ad seen the heavens opened, and
had heard God's voice. He made an altar of the pillow of stone, and
called it Bethel--the House of God--and then he vowed that the Lord
should be his God, and he added,--

"Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give a tenth unto thee."

When Jacob came to Haran, he saw the well from which his mother used to
draw water. There were three flocks of sheep lying by it, waiting for
all the flocks to gather in the cool of the day to be watered. Soon
Rachel, the daughter of Laban, came leading her father's flocks, and
one of the shepherds told Jacob whose daughter she was.

So Jacob rolled the stone from the well, and watered the flocks of
Laban, his mother's brother. Then he kissed Rachel, and told her that
he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

There was great joy in Laban's house because Jacob had come, and after
he had stayed a month with them Laban asked him to stay and take care
of his flocks, and he would pay him for his work.

Since the day he had seen Rachel leading her father's flocks he had
chosen her in his heart to be his wife. So he said that he would work
for Laban seven years, if at the end of that time he would give him
Rachel for his wife. Laban was quite willing to do so, and the seven
years seemed to Jacob but a few days, for the love he had to Rachel.
But, according to the custom of that country, the younger daughter
could not be given in marriage before the elder, and so Laban gave his
daughter Leah also, and both Leah and Rachel became the wives of Jacob,
for Jacob lived in that far away time and country of the early world
when men were allowed to take more than one wife, and when each man was
both king and priest over his family and tribe, and worshipped God by
offering burnt sacrifices upon an altar.

After twenty years of work with Laban, in which he had earned many
flocks and herds for himself, Jacob took his wives and the little sons
God had sent him, and his flocks and herds, and started on a journey to
his old home. Isaac was still alive, and Jacob longed to see him. He
had lived long in Haran for fear of his brother Esau, and now he must
travel through Edom, Esau's country, on his way to his old home.

As he was on his way some of God's angels met him, and he was
strengthened. Still he feared Esau, and sent some of his men to tell
his brother that he was coming.

The men came back, saying that Esau, with four hundred men, wa