Step 5: Waking To Believe

“So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top (Gen. 28:18).”

As we continue our study, Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, the goal is to understand Jacob’s dream from his experience and reactions. Once he arose, Jacob immediately reacted. When someone rises early from bed, it’s usually one of two things or both: 1) Jacob couldn’t go back to sleep after experiencing this dream, and/or 2) he had a new excitement that overcame him and had to get up and worship. As the text says, he rose early and took the stone that he used under his head (some say it was used as a pillow) and set it up to mark this place as a moment or place where Jacob found God. The average reader may need a little help to understand the significance of this verse if they do not understand the meaning of the word “pillar” used in some interpretations. The NET uses “a sacred stone” which specifies that this is a ceremonial act of standing up this stone. The reader could also gather this from verse 18 as Jacob “poured oil on top” of the stone, signifying this is a ceremonial placing of this stone. This is explained more in Carl Graesser’s article, “Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine” which you can find by doing a web search online.

The significance of this section of verses highlights Jacob’s acceptance toward the Lord. He was afraid (a fear of the Lord), recognized God in this place as a “house of God,” anointed and erected a stone in God’s honor, and vowed to take God to be his God.