Jacob

Jacob's generation sees no new items are added to Abraham's Covenant. It does, though, get confirmed. It also sees certain elaborating words, such as North, South, East and West and Community of Nations.

Confirmed to Jacob

Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, was fleeing the wrath of his brother Esau, when he had a dream. The following is the relevant text:

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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." (Genesis 28:10-15 NIV)

The place were the dream happens, known as Bethel, but also known as Luz, meant literally, "house of God" and it was a picture of the linkage between the house of God and access to heaven that the stairway represented. 500 years later, this man's descendants would see into heaven again, with their visit to the base of Mount Sinai. 500 years after that they would build a "House of God" with the construction of Solomon's Temple. 1000 years after that, Jesus, "God With Us" would appear in the temple at age 12, and finally, 2000 years after that the age would close.

In this dream God reiterates that Jacob and his descendants are being given the land. The same land that was demarcated by the border with Egypt and the Euphrates river to the east.(Gen 28:13) Jacob's descendants would become as numerous as the "dust of the earth," another reference to an enormous number.(Gen 26:14) Jacob is also told that these people would spread out to the West, East, North, and South providing our first look at the four winds of the skies and providing our first key to this expression in later prophetic literature.(Gen 26:14) Jacob is told that through him all nations will be blessed.

Jacob's name changed

When Jacob finally returns home from his flight to Paddan Aram, he has a restless night where he struggles with an angel. He is told:

God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. (Genesis 35:10-15 NIV)

Jacob's name, which means "deceiver" is changed to Israel. At this point we see a pattern we last saw with Abraham, where Israel is told that both a nation, and community of nations, will come from him.(Gen 26:11) He is also reminded that kings will come from his body. Again, like Abraham, this is king David, about 920 years later, and Jesus about 1000 years after that. Finally, the land based promise is given to Israel as well.

A curious feature of this story is the way that Jacob pours out wine and oil at this place. Wine is symbolic of Jesus' shed blood, while oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit of God, or of the anointing that comes through the Holy Spirit. Jacob is reflecting knowledge of that here.

Phil Stone 2000-09-11 2022-04-12