things on earth and things in
heaven, Colossians i, 20.
Verse
14. In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed -
Christ is the great blessing of the world: all that are blessed,
whatever family they are of, are blessed in him, and none of any
family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that
exclude themselves.
Verse
15. Behold I am with thee - Wherever we are, we are safe, if we
have God's favourable presence with us. He knew not, but God
foresaw what hardships he would meet with in his uncle's service,
and therefore promiseth to preserve him in all places. God knows
how to give his people graces and comforts accommodated to the
events that shall be, as well as to those that are. He was now going
as an exile into a place far distant, but God promiseth him to bring
him again to this land. He seemed to be forsaken of all his friends,
but God gives him this assurance, I will not leave thee.
Verse
16. Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not - God's
manifestations of himself to his people carry their own evidence
along with them. God can give undeniable demonstrations of his
presence, such as give abundant satisfaction to the souls of the
faithful, that God is with them of a truth; satisfaction not
communicable to others, but convincing to themselves. We
sometimes meet with God there, where we little thought of
meeting with him. He is there where we did not think he had been,
is found there where we asked not for him.
Verse
17. He was afraid - So far was he from being puffed up. The more
we see of God, the more cause we see for holy trembling and
blushing before him. Those whom God is pleased to manifest
himself to, are laid and kept very low in their own eyes, and see
cause to fear even the Lord and his goodness, Hosea iii, 5. And
said, How dreadful is this place! - That is, the appearance of God
in this place is to be thought of, but with a holy awe and
reverence; I shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by
this token as long as I live. Not that he thought the place itself any
nearer the divine visions than any other places; but what he saw
there at this time was, as it were, the house of God, the residence
of the Divine Majesty, and the gate of heaven, that is, the general
rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper world; as the meetings
of a city were in their gates; or, the angels ascending and
descending were like travelers passing and repassing through the
gates of a city.
Verse
18. He set up the stone for a pillar - To mark the place again, if he
came back, and erect a lasting monument of God's favour to him:
and because he had not time now to build an altar here, as
Abraham did in the places where God appeared to him, chap. xii,
7, he therefore poured oil on the top of this stone, which probably
was the ceremony then used in dedicating their altars, as an
earnest of his building an altar when he should have
conveniencies for it, as afterwards he did, in gratitude to God,
chap. xxxv, 7. Grants of mercy call for our returns of duty and the
sweet communion we have with God ought ever to be remembered.
Verse
19. It had been called Luz, an almond-tree, but he will have it
henceforth called Beth-el, the house of God. This gracious
appearance of God to him made it more remarkable than all the
almond-trees that flourished there.
Verse
20. And Jacob vowed a vow - By religious vows we give glory to
God, and own our dependance upon him, and we lay a bond upon
our own souls, to engage and quicken our obedience to him. Jacob
was now in fear and distress, and in times of trouble it is
seasonable to make vows, or when we are in pursuit of any special
mercy, John i, 16 Psalm lxvi, 13, 14; 1 Sam. i, 11 Num. xxi, 1, 2,
3. Jacob had now had a gracious visit from heaven, God had
renewed his covenant with him, and the covenant is mutual; when
God ratifies his promises to us, it is proper for us to repeat our
promises to him. If thou wilt be with me and keep me - We need
desire no more to make us easy and happy wherever we are, but to
have God's presence with us, and to be under his protection. It is
comfortable in a journey to have a guide in an unknown way, a
guard in a dangerous way, to be well carried, well provided for,
and to have good company in any way; and they that have God
with them, have all this in the best manner. Then shall the Lord be
my God - Then I will rejoice in him as my God, then I will be the
more strongly engaged to abide with him. And this pillar shall be
God's house - That is, an altar shall be erected here to the honour
of God. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the
tenth unto thee - To be spent either upon God's altar or upon his
poor, which are both his receivers in the world. The tenth is a very
fit proportion to be devoted to God, and employed for him;
though as circumstances vary, it may be more or less, as God
prospers us.
Chapter 28:
| Calvin
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 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 Revelation Exodus
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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