Jacob's wonderful dream presentation. Jacob's wonderful dream. Jacob "wrestles" with God

James Chapter 1 1 Jacob's greetings to the brothers in the dispersion. 2 The testing of faith produces patience. 5 How to gain wisdom. 9 The joy of the poor is in poverty. 13 There is joy in enduring temptations. 19 Hearers and doers of the word; pure piety. 1 James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus

James Chapter 1 Jacob, the servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, greets the twelve tribes scattered throughout the world! 2 My brothers, when you are faced with various trials, consider it great joy. 3 For you know that the trials to which your faith is

James Introduction The question of who is the author of this letter still remains open. He is probably one of the three best-known first-century Christians in the New Testament who bore the name James. When it's early Christian churches agreed to include this

James Chapter 1 1 To the twelve families of the Jews, scattered among the nations. James, the servant of God and the Lord Jesus, greets you.

Children of Isaac. Jacob's Dream. Reconciliation of Jacob with Esau Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob, later called Israel. From Jacob came the Israelite, or Jewish, people. Esau was stern, unsociable, and most of all he loved hunting. He spent almost all his time in the field. Jacob was meek,

Jacob's marriage. Homecoming. Jacob's struggle with God Having settled with his uncle Laban, Jacob worked for him for seven years in order to marry Laban's daughter, Rachel. However, Laban, taking advantage of the Eastern custom, according to which the bride is closely

Jacob's Dream And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and commanded him, and said: Do not take yourself a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of Laban , your mother's brother.3 God Almighty yes

Rebekah heard that Esau was threatening to kill her beloved Jacob. She told him about this and advised him to run away to her brother Laban in Mesopotamia and live with him for a while until Esau’s anger subsided.
Before Jacob left, Isaac called him to him and commanded him not to take a wife from the daughters of the inhabitants of Canaan, where they lived, but to marry in Mesopotamia, in his mother’s homeland. Then he blessed him, saying: “May Almighty God bless you... And may he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, so that you may inherit the land of your wandering, which God gave to Abraham.” And Jacob went to Mesopotamia.
Jacob's journey lasted many days. Once on the way he stopped for the night under open air, placing a stone under your head. God gave him a wonderful dream there. Jacob saw in a dream a ladder, the top of which touched the sky, and the angels of God were ascending and descending along it. Then the Lord turned to him and said: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants... I am with you; and I will keep you wherever you go.” you'll go."
Jacob woke up and said: “Truly the Lord is present in this place, but I did not know!” Then he took the stone that was under his head at night, set it up as a monument and made a vow to the Lord, saying: “If God will be with me and keep me on this journey that I am going on, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I will return in peace to my father’s house, and the Lord will be my God, then this stone which I have set up as a monument will be the house of God; and of all that you, O God, give me, I will give you a tenth.”
GENESIS 27:41-46; 28:1-22

Continuing his long journey to Mesopotamia, Jacob finally came to a place where there were many beautiful pastures. He stopped at a well, the hole of which was closed with a large stone. When the herds, under the supervision of several shepherds, gathered for watering, the stone was rolled away from the well, and then it was closed again.
Jacob asked the shepherds nearby, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said: “We know... and behold, Rachel his daughter comes with the sheep.” Rachel approached the well with her father's flock of sheep, which she was tending.
When Jacob saw Rachel, he rolled away the stone from the well and watered his uncle Laban's sheep. Then he kissed Rachel and cried with joy, it was said that he cousin. When Rachel heard this, she ran home and told her father. Hearing about Jacob, Laban ran out to meet him, hugged him, kissed him, and brought him into his home.
Jacob stayed with his uncle and served as a shepherd for him. He began to serve Laban so that he would give him Rachel as a wife, and served him for seven years. These seven years seemed like a few days to him, Jacob loved her so much. Laban gave him his two daughters, Leah and Rachel, as wives. In those ancient times, it was possible to marry a relative and have several wives. Here in Mesopotamia, Jacob had eleven sons and one daughter, and later, in Canaan, another son.
Jacob became a very rich man. He lived in a tent with his wives and children. He had many male and female slaves, as well as a lot of livestock: sheep, camels and donkeys.
GENESIS 29:1-28

Jacob "wrestles" with God.

One day the Lord told Jacob to return to his homeland. Jacob took his wives and children, gathered all his property and went to the country of Canaan. Not knowing whether Esau's anger towards him had subsided or not, Jacob decided to send him many gifts to appease him.
On the way home, Jacob's caravan encountered a stream. Jacob led all his relatives to the ford, but he himself remained alone on the other side of the stream. Suddenly Someone met him and fought with him until dawn and damaged Jacob’s hip joint. At dawn it was said to Jacob: “Let Me go, for the dawn has risen.” Jacob said: “I will not let you go until you bless me.” He asked: “What is your name?” He answered: "Jacob." The one who fought with him said: “From now on, your name will not be Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God and you will overcome men.”
Jacob also asked: "Tell your name". But the answer was: “Why do you ask about My name?” And He blessed Jacob.
When Jacob was left alone, he realized that he was wrestling with God Himself. The Lord blessed Jacob richly because he persistently asked and thirsted for blessing.
GENESIS 32:13-30

1. And Isaac called Jacob - Having agreed with Rebekah’s proposal, Isaac sent Jacob to Mesopotamia (Gen. 25:20). Whether Isaac knew or did not know about Esau's plot, he still recognized that it would be prudent for Jacob and Esau to separate from each other until the tension in the house eased.

4. And may the blessing of Abraham give you- The family thread was officially to be preserved through Jacob. Consequently, the blessings repeatedly promised to Abraham were now transferred to Jacob (Gen. 17:2-3, 22:16-18). He left his home with a sense of guilt, but at the same time with the blessing of his father.

5. And Isaac released Jacob, and he went to Mesopotamia to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean- see chapter 25:20. Moses deliberately puts the name of Jacob ahead of the name of Esau, since from now on Jacob not only belongs to the birthright, but also to the blessing of Abraham.

9. And Esau went to Ishmael- In the blessing that Jacob received from Isaac, as well as in the command to Jacob to take a wife from his relatives in Mesopotamia, Esau saw the deep-seated hostility that his parents had towards his Hittite wives. No doubt intending to please his parents, he went to take a wife from the family of his grandfather Abram, just as Jacob was ordered to choose a wife from the family of Laban, his maternal uncle (Mahalath or Bashemachah, see ch. 36:3), who Esau took for himself a wife, who was married to Isaac, just as Jacob's wife Rachel was to his mother Rebekah. Esau took his father's niece to be Jacob's wife - his mother's niece. The expression “Esau went to Ishmael” should be understood “to the family of Ishmael,” since Ishmael died 14 years ago (Gen. 25:19,27).

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran- Jacob went in accordance with the desire of his mother and the command of his father (Prov. 1:8). Although he was already 77 years old (Gen. 27:1), he continued to reckon with his parents and obey their authority. Every worthy son of his parents can take an example from him, unless, of course, his actions contradict the faithfulness of God (Prov. 6:20, Mal. 1:6).

The final destination of Jacob's wanderings was to be a famous city in northern Mesopotamia. This was the place where Terah stopped after leaving Ur (Gen. 11:31). At the time of Eliezer's visit approximately 100 years ago, Bethuel's family, including Laban, lived in the city of Nahor, which was located near Harann ​​(Gen. 24:10). The above words indicate that after Rebekah’s marriage, Bethuel’s family moved to Haran. Rebekah's advice to Jacob to go straight to Haran rather than to the city of Nahor (Gen. 27:48) shows that Beersheba knew that Laban's family had emigrated.

11. And came to one place- At the end of the second day Jacob reached the region of Luz (v. 19), which is 50 miles north of Beersheba. He decided not to spend the night in the city itself because of fear from the Canaanites. Josephus' opinion that Jacob did not want to enter the city out of hatred for them is apparently not worth highlighting (Book of Antiquities by Josephus).

And he took one of the stones of that place, and set it for his head- Literally “place of the head.” So Jacob took a stone and put it under his head. The headboard was unknown. In many eastern countries people make their own headboards from wood, clay, stone or metal. Examples of ancient headboards survive in Egypt to this day, as they were all made from heavy metals, but there was no need to take them with us on the road. A smooth stone was usually sufficient for this purpose. Therefore, Jacob's sleep on the stone did not pose any inconvenience to Jacob. The stone is mentioned here in connection with its use for a specific purpose, which will be discussed in the subsequent story (v. 23).

12. And I saw in a dream- As Jacob lay there, tired, lonely and sad, his heart turned to God in prayer. This was his state of mind during sleep. Only after two days, during which he had the opportunity to reflect on his action and see his own weakness, did God appear to him. Delay in God's plan is often a means that purifies the soul and encourages a person to rely completely on the mercy of God. The ladder was a visible symbol of the actual and constant communication of God who dwells in heaven with His people who dwell on earth. Angels ascend to heaven, presenting human needs to God, and descend to earth bringing promises with them. God's help and protection. The ladder touched the ground where Jacob lay, alone, deprived of everything and abandoned by all people. There was the Lord up there in heaven, revealed to Jacob as the God of his fathers. He not only repeated to him all the promises given to his fathers - possession of the land of Canaan, numerous descendants and blessing over the people (Gen. 12:23,13-17, 15:6-7, 17:2-6, etc.) , but also promised him His protection during his wanderings and a safe return home. Since the fulfillment of the promise was a distant time given to Jacob, God firmly assured him with the following words: “I will not leave you until I have fulfilled what I have spoken to you.”

16. Truly the Lord is present in this place; but I didn’t know!- The words of Jacob are not proof, as some interpreters have supposed, that Jacob saw God in certain sacred places, and that in in this case he just happened to be in one of these places. He saw with joyful surprise that where he thought himself alone, he was actually in communion with God. Jacob's words are, in a sense, self-accusation. He admitted that it was his lack of faith that brought him down. Feeling his loneliness, he saw that God was now closer to him than ever.

17. How scary this place is!- Those who are worthy to have revelations from God feel deep fear and reverence in their hearts. The prophet Isaiah came to a sense of guilt so strong that he feared for his life (Is. 6:5). Such an experience led Jacob to a deep consciousness of his unworthiness and deep sinful condition. But despite his fear, he knew that this place was “the house of God,” an abode of peace and security.

18. And Jacob arose early in the morning and took a stone- The stone that served as his headboard now became a monument to the revelation he received from God. He dedicated it in memory of the mercy shown to him (Ex. 30:26-30). This stone was in no way an object of worship. Worship of stones is common among the inhabitants of Canaan, but it was strictly forbidden by God (Lev. 26:1, Deut. 16:22). Later, however, the Israelites violated this divine prohibition and erected statues as objects of worship (1 Kings 14:23, 2 Kings .18:4, 23:14, 2 Samuel 14:3, 31:1, Hosea 10:1-2, Micah 5:13). This, however, does not mean that each such stone contained a cult meaning. Jacob erected another such stone in memory of the peace treaty with Laban (Gen. 31:45) and another in memory of the burial of Rachel (Gen. 32:20). Absalom subsequently erected one of these stones in memory of himself (2 Samuel 18:13).

19. And [Jacob] called the name of the place Bethel- Or “house of God.” This name was subsequently given to the neighboring city of Luz. Bethel was previously the name given to the place where Jacob's monument stood, not Luz. This is evident from the book of Joshua, where both passages are clearly different from each other. True, in other places of Scripture Bethel is known as a later name of the ancient city of Luz (Gen. 35:5, Joshua 18:13, Judges 1:23). This name was given only after the Israelites occupied the city. It retains its Arabic name "Ventin" to this day.

20. And Jacob made a vow- This is the first time we talk about a vow. By taking a vow, a person commits himself to doing this or that. Since Jacob's fulfillment depended on the power of God and since he was destined for God, he was offered in the form of prayer. It was not done as a transaction, but in a spirit of gratitude, humility and trust.

If [the Lord] God will be with me and keep me on this journey- These words in no way mean that Jacob doubted the fulfillment of God's promises or that he placed conditions on God. He believed the Lord at His Word. Since He promised to be mercifully with him and bless him, he, for his part, wants to be faithful to Him. In deep reverence, Jacob's thoughts turned to the One in which he could express his loyalty to Him.

He will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear.- Jacob, who hitherto had not hesitated to use the meanest means in order to achieve a more advantageous share of the inheritance, now in his humility asked for nothing except protection, food, clothing and a peaceful return to his father's house. He will be happy with only the bare necessities of life. His desire for wealth and luxury, honor and power disappeared. What a lesson in humility and how Jacob learned from it!

21. And I will return in peace to my father’s house- In his thoughts, God was the God of his fathers. He had long ago accepted the Lord as his God. If earlier he relied heavily on the wealth and inviolability of his father’s house, now circumstances forced him to seek closer personal dependence on God in everything that he, without thinking, was accustomed to consider his own. This was not his first encounter with God. It was a deeper understanding and maturity of what it means to be in fellowship with Him.

From that moment on, Jacob began to show his loyalty to God. He submitted to Divine guidance and gave God his thanksgiving, his grateful, loving heart. What progress had been made in his life in the 20 years between Bethel and Nenuel! Grace now reigned in his heart, but the struggle was not over. His evil tendencies remained, and he sometimes gave in to them. But the principles of righteousness now took a strong place in his life, and he returned to Canaan with deep confidence in God. Under the tireless supervision of God, he constantly continued to grow in faith, until finally he was called “the prince of God.”

22. This is the stone that I erected as a monument- Jacob declared his intention to build an altar on this site to worship God. He fulfilled this decision several years later, after successfully returning to his homeland.

And of all that You, O God, give me, I will give You a tenth- Abraham and Jacob both understood the importance of tithing and regularly returned a tenth of their income (Gen. 14:20). Jacob's words indicate that he had not done this in the past. Perhaps he no longer considered much to be his. Perhaps his greedy spirit made him forget about tithing. Be that as it may, but to return the tithe, without expecting any reward from Heaven, but as a sign of humility and gratitude to God for the forgiveness and mercy that was shown to him... Literally, his promise sounds like this: “By giving, I will give.” In other words, he promised to continually tithe all of his income. Judging by his future life, in which he remained faithful to God, there is no reason to doubt that he will faithfully fulfill his vow. This is evidenced by the abundant blessing that Jacob received from God in subsequent years (Mal. 3:8-11). He, who had not paid tithes for 77 years, now left Canaan a poor wanderer, having nothing in his hands except one staff, but returned after 20 years with many cattle, servants and a large family.

This life experience of Jacob can serve as a good example for every Christian. In times of trouble he should consider whether heavenly blessings may be withheld because of his unfaithfulness in paying his tithes (Amos. 1:6-11). Jacob's Experience Confirms It's Never Too Late to Start new life in this regard, not in order to earn mercy from God, as a sign of devotion and love for Him. The blessings of Heaven can then be poured out on the sincere believer, as they were poured out on Jacob.

Every communication between God and man pursues a majestic goal - to develop in him a character worthy of the Creator.

Based on materials biblical commentary ASD

Isaac (son of Abraham) had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Esau was a skilled hunter and often lived in the fields. Jacob was meek and quiet, living in tents with his father and mother.

Isaac loved Esau more, who pleased him with food from his game, and Rebekah loved Jacob more. Esau, as the eldest son, had the birthright, that is, the advantage over Jacob in blessing from his father.

One day Esau returned from the field tired and hungry. At this time, Jacob was cooking himself some lentil stew. Esau said to him, “Give me something to eat.” Jacob answered him: “Sell me your birthright,” - he really wanted the blessing given by God to Abraham to apply to him, and thereby zealously serve the Lord. Esau replied: “Here I am dying of hunger, what is this birthright to me?” With this answer, Esau showed his disdain for the blessing of God. Jacob said, “Swear.” Esau swore an oath and sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of lentils.

When Isaac became old and blind, he, feeling that his life was coming to an end, wanted to bless Esau as his eldest son. But, thanks to the trick arranged by Rebekah, he blessed Jacob instead of Esau. Isaac soon learned his mistake and, despite this, still confirmed his blessing for Jacob.

Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau with faith in the future. For this, Esau hated his brother and even wanted to kill him, so Jacob had to leave his family. On the advice of his parents, he went to his mother’s homeland in Mesopotamia, to the land of Babylon, to her brother Laban, to live with him until he the anger will pass Esau, and at the same time marry one of Laban’s daughters.

On the way, Jacob stopped in a field to spend the night. Placing a stone under his head, he fell asleep. And so, he sees in a dream: there is a ladder on the ground, and its top touches the sky. Angels of God ascend and descend along it, and at the top of the stairs stands the Lord Himself.

And the Lord said to Jacob: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie will I give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants will be like the sand of the earth; and in you and in your seed all families of the earth will be blessed; and behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go; and I will return you to this land.”

Here, under the seed, or its descendant, through whom all nations will be blessed, that is, made happy, is, of course, the Savior. The staircase connecting heaven with earth prefigured Mother of God, through which the Son of God, being born from Her, came down to earth to save people.

Waking up, Jacob said: “This place is terrible: this is the house of God, this is the gate of heaven.” He set up the stone on which he slept as a monument and poured oil (oil) on it as a sacrifice to God. He called this place Bethel, which means: the house of God. After this, with the hope of God's help, he calmly continued his journey to Mesopotamia.

Jacob came to Haran to Laban, his mother's brother, and stayed with him to live and work. Laban asked Jacob what kind of payment he wanted for his work. Jacob agreed to work for Laban for seven years for his daughter, Rachel, whom he fell in love with, so that he could later marry her. But Laban cunningly gave Jacob not Rachel as a wife, but his eldest daughter Leah, justifying himself by saying that this was the local law, so as not to give the youngest daughter before the eldest.

Then the deceived Jacob agreed to work for another seven years for Rachel. Twenty years later, Jacob safely returned to his father, to the land of Canaan, with a large family and property. Esau, who had not seen his brother for a long time, joyfully met Jacob on the way. The Lord, under special mysterious circumstances, tested the strength of Jacob and gave him a new name Israel, which means “he who sees God.” And Jacob became the ancestor of the people of Israel.

. And he was afraid and said: How terrible is this place! this is nothing less than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven.

This idea, however, is needlessly exaggerated when they assert (Gunkel) that the holiness of a place is understood here exclusively objectively, i.e. confined exclusively to the place itself. It is known that God sometimes pointed out the special holiness of this or that place (;), but in all cases the holiness confessed by people who were worthy to accept revelation from above, it was precisely reflected in the hearts of people with a feeling of mortal fear and deep reverence (for example, in Hagar; Moses, etc.). “House of God” (beth Elohim - beth El, v. 19) and “gates of heaven” (schaar hasehamaim) - terms that later became common names for the temple - are borrowed by the patriarch from the content of the vision and adopted by him to the place of the vision, as if according to a prophetic foresight of the future sanctuary of God (since the division of the Jewish kingdom, Bethel was one of the two temples of the ten-tribe kingdom).

Jacob's vow

. And Jacob arose early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put for his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.

Impressed by the vision, Jacob, first, places the stone that served as his head, monument(mazzebah) and pours oil on him. The custom of erecting pillars and similar structures as monuments to famous events is very common in the ancient and modern East. In the Bible, in addition to the story of Jacob (), the placing of stones with the indicated purpose is mentioned in the history of I. Joshua (), the prophet Samuel (), and others. Later abuses of this custom for the purposes of idolatry caused the prohibition in the Law of Moses () to erect pillars. Likewise, the custom of dedicating stones to a deity was known in the East, for example, among the Phoenicians, and in the classical world. Oil, as a necessary accessory for traveling in hot countries, as a means of reinforcement and nutrition, naturally was at hand for the traveler Jacob: “probably, he carried only one oil with him while on the road” (John Chrysostom, p. 585). Thus, “whatever he had, he gave back to the greatly gifted Lord” (Blessed Theod., answer to question 85).

. And [Jacob] called the name of that place Bethel, but the former name of that city was Luz.

Jacob's second act: in accordance with his impression mentioned, he calls the place of the vision the name: Beth-El or Bethel (“house of God”), while the previous name of the neighboring town was: Luz. Secondly and finally, Jacob confirms the name Bethel upon his return from Mesopotamia ().

Reading LXX and glory. Οὐλαμλούς (options Οὐλαμμάους, Συλλαμμάους, etc. - from Golmes). Ulam-luz is clearly an erroneous combination of the Hebrew words ulam (same, before) and Luz. From the subsequent history it is clear that the Canaanite name Luz existed together with the Hebrew Bethel: the first is used by Jacob himself (), and in the book. I. Navina Luz and Bethel, apparently, appear to be the names of different localities (). The name Bethel, however, was known before Jacob - during the time of Abraham ().

An echo of this name was preserved in the name Βαιτυλία, known among the Phoenicians and Greeks, Baitilia, which was the name given by those and others to sacred stones, mainly from meteorites and aerolites, dedicated to deities by anointing. Thus, we can assume that this “custom originated from Jacob” (Filaret, Zap. on).

. And Jacob made a vow, saying: If [the Lord] God will be with me and keep me on this journey that I am going on, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

and I will return in peace to my father’s house, and the Lord will be my God,

Jacob's 3rd act: his vow to God is the first vow recorded in the Bible. In this vow (considered by the rabbis to be the model or norm of all vows and for all times) there are 3 elements: internal and sincere recognition of the Almighty as your God, with dedication of yourself to serving Him; special dedication and veneration of the place of vision; and promising God a tithe of everything.

Apparently, Jacob bases his faith in God on external and personal interests. But, firstly, this condition of the vow in James is a simple paraphrase of the immediately preceding promise of God (vv. 13-15); secondly, Jacob asks the Lord only for bread and clothing and thus fulfills the gospel covenant about non-covetousness (John Chrysostom, Philaret); thirdly, with what humility and gratitude Jacob understood the blessings of God, can be seen from his prayer ().

Tithing, as can be seen from the example of Abraham (), was an ancient custom in society, in relation to kings. Here for the first time we read about tithing to God.

then this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be [for me] the house of God; and of all that You, God, if you give it to me, I will give you a tenth.

“House of God” (beth Elohim) - perhaps in connection with this idea stands the Old Testament magnification of God - Zur Israel, rock, stronghold of Israel (; ).