Written by Moment’s that change our lives and often unexpected, dramatic, and life changing…today we arrive at such a moment for Jacob.
The moment I’m referring to is the famous Jacob’s Ladder moment in Genesis 28, when Jacob goes out on a journey only to be interrupted by God, who gives Jacob a dream where he sees a ladder in heavens extending all the way down to earth. The destination of this journey would remain the same for Jacob, but he would be forever changed.
Perhaps today, in our own journey through this passage, we’ll will be similarly changed.
Let’s see how in the text. See first…
The Dream (v10-15)
“Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Our passage begins today with a reminder of what we saw last week. In the previous chapter we saw the outcome of Rebekah and Jacob’s deception, as he stole the blessing meant for his brother. For this, Jacob would have to leave home for his own safety because Esau desired to kill him. In v10 here in our text today, we see him leave. This must have been a bitter departure.[1] Jacob remember, was not like Esau. Esau was a man of the land, skilled in navigating the wilderness and living off game he hunted, the favorite of his father. Jacob, for likely his whole life enjoyed being at home, comfortable in his familiar domestic setting, the favorite of his mother. Yet now because of his own deception he had to turn away from all he knew and head off on his own. The bitterness of his departure was not only leaving his mother, but that he was going into the wilderness for the journey to Laban’s house. He didn’t know his way around the wilderness. He had never had to kill and clean his own food, never had to make a campsite and protect himself from wild animals. Nevertheless, off he goes.
It was a long journey ahead of him but notice that we only have this one single event described to us throughout this whole journey. Why is this? Certainly many things that happened to him on this journey, but I think we only get to witness this moment because this is the one event that marks a significant life changing and transforming moment for Jacob.[2] Quite literally, he will never be the same after this moment. So out of the whole of this journey this moment is the one moment we get to see.
He leaves in v10 and in v11 we see him come to a certain place. We’ll learn more about this place later on in our passage, for now just notice that it seems he is forced to sleep outside under the stars. It’s as if he just left and went out in a general heading without planning for accommodations or lodging of any kind. Perhaps this was due to his upbringing, that again, he is not like Esau, but has always been more of a homebody.[3] It really does seem that Jacob left very quickly, went out in a certain direction as far as he could, and when he couldn’t go further just laid down and went to sleep, stone pillow and all.
Do you wonder what was going through his head?[4] It is often the case when our heads hit the pillow is that our truest and deepest and darkest thoughts rush in. After all he’s been through recently and now knowing where he currently was, I wonder how he’s doing in this moment. Back home was an angry older brother, a grieving mother, a confused father, and though he didn’t know it yet before him was a very deceptive uncle. Jacob had been blessed immensely, and he likely remembered every word of the blessing. About the great future before him, about the land, and the people and being victorious over his enemies. But now he was fleeing the promise land, he had no wife, and he had no children. It really does seem like he’s in a mess of his own making.[5] He legitimately might be wondering ‘How are all of these things going to come true?’ This is the context for the great moment to come.
In this state of soul, Jacob is eventually able to find sleep. And while asleep he dreams. There are four elements to this dream. First, see the description. In v12 we read, “And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” The ladder now comes into view. The Hebrew word for ladder is sullam and it only occurs here in the whole of the OT, so there is debate as to what exactly this word means. Ladder is a good option, some others prefer the word staircase, or a flight of steps. Either way, it’s clear what he sees in his dream; a ladder coming down from the entrance of heaven all the way to where he is, on earth.
Second, see the angels. On this ladder that connects heaven and earth Jacob sees the angels of God ascending and descending. This is not a display of angelic activity in raw form, as if they just went up and down on this ladder for all eternity, no. Rather I think this shows how God sends out His angels to carry out His work and how they then return to Him for further instruction.[6] So naturally, other verses speak of activity like this with God and His angels. Psalm 91:11 says God “…will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Or Hebrews 1:14 that speaks about angels saying, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” So God commands and sends out His angels to guard and serve all those who believe. I am aware that some interpret these things to teach that there are really guardian angels, but I don’t think that’s in view here, no. As these angels get sent out from God, their protective work looks more like a zone defense, where the entire heavenly host labors to protect all God’s Church…then after however long God desires them to do this work, the angels return to God for further instructions.
Third, see the Lord. As v13 begins we see that at the top of the ladder is the Lord, and that the Lord is in this position teaches us that the Lord is the sovereign King over all. No one is above Him, all else is below Him, all things serve Him, and everything is governed His will. Held within that truth is another: if there is to be a connection between heaven and earth, or a communication from heaven to earth it must be established and initiated from God.[7] We already saw how horrible the Babel experiment went back in Gen. 11, as man attempted to reach up into the heavens on their own. Contrasting that moment, we have this moment, where God successfully connects heaven and earth, and not by anything Jacob had done, but only by His own power. Thus, though this is historically been called ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ we can truthfully rename it ‘God’s Ladder.’
Fourth and lastly, see the language. It is hard to miss the covenantal connection to Abraham. There were hints to this in the previous chapter within Isaac’s blessing, but now it is plain as day. Jacob stands forth as the true heir of Abraham.[8]v13-14 makes this clear as it repeats the blessing of God on him, promise of the land, the promise of great descendants, the promise that his descendants will fill the earth, and the promise that through his descendants all families of the earth will be blessed. These promises first came to Abraham as he was coming into the land and settling in the land, now these promises are reaffirmed to Jacob as he’s fleeing the land.[9] How encouraging would that have been to him? That despite his current circumstances and having to leave the land because of his own sin, God will see to it that he will come back into this land, be blessed in this land, will become a blessing to countless others in this land, and will bless the whole earth because of what God does to him in this land.
Then, if it could not get any more encouraging, we hear v15. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” How surprising to hear God come in such grace to a runaway sinner?! Jacob might have believed God to be angry with him for his deception and might have expected God, if God would visit him at all, to come in wrath and anger. But see it, God comes in grace. ‘I am with you. I will keep you. I will bring you home. I will never leave you. And I will make good on my promises to you.’ This is surprising grace. Jacob was not looking for God. Jacob did not seek for God. Jacob did not invite God to meet him. Jacob was on the run, because of his sin, likely scared and distraught. And yet, into Jacob’s sinful plight, came God in His might. And upon being interrupted by God, there is no rebuke, no wrath, no anger, just a stream of divine assurances flowing down from God to Jacob like the angels flowing down the ladder.[10] Wherever Jacob’s life takes him, God will be with him, and the promises of God will remain true.
That’s the great moment, now let’s keep on in the text to see how Jacob responds to it in v16-22.
The Response (v16-22)
First we see his awe in v16-17, and second we see his vow in v18-22.
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Clearly the dream made a large impact on Jacob. Little did Jacob know that the place where he laid down to sleep would be the very place that God would meet him in his grace. So upon waking up he has beautiful words to say. Full of gravity and gladness Jacob becomes aware that he’s in the Lord’s presence and he confesses that this is none other than the House of God, the gate of heaven, and for these reasons, he says this place is awesome! How glorious is it to see the darkness and isolation of that night wonderfully transformed into a worshipful morning! It is hard finding words to describe how monumental of a moment this is for Jacob. He knew of his parent’s faith in the Lord, he knew of his parents experiences with the Lord, and yet up until this point in his life he had never personally encountered the Lord.[11] Here he does, and he is as trembly fearful as he is wonderfully ecstatic.
So what does he do? He worships according to the customs of his age.[12] See his vow in v18-22, “So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
So Jacob’s awe in the Lord produces in him a desire for deep commitment, as is seen in this vow. As Abraham did long before him, Jacob grabs a nearby stone, sets it up as a pillar, pours oil on it, and commits himself to God who has so graciously revealed Himself to him. He calls the place Bethel, meaning house of God, which is itself of significance.[13]Luz was the general region he was in, and that was a big city in his day, but God didn’t meet Jacob there in the city. God met him out in the wilderness, in isolation, and turned nothing into something! This really does seem to be God’s delight to do, doesn’t it? He met sinful scared Jacob here and began a good work in him, just as this place went from nothing to something, the hard stony wilderness to the very house of God!
But see his vow? Is it a good one, or a bad one? God had just promised that He would do a lot for Jacob, and here Jacob says, ‘If God does those things…then the Lord shall be my God.’ On one hand this is not what we’d like to see in him, right? We’d like to see a wholehearted commitment to God, see him go all in with the Lord, and not make a kind of conditional, if-then, kind of commitment to God. But on the other hand, I think this is honest. It reflects Jacob as he is in this moment. He has much to learn and God will teach him much in the years ahead of him. But see it Church, Jacob left home a sinful runaway, now he leaves Bethel, this place, committed to the Lord, living under His promises, and pledging to no longer be such a deceptive taker but a generous giver as well.[14]
Conclusion:
Church, we have just witnessed glorious and ironic things. A man running away from home runs into God, a man fearing his brother meets a more fearful God, an unknown place becomes God’s place, a rock becomes a temple, a guilty sinner wakes an eager worshiper,[15] and a taker becomes a giver.
There are tons of takeaways for us…here’s four of them.
a) As Jacob was, so are we. Sinful, guilty, deceptive, fearful, heavy laden with burdens of our own making. Do you know yourself to be this? I pray you do, because the only way to true recovery of soul, is to face the mess that is us and bring it before the Lord.
b) As God was with Jacob, so too the Lord is with us. God met Jacob in his sin when Jacob was not looking for Him, seeking after Him, or prepared to meet Him. Theologian A.W. Pink describes this so wonderfully as he says, “Right down to where the fugitive lay, the ladder came, and right up to God Himself the ladder reached!”[16] Church, this is our God! This is how He saves and interrupts us! If any of you are ashamed of your past, devastated by things you’ve done or left undone, paralyzed by your sin because it seems a mountain too high to climb…do you know nothing is too hard for the Lord? And that God is able to meet you where you are? He did with it Jacob here…He can do it for you. If you turn to Him, see it here, He will bless you and be with you forever.
c) As Jacob responded to the Lord, so ought we. v16-22 is real. Jacob was sobered with fear and awe in the presence of God, and he loved it! From such awe, he devoted himself to God, imperfectly yes, but he will grow in time. This pattern ought to be true in us as well. If we’ve truly come to the Lord, we will not only be sobered with fear and awe in His presence, we will live for the Lord all our days. We will pledge ourselves to Him and give of all we have to Him. Our time, our talents, and our treasure. But remember, our faith and obedience will be imperfect, that’s ok, imperfect faith is the only kind of faith we’re capable of. God knows this. In time He will grow us and give us larger hearts toward Him and grander thoughts of Him.[17]
d) As this was the gate of heaven for Jacob, so too is Jesus Christ for us. In the end of John 1 Jesus calls Nathanael to follow Him. He sees Nathanael in a tree, this stuns Nathanael so he calls out, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49)! Then Jesus responds with this, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” You see what Jesus is saying? He is the ladder! He points back to this text and says ‘That’s Me! I’m the ladder!’ He is the connection between heaven and earth! He is the way, the truth, the life, the only mediator between God and man! He alone meets us in our sin and remakes us in His image!
Church, this was just a dream for Jacob, for us it’s a reality, because Christ has come to us! Jesus is the new and greater Bethel, where man now meets God. And upon seeing Him descend to meet us, may we ever cry out, “Surely the LORD is in this place…how awesome is this place!”
[1] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 358-359.
[2] Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2001), 388.
[3] Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, WBC (Waco, TX: Zondervan, 2000), 221.
[4] Wenham, 225.
[5] Hughes, Genesis, 359.
[6] John D. Currid, Genesis 25:19-50:26, EP Study Commentary (Holywell, UK: Evangelical Press, 2015), 66.
[7] Waltke, Genesis, 390.
[8] Currid, Genesis 25:19-50:26, 67.
[9] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 223.
[10] Derek Kidner, Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 169.
[11] Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 226.
[12] Wenham, 226.
[13] Waltke, Genesis, 393.
[14] Waltke, 394.
[15] Waltke, 396.
[16] A.W. Pink, quoted in James Montgomery Boice, Genesis 12-36 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1985), 768.
[17] Boice, 778.
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