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"The Dream of Jacob and His Journey to Haran"

The Bible Story of the Ladder That Reached To Heaven

By Suresh NatarajanPublished about a year ago 5 min read
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"The Dream of Jacob and His Journey to Haran"
Photo by Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash

The Bible Story of the Ladder That Reached To Heaven

After Esau found that he had lost his birthright and his blessing, he was very angry against his brother Jacob; and he said to himself, and told others:

“My father Isaac is very old and cannot live long. As soon as he is dead,

then I shall kill Jacob for having robbed me of my right.”

When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, “Before it is too late, do you go away from home and get out of Esau’s sight. Perhaps when Esau sees you no longer, he will forget his anger, and then you can come home again. Go and visit my brother Laban, your uncle, in Haran, and stay with him for a little while.”

We must remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, Abraham’s younger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to the northeast of Canaan, and that Laban was Rebekah’s brother.

Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, and walked alone, carrying his staff in his hand. One evening, just about sunset, he came to a place among the mountains, more than sixty miles distant from his home. As he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stone and rested his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep.

On that night, Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream, he saw stairs leading from the earth where he lay up to heaven; and angels were going up and coming down upon the stairs. Above the stairs, he saw the Lord God standing.

And God said to Jacob:

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac your father; and

I will be your God, too. The land where you are lying all alone shall belong to you and to your children after you; and your children shall spread abroad over the lands, east and west, and north and south, like the dust of the earth; and in your family all the world shall receive a blessing. I am with you in your journey,

and I will keep you where you are going, and will bring you back to this land. I

will never leave you, and I will surely keep my promise to you.”

In the morning Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said:

“Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! I thought that I

was all alone, but God has been with me. This place is the house of God; it is the

gate of heaven!”

Jacob took the stone on which his head had rested, and he set it up as a

pillar, and poured oil on it as an offering to God. And Jacob named that place

Bethel, which in the language that Jacob spoke means “The House of God.”

Jacob made a promise to God at that time, and said:

“If God really will go with me and will keep me in the way that I go, and

will give me bread to eat and will bring me to my father’s house in peace, then

the Lord shall be my God: and this stone shall be the house of God, and of all

that God gives me I will give back to God one-tenth as an offering.”

Then Jacob went onward in his long journey. He walked across the river

Jordan in a shallow place, feeling his way with his staff; he climbed mountains

and journeyed beside the great desert on the east, and at last came to the city of

Haran. Beside the city was the well, where Abraham’s servant had met Jacob’s

mother, Rebekah; and there, after Jacob had waited for a time, he saw a young

woman coming with her sheep to give them water.

Then Jacob took off the flat stone that was over the mouth of the well, and

drew water and gave it to the sheep. When he found that this young woman was

his own cousin Rachel, the daughter of Laban, he was so glad that he wept for

joy. And at that moment he began to love Rachel, and longed to have her for his

wife.

Rachel’s father, Laban, who was Jacob’s uncle, gave a welcome to Jacob,

and took him into his home.

Jacob asked Laban if he would give his daughter, Rachel, to him as his

wife; and Jacob said, “If you give me Rachel, I will work for you seven years.”

And Laban said, “It is better that you should have her, than that a stranger

should marry her.”

Jacob lived seven years in Laban’s house, caring for his sheep and oxen

and camels; but his love for Rachel made the time seem short.

At last, the day came for the marriage; and they brought in the bride, who,

after the manner of that land, was covered with a thick veil, so that her face

could not be seen. She was married to Jacob, and when Jacob lifted up her veil

he found that he had married, not Rachel, but her older sister, Leah, who was not

beautiful, and whom Jacob did not love at all.

Jacob was very angry that he had been deceived,—though that was just the

way in which Jacob himself had deceived his father and cheated his brother

Esau. His uncle Laban said:

“In our land we never allow the younger daughter to be married before the

older daughter. Keep Leah for your wife, and work for me seven years longer,

and you shall have Rachel also.”

Jacob tending the sheep

For in those times, as we have seen, men often had two wives, or even

more than two. Jacob stayed seven years more, fourteen years in all, before he

received Rachel as his wife.

While Jacob was living at Haran, eleven sons were born to him. Only one

of these was the child of Rachel, whom Jacob loved. This son was Joseph, who was dearer to Jacob than any of his other children, partly because he was the youngest, and because he was the child of his beloved Rachel.

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About the Creator

Suresh Natarajan

Welcome to my page where I share my love for the Bible. I am a deeply faithful person, and it brings me great joy to share the lessons I've learned through my faith. Join me as I explore biblical stories and daily prayer! Please Subscribe!

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