We Have the Good News of a Savior Who Unites Heaven and Earth based on Genesis 28:10-22

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God created us to live in paradise. The first man and woman disobeyed God. They ate the forbidden fruit. They were banished from the garden of Eden. Ever since then the hearts of men and women are restless. Some try to do things to impress God and fail. Others try to avoid God and fail. Still others try to ignore God and fail. Human life goes from one failure to the next. Our hearts are restless, as Augustine once wrote.

Still today people attempt to work their way back to paradise. Eastern religions teach people to meditate and search their own minds for spiritual peace, but that does not work too well. Some people try to build towers to heaven with good works, but that does not succeed either. Attempting to gain peace with God through our inward minds or our outward good works will always come up short. What separates us from God is our sins and wrongs. We cannot free ourselves from our sins and wrongs. Our hearts continue to be restless.

Jacob, the son of Isaac, had a restless heart, too. He had cheated his older brother, Esau, out of his birthright and blessing. Esau planned to one day kill Jacob after their father died. Jacob’s plans did not give him spirtual peace. Jacob was told by his mother, Rebecca, to leave the area and go to find a wife at the home of her brother, Laban. Laban lived far away. On his journey Jacob had a dream.

Genesis 28:11–15 tells us, “And (Jacob) 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. 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! 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. 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. 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.’”

Jacob had thought he could get God’s blessings by tricking and deceiving his older brother, Esau. That did not work out too well for him. He ended up being frustrated and he feared for his life. God had a plan to bless Jacob based on God’s mercy and undeserved love and gracious favor. God even gave Jacob the free gift of faith to help him through his troubles.

Restless Jacob could now sleep in peace. God came down from heaven to help Jacob in his journey. God showed Jacob a glimpse of heaven with a ladder or stairway down to the earth. Angels of God were going up and down the ladder or stairway between heaven and earth.

God continued to give His promises to Jacob. Just as God had given similar promises to Jacob’s father, Isaac, and Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham. Even though Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were all imperfect, God kept His promises due to His steadfast love. The greatest promise was that God would send a special deliverer who would take care of humanity’s sin problem. The Gospel of John points us to that special deliverer, Jesus. John 1:51 informs us, “And (Jesus) said to him (that is, to Nathanael, one of the first disciples He called to follow 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.’” Here Jesus points back to the dream of Jacob in the Book of Genesis. Jesus is the One who has made Jacob’s dream of a ladder or stairway to heaven come true. Jesus is the One who opens our eyes to see that Jesus is the promised deliverer that Jacob was told about in his dream.

Jesus is the One who unites heaven and earth. He is Savior who forgives our sins of being restless and failing to obey the commands of God. He is the Savior who gives us the riches of heaven by His gracious favor through the gift of faith. Jesus opened the way to paradise for us by being forsaken for us on the cross. Jesus is the way to everlasting life, because took all of our restlessness and sins and wrongs to the cross with Him. Jesus suffered, died, and arose on the third day to forgive us out of His great love for us.

“Our hearts are restless” is not the full quote of Augustine. The rest of the quote points to the saving work of Jesus in our behalf. Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are restless, until they find rest in You.” Faith in our Savior, Jesus, is the only way to calm our restless hearts. Faith in our Savior, Jesus, is the only way to find true rest in life. One day all believers in Jesus will be in paradise forever. At His Second and Final Coming Jesus will make all things new—and bring about a new heaven and a new earth. Jacob and Isaac and Abraham all trusted in God’s promises. All of us who trust in God’s promises will one join Jacob and Isaac and Abraham and all other believers in Christ in paradise. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.