And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:

COMMENTARY

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
Yesterday I shared how Jacob was sent from his father’s house to establish his own family and home. But of course, here at his beginning, he has none of those things. Here at the beginning he has nothing. He is alone under the stars with some rocks for his pillow. But it is here, not in the comfort of his father’s wealth, that God reaches out to him in a vision.
Jacob was moved by this, and when he woke up he took what little he had (his stony pillow) and gave it up as an altar. He might have nothing, but he is willing to share that nothing with God.

And Jacob vowed, saying, If God be with me, and keep me in this way, and give me bread to eat, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God
And now Jacob implores God to provide! Here with nothing he sees just how much man must depend on God for everything. And he resolves to be a faithful disciple to God in return, to give God his heart and his fidelity.
And in this we see the wisdom of Isaac pushing his son out of the nest. Yes Jacob was sent out to find a wife and a home and a vocation, but more importantly he is out here to find his own relationship with God. Isaac was a patriarch and a prophet, but he needed to distance himself from Jacob if the boy was ever to become acquainted with the actual source himself.