LESSON II-APRIL 13 JACOB AT BETHEL Golden Text I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest. Gen. 28.15 HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS-M. Gen. 28.10-22. Jacob at Bethel. T. Gen. 29.1-14. Jacob Welcomed by Laban. W. Gal. 6.1-10. Patient Labor Rewarded. T. Ps. 27. Confidence and Trust. F. Gen. 31.11-24. Jacob's Flight. S. Gen. 31.36-49. Defence and Witness. S. Ps. 121. Safety of God's People. STUDY Gen. 28.10-22 READ Gen. 28-31 COMMIT vv 20-22 10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed; and, behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and, behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED Lesson Outline. I. Jacob's Journey to Bethel, 10-11. II. Jacob's Dream, 12-15. III. The Impression made upon Jacob, 16-17. IV. Jacob's Worship and Vow, 18-21. 10-11. A certain place. Hebrew, the place, RVm. See verse 19.-He took one of the stones and put it under his head. He needed something for a pillow and there was nothing better at hand. Such a practice is common in Africa at the present time. Probably when on his travels this has been the practice of Bishop Taylor, for on his return to this country he had no use for our soft pillows and was known to have substituted more than once a head-rest of books. 12. A ladder. The ladder symbolized the thought that there is communication between heaven and earth, between God and man.-It reached to heaven. The hills here are composed of limestone rock in strata that rise one above the other, and Jacob's last gaze would be upon them, thus leading him naturally to dream of a ladder to heaven. "The Spirit of God always conveyed his teaching to his servants in language borrowed from their surroundings. John's records of heaven are full of reminiscences of the Ægean, which sometimes murmured around the cliffs of his prison isle as a sea of glass bathed in fire, and at other times broke on them in yeasty foam. David's Psalms make constant reference to the wild hill-country of Judea, in which so many of them were composed" (Meyer)-Angels of God ascending and descending on it. See Jn. 1.51. 13-14. Above it. Or, beside him, RVm.-Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth. Compare Gen. 13.16.-Spread abroad. Hebrew, break forth, RVm.-I am with thee and will keep thee. In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; for thou, Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety, Ps. 4.8. Ancient Egyptian Pillows 16-17. I knew it not. He had thought of God as belonging only to the Israelites and not to be found beyond the limits of their land.-How dreadful is this place! The word dreadful is used in the sense of full of or inspiring awe. "The dreadfulness of the place results from the awe-inspiring presence of the God of revelation" (Lange).-The house of God. God's own abode.-The gate of heaven. The place where earth and heaven meet. "Onkelos seems to suppose that the gate or entrance into heaven was actually above this spot, and that when the angels of God ascended to earth, they came through that opening into this place, and returned by the same way, and it really appears that Jacob himself had a similar notion" (Clarke). 18. Set it up for a pillar. See below. "The Hebrew word is technical, and means sacred pillar" (Addis). This is the earliest recorded instance in the Bible of the erection of a pillar dedicated to divine worship, a practice which became so common later.-Poured oil upon the top of it. Oil is the symbol of consecration; he consecrated the stone as a memorial. "Anointing stones, images, etc., is used in idolatrous countries to this day, and the whole idol is generally smeared with the oil. In catholic countries when a church is consecrated the doorposts, pillars, altars, etc., are anointed" (Delitzsch). 19-22. Bethel. That is, the house of God, RVm. Abraham had worshipped here, Gen. 12.8.-Vowed a vow. See p. 157-And Jehovah will be my God, then this stone. Or, then shall Jehovah be my God, and this stone, RVm.-This stone ...shall be God's house. ""The Shepherd of the stone of Israel' was one of the earliest names by which 'the God of Jacob' was known, Gen. 49.24" (Stanley). Jacob fulfilled this vow on his return by setting up an altar by the stone, Gen. 35.7,14-I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Come to Bethel...and bring your tithes every three days, Amos 4.4. LIGHT FROM ARCHEOLOGY OR FROM ORIENTAL LIFE 11. He tarried there all night. During the summer months the people of Palestine today sleep in the open air, on housetops or in the fields. Travelers often wrap their cloaks about them and spend the night wherever night overtakes them. 18. And poured oil upon the top of it. Excavations at Taanach and elsewhere have revealed mazzebahs, or altars, in which holes have been cut. It is supposed that these holes were made to receive the libations, whether of blood or oil, offered to the numen or deity supposed to reside in the stone. The belief that a stone was the abode of a numen is still prevalent among primitive people. Is. 57.6 speaks of libations poured out by idolatrous Israelites to the "smooth stones of the valley," and Jacob's anointing with oil the stone which had been his pillow may have had some relation to this ancient belief. 22. This stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. Professor Petrie found that the Temple of Hat-hor in Sinai had in its neighborhood thirty Bethel-shelters and twelve dream-pillars still standing. The shelters were a rough collection of stones, mere wind-shelters, such as might be Quarter April 13 thrown up for a night's lodging. He connects them with the devotional use of stones in Palestine, considering them relics of the custom of dreaming in sacred places. The dream-pillars were made of stone piled up as memorials of these dreams. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Review Questions. In what earlier lesson did we see a young man fearing vengeance for what he had done to his brother, and forced to flee from home? What had he done and why? What had Jacob done to arouse his brother's anger? What was the result? Esau's anger at Jacob for having supplanted him two times (27.36) knew no bounds. He declared that he awaited only his father's death that he might kill Jacob. Rebekah learned his avowed purpose and counselled Jacob to leave home for awhile. He could go to her brother Laban's in Haran for a few days, and when Esau had forgotten his anger she would send for him. Then she artfully furthered her purpose through Isaac, by suggesting to Isaac what a calamity it would be if Jacob, as Esau had done, should marry one of their heathen neighbor's daughters. Isaac was at once alarmed at such a prospect; he sent for Jacob and directed him to go to his mother's family in Paddan-aram and choose one of his cousins for a wife. With his father's blessing Jacob departed. When Esau learned that his father disliked the daughters of Canaan he took an additional wife, the daughter of Ishmael. Jacob meanwhile journeyed on toward Haran. He was probably sixty years old at the time; the date may have been 1784 B. C. THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND Paddan-aram is the Hebrew name for Mesopotamia. For the location of Haran, see p. 90. Fleeing from his home in the South country and bound for Haran, Jacob passed the hill of the Jebusites, which was destined to become the famous capital of his descendants. Probably it was on the second or third day that nightfall overtook him in the neighborhood of Bethel. Here Abraham had rested when he first entered Canaan, and here he and Lot had viewed the land round about when they agreed to separate their forces. It was fifty-five miles in a direct line from Beersheba to Bethel. See p. 90. It was over four hundred miles from Beersheba to Haran. Jacob followed the same route that his grandfather Abraham had taken when he left Haran for Canaan; the one, too, which his father's servant Eliezer had traversed when he went to Haran for Rebekah, his mother. He went northward through Canaan, crossed the Jordan at the ford near the mouth of the Jabbok, traversed Gilead and Bashan to Damascus, and then went on to Haran. See the map. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS OF LITTLE FOLKS Only in days happily long since gone by has God been represented to children as a stern, unrelenting Judge. There used to be a picture in a children's paper in which a group of boys and girls were looking upward at an eye in the sky, and the title was, "Thou God seest me." What an idea of God to give the little people-just an eye! Today again you have an opportunity of teaching your pupils as a comforting thought that God is everywhere, watching over them as a tender, sympathetic, helpful Father. First make clear Jacob's need. Show Tissot's picture of Jacob, No. 21, as you recall last week's lesson, and the reason why Jacob was forced to leave his home. Explain that a stone for a pillow was not as uncomfortable for Jacob as it would be for us, for he often slept on the ground at night. Show the picture of ancient Egyptian "pillows," p. 153. Emphasize God's love as you teach Jacob's beautiful dream. Show Tissot's picture No. 24, "Jacob's Dream," or Doré's, Wilde No. 365. Tell about the little Syrian boy, p. 157, and call for this stanza: O God, unseen but ever near, Keep me this night from every fear; May I be good and kind and true Ask your pupils to think about the lesson story so that they can tell it to you next Sunday. A little girl retold it to her teacher (so Miss Frances Weld Donelson reports) the week after she had heard it, and she did not forget anything. "And God said: 'Don't you be afraid, I'm keeping care of you,'" was the end of her story. Then Johnny, who was only four years old, spoke, “Last night I waked up," he said. "I was awful scared. And then I thought, 'Pooh! you needn't be afraid. The heavenly Father is taking care. And then I wasn't." Give copies of the stanza on p. 164, to be learned before next Sunday. SUGGESTIONS FOR BEGINNING THE LESSON For Younger Pupils. I have heard of a boy who was being questioned about God. "Tell me where God is," said the questioner, "and I will give you an orange." "Tell me," said the boy, "where God is not, and I will give you two oranges." One Jacob had not learned what that boy knew. yond Canaan, where his people lived. Where was it? Why did he have to leave? ned this trip for him? Why? He thought God could not be beday he had to leave his home. Where was he going? Who plan For Older Pupils. A famous painting by Thomas Hovenden is entitled "Breaking Home Ties." It was exhibited at the Chicago Fair and became perhaps the best-known picture there. There was always a crowd standing before it in the art gallery, for it appealed to all hearts. Have you not seen a copy of the picture? There is the homely farmhouse kitchen, in the center stands the mother, her hands resting on the boy's shoulders as she gazes long and lovingly into his face. And the boy, brave and eager he looks-eager to go, yet loth to leave his mother and father and sisters, the old farm and the dog, but there in the doorway stands the driver with his whip, ready to take him to the station, and the call of the city is resounding in his ears. God be with the boy as he breaks the home ties and fares forth to make his fortune. There is another sort of scene that the artist might have pictured. Can you describe it-that tent in Beersheba, the feeble father, sick and nearly blind, whose hands rest tremblingly on his son's shoulders in blessing, the anxious-looking mother urging her son to make haste, the son with staff in hand and furtive look, anxious, too, to be off. Why the anxiety and haste? LESSON TOPICS AND ILLUSTRATIONS I LEAVING HOME Finding God. Jacob had forfeited his home by his folly. He was not a roving hunter like Esau, but a home-loving boy and man. Now he had left behind him that home and that mother who, though unwisely, had been devoted to him. He was a lonely wanderer, a homeless fugitive. Desolate and sick at heart, he lay down that memorable night on the hillside and gazed at the shining stars above him. We can understand his thoughts. While engaged in his deceptive course at home he may have argued to himself that each step was but a mark of shrewd wisdom on his part; his brother's contempt for the value of his birthright excused him for the sharp bargain he had driven; his mother, not he, had made the plan for the gaining of his father's blessing. But now everything looked different to him. What would God's judgment on his course be? The sense of guilt was heavy on his soul. Sin separates from God. Could God forgive him? Would he? Quarter April 13 And then, because his thoughts were of God and his forgiveness and guidance and care, he discovered God. True, the discovery came in a dream, but the dream and the assurance were God-given. God was forgiving and gracious-I am with thee; God's care was over him and it was all sufficient-I will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again to this land; God was true-I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. The homeless, friendless wanderer had found a home and a friend in God. Wise Counsel. After long consideration and many a family council at last the youth decided to leave forever the old familiar life. Man will migrate. Therefore our young women have come up to the city in pursuit of culture, our young men are here to find equipment in law or medicine, while a host of boys are here in store and shop and office to make their fortune. It is time for all men who have lived long in the great city to rise up and give welcome and Godspeed to the army of young strangers who stand within our gates. And for you who have come, amid new scenes guard the continuity of your life. Keep fresh the old faces, the dear old scenes of yesterday, and guard as a city guards its well-springs of water the habits, convictions and faiths of your yesterday. All that you are your father and mother and the old home have made you. You must not live below the level of your early life. A noble ancestry digged the grooves for your life. Noble associations of yesterday built walls against temptation, therefore you must guard the hedge. Your life should be a solid column of days and habits and condition and duties. Remembering what your fathers have been, you cannot afford to be an idler, a spendthrift, a tapster or a pleasure-seeker. You must be a man. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, in The Contagion of Character. The March of Youth. At the annual meetings of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions many memorable hours are spent in listening to the stories of veterans returned from the front; but on the last morning one fruitful hour is given to the young men and women about to set sail for the first time for foreign lands. They are a varied company. Side by side, for example, sit two young men. One is the descendant of eight generations of American forbears. He was valedictorian of his class in college; and he won a fellowship in competition with men all of whom were far above the average in scholarship. Beside him sits one whose parents thirty years ago came to America almost penniless and unable to read a word of English. One by one the new recruits rise, and in a few words tell their life-story and purpose. They are going to lands that most of them have never seen-to Africa and China, Japan and India. They are so young, they know so little of what is before them, they combine so remarkably youthful daring with calm consecration. They are the coming heroes and heroines. They are going forth to teach, to preach, to heal, to translate, to live and love and give and serve. Some of them will never return, and those who do return will be greatly changed. One of the members of the Board said after the last meeting: "It is a scene to which I look forward and which I memember as I do no other in the great annual gathering. It is not that I do not honor the older men and women. I honor them far more than I do these young people; but no scene I am called upon to witness touches my heart more deeply or keeps me more nearly on the verge of tears than this final morning, when we see and greet and speed away these young soldiers of the Cross of Christ, and send them into all the world." Youth's Companion. Dr. Grenfell's Mother's Message. When I was leaving England for the work that I had chosen I knew that it must banish me from those I loved, and I went to her whom I love best on this earth still-my mother-and I said to her, "Give me a parting message." She might have given me some philosophical saying; she might have given me some theological epigram. She gave me this prayer, which I give to you: "Teach me in the path of life I shall walk in always to do the thing that pleases not me but Thee." From a University Address. II I AM WITH THEE, AND WILL KEEP THEE WHITHERSOEVER THOU GOEST Surely Jehovah is in This Place. Have you heard of Brother Lawrence, |