Jacob’s Vision of God

Genesis 28:10-22

GOLDEN TEXT: “I am with thee, and will keep thee in an places whithersoever thou goest.”—Genesis 28:15

JACOB, perceiving that his esteem for the Abrahamic blessing and his perseverance in procuring it, had brought upon him the ill-will of his brother, Esau, showed that it was not the elder son’s share of his father’s possessions that he sought, when he accepted the proposal of his father Isaac that he journey to the home of his mother’s brother. When Jacob was ready for the journey Isaac blessed him and confirmed to him again the Abrahamic blessing, saying, “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger [margin, of thy sojourning], which God gave unto Abraham.”—Genesis 28:3,4

The journey was undertaken on foot and alone. Jacob, after the custom of the people of that country even today, at night wrapped himself in his outer garments and slept in any convenient place, using a stone for a pillow. On the evening of probably his third day from home, he slept in a place called Luz, and which he called Bethel, and was there granted a vision or dream in which he saw a ladder extending from earth to heaven and on it holy angels ascending and descending, and at its top the Lord Himself, who spoke to him precious words of encouragement. Thus did the Lord comfort one who trusted in Him—one who had so great respect for the divine covenant made with his grandfather, Abraham, that he esteemed it of more value than earthly riches and comforts. It was largely on account of his faith in the Abrahamic Covenant that Jacob was now practically an outcast from his home, fleeing through fear of his brother, Esau. What wonder that God rewarded such a faith, neither does it surprise us that it was because of the lack of faith that God took the inheritance of this covenant from the unbelieving Esau, “profane” Esau, as the apostle describes his sacrilegious disrespect of the divine covenant.—Heb. 12:16

It is so still, God always honors faith. Those who now for His sake and because of their respect for the divine promises, suffer the loss of earthly home and privileges and comforts, may be sure that these testings of their loyalty to God will not go unrewarded. “The Lord seeketh such to worship Him as worship Him in spirit and in truths,” (John 4:23,24) Only with such is He well pleased, only to such does He let down the golden ladder, only to such do the angels of heaven minister, for we read, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”—Heb. 1:14

From the further end of the ladder Jacob heard the Lord’s voice saying, “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest to thee will I give it and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”

Here was the very comfort and encouragement that Jacob needed. And so it is with all who have heard the Father’s voice and been drawn or attracted by His promises, and who have surrendered all, other ambitions in life that they might attain the divine favor and chief blessing as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord. No condition under such circumstances can really be hard; hence, as the apostle says, We are enabled to rejoice even in tribulation, knowing that even our tribulations are working for us patience and the various experiences of life necessary to our preparation for the glorious position to which we have been called of God. (Rom. 5:3-5) With the apostle, then, we can say, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him.”—Phil. 3:8,9

It will be noticed that in this blessing the Lord likens the seed of Jacob to the dust of the earth and not to the stars of heaven. We remember that in the divine promise to Isaac (Gen. 26:4) the reverse of this is stated; the posterity like unto the stars of heaven is mentioned but no illustration of the dust of the earth, while to Abraham God used both of these illustrations, saying, “I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore.” (Gen. 22:17,18) In the Abrahamic promise both the spiritual seed, likened unto the stars of heaven, and the natural, likened unto the sand on the seashore, are properly mentioned, because both the heavenly and earthly seeds and the heavenly and earthly blessings proceed from that original covenant.

We remember in this connection the apostle’s statement, “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise”: we are the spiritual seed of whom, in the first resurrection, the prophet says, “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Gal. 4:28; Dan. 12:3) The apostle refers to the same class as celestial, comparing them to the stars—“one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is the [first] resurrection of the dead, … It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”—I Cor. 15:41-44

Similarly Jacob is referred to by the apostle as representative of natural Israel: for instance, telling us of the blessing that shall come upon natural Israel at the end of the Gospel age, when spiritual Israel shall have been glorified, he says, “Then shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”—Rom. 11:25-30

When Jacob awakened from this refreshing vision, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” What a place of awe is this! “This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” He was awe-inspired; and if the dream inspired the patriarch with awe, what depth of devotion should the reality bring to us! We who, with the eye of faith, see Jesus as the ladder reaching from our humble, fallen condition clear to the heights of the heavenly glory and presence!

QUESTIONS:

What was the occasion for Jacob’s journey?

What did the ladder picture?

What is the difference in the promises made to Jacob, to Isaac and to Abraham, and what do they illustrate?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |