Read with Me
Genesis 28:10-17 (HCSB)
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it. Yahweh was standing there beside him, saying, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on. Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
Listen with Me
Jacob had traveled northward for a couple of days before he stopped for the night near the village of Luz in the hill country that would later be given to the descendants of his youngest son, Benjamin. Jacob was traveling light, with just what he needed himself. So, when he stopped for the night, he didn’t bother building a shelter. He simply lay down with a stone near his head and went right to sleep.
That was where Jacob met God for the first time as He revealed Himself to him in a vivid dream. The first thing Jacob noticed was a stairway that rose between the place where he was lying up to heaven, which glowed over his head. His eyes were next drawn to movement on the stairway, where he was suddenly able to discern hosts of angelic messengers ascending and descending. Finally, as he lifted his eyes up higher, he saw God at the very top of the stairway.
Before Jacob could even react, God began to speak. He identified Himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. But pointedly, He did not identify Himself as Jacob’s God. This was because Jacob himself did not identify Him in that way yet. Remember that when his father, Isaac, had asked him how he had found the game he had requested so quickly, his answer had been “Because the LORD your God worked it out for me.” (Genesis 27:20). Not “the LORD my God”, but “the LORD your God”.
But that was all about to change. God confirmed the promise that had been passed on to him through his father. God would give the land to Jacob and his descendants after him. He would multiply his descendants so that they would be like the dust of the earth, and would be able to fill the land, and bestow God’s blessing on all humanity. He also promised that He would be with Jacob, protect him in his travels, and ultimately bring him back to the land so that he could experience the full fulfillment of those promises.
When Jacob awoke, he realized that this had been much more than a dream – it had been a vision. But instead of taking comfort in the promises God had made to him, he was filled with fear and a sense of dread at being so close to the holy God. He keenly felt his own unholiness and lack of worthiness to receive these blessings from God. For the first time in his life, his ambitions were subsumed by something far greater than himself. It was a good first step in his spiritual progress.
Pray with Me
Father, I know from first-hand experience that coming face-to-face with You will always powerfully impact my own plans and priorities as I see myself in such sharp contrast with Your light and holiness. All my sense of self-worth dissolves when I come face-to-face with absolute truth. All my self-righteousness melts away as I see myself as You see me: wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17). Help me, Lord, to always live consciously in Your presence, so that Your presence can transform me into Your image day by day (2 Corinthians 3:18). Amen.