Then Isaac called Jacob his son, and blessed him, and commanded him, saying unto him, Take not thee a wife of the daughters of Canaan, but arise, and go into Mesopotamia unto Bethuel thy mother's father's house, and take thee a wife there of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of nations, and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest possess the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. So Isaac prepared Jacob to go into Mesopotamia to Laban, Bethuel's son, in 2) Syria, the brother of Rebekah, his mother and Esau's mother. Now when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and was sent away into Mesopotamia to take a wife there, and that, blessing him, he commanded him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and went into Mesopotamia; seeing also that Isaac his father did not like to see the daughters of Canaan: he went unto Ishmael, and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael the son of Abraham, the sister of Nebajoth, to wife over the wives which he had before.
1 This will be the last of Isaac and Rebekah, without him dying yet, in the fifth and thirtieth chapter, v. 28. 29. First, we must deal with Esau. There you see that the Scripture praises Jacob as he obeyed his father and mother.
002 And Esau had two wives, which were whimsical and unruly, which displeased them both: so that the mother also lamented, saying [Cap. 27:46], "It grieveth me to live before the daughters of Heth." So now, when he sees that Jacob is now in favor, and has the blessing, he goes to his cousin, his mother's brother, to take a wife there; he also makes himself friendly, and also befriends his mother.
1) ready - to dispatch, to send.
2) In the editions: of.
close to his cousin Ishmael, and takes his cousin's daughter. This is now permitted in the other member among sibling children, which the Scriptures have not forbidden. He did this to reconcile the parents and to please them. Then follows a fine text about the ladder that Jacob saw in a dream, and then about the vow he made.
(v.10-15) And Jacob departed from Beer-saba, and journeyed to Haran, and came to a place, where he tarried for the night: for the sun was down. And he took a stone of the place, and laid it for his head, and lay down in the same place to sleep. And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder stood upon the earth, and the top thereof touched heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending it, and the Lord was standing on it, saying: I am the LORD, Abraham's, thy father's, God, and Isaac's God: the land whereon thou liest I will give thee and thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt be spread abroad toward the even, and toward the morning, and toward the north, and toward the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all kindreds of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: for I will not leave thee, till I have done all that I have spoken unto thee.
First of all, one should always look at history according to the word of God, for no legend will be found since God has spoken so much to people. Therefore, it surpasses all legends. [It is also written so that one may see what true, flamboyant histories are; not those that are full of great miracles and exquisite works, but only those where much of God's word is within. Reason alone looks at strange, wonderful stories and deeds; we have thought much of them, but we have not been so wise as to ask whether God's word is also in them. What is it, that one has done all the highest and greatest works, and has no word of God?
Therefore I think of these histories, which have strength, juice and marrow, always go in the word, lead no self-selected works, that all others do not hold a candle to them. Should not a heart rejoice above all things when God speaks thus: "I will be with you, and will keep you wherever you go" 2c.? These are heartfelt, living words, which indicate that what he has done is 1) pleasing to God, and that he has done righteous, worthy works. We should also strive to do these things, so that we do not do any work, because from God's word, in whatever state it may be, we are certain that God has commanded and wills it.
Now this is the main part of the legend, that God smites his word so abundantly over the whole life that the man must be holy from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. Even if he stumbles at times, it should not harm him, nor should he be condemned for it, as little as the word can be condemned, which no one can praise enough.
006 Moses saith therefore, How Jacob departed from Beer-saba, which is in a corner near Egypt. [It is the farthest corner of the promised land, and 2) he journeyed to Haran between morning and midnight, and on the way he came to a place called Lus, which afterward became Bethel, where Solomon built his temple. For God especially honored that place, as we heard above [Cap. 22:9] that Isaac was sacrificed on that mountain. Jacob stayed there overnight and slept. For when he was come, the sun was set, saith Moses, so that it was almost a day's journey from his going forth. There he lay down, and saw a dream and a vision, as the text tells, and is clearly written on himself. But what it means, we will hear later, want to stay now with the history.
7 The word that the Lord speaks and blesses him makes it clear what Jacob's situation was. For God is not a useless washer, that he should turn his word to the wind.
and speak where it is not necessary. Therefore it is evident that Jacob was in great distress and anguish and had to leave secretly because his brother had threatened him with death, so that he was in danger of dying. For his brother was also a friend in the country through which he had to go. How soon it would have happened that they would have strangled him! Because he now stands in such a journey, and does not know how to protect himself, God is there, and tells him: because no one helps him, he wants to help and protect him. [For this very reason he sends him to go there without help and assistance, so that he may do it himself without means. As if he were to say, "Be of good cheer, and let your brother be on your side with friendship; I will build a ladder down, and be with you when you lie there and sleep, and take no care; I have more angels in heaven than men on earth. If they are with us, who will do [anything] to us?
8 And here the saying will have flowed in the 91st Psalm, v. 11, 12: "He hath commanded his angels concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways, to bear thee up in their hands, that thou dash not thy foot against a stone. For the dear fathers learned much from history. Thus we also read [2 Kings 6:14-20] of the prophet Heliseus, how the Syrians surrounded a city where he was and wanted to take him. But when Helisee arose early with his child, and saw that the city was occupied, the child was afraid, and said, "Awe, how shall we do now?" [Helishaeus answered, "Fear not, for there are more of them that are with us than of them that are with them." Then the eyes of the lad were opened, and [he] saw that the mountain was full of fiery horses and chariots, about Helisaeus the prophet. Then he blinded the people, so that they let themselves be led away from the city into the midst of Samaria, the capital, and opened their eyes again; and they saw how they were in the midst of the city among the enemies.
(9) All these things are written for this reason, that we may know that God cannot leave His own, though all the world be against us.
1) Erlanger: has.
2) In the editions: has.
3) Wittenberger and Erlanger: such Fahr.
He is there and helps. Therefore, when we are in faith, so many angels are looking at us; and yet [he] is so foolish about it that it seems to us that we are lost and must die with disgrace, so the angels are standing and watching us, who could probably help us out in a moment. God also watches for a while.
(10) Why then does he not let us be helped so soon? So that his grace, work and word may be known all the more, and prove that he is able to help in death, which otherwise we would not know, if we did not experience it. He who is a Christian, then, has died well; think, then, that when the soul executes, it is full, full of angels around, who carry it into the bosom of God. But such a comforting thing happens to no one before he sees how he is abandoned by all creatures, and no one can help but God alone.
It is certainly true, if only we could believe it. So, since this poor child is in the greatest distress, and is not sure of his life, he must see such great comfort and help. God did not give him such comfort, since he was with his father and mother, and was not allowed to worry about anything; but had to come before them, and sing the tenth verse from the 27th Psalm: "My father and mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up"; so that he could say: I would rather sit in the bosom of God than my father and mother. Therefore he must come from them among the enemies; where they sit and rule, God protects him in the highest through his angels.
V. 16-19 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! There is nothing here but a house of God, and a gate to heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone which he had laid for his head, and set it up, and poured oil upon it, and called the place Bethel; for the name of the city before was Lus.
Here we must preach once about churches. For our papists have drawn this text for themselves to their churches, because Jacob calls the place a house of God. But it was not yet one, but he set up a stone to the
He also made a vow that it would become a house of God and that he would tithe everything he received. First of all, see that God's house is not called a great building, as we have. For so David also says [Ps. 5:8], "I will enter into thy house upon thy great goodness, and will worship against thy holy temple"; and yet no temple was yet built, but [they] had only the tabernacle, or the tabernacle of Moses.
13 So Jacob says here, "Let the stone become a house of God. Why does he call it that? Not because it would be necessary to erect a large building for it, but only to put a sign and a mark that God dwells there; thus he wants to say: Here shall be God's dwelling place; therefore he calls it BethEl in Hebrew. Now God does not ask whether it is large or not, whether it is vaulted and consecrated; yes, he dwells there, and yet he does not build a house for it during his lifetime. What does it take for God to dwell there? Nothing more than that God is there with his word; where that is, he certainly dwells, and again, where the word is not, he does not dwell; one builds him a house, as large as one wants.
(14) Learn this and know how to answer those who boast of houses of worship and churches, and stretch out the saying. It is not called God's house for the sake of your service or endowment; for the sake of your work he will not dwell there. For your work shall be so free that it is not bound to any place, unless God has commanded you something special. But therefore it shall be called his house, when he cometh and ministereth unto us, and sendeth forth his word there.
15 Now this is clear from the text, when Jacob himself speaks, having heard God's word in the vision: "Here is nothing else but God's house, and a gate to heaven. If it is already there, why does he want to erect it there? Therefore it is there that God dwells with the angels and lets his word be heard. Take a likeness. This is called Master Hansen's house; is it because the servant works in it? No, but because he dwells in it and is the master, so that everything must go as he wills; not because the servant serves in it. So also here, where one comes, there
God rules and creates through his word, there is his house, so that you may say: Here is actually God's dwelling, a ladder and gate to heaven. For there heaven is open to us, therefore we have the word which gives us life and heaven.
16 Therefore, you can judge and conclude that our monasteries and collegiate churches are not God's houses, for everything there has been established in such a way that there is no God's word in it. For where God dwells, He is not silent, and where He speaks, He dwells. Therefore no house of God shall be called, except it be sure that he speaketh there. For before Jacob had a will, or ever thought of doing anything there, he hears God speak and preach, and for the word's sake he says, "Here dwelleth God." Therefore, our churches and monasteries must be like devil's houses, because they are built without God's word, out of human discretion, and are called God's houses only because of the work and service that we have established.
(17) Oh how much error the text has given to the Jews, just as it has given to us, that they have concluded: Here Jacob lay and saw God, [this] is a holy place, therefore we will build a church there, and establish worship; as king Jeroboam did [1 Kings 12:31]. But all the prophets cried out against it, saying, What do ye exalt? God does not speak there, and you set it up without and against His command. Then the false prophets opposed them, and condemned them, and did so much harm that they perished. Now what did they err? 1) Just this, that they did not look at the text rightly, and opened their mouths against the place, and thought that God must dwell there, because they served Him in it, and did not inquire after the word, whether He spoke there.
You must not think of magnificent buildings, roofs, vaults, altars, singing and sounding. Where God's word sounds, whether in the forest or in the water, or where it is, there is a BethEl, so that one may say: God dwells here. For, as we have heard, before a stone was ever laid in the place, Jacob called the open space a house of God. How did he know that? From the fact that
1) erred - made mad.
He has heard God speak in that place. Therefore, no house should be built for him, unless it is known beforehand that he dwells there. But then he dwells there, when he lets his word be preached, works in us, and is recognized through faith.
V.20-22. And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in the way that I go, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and bring me home to my father in peace, then the LORD shall be my God; 2) and this stone which I have set up shall be a house of God, and all that thou shalt give me I will tithe unto thee.
3) 19. So far I have preached and written enough about how all our papist monastic vows are contrary to God's word and are damnable. Now, if the papists were to stand up and take this text against us, urging that there is an example of the holy father, who has made a vow to God, which is vowed by God, and has also kept it, and you have been a monk, have vowed so much, and keep nothing: what will you answer to that? If thou wilt say, I have heard it or read it, it is of no account, and is not Christian; thou shalt not stand. You must know how to strike the devil, to take the sword, and to defend yourself. Therefore, let us see what this text concludes or not, how it penetrates and does not penetrate.
(20) First, the vows that now go to the point of obscenity (4) commonly have three errors, all of which are contrary to this text. The first is that vows made in spiritual matters should not be made to any saint, but to God alone. Understand this well. Thus Jacob says here, "The Lord shall be my God, and this stone shall become a house of God"; not that he vows to Abraham, Isaac, Noah, or any saint.
2) Marginal gloss: To be my God. Not that he was not his God before, but he vows to establish a service of preaching and praying, giving tithes to preachers, as Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek.
3) Here the Wittenberg and Jena editions have the superscription: "Of the vows."
4) Walch and the Erlanger: "to go to times". "To go to times" means: to adhere, to take root. Cf. Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. VIII, 49, 8109.
For God alone is to be worshipped and served. Now the vow is also such a service; therefore it should happen to no one but him. For this reason it has already been answered that nothing is valid that is vowed to the saints. Your vow does not rhyme with that of the patriarch Jacob; therefore you mislead the Scriptures if you want to make use of it. Thus, many vows that have been made in all the world fall away, not to God, but to the saints.
21 The other defect is that there is a vow here, which is given earlier by God, that he will keep it. For he noticeably adds, "If God will bring me home to the Father again and keep me on the way, giving food and drink and clothing, this place shall be a house of God, and as much as you will give me, I will give you the tithe." All these things he vows he will have beforehand, that he may do them, and no sooner. Therefore it does not extend further than the goods are there, and if he is able. If he gives him little, he shall take little; if he gives him much, he shall have much; if he gives him nothing, he shall have nothing. So that his vow is not based on the goods that he already has tenfold in stock.
22 Now hold our vows against it. If you vow to keep chastity, what have you vowed but a thing that is not at all in your power? "God created them male and female, and said, Grow and multiply" [Gen. 1:27, 28]. What then may you vow not to be a man or a woman, because God created you so; and not created you so in vain, but that you should be fruitful? If thou hast not the store to keep it, when thou oughtest to have it tenfold in ability. Therefore it is the devil and death to vow what God does not give us and we cannot keep. You want to vow to be pious, and you are born a knave. What would it be if a sick person vowed on the bed to be healthy and get up? It is called mocking God to give him what we do not have. If he gave it before hut,
1) Wittenberg and Jena: a little.
and you vowed to do so, it would be an opinion.
For this you can vow much less eternal chastity. For if you are pious and chaste today, tomorrow you may be lying in the dirt. For everything is in God's hands through and through; therefore I cannot vow it any longer than he gives. But Jacob does it in temporal good, and will pledge nothing more than God wants to give him. Dear God, does this vow only apply so far in such good, which is more in our hands than spiritual good: what fools we are that we vow the high, great, strange goods without any means without 2) the Holy Spirit, who has all spiritual goods in his bosom? Therefore, you see how our monastic vows are all of the devil. So you can slap them on the mouth and show them how they lead the text wrongly, so that they learn to look at it rightly. So do thou now also. If you ever vow to remain a virgin, vow as long as God exists and no further. This is what we have taught, that all monastic vows should be free, so that each one may say: I have vowed this or that, but I owe it no more than I have to keep it. 3) Why? Because you were not created to be a virgin, but to be a man or a woman. But if it is given to thee, thou hast it; if it be taken from thee, thou canst no more vow it, nor keep it. Therefore this text does not conclude against us, but for us against them. These are the two infirmities of our vows.
(24) Now the third defect is the most serious, for those are still external, but this is internal, for here the person is lacking. Become Jacob first, and then vow also; as I have often said, one should not look at the works of the saints, but at the person and their faith. For it was through error that Bethel became not God's house, but the devil's house. For the devil also led these histories and examples strongly, and caused the prophets enough trouble that they laid down their false minds. How should it
2) "ohne" is missing in the editions, but the Jena one has the conjecture in the margin: ohne or wider.
3) namely as a gift from God.
the devil could have done finer than that he had such a pretense for himself, and so let preach: Here Jacob, the holy father, has lain, has heard God Himself preach, and has vowed that this should become a house of God; how could we now do better than to establish a delicious service, where one prays and sacrifices? 1) 2c.
25 I would not like the pope to have such a seeming reason for himself as these have had against the right prophets. I would not like the pope to have such a seeming reason for himself as these have had against the true prophets. For who could say against it? The text is clear that it says: "Here dwells God"; therefore they say: We want to follow our holy archfather Jacob, have God's word and example with us. Then the prophets said again: "Not so, you are going wrong. But if they opened their mouths, they would be put to death, and they would hear that they had spoken against the Scriptures.
26) What then was the fault that God rejected such work? Thus the prophets preached: "Beloved, you are far from being Jacob; it is not the opinion that one should imitate the mere works of the saints; 2) God has given and permitted the place to the person, and has been pleased with the person and the place, as he then needs many works, time and place through his saints, but therefore does not want anyone to go and imitate the same. -You are a married man or woman, and God needs you for that; if you were to leave that and follow another, God would not thank you for it. It is not a matter of looking at examples, but of faith and God's calling. Jacob was called to the place; therefore you must not follow him, unless you were also called, and God spoke to you. This is what the holy kings did. David had it in mind to build a house for God, but he was not allowed to do so because God had not commanded him [2 Sam. 7:5 ff]. But Solomon, his son, was called to do it and built the temple in Jerusalem [1 Chron. 18, 11. 12. 1 Kings 6, II.
27 Therefore, this is the summa of it: where
1) In the editions: sacrificed.
2) In the old editions: "nachome"; Jenaer (wrong): "nachkome".
and as God calls you, follow; but if not, let it stand, even if you had the examples of all the saints before you. But it did not help. Our fools have had no word of God from the Scriptures for themselves, and yet have daily erected a church above the others, and according to their dream want to bind God 3) where he should dwell, namely, to the See of Rome. If they had been able to come up with such a text, as the Jews did, the whole world would not have been able to defend them.
(28) Thus the prophets fought with the people, saying: "In the place where I will make remembrance of my name, there will I come to thee, and bless thee. With this God has abolished all places and has not set a certain one, but wants to say: "Look at me, and do not mention a place to me; but where I will choose one, there come, there I will be and preach. With this, all the competition is met, that one does nothing for God's service, but he does and creates it beforehand. Now look at all the histories, and notice how we have been fools when it was said to us: There lies St. Peter, St. Jacob, the Holy Sepulchre, these or those saints; there God has been, and has sanctified the place; as soon as we have heard the cry, we have fallen down as blind and foolish people, and have founded churches with heaps. Yes, if we could get a finger or a skull from the sanctuary, we erected altars and chapels as soon as possible. Still they remain standing on it, and defy: Nevertheless, there lies St. Peter, St. Paul 2c., they are holy, therefore the place where they lie must also be holy.
29 But you answer thus: Is that enough for God to dwell there, of which He has never spoken nor commanded? If all the saints were lying there with each other, I would not kneel down before them, nor would I look at them, thinking that I wanted to serve God especially in that place. It is not a matter of where the saints lie, but of where God speaks: Who is bettered by the fact that so many saints in Rome are lying in the soup of hell, where there is no word of God but
3) In the issues: GOtte.
4) create - command. Cf. Walch, St. Louiser.Ausg. vol. IX, 1054, § 12.
is vain devil's doctrine and his kingdom? One still runs there, and when one has seen many saints, it should be enough. If you want to wait for blessings and obtain true grace, run to the place where God's word is, and only beware of other places where it is not, even if all the angels were there. The saints do nothing, but the living Word does it, which is better than all the saints' earth and churches where they lie.
(1) (30) Now therefore, make the vows that they will keep. First, Jacob is a man of faith; become you also, and vow according to this. Secondly, he vows to the right God, saying, "God will be with me and protect me. No one speaks such words except the Holy Spirit. For if you say, "I vow to God, who created the heavens and the earth, that I will build a church," it is a lie. For thou hast no spirit to call thee, and proceedeth of thine own will and devotion; thou hast no sign nor testimony thereof; thou shalt not touch anything against God all thy life, unless thou be sure that he calls thee. If not, then speak freely; that is what the devil has done.
31 Therefore, look at the text carefully. Before Jacob vows, God shows him that he dwells there, so that he has an outward admonition by the sign he sees, as well as an inward activity of the Spirit. If God also calls you with such signs and gives you such a spirit, do the same. So you see how the example is for us, and everything that has been taught about vows falls to the ground.
(32) I have said more about this, that our vows have the shameful filth about them, that is, to rely on them, and to make a way to heaven with them, and to be in a higher state than the common man. When they are asked why they enter the monastery, they answer: That we may become Christ's brides. Yes, they become the devil's brides. Christ does not woo with flesh and blood, but wants to have the soul. Thus we all have souls as well as they, and is therefore
1) The Wittenberg and Jena editions have here the superscription: "Berlegung der Gelübde".
2) misplace - refute.
that we may become His bride in pure faith, in which we receive the word of God, which is the spiritual seed [Luc. 8, 11. 1 Petr. 1, 23.]. This is what ungodly, foolish preachers do, so that the people think they have a better, more blessed state than the common state of Christianity. This is the devil and death, that if there were nothing else in it but such unchristian opinion, it would still be horrible enough. Therefore their vows are not Jacob's vows, but the devil's. For they deny the faith, and would have their chastity esteemed better than the Holy Ghost, and esteem a poor Christian man, where Christ dwelleth with all his goods, less than their crowns or caps. They are not worthy to wash his feet here. That is enough of that. [Let us now pass over the text, and see how and whither Jacob's vow is.
33) First, he says, "The Lord shall be my God. There the faith is indicated, when he says "the HErr", which is the right name of GOtt. He had it before for his right GOt, in right faith, nor does he say, "The HErr," whom I already have, "shall be my GOt." [But this much is said: I will do the outward service to him, not that he should first be my Lord, but my God; that is, I have the Lord in my heart by faith, but now I will 3) also confess and preach outwardly before the world, that they may see that I also have a God. For a Christian must have God in his heart, so that he needs nothing more for himself. But he must also break out and confess that he has a God, with outward worship. Otherwise, what would be said here if he thought that the Lord should first become his God, as if he had not considered him to be his God before.
34) So this is the opinion that he now wants to take a special place, to which he has been called, and bring together there his servants and those who will be with him, to preach, pray, and what more is to be done to God. [It is so much in a nutshell.
3) Jenaer: "ich jn" ^d. i. ihnj.
4) "that" is missing m the Erlanger.
as if he were saying, "I want to do an outward service. But he would not do it, for when he was exhorted to do it. So his vow remains in pure faith; not that he would become pious or do a meritorious work, but that he would perform such service, only that other people would be improved by it and God would be praised. So you should also do and vow that he should be your God in one place, preaching and calling, not as a work to earn heaven, but to confess your God and faith before the world, and to serve other people.
35 Secondly, Jacob vowed, "All that you give me, I will tithe to you," that is, to keep a priest who preached and taught. For those who taught God's word were required from the beginning to tithe, which is not now in the New Testament, but has been left and set aside for love, that one may not make laws, but give as much as is necessary to feed and keep a preacher. Thus St. Paul teaches Gal. 6:6: "He that is taught by the word, let him impart all good things to him that teacheth him"; and 1 Cor. 9:14: "They also that preach the gospel ought to feed on the gospel." Now where there are Christians, they do not leave it; but since there were not Christians, and the people had to be governed by coercion and laws, a certain summa had to be determined as to how much to give them. Those before us had to do the same, because they could not provide for the preachers in this way. Love is too weak among the common crowd, it does not do it.
36 In the Old Testament [Numbers 18:24] it was commanded that the Levites should tithe, but in the end they had to feed themselves, for they would not give any more. Therefore they devised a false service, and everyone gave enough again, as it is and has been in our day. Because righteous preachers are not given enough to feed themselves, they must finally give up preaching and feed themselves with work; thus God will again let preachers appear who lead us to the devil as a plague and punishment.
Therefore, this is a noble work of the pious father, that he had in mind to preserve God's word. If you also vow in this way, and do it after him, I will praise it. But because the work is so good, no one follows it; but to monastic vows one gives more than is enough. That makes it the work of the devil. What God's word and example is, the world does not want to accept; it lets it go in one ear and out the other.
We have now seen clearly enough what the example contains, and how they have misused it, and how it teaches us that we are also obligated to give to the right service of God, namely, to preserve the word; but as far as God gives us that we are able, and not of the opinion of doing a good work in order to earn something, but for the benefit of other people, so that it is a vow of love, more than of faith. So you can also vow to give as much to your neighbor every year, as long as you are able, in honor of God, the one who teaches you God's word. This would also be a fine vow, freely made out of love. So that the three parts are together in a Christian vow: first, that it may be done to God alone; second, as long as we are able; third, for the benefit of our neighbor; and last, so far that faith may remain intact. What is written in the text, about the stone and the oil that Jacob poured on him, serves the spiritual interpretation of the story, which we also want to touch a little.
Spiritual Interpretation.
The stone that is poured with oil is Christ, our unique head and foundation stone, as the Scriptures also call him [1 Cor. 10:4, Eph. 2:20, I Pet. 2:6], to whom also the sleep of the patriarch pointed; for sleep is nothing else than faith. When the sun goes down, darkness falls and night falls, the body sleeps and neither sees nor feels, but the soul wakes up, so that the figure of Christian life is formed, which should thus stand that it neither sees nor feels anything of the world, but lives in faith: then it sees God and the angels on the ladder. Thus, that faith is nothing but a righteous dream, in which a man sees what no one else sees.
sees. That he now has the stone under his head points to Jesus Christ, on whom our consciences rest. When he wakes up, he sets it upright and pours oil on it; that is, when we are asleep in the faith, we wake up afterwards and break out in outward confession; so we set up the stone so that we preach about Christ who comforts us; and we pour oil on it, that is, such preaching is of pure grace and mercy, which flows and springs from Christ alone.
39 And this shows what kind of church or place of worship he wanted to build, namely, only to preach in it about Christ's grace, which was promised to him by God in his sleep and dream;
as he did before his fathers, Abraham and Isaac; therefore he vows the same. But no one will do this unless he has 1) seen the ladder before, that is, he who does not know Christ before will not preach well of him. For the ladder also signifies Christ, on whom the prophets and all the Scriptures ascend and descend, that is, all things agree with him, and all things walk on the ladder. Whoever now 2) knows Christ in this way, and sees how all Scripture goes to him, becomes a mighty preacher. This is the shortest part of this figure, that everything goes to the preaching ministry of Christ.
1) In the old editions: "because he has".
2) Wittenberg and Erlangen: den.