~ Jacob Lays His Head on a Stone ~

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
When he reached a certain place,
he stopped for the night because the sun had set.
Taking one of the stones there,
he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
He had a dream in which he saw
a stairway resting on the earth,
with its top reaching to heaven,
and the angels of God
were ascending and descending on it.
There above it stood the Lord,
and He said:
"I am the Lord,
the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.
I will give you and your descendants
the land on which you are lying.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,
and you will spread out to the west and to the east,
to the north and to the south.
All peoples on earth will be blessed
through you and your offspring.
I am with you
and will watch over you wherever you go,
and I will bring you back to this land.
I will not leave you
until I have done what I have promised."

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought,
"Surely the Lord is in the place,
and I was not aware of it."
He was afraid and said,
"How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God;
this is the gate of heaven."

Early the next morning Jacob
took the stone he had placed under his head
and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
He called that place Bethel,
though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying,
"If God will be with me
and will watch over me on this journey I am taking
and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
so that I return safely to my father's house,
then the Lord will be my God
and this stone that I have set up as a pillar
will be God's house,
and of all that you give me
I will give you a tenth."

(Genesis 28:10-22)