Genesis 28

So Jacob has stolen so much from his brother, Esau, that he needs to flee for his life.  His mother has arranged an excuse to leave: going to visit her brother in order to find a wife.  How tense these conversations must have been.

Genesis 28

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. ² Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty^[a]bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. ⁴ May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter

⁶ Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,”⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please his father Isaac, ⁹ Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, and sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed that there was a ladder^[b] set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ And the Lordstood beside him^[c] 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 offspring; ¹⁴ and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed^[d] in you and in your offspring. ¹⁵ Know that 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 promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” 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.”
¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel;^[e] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob made 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 clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”

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So interesting the things that are going on here.  Isaac seems to have gotten over being tricked and pours his blessings onto Jacob.  It is through him that the promise of Abraham begins to be seen.  The twelve tribes will come from Jacob; he is the last of his line to receive the inherit this land/offspring like sand/blessing the earth promise.  From here on out it begins to happen.  Why wait until the 3rd generation?  Why were the 12 tribes not from Isaac?  Only God knows.

And Esau.  Poor, poor Esau.  You kind of get a Cain/Abel feel from him.  Nothing he does is good enough.  He and Jacob both know their family tree, Esau just follows the wrong branches.  He follows Lot's example in marrying local women.  Then when he finds out that Jacob is going to marry one of his mother's brother's daughters, he decides to seek out and marry one of his father's brother's daughters.

Jacob knows his history too.  He knows he is following in his father's footsteps.  He knows the blessing he is receiving has been passed down for a couple of generations.  He knows about Abraham's practice of giving 10%.  He does not have the relationship with God that his grandfather had, but he knows the stories and knows where to look.

What do I take from this?  Be very aware and intentional about whose example you are following.  Who has influenced how you think and what success looks like?  Do you want your life to end up like theirs?  If so, then rush in.  If not, look for other models and examples.