Jacob's journey to Haran was a succession of miracles. The first of the
five that befell for his sake in the course of it was that the sun sank
while Jacob was passing Mount Moriah, though it was high noon at the
time. He was following the spring that appeared wherever the Patriarchs
went or settled. It accompanied Jacob from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah,
a two days' journey. When he arrived at the holy hill, the Lord said to
him: "Jacob, thou hast bread in thy wallet, and the spring of waters is
near by to quench thy thirst. Thus thou hast food and drink, and here
thou canst lodge for the night." But Jacob replied: "The sun has barely
passed the fifth of its twelve day stages, why should I lie down to
sleep at so unseemly an hour?" But then Jacob perceived that the sun
was about to sink, and he prepared to make ready his bed.[130] It was
the Divine purpose not to let Jacob pass the site of the future Temple
without stopping; he was to tarry there at least one night. Also, God
desired to appear unto Jacob, and He shows Himself unto His faithful
ones only at night.[131] At the same time Jacob was saved from the
pursuit of Esau, who had to desist on account of the premature
darkness.[132]
Jacob took twelve stones from the altar on which his father Isaac had
lain bound as a sacrifice, and he said: "It was the purpose of God to
let twelve tribes arise, but they have not been begotten by Abraham or
Isaac. If, now, these twelve stones will unite into a single one, then
shall I know for a certainty that I am destined to become the father of
the twelve tribes." At this time the second miracle came to pass, the
twelve stones joined themselves together and made one, which he put
under his head, and at once it became soft and downy like a pillow. It
was well that he had a comfortable couch. He was in great need of rest,
for it was the first night in fourteen years that he did not keep
vigils. During all those years, passed in Eber's house of learning, he
had devoted the nights to study. And for twenty years to come he was
not to sleep, for while he was with his uncle Laban, he spent all the
night and every night reciting the Psalms.[133]
On the whole it was a night of marvels. He dreamed a dream in which the
course of the world's history was unfolded to him. On a ladder set up
on the earth, with the top of it reaching to heaven, he beheld the two
angels who had been sent to Sodom. For one hundred and thirty-eight
years they had been banished from the celestial regions, because they
had betrayed their secret mission to Lot. They had accompanied Jacob
from his father's house thither, and now they were ascending
heavenward. When they arrived there, he heard them call the other
angels, and say, "Come ye and see the countenance of the pious Jacob,
whose likeness appears on the Divine throne, ye who yearned long to see
it," and then he beheld the angels descend from heaven to gaze upon
him.[134] He also saw the angels of the four kingdoms ascending the
ladder. The angel of Babylon mounted seventy rounds, the angel of
Media, fifty-two, that of Greece, one hundred and eighty, and that of
Edom mounted very high, saying, "I will ascend above the heights of the
clouds, I will be like the Most High," and Jacob heard a voice
remonstrating, "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the
uttermost parts of the pit." God Himself reproved Edom, saying, "Though
thou mount on high as the eagle, and though thy nest be set among the
stars, I will bring thee down from thence."[135]
Furthermore, God showed unto Jacob the revelation at Mount Sinai, the
translation of Elijah, the Temple in its glory and in its spoliation,
Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to burn the three holy children in the fiery
furnace, and Daniel's encounter with Bel.[136]
In this, the first prophetic dream dreamed by Jacob,[137] God made him
the promise that the land upon which he was lying would be given to
him, but the land he lay upon was the whole of Palestine, which God had
folded together and put under him. "And," the promise continued, "thy
seed will be like unto the dust of the earth. As the earth survives all
things, so thy children will survive all the nations of the earth. But
as the earth is trodden upon by all, so thy children, when they commit
trespasses, will be trodden upon by the nations of the earth."[138]
And, furthermore, God promised that Jacob should spread out to the west
and to the east, a greater promise than that given to his fathers
Abraham and Isaac, to whom He had allotted a limited land. Jacob's was
an unbounded possession.[139]
From this wondrous dream Jacob awoke with a start of fright, on account
of the vision he had had of the destruction of the Temple.[140] He
cried out, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the
house of God, wherein is the gate of heaven through which prayer
ascends to Him." He took the stone made out of the twelve, and set it
up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it, which had flowed
down from heaven for him, and God sank this anointed stone unto the
abyss, to serve as the centre of the earth, the same stone, the Eben
Shetiyah,[141] that forms the centre of the sanctuary, whereon the
Ineffable Name is graven, the knowledge of which makes a man master
over nature, and over life and death.[142]
Jacob cast himself down before the Eben Shetiyah, and entreated God to
fulfil the promise He had given him, and also he prayed that God grant
him honorable sustenance. For God had not mentioned bread to eat and
raiment to put on, that Jacob might learn to have faith in the Lord.
Then he vowed to give the tenth of all he owned unto God, if He would
but grant his petition. Thus Jacob was the first to take a vow upon
himself,[143] and the first, too, to separate the tithe from his
income.[144]
God had promised him almost all that is desirable, but he feared he
might forfeit the pledged blessings through his sinfulness,[145] and
again he prayed earnestly that God bring him back to his father's house
unimpaired in body, possessions, and knowledge,[146] and guard him, in
the strange land whither he was going, against idolatry, an immoral
life, and bloodshed.[147]
His prayer at an end, Jacob set out on his way to Haran, and the third
wonder happened. In the twinkling of an eye he arrived at his
destination. The earth jumped from Mount Moriah to Haran. A wonder like
this God has executed only four times in the whole course of
history.[148]
The first thing to meet his eye in Haran was the well whence the
inhabitants drew their supply of water. Although it was a great city,
Haran suffered from dearth of water, and therefore the well could not
be used by the people free of charge. Jacob's sojourn in the city
produced a change. By reason of his meritorious deeds the water springs
were blessed, and the city had water enough for its needs.
Jacob saw a number of people by the well, and he questioned them, "My
brethren, whence be ye?" He thus made himself a model for all to
follow. A man should be companionable, and address others like brothers
and friends, and not wait for them to greet him. Each one should strive
to be the first to give the salutation of peace, that the angels of
peace and compassion may come to meet him. When he was informed that
the by-standers hailed from Haran, he made inquiry about the character
and vocation of his uncle Laban, and whether they were on terms of
friendly intercourse with him. They answered briefly: "There is peace
between us, but if thou art desirous of inquiring further, here comes
Rachel the daughter of Laban. From her thou canst learn all thou hast a
mind to learn." They knew that women like to talk, wherefore they
referred him to Rachel.[149]
Jacob found it strange that so many should be standing idle by the
well, and he questioned further: "Are you day laborers? then it is too
early for you to put by your work. But if you are pasturing your own
sheep, why do you not water your flocks and let them feed?"[150] They
told him they were waiting until all the shepherds brought their flocks
thither, and together rolled the stone from the mouth of the well.
While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's
sheep, for Laban had no sons, and a pest having broken out shortly
before among his cattle, so few sheep were left that a maiden like
Rachel could easily tend them. Now, when Jacob saw the daughter of his
mother's brother approaching, he rolled the great stone from the mouth
of the well as easily as a cork is drawn from a bottle—the fourth
wonder of this extraordinary day. Jacob's strength was equal to the
strength of all the shepherds; with his two arms alone he accomplished
what usually requires the united forces of a large assemblage of men.
He had been divinely endowed with this supernatural strength on leaving
the Holy Land. God had caused the dew of the resurrection to drop down
upon him, and his physical strength was so great that even in a combat
with the angels he was victorious.[152]
The fifth and last wonder of the day was that the water rose from the
depths of the well to the very top, there was no need to draw it up,
and there it remained all the twenty years that Jacob abode in
Haran.[153]