Then Jacob said, "And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (vv. 16-17). He forgot about God's word to him. He did not think about the promise of the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. He only became fearful because it was the gate of heaven. Bethel is indeed a dreadful place in the eyes of the fleshly man. We know that Bethel is the house of God. The house of God is indeed a dreadful place for those whose flesh has not been dealt with. In God's house there is authority and there is administration. In God's house, there is God's dispensation, glory, holiness, and righteousness. If the flesh is not dealt with, God's house is indeed a dreadful place.

"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" (v. 18). This means that he sanctified the stone. "And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first" (v. 19). Then Jacob vowed, "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: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (vv. 20-22). This was Jacob's answer to God. This was the extent of Jacob's knowledge of God.

God said to him, "Behold, I am with thee," and Jacob said to God, "If God will be with me." God said, "[I] will keep thee in all places wither thou goest," and Jacob said, "If God..will keep me in this way that I go." This was Jacob's knowledge of God.

Let us consider Jacob's petition. His petition reveals the things he was after. He said, "If God will..give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on..." He cared about things related to his eating and clothing. He did not see God's plan. This word also shows us the type of discipline he had received from his parents. He was a spoiled child at home. He left his home only because of God's discipline. This was the first night that he had ever camped out, and he made the stones his pillows. From this point on, he did not know where his food and raiment would come from. Therefore, his mind was on food and raiment. He was disciplined in the matter of food and raiment. He saw that in trying to gain the blessing by guile, he ended up with no food and clothing, and he lost his father's house. Therefore, he said, "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..." His hope was to have food to eat and raiment to put on and to be able to return to his father's house. If God would do these things for him, he would do the following: "This stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." This was Jacob. This was the degree of Jacob's knowledge of God at the beginning. Whatever God would give to him, he would give back a tenth to God. His thoughts were very commercial. His communication with God was a kind of bargaining. If God would be with him, keep him, give him food and raiment, and guide him safely back to his father's house in peace, he would reward God with one tenth of his possessions.

This was the first time Jacob met God. Bethel was the place where God spoke to Jacob for the first time. Thereafter, when God spoke to Jacob, He always said, "I am the God of Bethel" (31:13). Although Jacob did not know God that well at this time, God left a deep impression in him at Bethel. This was the first time that God dealt with him. Twenty years later, after much discipline, he became a useful man.