Читать книгу Captivating Bible Stories for Young People, Written in Simple Language - Charlotte M. Yonge - Страница 7

Table of Contents

JACOB'S JOURNEY AND DREAM.

FIRST READING.

"Bless me, even me also, O my father."—Genesis 27:34.

GOD had called Abraham from his home, and promised to give his children the land of Canaan, and that in his Seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. This was renewing to Abraham the great promise of the Seed of the woman that had been made to Eve; and Abraham believed, and was glad. But though his children were to have the land, none of it was his; and he went up and down in it a stranger, living in his tent, without house or home, only trusting in faith to God's promise to his children. His son Isaac lived like him, with no home, but looking on in faith to what God promised.

Isaac had two sons; and as Esau was the eldest, he had the first right to these promises. But Esau did not care enough about them; he did not seem to get anything by them, and he liked what he could get at once better than what was a long way off. He had no faith.

One day he came home half dead with hunger, and saw his brother Jacob making soup over the fire. He said he would give all these rights for a meal of the soup; for if he died of hunger, what good would his birth-right do him? So for a mess of pottage he sold his right to the land of Canaan, and to be the forefather of our Saviour.

A time was to come when he would be sorry for what he had done. His father was old and blind, and thought he was going to die; so he bade Esau, whom he loved the best, bring home some meat and make a solemn feast—which was the way then of giving a blessing. Esau went, and in time brought home the meat to his father; but when he came in, Isaac cried out, and trembled! His brother Jacob had come in his stead, and Isaac had taken him for Esau, and given to him the blessing that gave the right to the promised land, and to all God's promises!

ISAAC BLESSING JACOB.—Gen. 27:28, 29.

Then Esau cried out with an exceeding bitter cry, and asked if his father had but one blessing! Isaac was grieved for him, and blest him with all his heart; but there was no changing back, no taking away what Jacob had won and Esau had lost.

Esau did not know what he was doing when he took the pottage at once, rather than wait patiently for the glorious inheritance that was to come. This was the reason that he was allowed to be so cruelly disappointed. This is a warning to us. We have the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven promised to us; but we are tempted not to care about it when we want something here in this world, whether play, or dress, or anything that seems a great deal to us now.

But if we trifle away our right to these great promises that God made us at our baptism, there will come a time of bitter grief, when it is too late. And when we are dead, it will be too late to change! Therefore, now while we are alive, we must have faith, and show it by taking care that the things we like here on earth do not make us lose the better things in heaven.

QUESTIONS.

1. What were the names of Isaac's two sons? 2. What had God promised Isaac? 3. Which son had the first right to the promise? 4. But which cared about it most? 5. What did Esau want? 6. So what did he give up for the sake of the soup? 7. Could he get it back again? 8. What are you an heir of? 9. How could we lose the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven? 10. Shall we be able to change after we are dead? 11. Then what must we care about most? 12. Why could not Esau get his father's blessing? 13. What did he like better than waiting for what he could not see? 14. Can we see heaven? 15. But when we get there, will it not be better than anything we can see here?

SECOND READING.

"This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."—Genesis 28:17.

YOU know that Isaac, Abraham's son, had two sons, whose names were Esau and Jacob. Now Jacob had grieved Esau by gaining God's great promise, for which Esau was so angry with him, that he had to go out away from his father's home, all alone. But Jacob knew he was not alone, for God was with him. He went on till night came. Then he was in a dismal stony place, with no house or shelter near—only big stones, and here and there a thistle.

He said his prayers, and then he lay down, with a stone for his pillow and the sky over him. But in the night he saw a wonder. There was a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down, and the Lord Himself stood at the top of the ladder. And He told Jacob that He was going to give his children all the land he saw—North, South, East, and West; and that He would take care of him, and be with him wherever he went, and in time bring him safe home.

JACOB'S VISION OF ANGELS.—Gen. 28:12, 13.

Jacob woke, and found it was a dream, but he knew it was true, and that God had really spoken to him; and though he was glad he was afraid, and he said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." And that he might always know the place, he put one of the great stones upright, and he took some of the sweet olive oil he had brought to eat on his journey, and poured it on the stone, as the only thing he could do to show honor to God.

Then he made a solemn holy vow, that if God would take care of him on his way, and give him food to eat and clothes to wear, he would make a gift to God all his life of the tenth part of all he had. Good people like to do like Jacob, and give God their tenth. And if we only had our eyes opened to see, like his, we should see God's angels coming up and down with blessings for us, for we go to the house of God and gate of heaven whenever we go to church. Let us recollect how awful Jacob felt it to be so near to God.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Jacob? 2. Who was Isaac? 3. Who was Esau? 4. Why was Jacob obliged to go away? 5. What was the promise? 6. What kind of place had he to sleep in? 7. What was his pillow? 8. But what did he see? 9. Who went up and down? 10. Who stood at the top? 11. What did God promise him? 12. What did Jacob say of the place? 13. How did he mark it? 14. What did he pour on the stone? 15. What vow did he make? 16. What are the houses of God? 17. Who comes up and down to us? 18. What do the angels bring us? 19. How much did Jacob promise to give God? 20. What does God do for us?

THIRD READING.

"As a prince hast thou prevailed."—Genesis 32:28.

IT was a long journey that Jacob had had to take, but God took care of him, and brought him safe to the home where his mother had come from. He lived there, and took care of his uncle's sheep and cattle, till he had earned a great many for his own; and he had married there, and had a great many sons. But after a time God commanded him to go home to the land of Canaan. He was afraid, because he thought his brother Esau might still be angry with him; but, in spite of his fear, he did as God bade him.

JACOB MEETING RACHEL.—Gen. 29:10-12.

LABAN HIRING JACOB.—Gen. 29:18, 19.

When he came near the river Jordan, which flows on the East side of the land of Canaan, he prayed to God to guard him, and once more God let him see the angels who were going with him to protect him. He was glad, but he was still very careful. He

chose out a present of cows, and goats, and camels, and sheep, for Esau, and sent it on to meet him; and then he sent on the other cattle he wanted to keep for himself; then his children; and last of all, in the safest place, his dear young son Joseph.

JACOB'S DEPARTURE FOR CANAAN.—Gen. 31:17, 18.

Esau came to meet him, but not in anger. The two brothers met, and fell on one another's neck and kissed one another, and were friends. So God had kept His promise to take care of Jacob; and Jacob kept his promise, for he set up an altar at Bethel, where he had seen the angels before, and praised and blessed God.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was Jacob? 2. Why had he left home? 3. With whom did he go to live? 4. What did he earn there? 5. Why did he go back? 6. Why was he afraid? 7. What comforted him? 8. Of whom do God's angels take care? 9. What did he give Esau? 10. How did he put his family in order? 11. Who went last? 12. How did Esau meet him? 13. What was the quarrel between them? 14. But was Esau angry? 15. How did Jacob show he was thankful?

JACOB AND THE ANGEL.—Genesis 32:24.

THE MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU.—Gen. 33:3, 4.