🪨a stone pillow🪜a ladder of light⭐stars🫒oil on the stone
Jacob's night at Bethel.
The big ideaThe Bible tells us God promised to be with Jacob wherever he went.
How it works
The Bible tells of a night when Jacob slept outside with a stone for a pillow. He was walking north to his uncle Laban in Haran, because Esau was angry and his mother Rebekah had told him to go.
In a dream he saw a great ladder, a stairway of soft light, reaching up to heaven. God's messengers went up and down it.
God promised to be with Jacob wherever he went, and to bring him back.
In the morning Jacob stood the stone up, poured oil on it and named the place Bethel, which means house of God.
Jacob's story in a row.Night and morning.
Example 1: Tell it in four steps
Leaving: Jacob left his father's camp and walked north.
Sleeping: he had no bed, so he used a flat stone.
Dreaming: a ladder of light reached up to heaven.
Marking: in the morning he stood the stone up and named the place Bethel.
Example 2: Find the place on the road
Jacob's home was in the hills of Canaan.
His uncle Laban lived far away to the north, in Haran.
So Jacob walked north, day after day, over ridges and dry valleys, feeling small and far from home.
Example 3: Why a standing stone?
In those days a standing stone marked a place people wanted to remember.
Jacob poured oil over the top to show that the place was special.
He named it Bethel, a name that means house of God.
Example 4: Count the promises
First: to be with him wherever he went.
Second: to bring him back to the land.
Third: to give the land to his family.
Fourth: to bless all the peoples through his family.
Words to know
blessing
A kind wish or promise of good things.
pillar
A tall stone standing on its end.
Bethel
A place name that means house of God.
Watch out
The ladder was in a dream. The story does not say Jacob climbed it.
Jacob slept in the open on a stone. He had no house and no soft bed that night.
Bethel is the name Jacob gave the place. It means house of God.
Try it
What did Jacob rest his head on?
What did Jacob see in his dream?
What did Jacob name the place?
Who was Jacob walking to meet?
Answers: 1. A flat stone · 2. A great ladder of light reaching up to heaven · 3. Bethel · 4. His uncle Laban, in Haran
Try at homeWith a grown-up, look at the sky together tonight and talk about a time you felt looked after.
For grown-upsAsk your child to tell the story with four things: a stone, a ladder, a promise and a standing stone. The story says what happened; if they ask a big question, you can wonder about it together.
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