going with the birthright.  Jacob had shown his great desire for the birthright, which was merely a promise; while Esau had despised it.  Acting upon the advice of his mother, Jacob now fled from the wrath of Esau; and as he went away, he lay down and slept at a place situated north of the present site of Jerusalem and which afterward he named Bethel, which means the house of God.  There he had a dream, in which God signified his approval of Jacob and pronounced a blessing upon him.

[115]"And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven:  and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.  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.”—­Genesis 28:11-15.

[116]Whom God approves and blesses all others should approve.  We may be assured, then, that Jacob was blameless before Jehovah in this transaction.  It shows how carefully Jehovah was guarding his promise and the seed which would spring from it ultimately and through which the families of the earth should be blessed.

[117]Some years later God showed his further favor to Jacob by changing his name from Jacob to Israel.  The name Israel means, He will rule as God.  “And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob:  thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name:  and he called his name Israel.  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty:  be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.” (Genesis 35:10-12) According to the promise given to Jacob at this time, a nation should spring forth of him.

[118]Jacob had twelve sons.  There were born to him by his wife Leah the sons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; and by his wife Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin.  His other sons were Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.  Jacob’s wife Rachel was the most beloved by him, and she was the mother of his beloved son Joseph.  After Jacob had been deprived of Joseph’s presence and fellowship, he devoted his affections to Benjamin, the other son by his beloved wife Rachel.  The Scriptures show that these two sons typified those who will be born on the spirit plane, Joseph being a type of the royal family of heaven; while Benjamin typified the great company or tribulation class born on a spirit plane lower than those possessing the divine nature.