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oh yeah yeah you get a lot of Genesis [Music] good okay you can turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 28 Genesis chapter 28 I'll begin reading in verse 1 then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him and said to him you shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan arise go to Padanaram to the house of beth ul your mother's father and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you that you may be an assembly of peoples and give you the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger which God gave to Abraham so Isaac sent Jacob away and he went to Paden Aaron to Laban the son of Beth ul the Syrian the brother of Rebekah the mother of Jacob and Esau esau saw that isaac had blessed jacob and sent him away to Padanaram to take himself away from there and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying you shall not take a wife from the daughters of canaan and that jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and it and had gone to Padanaram also Esau saw that the daughters of canaan did not please his father isaac so Esau went to Ishmael and took mahalo the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son the sister of NEBOSH off to be his wife in addition to the wives he had now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran so he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the Sun had set and he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head and he laid down in that place to sleep then he dreamed and behold a ladder was set up on the earth and it stopped reached to heaven and there the angels of God were ascending and descending 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 in your descendants 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 behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and we'll bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it 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 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 and he called the name of that place Bethel but the name of that city had been laws previously then Jacob made a vow saying if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I am going and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come back to my father's house and peace then the Lord shall be my god and this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you amen well we're continuing tests strictly speaking or technically in the story of Isaac which began at chapter 25 verse 19 we read there this is the genealogy of Isaac though Jacob dominates the the narrative at this particular point and we saw last week how it was Jacob and Rebecca's plan to deceive Isaac so that Isaac would bless Jacob with the blessing that should have gone to Esau and tonight what we find in chapter 28 is that God confirms this blessing God confirms this promise in many ways this vow at Bethel that that Jacob engages in is similar to Genesis 15 when God makes that covenant with Abraham to his wages fears and to confirm to him and affirm to him that the promises concerning land and seed will come to through that's how the function or that's how this particular chapter functions excuse me in the life of Jacob so I want to look first at the relocation of Jacob to Padanaram and verses one to five secondly the attempt by Esau to gain blessing in verses six to nine and then finally the vow of Jacob at Bethel in verses 10 to 22 but as we look at this relocation of Jacob to Padanaram we know that it's connected very tightly to what has preceded in chapter 27 remember that when Esau was cheated basically out of the blessing he was upset with Jacob as I think anybody would be and according to verse 41 he says or it says in chapter 27 the days of mourning for my father are at hand then I will kill my brother Jacob so the intent of Esau to kill Jacob Rebekah learns of this and of course Rebekah fears remember that we've already been told back in chapter 25 that Rebekah favors Jacob and Isaac favors Esau there is this favoritism going on I think it's still latent in the tax before us tonight in Genesis chapter 28 so Rebecca gets wind of this and has this plan for Jacob to go to pattern Aaron specifically called Haran in chapter 27 it's the same region and he wants and she wants him to go stay at her brother Laban 's house and Rebekah is quite astute in the way that she convinces Isaac in verse 46 of chapter 27 remember that Isaac is not particularly favorable to Jacob his favorite is Esau Jacob Isaac knows that he has been deceived by Jacob at this particular point so what Jacob gets in terms of blessing is probably not high on the priority list for Isaac in terms of a good wife but in verse 46 Rebekah appeals to Isaac at a level that's already been told us in chapter 26 you look at chapter 26 in verse 35 it says they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah those are Esau as wives and so Rebekah not convinces Isaac of the importance of Jacob going to and harem to find a wife so that he does not engage in the sorts of things that Esau had dot verse 46 she says I am weary of my life because of the daughters of hath if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of hath like these who are the daughters of the land what good will my life be to me again this is masterful she is a manipulator she is an Orchestrator she has everything under control basically the argument isn't I want Jacob to find a good wife the argument has Esau's wives are absolutely positively horrible terrible and I don't want the same to be duplicated in the life of Jacob so that brings us to the instruction given by Isaac specifically to Jacob in verses 1 to 2 he tells him in verse 1 you shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan arise go to Padanaram to the house of beth ul your mother's father and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother and now he rehearses the blessing that he's already pronounced upon him in chapter 27 at verses 28 and 29 remember this is irrevocable it's not the case that Isaac can say I was duped I was deceived that blessing is null and void no once it's been communicated and conveyed to Jacob it is irrevocable and so Isaac knowing this makes this statement concerning Jacob verse 3 he reiterates what has already gone before terms of Isaac's blessing of Jacob but what is consistent with the blessing promised to Abraham and to Isaac himself this shows that Jacob is in fact the rightful heir to the promise of God visa V the Abrahamic covenant so he says may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you that you may be an assembly of peoples and give you the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger which God gave to Abraham so the blessing of Almighty God the multiplication of seed and the inheritance of the land the same thing that has already been promised to Abraham on several occasions and then again reiterated to Isaac and it is intriguing because as Jacob leaves the land at this particular time he has no idea how long he's going to be gone he's going to be gone for 20 years that's why what happens at Bethel is very significant not only in terms of passing the promise on to Jacob but in terms of helping and aiding and assisting Jacob remember according to the scripture in chapter 25 he's a mama's boy he's also a homebody he's a dweller in tents he's never been away from his family and now he has to leave his country he has to sleep underneath the stars because there's sort of no hotel or motel that he can sort of take residence in so this is a difficult time for the life of Jacob and so this situation at Bethel when God comes to him in this dream is most excellent to confirm or to affirm his faith and as well to give him the grace of perseverance so that he goes forward in the fear of God according to verse 5 in chapter 28 Jacob obeys and he goes off into Padanaram but before that we see this attempt by Esau to gain blessing in verses 6 to 9 now Esau had already married these daughters of hath he already married these two Hittites which proved to be a great grief to both Isaac and Rebekah he also knew that Jacob had taken the blessing that was rightfully due to Esau that's what got him so angry and that's what made him want to actually kill his brother but he also now knows concerning jacob's mission to pad an era it's finally dawned on him that having married these Canaanite women was a big mistake in terms of getting blessing from his father and here it seems as if he thinks that if he takes a wife that is a relation that he can perhaps curry the favor of his father or ingratiate himself to his father now if you look at verses 6 to 7 that's essentially what's happening he understands what's going on in terms of Isaac's command to Jacob and then in verse 8 we read also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan no no I'm ok thanks you also saw I've had those before and spit comes out and makes my pages stick together and that's I'd rather struggle than have my pages stick together so so notice what he says in verse eight also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac so Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalo Mahalo the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son and and again some would interpret this as a further spiteful act toward his father but I don't think that's it I think he's trying to ingratiate himself to his father notice that it only mentions his father Isaac not one word concerning Rebekah the lines are clearly drawn in the sand Jacob is of his mother and Esau is of his father and it's Esau his father that's an that's his concern so it's not to further spite Isaac but rather he probably thinks that if I take a woman that's one of our relations I can't necessarily get the blessing that Jacob stole from me but my father might be kinder and more propitious to me as a result of marrying somebody close by Wenham says to marry a relation rather than a Canaanite seemed to ensure parental goodwill so Esau decides to marry a daughter of Ishmael that it was only after he had heard Isaac sending Jacob off that he realized his wives were unpopular suggests Esau was rather slow witted it took him a while but he finally figures out it was not wise for him to marry these Hittites because it proved to be a grief to Isaac and to Rebekah now how this all turned out for Esau we'll find out later but right now we go to this time of Jacob at Bethel now first we look at the experience at Bethel and he departs from Beersheba as the first 10 tells us and he's going toward Haran it says in verse 11 he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the son had said it would be impossible for him to travel at night and he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head and he laid down in that place to sleep most likely he wasn't using it as a pillow but probably has protection perhaps as a barrier or perhaps something nearby so he could use it as a striking implement if he was you know seized upon by anybody that was trying to attack you if you're so inclined to think he used the stone for a pillow then you know good for you I'm not sure that's what what what's it what's in view there but he does take that stone it's near his hat and then he has this dream and it's a very intriguing dream and there's two main interpretations in terms of this drain but there are three particulars with reference to the drain first there is this ladder set up on the earth in the top reach to heaven some suggest ladders not the best translation perhaps it was a a ramp or a stairway that the AIA the idea is clear there's something going from heaven up to earth as well we see the angels of God ascending and descending on that ladder that ramp or that stairway and then the Lord Himself stood above it so that's the particular dream that he has in verses 12 and 13 God is going to give him a word and we'll look at that in just a moment but in terms of the dream itself Jewish Exedy exegetes and protestant exegetes alike see in the first place the reality of God's providence the fact that God in His Providence is over all things that there is a connection excuse me between heaven and earth and that God is not allowed as people to sort of fend for themselves in the book of Genesis we know that angels guard they serve guard over the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:24 we know that they communicate according to Genesis 18 12 - we know that they protect according to Genesis 19 and as the Apostle tells us in Hebrews chapter 1 they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation so the providential interpretation I think is consistent I think it's legitimate I don't think it's an either/or in terms of interpretation I think it's both of the things that I'm going to suggest tonight but on this one Matthew Poole says and so it represented to Jacob the Providence of God who though he dwell in heaven extends his care and government to the earth and particularly makes use of the angels as ministering spirits for the good of his people again can the importance of this for Jacob the first time he's ever been away from home and in any sort of an extended position he's by himself he has to sleep out in the out in the fields he's under the under the stars he has nobody with him he doesn't have what the servant of Abraham had remember the servant of Abraham had great riches and he had great spoils such that when he went to secure the bride for Isaac he was able to convey on the bond the family a great deal of riches and a great deal of stuff in terms of bride price and whatnot when Jacob gets to pad and harem he has nothing to give to Laban but his own service so he doesn't have this retinue of donkeys or or camels loaded with wares and loaded with stuff he has his oil according to the tax he probably has some provision to be sure but he does not have what the servant of Abraham had when he went to fetch a bride for Isaac so the thing or the situation is really different and he's all alone out there if anything chapter 28 should cause us to be a little bit more compassionate toward Jacob it does put him in the light of a sympathetic character chapter 27 he's not a sympathetic character he simply goes along with his mother's plan to basically extort the blessing out of his father by way of deception here in chapter 28 he now affirms Yahweh as his God he affirms this to this covenant that God has made with him and he worships he praises and he even gives tithes so this is sort of the turning point in terms of of Jacob going from that place of deceiver that one who grasps at the heels to one who now gives in worship and praise to the living and true God the second interpretation is that the vision represents the Messiah the vision represents the Lord Jesus Christ now for those who might say well how did you get that well Jesus tells us in John 1 at verse 51 it is dealing with Nathaniel and he said to him most assuredly I say to you hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man so Christ puts a messianic interpretation upon this vision that Jacob has at Bethel in Genesis chapter 28 Christ is the ladder Christ is the stairway Christ is the ramp between heaven and earth and the Lord God has instituted as covenant mediator for his elect John Gill says or else talking about the two interpretations Providence and then he says or else the Incarnation and mediation of Christ who in his human nature was to be in the fullness of time on earth there to live a while obey suffer and die and so was the latter set on earth and His divine nature was the top of it which reached heaven here he was in that nature before his incarnation and from hence he came and indeed here he was in that went on earth and as man he ascended on high when he had done his work and has now higher than the heavens he may be fit me represented here by as the mediator who has reconciled things in heaven and things on earth and has as it were joined and united heaven and earth together again I don't think it's an either/or obviously it speaks to Jacob in terms of Providence and how God is going to provide for him by via or via these these ministering spirits these angels but it also points forward to that mediator between heaven and earth the Lord Christ that seed who is the seed of the promises to Abraham Isaac and Jacob again Jesus interprets it this way in John 1:51 and we do well to give heed to our Lord as he affirms that he is that one that Jacob saw now in terms of the revelation given you have the dream in verses 12 11 I'm sorry 12 in verse 12 rather and now in verse 13 be God speech stea the Lord God identifies himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac he's showing the consistency he's showing his faithfulness he's showing something concerning Covenant and continuity to Jacob secondly the Lord God affirms the promise given to Abraham and Isaac and now to Jacob that promise again I hope everybody would get this if we were having a quiz tonight it's a land promise and it's a seed promise notice what he says specifically in verse 13 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 so a Jacob is presently in Canaan that day's journey was not enough for him to get outside the boundary of Canaan so he is lying in Canaan and the Lord of ferns to him that I'm going to give this to you again the promises of God do not happen overnight it's going to be 20 years before Jacob sets foot back into the promised land or back into Canaan you see that often in these patriarchal narratives God gives promises and they don't automatically spring into action there's a period of time there's a season there's a need for patience on the part of God's people as he works out his purpose and plan he doesn't always act according to our desires or according to our timeframe or according to our expectation but rather he acts according to his own purpose and plan so he reiterates the land promise and then he reiterates the seed promise in verse 14 now while this seed promise has been given to Abraham and it's been given to Isaac it's most closely parallel to that given to Abraham in chapter 13 at verses 14 to 16 so here in 28 14 also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth you shall spread abroad to the west and the east excuse me to the north and the south and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed you see how whenever this is give it it's not just so Israel can enjoy a long and a profitable time in the land of promise now all the nations of the earth will be blessed based on the seed that is given in promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob this should hopefully help us as we consider what's happening in the book of Acts in Acts chapter 10 as we have reflected upon Genesis chapter 9 and Noah speaking prophetically concerning Japheth entering into the tents of schaap concerning the promises given by God to Abraham to Isaac and now to Jacob that all the families of the earth all the nations of the earth will be blessed as a result of this seed given to the nation of Israel as walki points out the particular election of the chosen seed is always linked to its universal significance so it's not the case that it was always going to be just a a providential or rather a a localized application of God's blessing in terms of salvation this is why when you get to the Psalter Psalm 117 is about Gentiles praising Yahweh when you get to the prophets Isaiah prophet Isaiah chapters 42 and 49 servant songs of Isaiah you see God giving the earth to the Lord Jesus Christ he's a light to the nation's and so all of this comes to fruition formally in Acts chapter 10 with the call of Cornelius that doesn't mean there were never Gentiles saved along the way but that's the formalized sort of highlighting of God's redemptive plan not just Jews but Gentiles as well in you and your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed now notice after he affirms the promise given to Abraham and Isaac he then assures Jacob that he will be with him and will keep him and bring him back to this land it really is an encouraging statement again very similar to what Abraham receives from God in Genesis chapter 15 this is God manifesting himself to Jacob to encourage his heart to strengthen and stabilize him verse 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 not that doesn't mean once he is done then he's gonna leave him it just simply means the shortness of the promise is good he will come he will bring it to fruition Jacob will inherit everything that the Lord is sad Calvin commenting here at verse 15 says God now promptly anticipates the temptation which might steal over the mind of holy Jacob for though he is for a time thrust out into a foreign land God declares that he will be his keeper until he is until he shall have brought him back again so really it's a powerful statement concerning God's goodness very much like what he says to Abraham in Genesis 15 before he even gets to the covenant ratification Genesis 15 1 he says do not be afraid Abram I am your shield your exceedingly great reward and I think in this we ought to appreciate the grace of God he not only gives us these promises but he gives us this encouragement he gives us this this security he gives us this comfort to hopefully its wage the fears that rise up in our heart and Jacob is no different that is precisely how the Lord is dealing with him in this particular instance so the Lord ultimately is providing divine confirmation to Isaac's blessing of Jacob everything that Isaac says to Jacob back in chapter 27 and then reiterated here in chapter 28 verses 3 to 4 are ratified and confirmed by God in this dream in this vision that he is revealed unto Jacob now notice that brings us to his vow at Bethel having seen all of this in verses 16 to 22 first he reacts he surprised he is surprised according to verse 16 Jacob awoke from his sleep and said surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it well we know that God is in every place because he's infinite he is immense he is omnipresent but he's in this place in a special way and Jacob comes to see that Jacob comes to affirm that and it has surprised Jacob in terms of his having not known it but now he does and then this provokes from him fear verse 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 now some would suggest that's an odd reaction the presence of bought ought not to promote fear it ought to just promote gentleness and love and comfort well this isn't the sort of fear that that runs from God this is the sort of fear that runs to God it is that reverential awe directed toward God john murray calls this fear of the lord the soul of godliness it's the fear of the lord highlighted throughout the old testament it's the fear of the lord that is not running and hiding from him but running and hiding in him and I think John Gill explains this fear well he says not with a servile but filial fear not with a fear of the wrath and displeasure of God but with a fear of His grace and goodness not with a fear of distrust of it of which he had just had such a comfortable assurance but with an awe of the greatness and glory of God being conscious of his own unworthiness to receive such favours from him that's the fear that Jacob possessed in his soul this is the soul of godliness those who do not know this fear of God have probably never come to the Lord Jesus Christ and believed on him because this ultimately is the reaction from God's people when we come into his presence and we are the recipients of His grace of his mercy and of his kindness what is John Newton right and that most famous of Em's twas grace that taught my heart to fear well this doesn't just come willy-nilly out of the air or out of the mind of John Newton there's a promise in Jeremiah 32 concerning the New Covenant and God says concerning the New Covenant I will put my fear in their heart you see these two types of fear at Sinai you see this servile fear and then you see this filial fear God says not to fear in the servile way but to fear in the filial way that reverential awe that respect that honor that glory that is due to God Almighty so that's his reaction and then we notice his vow in verses 18 to 22 now the pillar excuse me and the oil were to commemorate the site not to serve as idols not to function in a manner or capacity where Jacob would bow down to it and engage in idolatry now this happens often in Old Testament narrative where stones are often time set up to commemorate some blessing of God at a particular site now later on pagans heathens they worship those things so there are prohibitions given in the law concerning such things but in this particular juncture Jacob is not faulted for idolatry but rather Jacob is commemorating the site notice that he calls the place Bethel Bethel simply means house of God now the vow that he that he takes is an expression of his faith notice what he says verse 20 then Jacob made a vow saying if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I am going and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come back to my father's house and peace then the Lord shall be my god it sounds very conditional on the part of Jacob if the Lord does this then I will serve it but this is an oath or a vow to God which is a necessary part of religious worship in Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 16 we see the emphasis on swearing ODEs before God you see this throughout scripture our confession of faith I pointed to that ours isn't in there but it's similar to the to the Westminster at that point speaks concerning vows and oaths so that in and of itself is not wrong in terms of the conditionality of it that's covenant making that's the way the parties to a covenant and Trent in terms of what may appear to be conditionality it does not offend Yahweh one wit if you look at chapter 31 at verse 13 chapter 31 at verse 13 God does not condemn and nor does God condemn inverse chapter xxviii what appears to be conditionality on the part of Jacob 31:13 I am the God of Bethel where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to me now arise get out of this land and return to the land of your family this was conventional it's not your referent it's not ungodly it's not unrighteous what Jacob does he is making a factual statement if God keeps his obligation then certainly I will keep my obligation this is what the parties to a covenant swear in terms of fidelity one to another and then the vow confirms that Yahweh will be Jacobs God and that Jacob will worship at Yahweh's house and that Jacob will pay tithes to Yahweh it's an interesting statement at the end of verse 22 at verse 22 and this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you so you see what's happening in terms of Jacob he goes from this place of grabbing the heel to this place of giving tithes to God Almighty he goes from this place of having deceived his father to receiving the blessing of God mediated by his father he goes from this place to now confessing faith in Yahweh confessing his trust in him and this will indeed will be a boon to him as he goes into this land of Padanaram as he serves Laban for all those many years and then as he ultimately returns to the land of promise this was the wind in his sails that he would certainly need and the Lord God comes to confirm with him his blessings his promises and the good that he will accomplish in the life of this man Jacob now in terms of a few lessons in this chapter the first is covenant the covenant with God our confession of faith speaks like this concerning God's covenant 'old dealings says this covenant talking about the covenant of grace in chapter 7 at paragraph 3 this covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation I guess I'm just sharing with you something tonight that has dawned on me in the study of John at this point as I as I mentioned on several occasions we have you know these massive world events we have creation we have fall we have the flood we have the the rebellion at Babel we have all these things and then we get to the patriarchs and we slow down to a crawl we slow down to the point where in chapter 26 or I'm sorry 25 what was it 24 60 67 verses for the servant of Abraham to find a wife for Isaac I mean that has really come to a crawl well as we see God's covenantal dealing we can sort of see the overarching covenants but what we find in Scripture is that it gives us the nitty gritty in each of those covenantal arrangements so in our confession this covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman and afterwards by farther steps until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament you have this promise in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 15 that promise has moved along in farther steps I think our confession is referring there to the historical covenants the Covenant made with Noah the Covenant made with Abraham the Covenant made with Moses in Israel the Covenant made with David until the full realization or the fulfillment of it in that new covenant that is made with our Lord Jesus Christ we've got these historical covenants which are sort of the template in terms of how we look at the Bible the promise of God and the covenant of grace running through each one coming to fruition in the new covenant with our Lord Jesus but what we find in redemptive history is how the Abrahamic covenant is held together by God the nitty-gritty the details the difficulties the trials the hardships the threats to that promise the Abraham say be an Ishmaelite me an Isaac the the reality that Jacob is the son of promise and that even through the deception of Jacob and his mother nevertheless God is working out his plan we are in the nitty-gritty details of how God brings that Abrahamic covenant to pass in the midst of unpolished unsavoury at times and imperfect people God moves the promise along in these farther steps what the Bible does is it brings us into those farther stats so we can appreciate what life was like in that covenantal arrangement when you get to the the Old Covenant or what we might call the Mosaic Covenant or the Sinai covenant it's the life and history of Israel under that covenant and again there you see the foibles you see the sin you see the transgression you see the rebellion but lo and behold God keeps it together you get to the Davidic covenant where God promises then a son of David will ultimately occupy the throne well no thanks to men because every son of David is a sinner save the son that will come later in redemptive history so these covenants bring us to these to the nitty-gritty lives of God's people and ultimately they demonstrate and highlight for us the reality that God is faithful that the one who made the promise in genesis 3:15 brings it to fruition in matthew 26 when the Lord Jesus says that this is the New Covenant in my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins so we're on ground level when we're in this section of Genesis we're traversing or walking that trajectory with the patriarchs and see that is difficult as it may be nevertheless Yahweh is faithful and he will bring it to pass secondly we see the blessing of God that blessing first given to Abraham was then passed on to Isaac and has now come to Jacob God confirms it to Jacob here in Genesis chapter 28 in a most powerful and vivid way with this this vision with this dream this ladder between and earth again this points us forward to the Lord Christ and the reality that he is that mediator between God and men and that in terms of worship Jacob is now a worshipper of the living and true God he'd certainly heard of Yahweh we don't know of his religious experience prior to Genesis chapter 28 it doesn't seem like it was very good it doesn't seem like it was very strong it doesn't seem like it was very robust but here things have changed here he enters into covenant with Yahweh and here he responds by worship he responds by tithe again Wenham says Jacob promises that if the Lord brings him back safely that one he will worship the Lord to venerate this place as holy 3 offer tithes in making the Lord is God and offering tithes Jacob is imitating the actions of his grandfather Abraham he is also as father of the nation remember he is the father of the nation not that Abraham and Isaac are chumps but it's Jacob whose name has turned into Israel it is Jacob who is the father of this nation he says he is also as father of the nation setting a pattern for all Israel to follow you worship God you go to the sanctuary you go to the tabernacle the temple the house of God the Bethel and there you praise Him and there you adore him and there you honor him and there you bring your tithes and offerings there you return your gratitude to the true and living God so this would be not only a blessing for Jacob in terms of his perseverance to Padanaram for that twenty years and then back in terms of his return to Canaan but it would be paradigmatic for all Israel in terms of the response to Jacobs God and then finally as I said verses verse 12 in terms of the dream dream Matthew pull not only dealing with the providential says mystically and so it represents Christ by whom heaven and earth are united who's called the way to heaven which this latter was who as head of angels is perpetually sending them forth either to God or from God to minister to the heirs of salvation and this explication or accommodation of this vision is warranted by our savior himself in John 1:51 well that's clothed in the word of Prayer our Father we thank you for Genesis 28 we thank you for the entirety of your word and the way that it gives us the nitty gritty details on how you bring to pass the covenants you made with men those historical covenants and even moreso the theological covenant of grace the reality that in Christ all the nations of the earth shall be blessed how we thank you God for your faithfulness how we thank you for your graciousness how we thank you for your blessing and how we thank you that you've made us participants in these things God we give praise to you for our Lord Jesus Christ that ladder that that mediator between heaven and earth that one in whom is salvation that one who said I am the way the truth and the life God we pray this gospel would be preached throughout the earth that many more people would come to see him as Lord and as Savior and we ask this in his most blessed name amen