| Subject: Genesis 28 vss. 10-15 Post 146 |
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Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 18:37:32 02/09/11 Wed
Genesis 28:10-15 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, 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; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 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.
Jacob sets his face toward the northeast and starts his journey of nearly 500 miles. It must have been a daunting thing for Jacob as there is no evidence he had ever been far from his family. He had never, as Esau, wandered far and wide on hunting trips but had instead tilled the ground and tended livestock. The distance from Beersheba to the site of his dream is approximately 60 miles which he may well have covered in one day's travel. Traveling at a rate of 5 miles per hour would mean a brisk walk of 12 hours. He arrived at the place after sun set. If this was in the summer time there would have been plenty of time to cover the sixty miles on the first day. Regardless, Jacob was tired and ready to lay down for the night so he gathered stones to elevate his head (I would think he would put some kind of blanket on the stones for a cushion), laid himself down and went to sleep. Whether his sleep was sound or restless we are not told but with all that had transpired in Jacob's life I'm sure he must have had a mind crowded with thoughts, doubts and fears.
Sometime during the night he had a dream or what could be better termed a vision for it's reality. In the dream he sees a ladder that reaches from earth to heaven and angels streaming up and down the ladder, moving between heaven and earth. Standing above the ladder in heaven Jacob sees an apparition of the Lord and the Lord is speaking to him. What the Lord says to him is of the utmost importance because God once again reiterates to Jacob the covenant first given to his grandfather Abraham and then to his father Isaac. The place where Jacob is laying is almost in the middle of the promised land and God tells him to look west, east, north and south for this was his and his descendants.
In addition to the promise of the land God gives him the promise of protection wherever he goes and that protection and the promise of the land will stand until God has completed His promise to him. This is a monumental promise to a man on the run from a murderous brother and a man who is alone in the wilds for the first time in his life. He is a man on a journey that in his mind could only have doubtful results. He could not know how he would be received by his mother's family nor that he would even survive this trip being alone. The vision of God would have been one of great relief of mind and a wondrous experience in this young man's life.
Now we turn our attention to the ladder itself. What could it mean? What could the allegory of the vision of the ladder and angels be? There is only one place in the Bible to my knowledge that sheds light on the ladder. John 1:47-51 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Angels ascending and descending on Jesus just as they were ascending and descending on the ladder.
The ladder pictures Jesus Christ. The root to the Hebrew word translated ladder means "to lift up", "to exalt". The ladder is the means through which the promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to be fulfilled. Jesus is the bridge that spans the gap between heaven and earth. When Jacob sees the ladder the Lord is in heaven. When Jesus speaks to Nathanael, the Lord is on earth. The chasm has been bridged. The ladder is not for men to climb up nor is it for the Lord to climb down on. The ladder represents the Lord and His work that makes it possible for mankind to have a way to heaven.
The old song "Jacob's Ladder" which says: "We are climbing Jacob's ladder" is in error. The song stresses climbing and works. The only thing on the ladder in Jacob's dream are the ministering angels that minister to Jesus and are at his beck and call.
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