Esau with the blessing that the LORD put into his heart. "Behold," he said, "thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck."

Esau was forced to be content with this blessing; but he went out from his father with a heart full of bitterness and hatred towards Jacob. Instead of thinking tenderly and gratefully of the blessing he had received, and cherishing his aged father for his remaining days, he only thought with impatience of the time when Isaac should die, and he might give vent to his anger towards Jacob. "The days of mourning for my father are at hand: then will I slay my brother Jacob."

Rebekah was told what Esau had said, and she was very much frightened, knowing how violent Esau was, and that he no doubt would kill his brother if he could. So she called Jacob, and told him that he must go away to Haran in Mesopotamia, her own country, and stay there with her brother Laban, until Esau's anger was past. She therefore per

suaded Isaac that it would be well to send Jacob to Haran, for fear he should marry a woman of Canaan, as Esau had done. Isaac's heart must have filled as he thought of those days long past, of his own father and mother, and of the days when Rebekah came from that far-off Mesopotamia to be his wife. So though in sending Jacob away, he could no more expect to see him in this world, the aged man resolved to do as Rebekah urged. Then he bid Jacob promise not to marry a Canaanite woman, but told him to go to his mother's family, and take a wife from among his cousins. Once more he solemnly blessed Jacob, saying, "GOD Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed after thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham."

Then Isaac sent his youngest son away, still in faith, that God would fulfil His promises in him, and assured that though he should see Jacob no more on earth, that the angel which hitherto had watched over him (Gen. xlviii. 16) would go forth with him, and lead him through whatever troubles might be appointed for him.

JACOB'S JOURNEY.

THUS Jacob left his parents and his home, and went towards the land of Syria. As he travelled the sun set, and darkness came over him; probably he was thinking about home, about his aged father, whom he had grieved; and about his mother, who loved him so fondly; and perhaps too now that they were parted, he thought sorrowfully about his twin brother Esau, and wished they had not quarrelled. And so musing, he found himself overtaken by the night, and far from any dwelling place. So Jacob determined to rest where he was all night; he took some stones for pillows, and lay down to sleep. When he had fallen asleep, GOD sent him a dream or vision to guide and comfort him on his way.

There was a very very long ladder, one end resting on the earth, and the other reaching up to heaven; and GoD's holy angels were going up and down it between heaven and earth. Above the ladder the LORD Himself stood, and He spoke to Jacob, 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."

Then Jacob awoke, and he said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I knew it not.” And as he lay there in the still night, a great awe came over his soul, and he said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of GOD, and this is the gate of heaven." Then early in the morning, as soon as it was light, Jacob rose up, and took the stone on which his head had rested during that wonderful night vision, and made an altar of it, anointing it, that is, pouring oil upon it, and he called the name of the place Bethel, a name meaning the house of GOD; and made a solemn vow before GOD, that if He would indeed be with him, and keep him during his wanderings, and be his support, till he should come back in peace and safety to his father's home, then he would make there a fitting house for

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GOD, and offer to Him a tenth part, or tithe of all he possessed. Then he continued on his journey, with a new life and hope in him surely, since that gracious promise from his God that he should not go forth alone into the trials and troubles of a strange country, and strange people around him.

JACOB IN HARAN.

JACOB journeyed on till he came near to Haran, and at last he came to a well, by the side of which three flocks of sheep were waiting to be watered. There was a great stone upon the mouth of the well, and the shepherds were obliged to wait until all the neighbouring flocks were gathered together, and then they `rolled away the great stone, and gave all the sheep water. Jacob waited with them, and began to talk with the shepherds, and asked if they knew Laban, the son of Nahor? They said that they did know him, that he was alive and well, and that the maiden who was just coming up with her flock to the water, was Laban's daughter Rachel.

No doubt Jacob called to mind how his