When Isaac realized that he had been deceived he told Esau that he could not recall the promises he had made to the one who had brought him the food, and then Esau, who had sold his birthright, and now had been tricked out of the blessing that was rightfully his, cried out bitterly, “Bless me, even me also, O my father.”

Then Isaac told him that it was his brother Jacob who had robbed him, and Esau replied, “Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times:  he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing.  Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” And then in the bitterness of his heart he wept.

Moved by Esau’s distress, Isaac did bless him, but the promises he made were different from those he had given Jacob.  He told Esau that he should live by the sword, that he should serve his brother, but that the time would come when he would break away from his brother’s rule.

Esau hated his brother after this and made threats that he would kill him after their father died.  His mother heard of these threats and was afraid he would carry them out, so she proposed that Jacob should go to her brother Laban and stay with him until Esau’s anger had cooled.  Isaac agreed to this and told him also to choose a wife among Laban’s daughters.

Before Jacob’s departure Isaac blessed him, once more telling him that he and his descendants should have the land which God had promised to Abraham and his family.  So the mother and her favorite son parted.  Their deceit had given Jacob the blessing that should have been Esau’s, but Rebekah was never to see Jacob again.

Jacob started on his journey to his uncle’s house, and when night came lay down to sleep, making a pillow of stones for his head.  In his sleep a wonderful dream or vision came to him.  He saw a ladder with its foot resting on the earth and its top reaching to heaven.  Upon this ladder angels went up and down, while at the top stood God Himself, who promised Jacob that He would be with him wherever he went, and that he and his children should have the land in which he was at that time.

[Illustration:  Upon this ladder angels went up and down.]

When Jacob awoke he made a pillar of the stone upon which his head had rested, poured oil upon it, and called the name of the place Bethel.  Then he made a vow that if God would go with him and provide for him he would serve Him and give to Him a tenth part of all he possessed.

Although Jacob knew a good deal about God, up to this time he had no personal knowledge of Him, but during, this, his first night from home, he had, in a vision, seen God and heard His voice in the most gracious of promises.  His whole life was changed, and from that time he was God’s man.

Then Jacob went on his way again and came to a well near Haran, where Laban lived.  This well was not like the one where Eliezer, the steward of Abraham, had first seen the maiden who became Jacob’s mother.  It was more like a cistern or tank with an opening at the top which was covered by a great stone which had to be rolled away to get at the water.