Genesis 28:10-18
10 And Jacob left Beersheba
and went toward Haran.
11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there overnight,
because the sun was set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under
his head and lay down there to sleep.
12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the
earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it!
13 And behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and said,
I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father [forefather] and the God of
Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are
lying.
14 And your offspring shall be as [countless as] the dust or
sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and
the north and the south; and by you and your Offspring shall all the families
of the earth be blessed and bless themselves.
15 And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you
with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back
to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have
told you.
16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, Surely the
Lord is in this place and I did not know it.
17 He was afraid and said, How to be feared and reverenced
is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the
gateway to heaven!
18 And Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he
had put under his head, and he set it up for a pillar (a monument to the vision
in his dream), and he poured oil on its top [in dedication].
Let’s pray…
Surely you are in this place oh Lord. Help us to recognize Your presence and to
bring Your presence with us wherever we go.
Open our hearts and minds to hear from you tonight. Amen
You may be wondering why this is our scripture reading for
tonight. Do you see any similarities between this story and the story of Jesus’
birth? (not a great place to sleep, lots of angels, blessings on earth or peace
on earth)
Let’s look back at what happened to Jacob before this dream
in the desert. Jacob had been plotting with his mother how he could get the
rights as the first son even though he was second born. In his culture, the first born son would get
the larger share of the father’s wealth and also be responsible for carrying on
the family name. Jacob wanted this badly
enough to deceive his father, trick his brother and basically risk his safety and
well-being to get it. So Jacob got what
he wanted, but the Bible says “Esau held a grudge
against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to
himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my
brother Jacob.”
So Jacob leaves to go to his
mother’s family in Haran
– leaving his home, his family and the promise with a death threat hanging over
him, uncertain of what the future would hold. The first night on his journey,
God gives him this amazing dream- a dream of comfort and reassurance.
Reinforcing the promises that he had just received in his father’s blessing.
And the central picture in his dream was a ladder.
What is a ladder? When do you use
a ladder? Think about a rope ladder…when would a ladder be coming down to you?
A ladder is not a place to live. A ladder is not a destination. Who do you know that ever said, “I live on a
ladder” or even that they have a ladder in their house that gets them from one floor
to the next. Ladders are a way to get from one place to another and not a place
to stay for long. Once the ladder has
accomplished its purpose, it is no longer needed. You are safe in the
helicopter, you have successfully climbed out of the pit you fell into. Once the rescue operation has taken place,
you are safe and secure – free from danger.
and imagine the empty well Joseph found
himself in. It was a deep, dark
In the Bible, we know a story where someone was trapped in
a deep pit. Does anyone know who I am talking about? That’s right, Joseph! Try
and imagine the empty well Joseph found himself in. It was a deep, dark hole…you
could not get out unless you had a rope or a long, narrow ladder. Joseph’s
physical eyes could see no way out. All he saw was darkness; all he faced was
certain death. And yet, that was not the end of his story. He too had a promise
from God, a dream! But only when he was forced to let go of his own way of
making that come about does God intervene and save his people through this
slave boy, ex-con Joseph.
Can you think of another Old Testament story with a rope?
This may not be as familiar to you….there was some spies and a woman possibly
not with the best reputation…. That’s right, Rahab. She let the spies down with
a scarlet cord and then she left that scarlet cord in the window and when the
army of Israel came, they left her house alone because it was marked with the
cord.
We see stories of rescue all throughout the Old Testament.
The blood of lambs, the whale, the Ark. God providing a way. God’s people in
slavery, in rebellion, in need of rescue.
This is where God enters in.
Think about the way that God enters the world. Through a
young woman who is being whispered about and disbelieved. With just a handful
of people having the secret revealed to them..
In the least likely of places, the Savior enters into our world, in the
flesh as a real baby. Totally dependent on others to carry him into the world.
Not in a palace. Not part of an influential family. Not in a prominent city.
Entering into history noticed only by some nearby shepherds and an
insignificant Jewish couple. Angels ascending and descending all throughout
this story. This would not have escaped the notice of Mary – she closely and persistently guarded all these things in her
heart.
If we find ourselves at the end of our own resources, at
the end of ourselves in a deep pit, we find that Jesus is kneeling at the edge
of our hole, leaning over, offering his hands, equipped and ready with strong
ropes and a long ladder.
