Bible passage: Genesis 28:10-14
Prophet: Jacob
Written: As early as 1400 BC
This article is contributed by Ray Konig, the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
By Ray KonigPublished: April 5, 2001Updated: May 7, 2024
Some 4,000 years ago a young man hurried across an expanse of land, bringing a great distance between him and the threat of death that awaited him in the town of his home. Weary from his travel, he lowered himself to the ground and rested his head on a rock.
He slept and dreamt of a future far removed from the conflict that had haunted him that day. His name was Jacob and he was fleeing from his brother Esau, who had sworn to kill him. Jacob had reason to fear his brother. Esau was known for his skills as a hunter and for his acumen in the wild.
Jacob, in contrast, was known more for staying close to the tents of the family's settlement, within the land of Canaan.
For a fight to the death, Jacob might seem outclassed. But as the events of this conflict ran their course, the brothers reversed their roles. Whereas Jacob fled into the wilderness, to escape his brother's wrath, Esau stayed close to home, choosing not to pursue him.
Although they were twins, born only moments apart, Esau was born first. And it was the first-born son who was to be specially treated when it came to matters such as inheritance. But Jacob deceived their blind-and-ailing father, who then gave Jacob the blessings that traditionally would have gone to the first-born son.
Esau vowed to kill his brother. Jacob fled.
In time, Jacob would prevail. He would survive the anger of his brother. And the land from which he was fleeing would one day carry his name, and not that of his brother.
The night that Jacob rested his head on a rock and slept in the wilderness was the night that he dreamt a vision known as "Jacob's Ladder." In this vision, he was told, among other things, that his descendants - none of whom had been born yet - would inherit the land on which he slept:
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. (Genesis 28:10-14, WEB)
Jacob's name was later changed to Israel, as was the land beneath him.
This was the land that God had promised to the descendants of Jacob's father, Isaac, and Jacob's grandfather, Abraham. And now, God was promising it to their descendants through Jacob/Israel. This is the land that became the homeland of the Israelites, the people who would record the words of the Bible. And this is the land that became the birthplace of the Messiah, a descendant of Jacob.
This is the land from which Christianity would spread throughout the world, to a vast array of people who look back upon Israel as the Holy Land, the land of the Bible, the land of the Messiah.
This prophecy also indicates that Jacob would be an ancestor to the Messiah, through the use of the word “blessed” in verse 14, and the mention of a worldwide impact in verse 14. Both are fulfilled in Jesus, a descendant of Jacob, and the spread of Christianity throughout the world. Jesus lived about 2,000 years after the time of Jacob.
Jacob/Israel became the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel. His descendants later conquered the land, seizing control of it about 3,400 years ago from the various groups of people who resided there. The conquest is described in the Bible's Old Testament book of Joshua. Some of the other books of the Old Testament speak of the history that followed, the centuries during which the Israelites lived and prospered within the land of Israel, the land where Jacob dreamed.
© Ray Konig.
Ray Konig is the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.