The God of Promise: Jacob's Ladder

Faith is needed for the journey.

In 1999 John F. Kennedy Jr. flew his small airplane from New York City to his family home in Massachusetts for a wedding. On board were his wife Carolyn and her sister. Though Kennedy was a licensed pilot, he had not yet been approved for instrument flight (using only instruments to navigate).

When their takeoff was delayed until after dark, Kennedy should have waited for daylight or sought a more experienced pilot to help. Yet, Kennedy took off into the darkness. The plane never reached its destination, and all three passengers were killed in the crash.

Investigators determined that the crash was likely caused by disorientation from flying over open water at night without any landmarks or visible horizon. Kennedy’s lack of experience may well have led him to trust what he thought he was seeing more than what his instrument panel was telling him.

All of us face the temptation to walk according to sight instead of faith. Faith in God will keep us from crashing. Human reason will fail us at times, but God never fails. His Word keeps us on the right course as long as we obey it.

Today we take up with the life of Jacob. The setting is near the city of Luz, which is just 12 miles north of Jerusalem. Jacob has left Beersheba and is headed to Haran, where Abraham his grandfather was called. This was a trip of just 637 miles. It would have taken several months to travel this distance. And Jacob would have been gone for 20 years earning his right to marry Rachael.

At his mother’s urging (once again), he is fleeing the presence of Esau who has vowed to murder his brother. And so Jacob sets off for a long journey to find a wife. He is being sent to Haran, in the far north country of Padan-aram. This is where Abram left after the death of his father.

But here, God chooses to reveal Himself to Jacob. After traveling a good distance, Jacob is tired, and so he decides to spend the night and protect his head with a rock. According to Christoph Barth, God chooses to do this in many forms and ways: voices, dreams, angels, etc. But in this particular instance, God appears and speaks, but similar to Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6 (Christoph Barth, God with Us, 46). What we learn from both instances is that one cannot see God and experience God and remain unchanged. In fact, the Lord told Moses in Exodus 33:20 “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

Jacob was changed. He would never be the same. First we find that...

God made His promise to Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, in spite of His shortcomings.

And so God met Jacob to reiterate his calling. The promise consisted of three parts: blessing, land and posterity. Notice the promise of land:

Genesis 28:12–13 ESV

12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

Please know that the promise to Abraham, which became the promise to Isaac, which now is being made to Jacob, is not because of the character or identity of these men, but because of the grace of God. Ian Duguid states:

“God came to Jacob at this lowest point in order that it may be seen clearly that all is of grace, unmerited, undeserved favor. Indeed, it is a double misnomer to call the stairway to heaven Jacob’s ladder, for Jacob had no part in building it or traversing it. Rather, it was God’s stairway, whereby he reaffirmed the constancy of his loving care for his chosen but rebellious child.” (Duguid, Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace, 53).

And notice the promise of posterity and presence.

Genesis 28:14–15 ESV

14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Walter Kaiser states that this is uniquely a worldwide blessing. He states: “On five separate occasions the patriarchs were designated as a blessing for all nations: Indeed, world-wide blessing was the whole purpose of the very first statement of the promise in Genesis 12:2-3 (Kaiser, Toward an Old Testament Theology, 86):

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

God does nothing for us that it should be kept private. Rather, we are blessed to be a blessing to others. Jacob’s reaction is one of worship.

Genesis 28:16–19 ESV

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

Meredith Kline points out that this place was designated for the Lord’s glory. “Though not the destined site of God’s house, Jacob’s Bethel vision and altar spoke prophetically to the fact that Canaan was the land that God was separating out of the profane world for his own holy dwelling and within which he would appoint the mountain of God.” (Meredith Kline, Kingdom Prologue, 228).

And it was only fitting for Jacob to make a vow. This could very well be his conversion experience. Eventually, he would go from being the deceiver to one who strives with God.

Genesis 28:20–22 ESV

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

This was no isolated incident. Rather, there is a picture of Christ therein. Next, we find that...

Jesus is the ladder to which the angels tended.

There is a unique reference to Jacob’s ladder in John 1:45-51

John 1:45–51 ESV

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The setting is the outset of Jesus’ ministry. Sometime after his baptism and 40 days and nights in the wilderness. Before John the Baptist is taken into custody. Jesus is recognized by John with the prophetic statement: “Behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 and 36). Jesus did not deny John’s proclamation. And enough respect came from two of John’s disciples that they left his ministry and started to following Jesus. Their names were Andrew and Simon Peter.

A few days later, Jesus finds Philip and greets him with the words: “Follow Me (1:43).” Phillip was from the same community as Andrew and Peter, the town of Bethsaida, a short distance north of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was one of the communities that witnessed many of the miracles of Jesus. There, he healed a blind man (Mark 8). It is near here that Jesus fed the 5,000 (Luke 9). Although privy to Jesus ministry and miracles, the throngs did not repent and thus Jesus pronounced their judgment in Matthew 11:21.

Phillip was the exception. Phillip, knowing he has encountered the Messiah, takes that message and goes to Nathanael. In verse 45, Philip finds Nathanael and tells him: “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote-- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Being Jewish, both Phillip and Nathanael would have realized the weight of this statement. They knew of God’s promise and yet, would not attach that title to just anyone. Being a Jew, the coming of the Messiah is incredible news. It meant their long awaited leader has come. This would be the One to redeem them from sin. This is the One that would conquer Israel’s enemies. This is the One that would rule with justice and love. Someone that would heal the sick, raise the dead and atone for sin.

But there was just one catch. This Messiah was from Nazareth. This small village, off the beaten path and of no reputation, would be the last place that Messiah would come from. Nathanael answered: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" To this Phillip replied simply: "Come and see.”

Nathanael did see! As the two approached him, Jesus makes a quite unusual statement about the man he has yet to meet. Verse 47 states: “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’"

Here is one that felt like he knew everything- especially where the Messiah should come from. Now, he is face to face with someone who knew him thoroughly- one that saw him under the fig tree; obviously a situation that no one could have known about except Nathanael. It was an occasion hours before, or days before, when Nathanael was by himself or with another party, possibly near his home. Nathanael was nowhere near Jesus. But Jesus knew where he was! More importantly, Jesus knew Nathanael! And so the response: “Rabbi, You are the Son of God.”

This, of course, is nothing to Jesus. He believes that Nathanael has been too easily convinced. He says “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51 He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

This, of course, is a reference to Jacob’s ladder, which is found in Genesis 28:12 and marks the place called Bethel, the house of God.

Jesus is God’s way to heaven. Jesus also essentially named Himself that ladder, when He met with His disciples in the upper room shortly before going to the cross. He told His disciples that He was going away and that He was preparing a place for them. And that He would return. Thomas said: “We don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The 16th century Reformer John Calvin stated:

“lt is Christ alone, therefore, who connects heaven and earth: he is the Only Mediator who reaches from heaven down to earth: he is the medium through which the fulness of all celestial blessings flows down to us, and through which we in turn, ascend to God. He it is who, being the head over angels, causes them to minister to his earthly members.” (Calvin, Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis Vol. 2, 113).

This idea would be repeated in such places as Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” And 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

Jesus is the only way.

John Dyer, a Welsh poet and pastor from the 1700s once wrote, “A man may go to Heaven without health, without riches, without honors, without learning, without friends; but he can never go there without Christ.” Today our world is filled with people who are seeking some other way to God than the one found in the blood of Jesus and His precious name, but all such efforts are doomed to failure. Jesus is the only Way to Heaven.