The Life of Jacob (7): Jacob's Dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-15) by Rev. Angus Stewart
I. What Jacob Heard
II. What Jacob Saw
Homer C. Hoeksema: “[Jacob] had indeed sought the blessing of God’s covenant, and that was good and praiseworthy. Although the blessing was his by God’s promise, Jacob had sought that blessing by an arm of flesh. In effect, what he expressed at Bethel after his dream had been the dominating note of his life: ‘the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.’ He had trusted his own ingenuity and cleverness. Twice he had followed his own head, first by buying the birthright, and then by deceiving his father. It was all his own work. And what fruit did he have? ... the final result was that Jacob was now a fugitive, an exile from the land of promise” (Unfolding Covenant History, vol. 3, p. 11).