Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring. Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
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Genesis 28:13-15 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring. Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
Parallel Translations
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Behold, Yahweh stood above it, and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring.
Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.
Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
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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.
Show all 3 translations
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And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the LORD, the 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 whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.'
Cross-references (75)
- Joshua 1:5 (v15) No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor…
- Isaiah 41:10 (v15) Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will…
- Jeremiah 1:19 (v15) They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”
- Deuteronomy 31:6 (v15) Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor…
- Genesis 26:24 (vv13, 15) Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless…
Show all 71 cross-references
- Genesis 31:3 (v15) Yahweh said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
- Psalms 121:5-8 (v15) Yahweh is your keeper. Yahweh is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Yahweh will keep…
- Hebrews 13:5-6 (v15) Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any…
- Genesis 26:3 (vv13, 15) Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will…
- Isaiah 43:2 (v15) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire,…
- Matthew 24:35 (v15) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- 1 Kings 8:57 (v15) May Yahweh our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us or forsake us;
- John 10:28-29 (v15) I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is…
- Psalms 46:7 (v15) Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Matthew 18:20 (v15) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
- Matthew 28:20 (v15) teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
- Romans 8:31-32 (v15) What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up…
- Genesis 28:20-21 (v15) 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 clothing to…
- Genesis 48:21 (v15) Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
- Numbers 23:19 (v15) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
- 1 Timothy 4:8 (v15) For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which…
- Joshua 23:14-16 (v15) “Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all…
- Genesis 12:3 (v14) I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through…
- Genesis 13:15 (v13) for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever.
- Genesis 39:21 (v15) But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
- Judges 6:16 (v15) Yahweh said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
- Psalms 46:11 (v15) Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Isaiah 8:10 (v15) Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
- Genesis 35:6-7 (vv13, 15) So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He built an altar there,…
- Genesis 39:2 (v15) Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
- Genesis 48:16 (v15) the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and…
- Exodus 3:12 (v15) He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,…
- Isaiah 7:14 (v15) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Jude 1:1 (v15) Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
- Genesis 32:9 (vv13, 15) Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your country, and to your relatives,…
- Genesis 35:12 (v13) The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your offspring after you I will give the land.”
- Genesis 48:3 (v13) Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
- Genesis 18:18 (v14) since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him?
- Genesis 22:18 (v14) All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice.’ ”
- Genesis 46:4 (v15) I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.”
- Genesis 13:16 (v14) I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be…
- Genesis 26:4 (v14) I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations…
- Genesis 35:1 (v13) God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of…
- Acts 3:25 (v14) You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the…
- Genesis 12:7 (v13) Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
- Genesis 13:14 (v14) Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and…
- Exodus 3:6 (v13) Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he…
- Galatians 3:8 (v14) The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all…
- Genesis 46:3 (v13) He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation.
- Matthew 22:32 (v13) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
- Hebrews 11:16 (v13) But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has…
- Genesis 17:6-7 (v13) I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between me…
- Genesis 31:42 (v13) Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God…
- Genesis 32:12 (v14) You said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which can’t be counted because there are so many.’ ”
- Genesis 35:11-12 (v14) God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out…
- Genesis 35:17 (v13) When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.”
- Deuteronomy 12:20 (v14) When Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, “I want to eat meat,” because your soul desires to eat…
- Galatians 3:16 (v14) Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants”, as of many, but as of one, “To your…
- Genesis 15:1 (v13) After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great…
- Genesis 28:4 (v13) and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave…
- Numbers 23:10 (v14) Who can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!”
- Psalms 72:17 (v14) His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.
- Ephesians 1:3 (v14) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
- Revelation 7:9 (v14) After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and…
- Genesis 35:15 (v13) Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him “Bethel”.
- Exodus 3:15-16 (v13) God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of…
- Psalms 105:11 (v13) saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,”
- Ezekiel 37:24-25 (v13) “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my…
- Matthew 8:11 (v14) I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,
- Acts 7:5 (v13) He gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on. He promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to…
- Revelation 7:4 (v14) I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
71 distinct cross-references across this passage (75 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. I am the Lord God of Abraham. This…
13. I am the Lord God of Abraham. This is the third point which, I said, was to be noticed: for mute visions are cold; therefore the word of the Lord is as the soul which quickens them. The figure, therefore, of the ladder was the inferior appendage of this promise; just as God illustrates and adorns his word by external symbols, that both greater clearness and authority may be added to it. Whence also we prove that sacraments in the Papacy are frivolous, because no voice is heard in them which may edify the soul. We may therefore observe, that whenever God manifested himself to the fathers, he also spoke, lest a mute vision should have held them in suspense. Under the name יהוהJehovah God teaches that he is the only Creator of the world, that Jacob might not seek after other gods. But since his majesty is in itself incomprehensible, he accommodates himself to the capacity of his servant, by immediately adding, that he is the God of Abraham and Isaac. For though it is necessary to maintain that the God whom we worship is the only God; yet because when our senses would aspire to the comprehension of his greatness, they fail at the first attempt; we must diligently cultivate that sobriety which teaches us not to desire to know more concerning him than he reveals unto us; and then he, accommodating himself to our weakness, according to his infinite goodness, sill omit nothing which tends to promote our salvation. And whereas he made a special covenant with Abraham and Isaac, proclaiming himself their God, he recalls his servant Jacob to the true source of faith, and retains him also in his perpetual covenant. This is the sacred bond of religion, by which all the sons of God are united among themselves, when from the first to the last they hear the same promise of salvation, and agree together in one common hope. And this is the effect of that benediction which Jacob had lately received from his father; because God with his own mouth pronounces him to be the heir of the covenant, lest the mere testimony of man should be thought illusive.
The land whereon thou liest. We read that the land was given to his posterity; yet he himself was not only a stranger in it to the last, but was not permitted even to die there. Whence we infer, that under the pledge or earnest of the land, something better and more excellent was given, seeing that Abraham was a spiritual possessor of the land, and contented with the mere beholding of it, fixed his chief regard on heaven. We, may observe, however, that the seed of Jacob is here placed in opposition to the other sons of Abraham, who, according to the flesh, traced their origin to him, but were cut off from the holy people: yet, from the time when the sons of Jacob entered the land of Canaan, they had the perpetual inheritance unto the coming of Christ, by whose advent the world was renewed.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v13 He felt the force of this promise only by…
He felt the force of this promise only by faith: for all his lifetime he was but a stranger in this land.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Gen 28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it,…
Gen 28:13 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;
Ver. 13. I am the Lord God of Abraham, &c.] What an honour is this to Abraham, that God was not ashamed to be called his and his son’s God! Eusebius the historian, was called Eusebius Pamphili, for the love that was between him and the martyr Pamphilus, as St Jerome testifieth. "Friend to Sir Philip Sidney," is engraven upon a nobleman’s {a} tomb in this kingdom, as one of his titles. Behold the goodness of God, stooping so low as to style himself "the God of Abraham"; and Abraham again, "the friend of God."
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{a} The old Lord Brook.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–15 i.e. The nations of the earth, as that word…
i.e. The nations of the earth, as that word is used.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–15 And behold, the Lord stood above it,.... Ordering, directing,…
And behold, the Lord stood above it,.... Ordering, directing, and overruling all things in Providence, for the glory of his name and the good of his people; and may signify, as the ladder may be a figure of Christ, that Jehovah the Father, is above him, as man and Mediator, and makes himself known in and by him, and delivers out all his blessings and promises through him, both temporal and spiritual, and such as follow:
and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: their covenant God and Father in Christ, who had made promises unto them, and bestowed blessings upon them; and the same was and would continue to be the God of Jacob, which is strongly intimated:
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the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; meaning not that small pittance of land only on which his body then lay, and which it covered, but all the land of which it was a part, even the whole land of Canaan; hereby entailing it on him and his seed, and so explaining and confirming the blessing of his father Isaac; and by which it appears, that all that had been done was under a divine direction, and according to the will of God.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–15 In thy seed shall all the families of the…
In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed - Christ is the great blessing of the world: all that are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in him, and none of any family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–15 Verse 13. I am the Lord God of Abraham]…
Verse 13. I am the Lord God of Abraham] Here God confirms to him the blessing of Abraham, for which Isaac had prayed, Ge 28:3-4.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14–15 Gen 28:14. In thy seed shall the families of…
Gen 28:14. In thy seed shall the families of the earth be blessed — All that are blessed, whatever family they are of, are blessed in Christ, and none of any family are excluded from blessedness in him, but those that exclude themselves.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v13 Thy father, or grandfather. God joins the dead with…
Thy father, or grandfather. God joins the dead with the living, to shew that all live to him, and that the soul is immortal. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v13 The Lord stood above it, and said--That Jacob might…
The Lord stood above it, and said--That Jacob might be at no loss to know the purport of the vision, he heard the divine voice; and the announcement of His name, together with a renewal of the covenant, and an assurance of personal protection, produced at once the most solemnizing and inspiriting effect on his mind.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–14 13. The Lord stood — A personal visional revelation…
13. The Lord stood — A personal visional revelation of Jehovah. The Targum of Onkelos reads: “The glory of the Lord stood above.” It was a theophany that impressed Jacob with a fearful awe. Gen_28:17.
The land… to thy seed — Compare the same promise made to Abraham in Gen_13:15; Gen_15:18.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–15 13. the Lord stood] Lit. “was set, established, stationed,”…
13. the Lord stood] Lit. “was set, established, stationed,” LXX ἐπεστήρικτο, Vulg. “innixum.” The appearance of Jehovah is mentioned, but not described.
above it] Better, probably, as R.V. marg., beside him. Both renderings are possible. We should perhaps prefer that of the margin. The preposition is the same as in the account of the appearance of the three men to Abraham, Gen_18:2 (“Lo, three men stood over against him”). On the other hand, the versions LXX ἐπʼ αὐτῆς, Lat. and Syr. Pesh., render as R.V. text. But the substance of Gen_28:13-15 is a personal revelation to Jacob. It is distinct from the vision of Gen_28:12, which, on a great and impressive scale, taught the general lesson of the union between earth and heaven. There is, therefore, reason for preferring the personal allusion, either “beside him,” or “over (i.e. bending over) him.” Jacob is lying down: Jehovah is standing by him. Jacob is made to realize the ever-protecting Presence, at his side, or watching over him.
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and said] The blessing of Jacob consists of (1) the Divine personal revelation; (2) the promise of the land (Gen_28:13); (3) the multiplication of his descendants (Gen_28:14); (4) the world’s blessing through his seed (Gen_28:14); (5) the personal promise of Presence and Protection (Gen_28:15).
thy father] i.e. thy ancestor. Abraham’s name is mentioned as that of the first recipient of the Divine promise.
the land] The renewal of the promise to Abraham, Gen_13:14-16.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–15 And, behold, dream-vision is so glorious that the narrator…
And, behold, dream-vision is so glorious that the narrator represents it by a threefold hGehi (Lange)the Lord stood above it, the change in the Divine name is not to be explained by assigning vers. 13-16 to the Jehovistic editor (Tuch, Bleek) or to a subsequent redactor (Davidson), since without it the Elohistic document would be abrupt, if not incomplete (Kalisch), but by recalling the fact that it is not the general pro vide nce of the Deity over his creature man, but the special superintendence of the God of Abraham and of Isaac over his chosen people, that the symbolic ladder was intended to depict (Hengstenberg)and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: thus not simply proclaiming his personal name Jehovah, but announcing himself as the Elohim who had solemnly entered into covenant with his ancestors, and who had now come, in virtue of that covenant, to renew to him the promises he had previously given themthe land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed given to Abraham, Gen_13:15; to Isaac, Gen_26:3.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v15 I will not leave thee, until I have done…
Gen_28:15
I will not leave thee, until I have done all that which I have spoken to thee of
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Renewed pledges
There are two very observable facts which may be gathered from the joint study of the Bible and our own hearts.
1. That we are prone to distrust the promises of God, though we know Him to be unchangeable.
2. That God so condescends to our weakness that He reduplicates His pledges, in order, as it were, to compel us into confidence.
I. God speaks to His people of sin blotted out; He speaks of the thorough reconciliation which Christ has effected between Himself and the sinner; He speaks of His presence as accompanying the pilgrim through the wilderness; of His grace as sufficient for every trial which may or can be encountered. The things of which God speaks to His people spread themselves through the whole of the unmeasured hereafter, and it must follow that the pledge of our not being left until the things spoken of are done is tantamount to an assurance that we shall never be left and never forsaken.
II. The text is thus a kind of mighty guarantee, giving such a force to every declaration of God, that nothing but an unbelief the most obstinate can find ground for doubt or perplexity. It does not stand by itself, but comes in as an auxiliary in declaring Gods glorious intention. It is a provision against human faithlessness, words which may well be urged when a man is tempted with the thought that, after all, a thing spoken of is not a thing done, and which bid him throw from him the thought that God is not bound to perform whatever He has promised. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Gods purpose and its fulfilment
1. God has a plan or scheme of life for every one of us, and His purposes embrace every part of that plan.
2. No words of God about our life will be left unfulfilled.
3. There is no unfinished life. The promise is a promise of--
(1) Presence.
(2) Intercourse.
(3) Fellowship. (S. Martin.)
The companionship of God
I. In what does the treasure of Gods companionship consist? It consists--
1. In the consciousness of Gods personality.
2. In the precious possessions he gives us--love, reason, conscience, will. To our conscience new light is given; to our love new spheres are open; our will receives new strength from the new example of His love and grace.
II. While these faculties are taken up the companionship of God becomes a reality of our daily life and our exceeding great reward. And then, besides, and with all this, we have the consciousness of communion with the Incarnate Word--Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; we know what to do and where to find Him. In this life we are to walk by faith. Our capacities are not intended to be satisfied here, but they shall be satisfied hereafter. (Bishop King.)
A fourfold comfort
Against his fourfold cross, here is a fourfold comfort.
1. Against the loss of his friends, I will be with thee.
2. Of his country, I will give thee this land.
3. Against his poverty, Thou shalt spread abroad to the east, west, &c.
4. His solitariness; angels shall attend thee, and thy seed shall be as the dust, &c. And who can count the dust of Jacob, said Balsam Num_23:10). Now, whatsoever God spake herewith Jacob, He spake with us, as well as with him, saith Hoses (Hoses. 12:4). (J. Trapp.)
Purpose in a promise
Every true mans life is charged with a purpose of God, which will mould it and master it, so as that it may best work out His glory. He who notes the fall of the sparrow sees, numbers, and knows each human soul. He has intrusted it with a certain office and privilege. He has created it that it might glorify Him. He has endowed that soul with existence that it might be guided into His all-wise purpose, and afterwards received to share with Him His glory.
I. Observe, then, carefully in the first place, that this being the chief end of man, there will always have to be some secondary and subordinate ends. These must be reckoned in; for they all tend towards the main end, and indeed receive their entire value from their connection with that.
II. Observe, furthermore, that if there be so many subordinate purposes in the one purpose of God, there must of necessity be many instruments also.
III. Observe, in the third place, that with a purpose so complicated as Gods is, in order to introduce every mans life into it, it will be possible that in some cases more than half the years which any given person lives will have to be spent just in rendering him ready to come in efficiently at the exact point when he is needed.
IV. Observe, once more, that if these varied instruments employed in carrying out the grand purpose are so many, and need so much preparation, there will be an evident necessity that a large number of teachers and trainers shall be kept at Gods service in instructing them. (C. S.Robinson, D. D.)
The Keeper of Israel
I. THE COMPANY. Jehovah Himself.
II. THE OFFICE. The Keeper of Israel.
III. THE MARCH. All places whither thou goest.
IV. THE ENGAGEMENT. I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. (J. Irons.)
Jacobs protector
I. GODS PRESENCE.
II. PROTECTION.
III. GUIDANCE.
IV. FAITHFULNESS. (C. Clayton, M. A.)
Four choice sentences
I. First, turn to the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis, at the fifteenth verse, and read of PRESENT BLESSING. The Lord said to His servant Jacob, Behold, I am with thee.
1. Jacob was the inheritor of a great blessing from his fathers, for this sentence was spoken in connection with the following words, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. It is an inexpressible privilege, to be able to look back to father and grandfather, and perhaps farther still, and to say, We come of a house which has served the Lord as far back as history can inform us. Descended from Christians, we have a greater honour than being descended from princes. There is no heraldry like the heraldry of the saints. Be not satisfied unless you yourself obtain such mercy as God gave to your ancestors, and hear the Lord saying, I am with thee.
2. This mercy was brought home to Jacob at a time when he greatly needed it. He had just left his fathers house, and he felt himself alone. He was coming into special trial, and then it was that he received a fuller understanding of the privilege which God had in store for him. Let me read the words to you--I am with thee. That God should send His angel with Jacob to protect him would have been much; but it is nothing compared with, I am with thee. This includes countless blessings, but it is in itself a great deal more than all the blessings we can conceive of. There are many fruits that come of it, but the tree that yields them is better than the fruit.
3. Why, when God is with a man there is a familiarity of condescension that is altogether unspeakable: it ensures an infinite love. I am with thee. God will not dwell with those He hates.
4. I am with thee--it means practical help. Whatever we undertake, God is with us in the undertaking; whatever we endure, God is with us in the enduring; whithersoever we wander, God is with us in our wandering. If God be for us, who can be against us? If God be with us, can we ever be exiled or banished? If God be with us, what can we not do? If God be with us, what can we not endure?
II. Now turn to the thirty-first chapter of Genesis, at the third verse, and read these words--I will be with thee. We will call this FUTURE BLESSING. It is almost unnecessary to take this second text; for if it is written, I am with thee, you may depend upon it that He will be with us, for God does not forsake His people.
III. I want to go a step further, and come, in the third place, to EXPERIENCED BLESSINGS. Let us look at Jacobs experience. Did Jacob find God to be with him? Turn to the thirty-first chapter again, and read the fifth verse. Up to as far as the time that he was about to leave Laban, he says--The God of my father hath been with me. I have read that testimony with great joy. I thought of Jacob thus--Well, you certainly were not eminent for grace while with Laban. You were plotting and scheming--you against Laban and Laban against you; and yet your witness is, The God of my father hath been with me. This is all the more encouraging as coming from you. Jacob seems to say of his God: It was He that gave me my wife and my children; it was He that prospered me in the teeth of those who tried to rob me; the God of my father hath been with me notwithstanding all my shortcomings. I trust that some of you can bear the like witness. Though you have net been all that you could wish in the Christian life, yet you can say, The God of my father has been with me. Now, we will look at him a little further on, in the thirty-fifth chapter, and the third verse: there we shall find him saying--Let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. As I have already said, he left Labans house; and it was a very venturesome journey, but God was with him: Jacob tells us that so it was. Poor Jacob was full of fear when he heard that Esau was coming to meet him. You can see that by the way in which he divided his flocks and his herds, and set apart so large a present for Esau. But God does not leave His people because of their fears. I am so thankful for that. There was a night of wrestling with Jacob. On that day, too, I have no doubt, Jacob was very much cast down, because he remembered his sin. He knew he had ill-treated Esau, and robbed him of the blessing; but, for all that, he came with a repentant heart to submit himself before his brother and to do what he could to please him. Because of this, God was with him. At the close of his life we find Jacob more fully than ever confessing that the presence of God had been with him. I read you the passage where he wished that the God that had been with him might be with his grandsons in the selfsame way--the forty-eighth chapter, at the fifteenth and sixteenth verses. He blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. There is his last testimony to the faithfulness of God. He had lost Rachel--oh, how it stung his heart! but he says, God redeemed me from all evil. There had come a great famine in the land; but he says that God had fed him all his life long. He had lost Joseph, and that had been a great sorrow; but now, in looking back, he sees that even then God was redeeming him from all evil. He said once, Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me; but now he eats his words, and says, The Lord hath redeemed me from all evil. He now believes that God had been always with him, had fed him always, and redeemed him always, and blessed him always. Now, mark you, if you trust in God, this shall be your verdict at the close of life.
IV. We have had present blessing; we have had future blessing; we have had experienced blessing three times over; and now we go to TRANSMITTED BLESSING; for we find Jacob transmitting the blessing to his son and to his grandson. Read in the forty-eighth chapter, at the twenty-first verse Behold, I die: but God shall be with you. I commenced by noticing the blessing which passed on from Abraham to Isaac; and now we see that Jacob hands it on to Joseph, Manasseh, and to Ephraim--I die: but God shall be with you. Blessed be the everlasting God--if Abraham dies, there is Isaac; and if Isaac dies, there is Jacob; and if Jacob dies, there is Joseph; and if Joseph dies, Ephraim and Manasseh survive. The Lord shall never lack a champion to bear His standard high among the sons of men. Only let us pray God to raise up more faithful ministers. That ought to be our prayer day and night. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v14 General Information:
General Information:
God continues to talk to Jacob in a dream.
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Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth
God compares Jacob's descendants to the dust of the earth to emphasize their huge number. AT: "You will have more descendants than you can count" (See: Simile)
you will spread far out to the west
The word "you" is singular and refers to Jacob. Here Jacob represents his descendants. AT: "your descendants will spread out to the west" (See: Metonymy)
you will spread far out
This means the people will extend the borders of their land and occupy more territory.
to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south
This phrases are used together to mean "all directions." AT: "in all directions" (See: Synecdoche)
Through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "I will bless all families on the earth through you and your descendants" (See: Active or Passive)
Behold, I am
"Pay attention, because what I am about to say is both true and important: I am"
for I will not leave you. I will do all
"for I will not leave you until I have done all"
I will keep you
"I will keep you safe" or "I will protect you"
I will bring you into this land again
"I will bring you back to this land"
translationWords
descend
bless
promise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14–15 28:14 Jacob inherited Abraham’s entire covenant (see 22:17), which…
28:14 Jacob inherited Abraham’s entire covenant (see 22:17), which confirmed Isaac’s blessing (28:3-4) and stipulated a temporary exile (28:15; see 15:12-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.