Verse 41: Esau deeply hates his brother Jacob for tricking him out of his firstborn birthright and blessing. He intends to kill Jacob as soon as their father dies.
42–45: Someone overhears Esau’s murderous murmuring, and alerts Rebekah. She sends for Jacob, and urges him to flee to her brother’s house in Haran until Esau’s rage subsides. She assures him that she’ll send word when he’s able to return without fear of revenge.
46: Rebekah is distraught over Esau’s waywardness, particularly in choosing Hittite wives. His disregard for God is obvious in marrying multiple wives (especially those whose hearts were set culturally to worship man-made gods). They bring Isaac and Rebekah so much grief (Genesis 26:34–35) that Rebekah tells Isaac, “Life will not be worth living” if Jacob does the same (v. 46).
Genesis 28
Verses 1–5: Isaac hears Rebekah and calls for Jacob. He blesses Jacob again with God's promise for numerous descendants and a land to call their own. Specifically, though, he confers the “blessing given to Abraham” (v. 4) again, which goes far beyond property and people to include relationship with God and lineage that would produce the Savior of the entire world. Also, he directs Jacob to leave immediately for Paddan Aram, where Rebekah's brother (Laban) and family reside. Unlike Esau, he’s to choose a wife from among his cousins rather than the Canaanites, whose hearts were consistently far from God.
6–9: Esau learns of Isaac’s blessing over Jacob and Jacob’s obedience in seeking a wife from Rebekah’s family. Wanting to please his father as well, Esau marries Mahalath, one of Ishmael’s daughters.
10–15: Jacob’s journey to Paddan Aram yields a life-changing encounter with God. One night, as he falls asleep under the stars (with a stone for a pillow), he dreams of a stairway to heaven. Angels travel up and down from heaven to earth, and God stands above it, revealing himself to Jacob as the God of Abraham and Isaac, the one true Lord over all that is. He reaffirms the covenant of Abraham over Jacob, promising descendants, a homeland, and blessing to all mankind through his lineage (in Christ the Savior). He also promises to faithfully walk with Jacob and watch over him, bringing him back to Canaan to fulfill all of his promises when the time is right.
16–19: Jacob’s soul is awakened by the reality of God—his greatness and power—and fear overtakes him. He names the place Bethel (“house of God”) and sees it as a gateway to heaven. He uses his “stone pillow” to construct a memorial pillar and pours oil over it, anointing it as a sacred space, although he’ll see that God’s promise to accompany him wherever he sojourns is even greater than one “mountaintop” experience.
20–22: Jacob responds to God’s revelation with a vow: as God’s will truly watch over his life and bring him home, Jacob will give himself wholly to serve God, walk in his ways, and put him first in every aspect of life, shown here by Jacob’s commitment to give God the first tenth of all the blessings God brings to him.
