LESSON XXXIV.

THE DEPARTURE OF JACOB.

B.C. 1760.-GEN. xxvii. 41-46; xxviii. 1—9.

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

:

And these words of Esau her eldest son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;

Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan ;

And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram;

And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

LESSON XXXV.

THE VISION OF JACOB.

B.C. 1760.-GEN. xxviii. 10-22.

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

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.

And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD 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;

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.

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither 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.

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

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

And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that place was called Luz at the first.

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,

be

So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD my God:

And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

*.

* Made a solemn promise.

Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

And he looked, and behold a well in the field: and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks; and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.

And thither were all the flocks gathered; and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.

And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.

And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well and,、 behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with sheep.

And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them.

And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.

And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him. and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.

*

And Laban said unto him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.

And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Kachel.

Leah was tender eyed ;* but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.

And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did I not serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

B.C. 1760-1739.-Facob remained twenty years with Laban, and loved Rachel better than Leah; but the less favoured wife was comforted by becoming the mother of numerous sons. The oldest. in her joy, she named Reuben, which means "Behold a son;"

* She had dull or weak eyes.

then followed Simeon (“hearing"), because her prayer was heard; Levi ("joining"), because she hoped her husband would now be joined to her in love; Judah (“praise"), because she praised God for His gift of children. Rachel meantime was greatly disappointed at being childless. "Give me children, or else I die," she said; and Facob could only answer, "Am I in God's stead?" However, Rachel gave her handmaid to Jacob, as Sarah had given Hagar; and her sons were Dan (“a judge") and Naphtali ("a wrestling"). Leah then gave her maid, Zilpah, as a fourth wife to Jacob, and the birth of two sons followed in succession-Gad ("a troop") and Asher ("happiness"). Afterwards Leah had two more sons, Issachar (“hire") and Zebulun (“habitation"), and a daughter named Dinah; and after all these "God remembered Rachel, and gave her a son," whom, in the hope that another child would yet be added, she called Joseph, or "addition." The births of these children occupied the fourteen years after Jacob's service as the price of their mothers. After the birth of Joseph, however, Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it." An agreement was accordingly made that all the cattle of certain colours that were born in the flocks and herds should belong to Jacob; and he thus prospered exceedingly, and gained such a large flock that Laban and his sons became jealous of him. At the end of six more years the time came for his return.

66

And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred: and I will be with thee.

And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.