Jacob — Heaven's Ladder

Introduction

Have you looked at the news lately?

Democrats are calling republicans Fascist, and Republicans are saying Democrats are communist.

Flying drones from Iran are destroying property and killing people in Syria, and Ukraine.

China is teasing an overthrow of Taiwan.

The nuclear arms race seems like its about to get started back up again.

The financial system seems like its teetering on the edge of a precipice and inflation is squeezing us more every week.

Movies are immoral, Hollywood is terrible

They’re trying to figure out how COVID19 got its start and how to keep it from happening again, but no one really believes we have a chance at containing another pandemic.

Artificial intelligence can now write research papers, create works of art, drive cars and plant fields of wheat.

Russia and Ukraine seem to be in a deadlock, neither winning any ground, but Russia still hasn’t used the nuclear ace up her sleeve.

A 15 year old was just sentenced to life in prison for killing a 13 year old by stabbing her 114 times.

That sounds a lot like Jesus’ description of the end-time scenario our world will face before the 2nd coming of Jesus—wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, natural disasters, and the one that I think is particularly dreadful; the love of many will grow cold.

We exist in a habitat somewhat to the side of all that news. We aren’t fighting the wars or loosing our money in a bank collapse, but we see it all and we wonder; is this the end?

And maybe, if you’ve thought much about end-time events, maybe you’re wondering about the time of trouble that will happen just before Jesus’ return. And maybe you’re afraid of what that time might be. What would happen if those wars came to our soil? If those problems with the banks were affecting our livelihood? If we lost our house in that natural disaster? If that killer were in our neighborhood?

And maybe, you’ve considered this provoking statement from Ellen White with more than a little consternation:

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Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 18—The Night of Wrestling

When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man’s behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will have been decided, and there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin.

What will it be like to live in a time of trouble when there will be no more mediator to cleanse from sin?

Will you stay clean after there is no one in the sanctuary to cleanse you from sin?

I want to answer these concerns that some of us may have by telling the story of Jacob.

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Jacob’s Deceit

You likely already know that Jacob’s name means supplanter—one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another. It has the connotation of grabbing at the heels of someone else, and strongly suggests deception and trickery to get what he wants.

Jacob had a significant character flaw from the begining.

The first story of Jacob is when he and his twin Esau were born. The Bible says that Jacob was born “grasping at Esau’s heel,” which is why they names him Jacob. Esau was the older of the two and would get the birthright blessing and the largest portion of his father’s estate.

And that’s where the next story comes in. The Bible says that Esau became a skillful hunter and Jacob stayed back to tend the herds. One day Esau came back unsuccessful from a hunt and very hungry. He saw some lentils cooking at Esau’s fire and asked to have some. Jacob negotiated a trade—a bowl of soup for the birthright of the first born.

The next story is some years later when Isaac was getting old and blind. In this story we find Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, and Jacob conspiring to steal the birthright blessing by tricking Isaac into thinking that Jacob was really Esau. While Esau was out hunting for something wild meat to give his father before he blessed him with the inheritance and birthright blessing of the firstborn, Jacob came in dressed in Esau’s clothes and wearing the skin of a young goat. After Isaac blessed Jacob, Esau came in with his wild stew and asked to be blessed. In an instant Isaac knew that he had been duped. He blessed Esau with the blessing of the 2nd born, but he was sorrowful and probably quite angry. Esau was murderously angry.

Rebekah saw Esau’s rage and convinced Isaac to allow Jacob to leave the camp to find a wife among their relatives back in Haran, where Rebekah had grown up. And that’s about the place where we’ll pick up reading from the Bible in Genesis 28.

Genesis 28:1–5 NLT

So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.

This blessing sounds good, as though Isaac hadn’t just been deceived by Jacob. It sounds like Isaac had given into what had been God’s plan all along—for Jacob to be the recipient of the covenant of God. But things are not as simple as they appear in the text. In the next chapter you can read about Jacob arriving in Paddam-Aram and falling in love with Rachel. He was forced to leave home so quickly and without any retinue or inheritance that he was unable to provide the bride price and had to work off the dowry like a servant or hired hand. Isaac was clearly not happy with Jacob.

And notice the next piece of Jacob’s story in verse 10

Genesis 28:10–11 NLT

Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.

He has no camels, no tent, not even a bedroll big enough to provide a soft pillow.

Jacob was a man who was running for his life because he knew that Esau would kill him if he got a chance. It’s almost as if Isaac blessed Jacob and promised the inheritance of Canaan while fully expecting that he would be killed by Esau before that ever came about. The Bible doesn’t tell us that Isaac was angry or negligent, but it does make it clear that Jacob was no longer welcome in Isaac’s home. 20 years later when Jacob was returning to Canaan, Esau seems to have become the sole heir of Isaac’s property—as though Jacob were dead to the family.

I think this is important to recognize because it helps us frame the mindset of Jacob as he lay there with his head on that rock. His home was behind him, along with every comfort he knew. He had lost his father’s respect, and any perceived possibility of an inheritance. He was worried that he would be killed in his sleep. Filled with fear and regret Jacob fell into a fitful sleep.

Genesis 28:12–15 NLT

As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “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 am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

The Bible tells us to “be anxious for nothing.” The basis of this command is not the absence of things to be afraid of—there are plenty of fearful situations that fill the lives of people around the world. Most people in our world experience poverty, hunger, disease, violence, and extreme limits on their freedom. This is the norm, not the exception, and yet the Bible says to them, “be anxious for nothing.” The basis of this command is not because of our pleasant circumstances or our feelings. It’s based on the assumption that there is a God who has pledged to be with us and redeem us:

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Jacob went to sleep in fear, but woke up with a promise in his heart—a promise that God would accomplish all that He promised to Abraham, and a promise that He would not leave him.

Genesis 28:16–19 NLT

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

This is the gate of heaven, the House of God—Bethel. That was Jacob’s first experience with this special place, but it wouldn’t be his last.

I did a whole study on Bethel and it’s amazing what God did in Bethel for Abraham and Jacob and the people Israel. Significantly, I think, Jesus found a retreat with Mary and Martha and Lazarus in the town of Bethel. It was truly the house of God.

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“The mystic ladder revealed to him in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael. Said He, “Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” John 1:51. Up to the time of man’s rebellion against the government of God, there had been free communion between God and man. But the sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man could not have communion with his Maker.

[next] Yet the world was not left in solitary hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of communication. Had He not with His own merits bridged the gulf that sin had made, the ministering angels could have held no communion with fallen man. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness with the source of infinite power.” (PP 184)

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Genesis 28:20–22 NLT

Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Jacob did not promise to give a tithe in order for God to bless him. He promised to give a tithe BECAUSE God had promised to bless him. Notice his condition—he doesn’t even have a satisfactory bedroll. He’s going to find a wife, but has no dowry. He has no place to live because he’ll be killed if he goes back to his father’s house. What is he going to pay tithe on? The promise of God. He’s saying that because God has promised to bless Him, he is confident that he will have something from which to pay a tithe on.

He started banking on the promises of God right then by pouring out olive oil — some of the only food he has with him. He poured it out on the stone he slept on and set it up as a memorial of the promise of God to provide for and bless him.

God has given you promise after promise. So many promises its almost hard to count them all. The promises of God include that he will bless you, comfort you, save you, protect you, provide for you, join you in your sorrows and remember all your troubles, and bring justice against those who harm you. He promises to give you an eternal inheritance in heaven, and in the mean time He promises to give you wisdom and direction and all the knowledge you need for life and salvation. And on and on the promises go.

Faith leans into the promises of God by investing in them. Like Jacob pouring out his limited food, trusting that God would provide. Faith makes plans based on God’s promises. And, as we’ll soon see, faith is putting your very life in the hands of God.

Genesis 29 tells the story of Jacob marrying Leah and then Rachel, and reveals a sobering reality—you will reap what you sow. Jacob lived a life of deceit and trickery and it came back to him again and again. His father-in-law forced him to work a really long time for his dowry—7 years. then he gave Jacob the wrong daughter on the wedding night. After he had worked off the dowry, Laban kept changing Jacob’s wages. He told him he’d give him all the spotted and speckled sheep in the flock while his sons were out in the fields collecting all the spotted and speckled sheep and driving them 3-days journey away so there would be none left for Jacob. Laban’s trickery and deceit were passed down to his daughters and the whole family suffered from their back and forth rivalry over Jacob and children. Then Jacob’s sons sold off his favorite son into slavery and deceived him into thinking he was dead by covering Joseph’s coat with animal blood. Again and again and again Jacob had to face the results of his own sins.

I think this is true of you and me today. There are natural, physiological and social consequences to our sins. When we hurt someone, we loose their trust. When we pollute our bodies with alcohol, drugs, and intemperance we reap the results in our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. When we fail to take a Sabbath rest, our bodies and our relationships feel the strain.

Sin hurts us. It’s a simple fact of living in a fallen world.

It took some time and a few life lessons, but through the years Jacob confessed and repented of his sin of treachery and deceit. And I’m sure he had a few other sins he had to confess and recover from as well. We can read the evidence of a changed heart in the story of Laban’s contract negotiations with Jacob. “I’ll pay you this...” he would say, and then when God blessed Jacob in that contract he took it back and altered the terms. Each time, Jacob faithfully performed his duties. That faithfulness says to me that Jacob’s character had changed. No longer was he trying to take the short-cut, He was relying on God.

However… let’s not assume Jacob had achieved perfection. When Laban said, “whatever speckled sheep are born, you can have as your payment,” Jacob would find speckled branches to put in front of the sheep and goats when they were getting pregnant and having babies. When Laban changed the contract so the striped animals were his, Jacob cut some bark of branches and put stripped branches in front of the female sheep. Of course, you and I know that it didn’t matter what branches he put in front of the sheep. This was Jacob’s attempt to help God along. It was God’s promise of blessing, not Jacob’s stick gimmick, that made him successful.

Did Jacob truly trust God? Or did he rely on his own schemes to achieve success?

The real test came when God spoke to Jacob again:

Genesis 31:3 NLT

Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.”

Go back to where Esau lives, and I will be with you.

This command was sure to test Jacob’s willingness to trust in God’s promise. According to the promise, God would give Jacob the land of Canaan, but Esau was the sole heir at that point. How would God get past that? Esau was a warring, powerful man, while Jacob herded sheep. How would God protect them? They had very few answers, except that God had promised.

I feel like our situation is somewhat like Jacob’s. As we look into our foreboding future we can easily become overwhelmed with fear for what might happen. But God has promised that He will be with us to redeem and protect and guide us. If God can be trusted then, we don’t need to be anxious for anything that might happen in the future. Right?

With a bit of trembling in his bones Jacob assembled his camp and began the journey back to Canaan. He had some bumps along the road and in Genesis 32 the Bible says God sent two angels to meet Jacob. It doesn’t say how he knew they were angels or what happened when they met, but after they met Jacob exclaimed:

Genesis 32:2 (ESV)

“This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Whether it was inspired by God, or a feeble attempt to appease his angry brother, we don’t know, but Jacob decided he would send gifts of livestock to Esau. When the messengers returned they informed Jacob that Esau was coming with 400 armed men! Now his fear turned into terror. What would become of his family? Would everyone be destroyed?

Listen to this prayer that Jacob prayed after hearing about Esau’s fighting men:

Genesis 32:9–12 NLT

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’ ”

After praying this prayerJacob started dividing his camp. He spaced the gifts of flocks and herds out in front of them so that hopefully Esau would see the gifts and his anger would be appeased. Then he put Leah and her children in a group, and then Rachel and Jospeh and their servants in a group. And finally, he stayed behind...

Wait, did the Bible really say that Jacob stayed behind? That’s what it seems like.

It was as though Jacob was still wrestling with his broken character. Yes, he had confessed and repented of the big sins of his youth, but he still wasn’t perfect.

Here’s the story the Bible tells about that night before meeting Esau:

Genesis 32:22–26 NLT

During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Jacob is a stubborn man. All night he fought with God.

How often do we fight with God? Or is it really God we’re fighting with? We’re like the monkey with his fist around a cookie who can’t get his hand out of the jar. If we’d just let go, all would be well. But in our stubbornness and self-determination, we resist and struggle and fight. That was Jacob. All-night-long.

Finally, in the dawning light, God touched Jacob’s hip and with just a touch Jacob was completely disabled. And this is where the true wrestling began. Instead of fighting to give up power and control and self-determination, Jacob clung to God.

He shifted from a self-preservation struggle, to holding on to God’s promises even if it caused his death.

A new name

Genesis 32:27–31 NLT

“What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.

In his darkest moment of struggle Jacob finally clung to God rather than his own feeble efforts. That’s all God was waiting for—for Jacob to give up and cling to Him as if his very life depended on it. And in that moment God finally said, “you’re no longer the deceitful, supplanting, Jacob, you are Israel because ‘you have fought with God and with men and have won.’”

Let’s be super clear here, Jacob lost that wrestling match with God. Jacob struggled all night and finally God said, “that’s enough,” and with a tiny touch disabled him completely. Jacob didn’t prevail with God by wrestling Him, he prevailed by clinging to His promises.

If Jacob had clung to God with a selfish, sinful motivation, then he would have been destroyed in that moment. But Jacob wasn’t clinging to God because he was selfishly demanding a blessing, he was clinging to the promises God had made to Him—trusting that God would be faithful. It was that clinging, hopeful faith that God pointed to when he said, “you have fought with God… and won.”

And to signify his victory of faith God gave Jacob a new name.

God promises to give all His people a new name before the at the 2nd coming of Jesus. The bible says,

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Revelation 3:12 ESV

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

The 144,000 are said to have the name of God written on their foreheads, which means they must have had this same struggle with God that Jacob had.

Just like Jacob, these people are said to have “conquered” or “overcome.” They fought with God and won. But prevailing faith has never been a determined wrestling with God, or with sin, but a determined, faith that clings to God’s promises. An “I will not let go of your promise” kind of faith.

Jacob won by clinging to God’s promises as though his life depended on it, and that’s exactly how we will win.

Now, let’s look at that quote from Ellen White again. I think it might have a different intention than what we usually read into it:

Patriarchs and Prophets (Chapter 18—The Night of Wrestling)

Such will be the experience of God’s people in their final struggle with the powers of evil. God will test their faith, their perseverance, their confidence in His power to deliver them. Satan will endeavor to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hopeless; that their sins have been too great to receive pardon. They will have a deep sense of their shortcomings, and as they review their lives their hopes will sink.

[next] But remembering the greatness of God’s mercy, and their own sincere repentance, they will plead His promises made through Christ to helpless, repenting sinners. Their faith will not fail because their prayers are not immediately answered. They will lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls will be, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.”

Notice the words that Ellen White is so careful to exclude from this discussion. She does not say that the believers—these faithful christians—have reached a place where they have no need of a savior any more. She is very explicit that they are repentant sinners who cling persistently to the promises of God.

Patriarchs and Prophets (Chapter 18—The Night of Wrestling)

Yet Jacob’s history is an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. It was by self-surrender and confiding faith that Jacob gained what he had failed to gain by conflict in his own strength. God thus taught His servant that divine power and grace alone could give him the blessing he craved.

[next] Thus it will be with those who live in the last days. As dangers surround them, and despair seizes upon the soul, they must depend solely upon the merits of the atonement. We can do nothing of ourselves.

That last statement sums up the time of Jacob’s trouble so well—we can do nothing of ourselves. It has never been the case that humans can live without the mercy and grace of God. No matter how far from our sin God has brought us we will only live by clinging to the promises of God. Not a selfish demand for God’s blessing, but a sincere and determined clinging to God until we see the fulfillment of His promise.

If you aren’t learning to trust Jesus now, you will not trust Him then.

That’s one of the reasons God says, “test me now in this” and then invites Israel to give a tithe of all their increase. It’s not because God needs the money, it’s because we’re pouring out our investment in God’s promise—we’re learning to trust that God will do what He says He will do. Every time we confess and turn away from a sin we are testing God’s promise to forgive and cleanse. Every time we tell our fears that God is our refuge and strength, we are testing God’s promise to protect us. Every time we face a problem and go to God to ask for help we are testing God’s promises. And God will keep HIs promises.

Like Jacob, we may have to cling for a while, but God will bless us.

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And on that day when Jesus comes in all His glory, He will give us a new name—HIS new name! No longer will we be known by our history, but we will be known by HIS future.

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Let’s stand together and sing a hymn of response: Jesus What a Friend For Sinners (187)