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Last updated on
Aug. 6, 2005
Jacob's Dream
Delivered July 3, 2005
by Pastor Werner De Jong
Text: Genesis 28:10-19a
Main Idea: God comes to earth to bless, accompany and protect a lonely fugitive, as part of the fulfilment of his promise to bless Abraham's family and all the families of the earth
Purpose: To encourage the listeners that God in grace takes the initiative to reach out to us and bless us. God cares about us and is with us and will protect us. To challenge the listeners to respond to God's initiative in faith.
Introduction: Today we are continuing to look at the story of Jacob. Last week we heard how he was born into a generation of conflict. He and his twin brother Esau were already fighting with each other in their mother Rebekah's womb, and as they grew things didn't improve. The same text went on to tell the story about hungry Esau returning home from the field, famished, and of Jacob seizing the opportunity to purchase Esau's birthright for a bowl of lentil soup. Neither of the brothers were above reproach in this exchange. We then touched on the story of how Jacob later went on to steal Esau's blessing by deceiving his aging, blind father in pretending to be Esau.
Today's story occurs after this event. After he had his blessing stolen Esau grew furious and began to plan Jacob's death. But Rebekah received wind of the plot, and arranged for her favourite son's hasty departure. Today's text picks up the story with Jacob as a fugitive, alone and on the run. If you've ever felt lonely and afraid, you may understand how Jacob felt. He had no travelling companions, not even a servant, and he was forced to flee from the only home he ever knew. You can probably understand his feelings even better if you've ever felt lonely and afraid because of something you brought upon yourself. No one is perfect. Sometimes we are responsible for hurting others. Our feelings of fear and loneliness can certainly be self-inflicted. Jacob's certainly was, and as a fugitive on the run his future looked grim.
Jacob's Dream: But a remarkable thing happened during Jacob's flight. One evening he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped for the night. He found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep. But as he slept, he had a dream, a dream of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it. At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, who spoke to Jacob, saying: "I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised" (Gen. 28:13-15).
This is the first time in Jacob's story that we hear of any interaction between Jacob and God. These words could not have been more unexpected. The rest of the story has been consumed with the strenuous conflict in Jacob's family. The story has yet to portray any redeeming qualities in Jacob's character. And the first words which God speaks into Jacob's life are words of grace. When Jacob's guard is down, when he is asleep, when he is vulnerable and not playing defence or seeking to control matters, this is when God comes to him and reveals himself. There is great shock and wonder in this event, for we might expect God to judge and rebuke this fearful deceiver. Instead, God binds himself to this treacherous fugitive, promising to be with him, promising to protect him, and promising eventually to guide him safely back home.
Once again, just like last Sunday, we are confronted with the question why. Why would God promise good things to this villain? Jacob has screwed up. He has manipulated the people in his life to his own advantage, and now he is receiving his just desserts. Why should we have any sympathy with this lonely fugitive? He had it coming to him. But before we are too quick to judge Jacob, or Jacob's God for comforting him, we need to remember again that we are not perfect. As we considered last week, God's grace always appears scandalous when someone we don't feel is deserving receives it, but if it were not for God's grace where would we be? Here we have a foreshadowing of the good news of the gospel–our failures do not cause God to abandon us. The greatest scandal of all is that God would send his Son to die for a world of sinners, including us. The manner in which God deals with Jacob is the same manner in which God has dealt with us. As we continue to look at this encounter, we learn so much about what we can expect from our own relationship with God.
The story is a wonderful reminder that God is faithful to his promises. We've considered God's promise to Abraham, a promise of descendants and a promise of land and a promise to bless, and a promise of well-being for others through Abraham's descendants. And now this promise is repeated almost word for word to Jacob. Jacob didn't deserve to be the new bearer of this promise, but the God of faithfulness had promised, and God was going to keep his word. And not only that–Jacob received a fresh promise of his own, a promise that God would accompany him and protect him and assure his safe homecoming. If God was faithful to a rapscallion like Jacob, will not God be faithful to us? If God was constant in his care for this rogue, will not God be constant in his care for us? Faithfulness is woven into the very fabric of God's character. As Paul wrote in his second letter to Timothy: "If we are faithless, God remains faithful–for God cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). These are wonderful words of reassurance–the God with whom we deal is completely steadfast and loyal both to his word and to his people.
The Stairway: As we consider this truth, let's turn now and take a closer look at Jacob's intriguing dream. Every time I read this account, one question always pops into my mind: Who would choose a rock as a pillow? :) I can only imagine that Jacob wrapped something soft around it, like a garment. A much more significant question is this: What is the meaning of the stairway in Jacob's vision, this stairway with one end on the earth and the other end reaching to heaven? First of all, it might be interesting to get a better picture of precisely what Jacob envisioned. Our English translations tend to speak of a ladder, but the Hebrew word is better translated as a ramp or a stairway. Commentators suggest that Jacob may have envisioned a "ziggurat" (not a cigarette!), which was a Mesopotamian temple in the shape of a mound or a pyramid with a ramp or steps leading up to the top of it. These were not uncommon in Jacob's day. Of course we can't be sure, but the image makes sense in that context, especially as ziggurats were religious symbols.
Regardless of precisely what Jacob saw, whether a ramp or a stairway or a conventional ladder, the main point is that there is a connection between the earth and the realm of heaven. In other words, the stairway is a symbol that the God of heaven is not unconcerned about the things that happen on earth. Heaven and earth are connected. God does not abandon or leave alone the people he created. The God who revealed himself to Jacob wanted Jacob to know that he did not remain aloof in his heavenly home, with no care as to what transpired on the earth. Rather, the God of Abraham and Isaac, and now Jacob, does not leave his people to their own resources. Instead, the great God of heaven is available to Jacob; he is accessible even to a fugitive on the run. Ultimately the point of the stairway is to reinforce the words which the Lord at the top of the ladder spoke to Jacob in his promise: "I am with you." I am with you, I will sojourn with you, I will accompany you, I will protect you. There were no words which Jacob needed more desperately to hear. He was not alone–this strange God cared about him. And the angels ascending and descending are God's messengers, reinforcing the message that God sees Jacob's sorry situation, and that God is coming to transform his life. Solitary Jacob is solitary no more.
God is with us: The vision isn't only for Jacob. It speaks a powerful word to all God's people. For as believers we are the descendants of Abraham, and therefore we are heirs to the promise which finds its fulfilment in Christ. We are not Abraham's blood descendants, of course, but as Paul reasons in Romans 4, Abraham is the "ancestor of all who believe." Abraham is our ancestor, and we are Abraham's descendants, and heirs to the promise. For Abraham received God's promise through faith, and therefore God's promise is ultimately inherited by faith.
Jacob's vision is therefore also for us. It reminds us of the central theme of biblical faith, that God sees us and knows us (re. Psalm 139, our lectionary Psalm) and cares about us and comes to us to offer all the love, help, and strength we need for living. The loving care God demonstrated to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the same loving care God has for us. If we question whether or not Jacob's vision applies to us, hear the words Jesus spoke to Nathanael: "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John 1:51). These words are fascinating. Jesus refers Nathanael to Jacob's dream, and speaks of heaven being opened and of the angels ascending and descending, but with one very significant twist. No longer is there a stairway for the angels to travel on–Jesus himself is the stairway. The angels will ascend and descend upon the Son of Man.
In other words, Jesus is the one who connects heaven and earth. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of Jacob's dream. Jesus brings heaven to the earth, and Jesus takes the concerns of earth to heaven. This is a beautiful picture. It is also great theology, for it speaks of the incarnation. The very name given to Jesus in Matthew 1 is Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." I don't think there is a more beautiful phrase in all the Bible–God is with us. It is through Jesus that God came to the earth to make himself known. In Jesus God is with us, in Jesus God sojourns with us through life, in Jesus God promises never to leave us, in Jesus God protects us, and in Jesus God offers us a safe homecoming. All of the promises which God made to the lonely fugitive Jacob God has also made to us, even though we like Jacob are not perfect, for our God is the God of steadfast faithfulness who overflows with grace and mercy. In the same manner in which God bound himself to the empty-handed fugitive, who could offer him nothing back in return, so God also has chosen to bind himself to us. In fact, the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples were this: "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:20).
Jacob's Response: Let's turn again to the story of Jacob. In every way, the story of Jacob's dream affirms God's grace. God took the initiative to reach out to a conniving man heading into exile. So far we haven't said anything about how Jacob responded to God. But that is a very important question. What did Jacob do with this dream? How did he answer God's revelation?
As the text shows, Jacob contributed very little to this experience, except to say "Yes" to the living God. But there is no more important "Yes" that can ever be said. God appeared to Jacob as he slept, and made him a beautiful promise, and when Jacob awoke he acknowledged the God of his Fathers, and demonstrated, through two concrete actions, his faith in the promise. "Surely Yahweh (the LORD) is in this place," he said, "and I did not know it" (28:17). And then he named the place Bethel, which means "house of God." Secondly, Jacob took his stone pillow and erected it as a memorial to the event, and poured oil over it. By these two simple actions, Jacob acknowledged the reality of God, and demonstrated his willingness to make a deep commitment to God. From now on he is resolved to embrace God's good news. Many struggles still lie ahead of him, but Jacob will no longer travel alone. God promised protection to this solitary wanderer, and God replaced his fear with assurance.
Application and Conclusion: There is also wonderful assurance in this story for us. Are you frightened? Are you running away from a problem, like Jacob was? Are you lonely? Are you in need of guidance and protection? Do you yearn for a true home? Then remember God's promise. If you say yes to God's promise, which is the same as saying yes to Jesus, then the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless, accompany and protect you.
Saying yes to God's promise isn't only a one-time event. At various times in our lives we will need to renew our faith in God's promise. It is instructive that God repeated some form of his promise to Abraham at least four times, and to Jacob at least twice. This is one reason why God appointed teachers in the church, to remind us again and again of God's good intentions toward us, of the promise fulfilled in Jesus. There is an initial moment when we embrace God's promise, when we first receive Jesus, and when we are baptized, and we can look back upon our baptism as a memorial of God's grace. But life isn't always easy, and when life becomes difficult we need to turn again to the promise which sustains us. The promise is that God will never abandon his people. This word is the antidote to the despair people sometimes face. We serve the God of promise, who will accompany us and protect us. The promise is true, because the God who promised is faithful. You are not alone, you are dearly loved by the Lord your God. The Son of God demonstrated this by laying down his life for you. Renew your faith in God, and God will transform your fear into assurance, your loneliness into accompaniment, and your exile into a joyful homecoming.
Finally, today's text ends with some dramatic symbols of God's ability to transform. Jacob had a dream in a place with no-name, but after the dream the place of no-name was transformed into a place with a name, Bethel, the house of God. Jacob went to sleep with a rock for a pillow, but after he awoke from his dream the pillow was transformed into a stone memorial. But most important of all was the transformation of Jacob. He went to sleep as a fugitive, frightened and alone, but after hearing the voice of God he woke up as the bearer of God's promise, no longer frightened and no longer alone. Let us therefore take courage, for we serve the same God. The God who took the initiative in appearing to Jacob on a stairway is the same God who took the initiative in revealing himself to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God's stairway: Jesus brought God's love from heaven to earth, and Jesus brings our concerns from earth to heaven. We are not alone, for God is not aloof. Let us place all of our faith in Jesus, and walk in the light of God's promise. For "the Lord of hosts is with us, and the God of Jacob is our refuge" (Psalm 46:11).