Lessons From the Patriarchs Stairway to Heaven - Jacob

Text: Genesis 28:10–22

Theme: Jacob the schemer flees from his fate, Jacob the sinner finds God in the desert, and Jacob the believer worship the One true God.

Date: 11/13/2022 File name: Patriarch_Lessons_06.wpd ID Number:

In 1988 promoters in London planned a Rock Concert in Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate the ending of Apartheid in South Africa. Half-a-dozen of the world’s most famous Rock bands were enlisted to play in a twelve-hour concert. For some strange reason the promoters scheduled Black American opera singer, Jessye Norman, as the closing act to sing, Amazing Grace. For twelve hours various bands blasted the fans with high-volume rock-‘n-roll music. Finally the time came for Ms. Norman to sing. A single spotlight followed Norman as she strolled on stage. No backup band, no musical instruments, just Jessye. The crowd became restless. Few young Britishers recognized the 43-year-old American opera diva. A voice yelled for more [rock music]. Others took up the cry. The scene was getting ugly. And then Jessye, in her huge operatic voice, began to sing very slowly: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound; That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found — Was blind, but now I see.” And then a remarkable thing happened ... 70,000 British rock fans fell silent. By the time she got to the last stanza tens of thousands of fans were singing with her, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun.” Pun intended — she rocked the place.

Grace surprises us when we least expect it. Everyone needs it. It can come in a dream, by an angel’s voice, through a verse of Scripture or the encouraging words of a friend, and yes, even through a sermon. But we can always trace it back to God. Jacob is going to discover the grace of God at a place called Beth-el.

I. JACOB THE SCHEMER FLEEING HIS FATE

1. God chose to continue his covenant promises through Jacob, and He chose to do so even before he and his brother Esau were born

a. as the firstborn Esau should have been the primogenitor — the son who inherited the bulk of his father’s estate, who become the clan leader, who became the family judicial authority, and who was the family’s spiritual leader

1) God has a different plan for the boys

b. though Esau and Jacob are twins, they couldn’t have been any less alike

2. consider Esau ...

ILLUS. He is Gaston of Beauty and the Beast. “No one's slick as Gaston; No one's quick as Gaston; No one's neck is as incredibly thick as Gaston’s; For there's no man in town half as manly; Perfect, a pure paragon.” And every last inch of him is covered in hair. This is Esau.

a. he’s a hunter, a roving man of the open fields — he takes down what he wants with the bow

b. husbandry of animals, or planting crops for harvest is not for Esau — he was not one to waste time at home tending the flocks weeding gardens

c. he is a free-spirited man, a ‘man’s man’ who rejoices in being uncultured, and we’re told that Isaac loved him for it

d. on a deeper level, Esau is a man who did not take the responsibility of the birthright seriously —his true focus was on temporary desires over a lifetime blessing

3. consider Jacob ...

ILLUS. He is Frank Burns of M.A.S.H.; He is a chinless mama’s boy, and a mealy-mouthed, weasel of a man who is consumed with self-aggrandizement and self-promotion. One who blames others for his own shortcomings and mistakes. This is Jacob.

a. Jacob is not your typical biblical hero; he is a conniver and a deceiver and a schemer who is always plotting about how he can get ahead

b. Jacob is described as a quiet man, dwelling in tents, and there is nothing necessarily wrong about that, but the implication is that he’s never cut the ‘apron strings’ with mama

c. Jacob can’t string a bow or track an antelope, but he can mend a garment, and he makes a mean stew, and we’re told the Rebekah loved him for it

d. on a deeper level, Jacob is a calculating man who clearly takes advantage of others in order to gain what he covets

4. we look at Jacob’s life and wonder “Is this is the best with which God has to work?”

a. can the covenant survive the self-seeking interest of Jacob?

A. JACOB HAS EARNED HIS NAME

1. as most of you know, Esau was born first and thereby became legal heir to the family birthright which included, among other things, being heir to the Covenant between God and Abraham

a. this birthright was a link in the line of descent through which the Promised Messiah was to come

2. one day when Esau has been out in the wilderness hunting, he returns famished to the family residence wher e Jacob just happens to be cooking stew

a. when Esau begs for a bowl full of the stew Jacob seizes the opportunity, and cunningly said, “Sell me your birthright now” (Genesis 25:31)

b. Esau, who is playing the “drama king” here, says “Of what use is the birthright if I’m about to die of hunger?” (which he’s not), and so Esau swore to Jacob his birthright and Jacob gave his brother bread and lentil stew

1) after that, it says, “Esau despised his birthright”

2) years go by and Isaac is nearing death, and Jacob is plotting his next move

3. Jacob took advantage of Esau years before, and at the end of Isaac’s life Jacob is going to deceive his blind, aged father ... and he’s going to do so with mom’s help!

Genesis 27:6–29

a. their rouse works, and Isaac gives the father’s covenantal blessing to Jacob

B. JACOB IS LIVING ON BORROWED TIME

“Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”” (Genesis 27:41–45, ESV)

1. it’s at this point that Rebekah plants a thought in Isaac’s mind — just as Abraham found a wife for Isaac back in Haran in the land of Mesopotamia, so Isaac now needs to send Jacob to her brother Laban for the same reason

a. Isaac agrees

“Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.” (Genesis 28:2–5, ESV)

2. Jacob now flees to Paddan-aram where he will spend the next twenty years of his life

a. there he will marry Leah and Rachel and begin to raise a family

3. important for us this morning is what happen on his way

a. Jacob will have an encounter with God which is the focus of our story this morning

II. JACOB THE SINNER COMING TO FAITH

“And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 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.” (Genesis 28:11–13, ESV)

1. personal crisis is often the occasion for deep spiritual experience

a. this was true for Jacob

1) running away from home to a foreign country, he lay down under the stars, and dreamed a dream

2) the dream will change his life

2. Jacob has traveled about sixteen miles north of present-day Jerusalem which was thirty miles north of where the family lived

ILLUS. The text tells us that he’s near a small village called Luz. The area at the time was bleak, rock-strewn moorland. It was a sparsely populated, uncultivated land.

a. Jacob has covered forty miles that first day ... Esau’s threat being the motivation for the fast pace

b. as he beds down for the night I think he is homesick

1) this is the first time he is away from Rebekah

2) he’s been tied to his mama’s apron strings all of his life, and now he is untied

3) he is out on his own, and this is his first night away from home

3. Beth-el will be the high point in the spiritual life of jacob

a. in this passage we see

1) a picture of the Sinner,

2) a picture of the Savior, and

3) a picture of Salvation

A. A PICTURE OF THE SINNER

1. as Jacob comes to this place, he is a picture the unconverted man

a. the Apostle Paul graphically describes his lostness

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV)

b. Jacob was the son of a godly man, and the grandson of a godly man

1) Jacob was anything but godly

2. three parts of the story help us understand the depth of Jacob’s lostness

a. 1st, He Was Shrouded in Darkness, vs. 11 “And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set”

1) the sun had gone down and Jacob is surrounded by a darkness you can almost feel

ILLUS. When I was in the Boy Scouts, our troop went to Hannibal, Missouri to go visit the Mark Twain Cave. During one part of the tour our guide said, “I’m now going to turn out the lights, and you’ll discover what true blackness is.” And with that she flipped the switch. And the guide was right ... it is the darkest dark you’ll ever experience.

2) that’s the darkness of the human soul without Christ

a) Colossians 1:13 tells us that this world is the dominion of darkness, and I Thessalonians 5:5 says that the lost man belongs to the darkness, but Jesus told the crowds, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46, ESV)

3) everywhere in both Old and New Testaments, darkness is a euphemism for spiritual darkness of the soul outside of a relationship with God

b. 2nd, He Was Surrounded by Desert, vs. 11 “ ... Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.” (Genesis 28:11, ESV)

1) Jacob is alone in a hard desolate wilderness where he’s having to use a rock for a pillow

2) everywhere in the Bible the wilderness is a locale for intense experiences —

a) ... of stark need for food and water ... of isolation ... of danger, but also a place of divine deliverance, of renewal, and of encounters with God

3) symbols have a powerful influence on our subconscious

a) this is why the use of metaphors and analogies creates a stronger memory

b) in Hebrew history, wilderness wanderings and treks through the desert are pictures of struggle where one’s only deliverance comes at the hands of God

4) Jacob finds himself in the desert because of sin — his covetous spirit, and deceitful actions have forced him to flee

a) four-hundred years after Jacob, Israel will also find itself wandering in the wilderness because of sin

b) the unregenerate man is, spiritually speaking, lost and wandering in the desert of sin

c. 3rd, He Was Sentenced With Death, vs. 10 tells us, “And Jacob went out from Beersheba ... “

1) why did he go out from Beersheba? ... his brother Esau wants Jacob dead, and has openly threatened to kill him as soon as their father Isaac has died

a) if Esau could somehow catch up with Jacob before he reached the safety of his Uncle Laban, Esau could easily murder his brother and his body would never be found

2) sinner are also under a sentence of death

ILLUS. The 18th century Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, once preached to his congregation, “There is nothing that keeps lost sinners at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God ... They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. “He that believeth not is condemned already. ” (John 3:18) So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place ... “

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18, ESV)

3. Jacob is an Old Testament picture of the condemned sinner ... shrouded in darkness, surrounded by the desert, and under the sentence of death

a. if you’ve never come to Christ in repentance and faith you’re in Jacob’s precarious position this morning

B. A PICTURE OF THE SAVIOR

“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!” (Genesis 28:12, ESV)

ILLUS. Some of you may remember singing the song We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder in VBS. The lyrics say ...

1 We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,

We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,

We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,

Soldiers of the cross.

2 Ev'ry round goes higher, higher,

Ev'ry round goes higher, higher,

Ev'ry round goes higher, higher,

Soldiers of the cross.

3 Children, do you love my Jesus?

Children, do you love my Jesus?

Children, do you love my Jesus?

Soldiers of the cross.

4 If you love Him, why not serve Him?

If you love Him, why not serve Him?

If you love Him, why not serve Him?

Soldiers of the cross.

It is an African American slave spiritual written around 1750, and became one of the first

slave spirituals to be widely sung by white Christians.

1. unfortunately the use of the word ladder blurs the meaning of the dream Jacob has

a. the word is better translated stairway

1) this stairway reaches from the earth, and goes up, and up, and up until it reaches glory

b. as he dreams Jacob sees the angels of God ascending and descending on it

2. but more importantly than the angels is who is at the top of the stairway —

“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.” (Genesis 28:13, ESV)

a. it is hear that God confirms the covenant He had made, first to Abraham — Jacob’s grandfather — and then to his father, Isaac

“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. 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.”” (Genesis 28:13–15, ESV)

b. this confirmation must have given great comfort to a young man on the run, away from home and headed into an uncertain future

1) vs. 15 must have been especially consoling — God tells Jacob

a) I am with you

b) I will keep you wherever you go

c) I will bring you back to this land

d) I will keep all my promises to you and through you

3. now the question is: How is this a picture of the Savior? ... because Jesus said it was!

“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.”” (John 1:45–51, ESV)

a. you all know the story, but you may not understand what Jesus is telling Nathanael

1) Nathanael is introduced to us as something of a wiseacre

2) when Philip tells him “We’ve found the Lord’s Anointed One and he’s from Nazareth,” Nathanael responds with, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

3) it’s another story for another time, but 1st century Nazareth didn’t have a great reputation

b. later, when Jesus sees Nathanael coming toward him, Jesus says, I’m sure with a twinkle in his eye, “Ah, Nathanael — a Jew with no deceit in his character”

1) the word translated deceit and the name Jacob are the same word!

2) Jesus says, “Here is a Jew with no Jacobness in him”

4. the connection Jesus makes between himself and Jacob’s vision is in vs. 51

a. in Jacob’s vision the angels are ascending and descending upon the staircase, and at the top of the staircase is the Lord — God Almighty

b. Jesus is telling Nathanael that, in Jesus, Nathanael has seen heaven opened and in time he will see the angels of God ascending and descending UPON the Son of Man

c. in other words, Jesus is the staircase (or if you will, the ladder) between heaven and earth

1) Jesus is the one who connects the terrestrial and the celestial

2) Jesus is the one who connects the temporal and the eternal

3) Jesus is the one who connects the material and the spiritual

4) Jesus is the one who brings light into darkness

5. men can never bridge the earthly realm and the heavenly realm, but God can!

a. remember what happens in Genesis 11?

b. mankind is united in a way that it’s never been united since

1) everyone speaks the same language, and men come together to build a great city

2) they also think to themselves, “ ... “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”” (Genesis 11:4, ESV).

3) the result is that God makes mankind multilingual and disperses them over the whole earth

a. one of the lessons from Babel is that no one can storm heaven on their own authority or by their own might

6. there is only one staircase that’ll reach all the way to heaven, and it is the Lord Jesus Christ

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

C. A PICTURE OF SALVATION

1. Jesus plainly tells Nathanael that he is the staircase of Jacob’s dream

a. there are not multiple ladders or multiple staircases in Jacob’s dream and he gets to choose which one God is at the top of

ILLUS. Eternal Salvation is not a multiple choice test where all the answers are correct. By the way; didn’t you hate those multiple choice questions where you had answers A, B, and C, and then you had D ... all of the above? Statistically you always wanted to choose “D”. But when it comes to salvation and eternity there is only one right answer, and you’d better choose correctly.

b. Jesus is not a good way to heaven ... Jesus is not the best way to heaven ... Jesus is the only way to heaven

c. this is what the Church has believed and taught from the very beginning

1) on the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached the church’s first message and this is what he said ...

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12, ESV)

2. when Jacob laid his head on that rock and went to sleep he assumed that God was a million miles away, but then he had his dream, and when he awoke Jacob exclaims,

“ ... , “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”” (Genesis 28:16, ESV)

ILLUS. Forty-seven years ago on a Tuesday in June while I was driving a delivery truck, wrestling with the sermon I’d heard the previous Sunday, I didn’t know that God was in that truck with me. But halfway between St. Louis and Columbia, the Holy Spirit broke through my resistant, rebellious nature and set my feet upon the stairway to Heaven, and his name is Jesus, and at the top of that stairway is a Father who loves me and cares for me and watches over me, saying “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

a. no man is saved until first of all he has a consciousness that God is real, and calling him into a relationship with Him

ILLUS. The early church father Augustin, referred to God as the Hound of Heaven. God made Augustine, and God made us, too, for himself. But we run the other way. And our restless hearts propel us in the opposite direction. Augustin would have us understand that as the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with an unhurrying pace, so too does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace.

b. if you’re not a Christian this morning, the Holy Spirit is hot on your trail

1) you need to understand this morning that Surely the Lord is in this place

2) how do I know? Because Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together I my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, NIV)

3) there is a stairway to Heaven, in this place and his name is Jesus, and you ascend to the Father by him

3. it’s at Beth-el that Jacob finds God, and you can find God here this morning

III. JACOB THE BELIEVER WHO WORSHIPS

“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.” (Genesis 28:16–18, ESV)

1. there is so much more I’d like to say about this, but let me close by saying, a true life-changing encounter with God will always lead to confession and worship!

a. when was the last time you found yourself leaving church confessing, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven”

2. Jacob does three things in response to God’s grace

a. he confesses his faith — the Lord shall be my God

b. he commits himself to worship — this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house

c. he commits a tenth of his processions to the Lord — And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you

3. these are the evidences of a life transformed

a. Christian, are these elements a part of your response to God’s grace?