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GENESIS 28,29,32
Isaac gave his son Jacob permission to go to Haran to see Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Rebekah wanted Jacob to marry one of her own people. So Jacob started out for Paddan Aram. Towards night,
Jacob grew tired. When the sun set, he stopped at a place called Luz. He
took a stone, placed it under his head, and soon fell asleep. While he slept, a strange and wonderful thing happened. Jacob had a special dream. In his dream he saw a staircase that reached up to heaven. Angels of God were walking up and down it. Above it stood the Lord. The Lord spoke to Jacob. He said, "I am the Lord. I am the God of your grandfather Abraham and your father, Isaac. I will five you the land on which you are lying. It will belong to you and your descendants. You will have many descendants, and through your family the world will be blessed. I will watch over you and take care of you whatever you go. And someday, I will bring you back here." When Jacob awoke, he said, "The Lord is here, and I did not know it!" He was amazed. "This is the gateway to heaven," he said. The next morning he took the stone he had slept on and set it up as a pillar. He renamed the place Bethel, which means "House of God." He promised God that if God would watch over him on his journey, Jacob would give his a tenth of everything he had. So Jacob traveled on to his uncle Laban’s house. There he met and married Laban’s daughter, Rachel. Jacob had twelve sons, and those twelve sons would have a very special future. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and his twelve sons were the beginning of Israel’s twelve tribes.
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