Graduate 83: Advent, Day 6
Jacob’s Ladder
Genesis 27:41-28:22
[The bulk of Jacob’s life is recorded in Genesis 25-35, although it does run until Genesis 50.]
The story of Jacob’s dream is one of my favorite in all of Scripture. Those who have followed my blog for a while will be familiar with the line that I use to close each entry: “God is in this place, and that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.” That opening phrase, “God is in this place,” is drawn from this story (Genesis 28:16).
Notice that Jacob isn’t looking for God. In fact, up to this point in his life, he has been pretty much looking out for himself and himself, only. Now he is reaping the fruits of his devices and schemes; he is fleeing for his life. Have you been there? Maybe you haven’t relied on deception and manipulation to get your way (though often times we do, in subtle ways); but think about it—we pour so much effort and energy into engineering our lives to be safe and comfortable. We look to stable jobs, large savings accounts, diversified portfolios, and quality insurance to bring us security, but that security is so illusory. A single hurricane can take it all away; a wildfire; an identity-thief; a cancer diagnosis; a bankruptcy; a lay-off. And you’re left at rock-bottom, with Jacob—running for your life, not sure whether you’ll ever see home or family again, facing a month-long, 550-mile journey, using a hard, cold rock for a pillow.
Things look pretty bleak. Not just ‘pretty-bleak’—they look hopeless. But then Jacob has a dream; and he realizes that he is not alone, not abandoned, not on his own. To his utter amazement and astonishment, he realizes, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” [God was here, and I didn’t even know it; and He’s still here now!] Think about it—what’s changed? His brother still wants to kill him, he still may never see his family again, he’s still facing a month-long, 550-mile journey, his neck still hurts from sleeping on that rock, and the future is still uncertain. Nothing has changed… and yet everything is different. God is with him and has promised to take care of him. Of course, God was always with him; but now he knows. (IVP Bible Background Commentary, 60)
Jacob saw the entrance to heaven—a ladder upon which angels ascended and descended to do God’s work on earth. One day, God Himself would descend that ladder; the prophet Isaiah says of that blessed event, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel [which means, God is with us].” (7:14) The good news He proclaimed would be for all peoples (Mark 1:14-15), not tied to geographical locations or particular people groups (John 4:7-45). He would come so that we could each realize in our lives what Jacob realized that night so long ago:
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Genesis 27:41-28:22
[The bulk of Jacob’s life is recorded in Genesis 25-35, although it does run until Genesis 50.]
The story of Jacob’s dream is one of my favorite in all of Scripture. Those who have followed my blog for a while will be familiar with the line that I use to close each entry: “God is in this place, and that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.” That opening phrase, “God is in this place,” is drawn from this story (Genesis 28:16).
Notice that Jacob isn’t looking for God. In fact, up to this point in his life, he has been pretty much looking out for himself and himself, only. Now he is reaping the fruits of his devices and schemes; he is fleeing for his life. Have you been there? Maybe you haven’t relied on deception and manipulation to get your way (though often times we do, in subtle ways); but think about it—we pour so much effort and energy into engineering our lives to be safe and comfortable. We look to stable jobs, large savings accounts, diversified portfolios, and quality insurance to bring us security, but that security is so illusory. A single hurricane can take it all away; a wildfire; an identity-thief; a cancer diagnosis; a bankruptcy; a lay-off. And you’re left at rock-bottom, with Jacob—running for your life, not sure whether you’ll ever see home or family again, facing a month-long, 550-mile journey, using a hard, cold rock for a pillow.
Things look pretty bleak. Not just ‘pretty-bleak’—they look hopeless. But then Jacob has a dream; and he realizes that he is not alone, not abandoned, not on his own. To his utter amazement and astonishment, he realizes, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” [God was here, and I didn’t even know it; and He’s still here now!] Think about it—what’s changed? His brother still wants to kill him, he still may never see his family again, he’s still facing a month-long, 550-mile journey, his neck still hurts from sleeping on that rock, and the future is still uncertain. Nothing has changed… and yet everything is different. God is with him and has promised to take care of him. Of course, God was always with him; but now he knows. (IVP Bible Background Commentary, 60)
Jacob saw the entrance to heaven—a ladder upon which angels ascended and descended to do God’s work on earth. One day, God Himself would descend that ladder; the prophet Isaiah says of that blessed event, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel [which means, God is with us].” (7:14) The good news He proclaimed would be for all peoples (Mark 1:14-15), not tied to geographical locations or particular people groups (John 4:7-45). He would come so that we could each realize in our lives what Jacob realized that night so long ago:
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 2:00 AM
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