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Page 12
Just as soon as Jacob had received the blessing he rose up and hastened
away. He had scarcely gone out, when Esau came in from hunting, with the
dish of food that he had cooked. And he said:
"Let my father sit up and eat the food that I have brought, and give me
the blessing."
And Isaac said, "Why, who are you?"
Esau answered, "I am your son; your oldest son, Esau."
And Isaac trembled, and said, "Who then is the one that came in and
brought to me food? and I have eaten his food and have blessed him; yes,
and he shall be blessed."
When Esau heard this, he knew that he had been cheated; and he cried
aloud, with a bitter cry, "O, my father, my brother has taken away my
blessing, just as he took away my birthright! But cannot you give me
another blessing, too? Have you given everything to my brother?"
And Isaac told him all that he had said to Jacob, making him the ruler
over his brother.
But Esau begged for another blessing; and Isaac said:
"My son, your dwelling shall be of the riches of the earth and of the
dew of heaven. You shall live by your sword and your descendants shall
serve his descendants. But in time to come they shall break loose and
shall shake off the yoke of your brother's rule and shall be free."
All this came to pass many years afterward. The people who came from
Esau lived in a land called Edom, on the south of the land of Israel,
where Jacob's descendants lived. And after a time the Israelites became
rulers over the Edomites; and later still, the Edomites made themselves
free from the Israelites. But all this took place hundreds of years
afterward.
It was better that Jacob's descendants, those who came after him, should
have the blessing, than that Esau's people should have it; for Jacob's
people worshipped God, and Esau's people walked in the way of the idols
and became wicked.
THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN
After Esau found that he had lost his birthright and his blessing, he
was very angry against his brother Jacob; and he said to himself, and
told others:
"My father Isaac is very old and cannot live long. As soon as he is
dead, then I shall kill Jacob for having robbed me of my right."
When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, "Before it is too late, do
you go away from home and get out of Esau's sight. Perhaps when Esau
sees you no longer, he will forget his anger, and then you can come home
again. Go and visit my brother Laban, your uncle, in Haran, and stay
with him for a little while."
We must remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, Abraham's
younger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to the northeast of
Canaan, and that Laban was Rebekah's brother.
So Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, and walked
alone, carrying his staff in his hand. One evening, just about sunset,
he came to a place among the mountains, more than sixty miles distant
from his home. And as he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stone
and rested his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep.
[Illustration: _Angels were upon the stairs_]
And on that night Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream he saw
stairs leading from the earth where he lay up to heaven; and angels were
going up and coming down upon the stairs. And above the stairs, he saw
the Lord God standing. And God said to Jacob:
"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac your father;
and I will be your God, too. The land where you are lying all alone,
shall belong to you and to your children after you; and your children
shall spread abroad over the lands, east and west, and north and south,
like the dust of the earth; and in your family all the world shall
receive a blessing. And I am with you in your journey, and I will keep
you where you are going, and will bring you back to this land. I will
never leave you, and I will surely keep my promise to you."
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