Gen
28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is
none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Jacob was
in fear, in complete awe, overwhelmed with the reality of the majesty of the
place where He was. The House of God-
the Gate of Heaven. His spiritual eyes were opened, he was allowed to see
beyond the temporal realm, the tangible existence. The vision given to him left
him in complete and utter astonishment, shock flowed through him, he'd been
gifted with insight into Heaven and the house of God.
A ladder.
Jacob
dreamed but it wasn't an ordinary dream at all. This dream was based in
reality.
Gen
28:12 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.
Gen
28:13 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;
Gen
28:14 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.
Gen
28:15 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.
Gen
28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is
in this place; and I knew it not.
From
heaven the LORD called to Jacob and renewed the same promise He gave to Abraham
and Isaac. The LORD told Jacob He was with him.
The LORD
was in this place Jacob said, and he didn't even know it.
How often
is the LORD with us and we aren't fully comprehending of that fact? Can we push
the LORD away from us? Yes. Can we park GOD at the door to our personal dens of
iniquity carefully setting Him aside and hiding Him behind a closed and locked,
often times barred door? Yes. On the other hand, we can cry out in the depths
of despair at our own sinfulness and the LORD will answer. The supernatural
super hero able to break through any and all things that would try and stand
between Him and a truly repentant sinner.
Jacob was a supplanter, a deceiver… He obeyed the voice of his mother who instructed him to take the blessing of a dying Isaac who favored the oldest son over the younger. Jacob could have said no to his mother's scheming plan to steal away Esau's blessing. He didn't say no, he didn't gently remind his mother that deception was not a good thing, stealing was not a good thing, that they needed to repent of her plan. The wheels were in motion and Jacob did all that his mother instructed in order to fool the semi-senile, surely all but completely blind, Isaac. The truth that Isaac hadn't aged gracefully- keeping his senses clear to the end of his life- but was caught up in the intense deterioration that can occur in extreme old age was a fact. That he could be fooled by fur placed on arms and the scent of clothes was understandable. Jacob had to be all but trembling in fear of being caught as he wore the furry arm bands and brought the stew to his father. Yes, Jacob was caught up in deception to obtain something that didn't belong to him.
Jacob was a supplanter, a deceiver… He obeyed the voice of his mother who instructed him to take the blessing of a dying Isaac who favored the oldest son over the younger. Jacob could have said no to his mother's scheming plan to steal away Esau's blessing. He didn't say no, he didn't gently remind his mother that deception was not a good thing, stealing was not a good thing, that they needed to repent of her plan. The wheels were in motion and Jacob did all that his mother instructed in order to fool the semi-senile, surely all but completely blind, Isaac. The truth that Isaac hadn't aged gracefully- keeping his senses clear to the end of his life- but was caught up in the intense deterioration that can occur in extreme old age was a fact. That he could be fooled by fur placed on arms and the scent of clothes was understandable. Jacob had to be all but trembling in fear of being caught as he wore the furry arm bands and brought the stew to his father. Yes, Jacob was caught up in deception to obtain something that didn't belong to him.
After
completing the deception he was told to leave, his brother's anger against him
was so great that the fear of his being murdered was very real. Told to leave
the only home he'd ever known, thrust out on the heels of his deception, Jacob
was being sent off to a new life one without his mother as his defender, or his
father, or most gratefully at this point, his brother.
On his way
to his uncle's, Jacob fell asleep that first night with stones for pillows and
he dreamed the dream already discussed.
Running
away after stealing what belonged to his brother, Jacob was given a dream and
the blessing of Isaac was shown to be very real, even placed upon a deceiver.
The LORD
was with Jacob. Jacob witnessed the truth of a ladder, a way from one realm to
another. Jacob saw the way made for heaven and earth to unite and what a
blessing it was for him to know that God allowed that way to be made for
mankind. The occupants of heaven-
angels- would descend and ascend on that ladder, going to the aid of those in
need where God sent them.
Jesus is
that way, Jesus is the ladder, without Him and the sacrifice He was going to
make, there wouldn't have existed a ladder in a dream for Jacob. Heaven and
earth are united through the Savior. This is truth. There is but ONE ladder and
that is Christ.
Joh
1:51 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.
Let us see
heaven open and know that Jesus has made the way possible for us to receive the
heavenly blessing, the hope that in all He will be with us. The angels of God
will help us in our need, sustaining us in Christ through all things. There is
hope. Heaven is our hope, heaven is what our Lord took on flesh and dwelt among
us, suffering and dying so we could have that hope of being united with Him in
all His glory! Our treasures surely are in heaven, let us keep them there, let
us know they await us - salvation through the LORD JESUS CHRIST NOW AND
FOREVER!!!!!!!
Amen.