28:9 Ishmael was Isaac’s half brother, the son of Abraham and Hagar, Sarah’s servant girl (16:1-4, 15). After marrying two foreign girls (26:34), Esau hoped his marriage into Ishmael’s family would please his parents, Isaac and Rebekah.
28:10-15 God’s covenant promise to Abraham and Isaac was offered to Jacob as well. But it was not enough to be Abraham’s grandson; Jacob had to establish his own personal relationship with God. God has no grandchildren; each person must have a personal relationship with him. It is not enough to hear wonderful stories about Christians in your family. You need to become part of the story yourself (see Galatians 3:6, 7).
28:19 Bethel was about 10 miles north of Jerusalem and 60 miles north of Beer-sheba, where Jacob left his family. This was where Abraham made one of his first sacrifices to God when he entered the land. At first, Bethel became an important center for worship; later it was a center of idol worship. The prophet Hosea condemned its evil practices.
28:20-22 Was Jacob trying to bargain with God? It is possible that he, in his ignorance of how to worship and serve God, treated God like a servant who would perform a service for a tip. More likely, Jacob was not bargaining but pledging his future to God. He may have been saying, in effect, “Because you have blessed me, I will follow you.” Whether Jacob was bargaining or pledging, God blessed him. But God also had some difficult lessons for Jacob to learn.