3655. The subject treated of in the preceding verses from the evangelist, was the first and second state of the church's perversion. That the first state consisted in their beginning no longer to know what is good and what is true, and in disputing together about them, whence came falsities, may be seen above (n. 3354); and that the second state consisted in their despising what is good and true, and also in being averse thereto, and thus in the dying out of faith in the Lord, according to the degrees of the cessation of charity, may be seen above (n. 3487, 3488). So that the subject treated of in this preface is the third state of the church, which is its state of desolation in respect to good and truth.
GENESIS 28
1. And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and commanded him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a woman of the daughters of Canaan.
2. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father, and take thee from thence a woman of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.
3. And God Shaddai will bless thee, and will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and thou shalt be a company of peoples.
4. And He will give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, to cause thee to inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.
5. And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6. And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him to Paddan-aram, to take him from thence a woman, and in blessing him commanded him, saying, Thou shalt not take a woman of the daughters of Canaan.
7. And Jacob hearkened to his father and to his mother, and went to Paddan-aram.
8. And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father.
9. And Esau went to Ishmael, and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, over his women to himself for a woman.
10. And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11. And he lighted upon a place, and passed the night there, for the sun was set; and he took of the stones of the place, and placed them for his pillows, and lay down in that place.
12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set on the earth, and its head reaching to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13. And behold Jehovah standing upon it; and He said, I am Jehovah the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break forth to the sea, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee shall all the families of the ground be blessed, and in thy seed.
15. And behold I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back to this ground; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee.
16. And Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place; and I knew it not.
17. And he feared, and said, How terrible is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had placed for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the head of it.
19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way wherein I walk, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on.
21. And I return in peace to my father's house, Jehovah shall be to me for God.
22. And this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and all that Thou shalt give me, tithing I will tithe it to Thee.