Jacob's ladder

All alone with only a stone for a pillar,  Jacob dreams of a stairway (a ladder in some versions) connecting heaven and earth.  Angels  are ascending and descending on it. The Lord  reveals Himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac,  and confirms that the  covenant concerning the land and their descendants continues through Jacob.  “In your seed all the families of the earth shall 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 spoken to you” (Genesis  28:10-15).

We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and part of how He loves us is that He takes,  and has taken,  the initiative in bringing us to Himself. There is no sense that Jacob was repentant or even seeking God at this time. But God comes to us in ways and at times,  that are completely individualized, for He knows how best to get our attention. Dream interpretation is a gift, but the Bible interprets the ladder as Jesus (John 1:51), He is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). We come His way or not at all, but He is constantly wooing us!

Jacob is fleeing from his brother, he is alone and isolated with an uncertain future, reaping the consequences of his trickery and deceit.   God however, does not come to him with condemnation,  but rather with assurance that his future is secure. Jesus (the ladder) came into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved (John 3:17). Repentance is certainly necessary, but it's God's goodness that leads us there (Romans 2:3), and it would only come  much later with Jacob (32:24). Jesus is the only way to God, but the path is again totally an individual one.  We're meant to imitate  Christ (Ephesians 5:1), but we are not meant to be cookie cutter   imitations of our beautiful God (not all the same).  Within this imitation there is infinite variety, for you and I are unique and precious in His sight.

Jacob's destiny would bring him back to the land, but in the meantime the Lord would be with him, would keep him and guide him (verse 15).  Likewise He keeps us believers in all our ways,  giving His angels charge over us  (Psalm 91:11). The word translated “until” in verse 15,  is interesting,  it literally means to go straight, go on, advance. And it reminds me of Philippians 1:6 “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  What I'm saying,  is that the Hebrew here is difficult to translate, but that there's no sense that God will leave him at the end. Neither is there an end to our relationship with Him, for on that day we will be with Him forever.

Father, thank You for Your infinite tender care for us all, and that it's not Your desire that any should perish, but that all come to repentance (2 peter 3:9). Thank You for Your keeping and saving power that keeps us moving forward (Hebrews 7:25). Thank You too for Your discipline when we get off track, and for the love behind that (Hebrews 12:6). There's no one like You Lord, no one even comes close,  in Jesus Name Amen