SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 2

BETHEL

THE LADDER OF HEAVEN

From Genesis 28

After Rebekah warned Isaac that Jacob might marry a Hittite girl, the old man became concerned about his son and called him in to have a talk with him. [You must not marry a Canaanite girl,] Isaac urged. [Go to Padan-aram where your grandfather Bethuel’s family lives. Choose a daughter of Laban, your mother’s brother, and marry her. Adonai will bless you and give you a large family and you will become the head of a great nation with many tribes. May Adonai also give you the same blessings that He gave to Abraham and his family. May you some day possess this land where we now live, for YHVH gave it to Abraham.] With this blessing, Isaac sent Jacob away to Padan-aram, to visit Rebekah’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Before long, Esau heard what Isaac had done and realized that it would please the old man if his sons married distant relatives instead of foreigners. Although Esau already had foreign wives, he married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath, who was Abraham’s granddaughter and the sister of Nebaioth. Leaving Beer-sheha, Jacob journeyed toward Haran. By sunset he had arrived at a good place to stop and set up camp for the night. As he lay down to sleep, he took a stone and placed it under his head for a pillow. That night Jacob dreamed of a ladder that was set up between heaven and earth. Angels of YHVH walked up and down the ladder and YHVH Himself stood above it. [I am Adonai, the YHVH of your grandfather Abraham and your father Isaac. The land where you are lying is My gift to you and your descendants. They will be as numerous as the dust on the earth, covering the land from west to east and from north to south, and by you and your descendants shall all nations of the world be blessed. I will go with you and take care of you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. I will stay with you until I have fulfilled all My promises to you.] Jacob woke up suddenly and said, [Adonai is here in this place and I did not realize it. I have walked into YHVH’s home, the gateway to heaven. What an awesome place it is!] Early the next morning, Jacob arose and set up the stone on which he slept as a memorial pillar, pouring olive oil on it to dedicate it. Then he named the place Bethel, [The House of YHVH,] although it had previously been called Luz. Jacob made a vow that morning. [If YHVH will go with me on my journey, and take care of me and give me food and clothing so that I may return safely to my father’s home, then Adonai shall be my YHVH. This stone will become a house of YHVH, and of all that Adonai gives me, I will give back a tenth to Him.]

COMMENTARY

TRAVEL AND TRADE ROUTES

Jacob was forced to flee from the anger of his brother Esau. Night overtook him on a barren hill. He slept there, lonely and afraid. But that night YHVH spoke to Jacob in a dream. The old promises were reaffirmed, and YHVH added, [I will go with you and take care of you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.] Jacob named that hill Bethel: The House of YHVH. Travel was slow in Old Testament times. Rocky ground and deep ruts made wheeled wagons impossible for long trips, and people walked or rode on surefooted donkeys and long-legged camels instead. Ancient roads cut an irregular course through Palestine. They had to follow the easiest route, and so they went around mountains and cut across open plains. Sometimes the road divided in two; a summer and a winter route. The summer route might be more direct, but floods caused by winter rains forced travellers to take the higher route, which stayed dry. Two main highways carried international traffic through Palestine. The Via Maris [Way of the Sea] ran from north to south along the Mediterranean coast. Another north-south road, the king’s highway, crossed the plateau between the Jordan River and the desert. Merchant caravans followed these routes through Palestine as they went between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Finding water was a constant concern for long-distance travellers. A spring or river became a regular stopping place for merchant caravans. As time passed, these stopping points grew into important centres of trade along the major highways. But water could be a barrier as well as a blessing. There were no permanent bridges across the rivers, and travellers had to wade through the water. Caravans were often forced to make long detours before they found a shallow place to cross. The desert was the greatest barrier of all to travel. The major highways went along its borders, following a course that added many extra miles to the journey between east and west. Few travellers tried to cross its endless stretches of dry wasteland. They preferred more miles to the possibility of death in the desert. Travelling merchants arrive in the city marketplace with their goods balanced on the backs of donkeys and camels. These seasoned travellers were accustomed to the dangers of the road.