Texts: Genesis 28:10-22
Date: Sunday, July 21, 2002
Author: Rev. Jonathan K. Twitchell
Last week, we watched Esau trade in his birthright for a simple bowl of red stew. Overcome by hunger, he gave into his selfish, deceitful younger brother Jacob and traded the double portion of his father’s estate for a simple bowl of red stew. Jacob didn’t stop there, and we could read in Genesis 27 how he put on a disguise in order to trick his father Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of to Esau.
Perhaps you remember how Isaac, lying on his deathbed, sent Esau out into the fields to hunt for wild game for him. Isaac sent him out with bow and arrow to fetch him some tasty meat and to prepare it for him so that he would be able to bless his son before he died. You may remember how Rebekah heard of Isaac’s request of this and decided to make a costume for Jacob, so that he would appear hairy to his blind father. Jacob did as his mother suggested, and they made some stew for Isaac. Isaac was deceived by Jacob and gave him the blessing. When Esau arrived with the wild game, Isaac was greatly distressed, but unable to give an additional blessing.
As you can probably imagine, Esau was not overly impressed with Jacob’s actions. Jacob’s deceit and trickery certainly didn’t earn him any favor in the eyes of his brother Esau, who became so disgusted with Jacob’s actions that he began to plot to kill him. Fortunately, for Jacob, his mother Rebekah caught wind of Esau’s plan and devised a way to get Jacob out of the house. She arranged to have her husband Isaac send Jacob away to find a wife in the household of his uncle Laban. This way, Jacob would be safe from his brother, and would be able to find a wife with which the blessings and promises of God might be fulfilled. And so, Jacob began his journey as an outcast. It was five-hundred miles from Beersheba to Haran, and we are given every indication that Jacob is making this journey alone. Forced to wander in the wilderness, scavenging for food, Jacob would have lived in fear of wild animals and even in fear of his brother, Esau. At night, he would have had nothing to sleep on, except a large rock to prop his head up on. He would have slept lightly, ready to respond to any danger which might have come his way.
And so, the deceiver becomes an outcast. The heir to the promise of God is lying on the desert floor with nothing but a stone for his pillow. I wonder if Jacob replayed his life as he lay there at night. I wonder if he thought about the way in which he alienated his brother. I wonder if regretted deceiving his father. I imagine he wondered if God would ever be with him again. Perhaps he wondered if he would even make it out of the desert alive. I’m sure he wondered where his next meal would come from, or what he would clothe himself with after these clothes wore out. Lonely. Outcast. Deceiver. Hungry. Isolated. Miles from home, and miles from his destination. That’s where we find Jacob in Genesis chapter 28:
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendents the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendents will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.
At the low point in Jacob’s life, he needed nothing less than a close encounter with the Divine. He needed a ladder. Ladders are useful devices. You use them to paint buildings, to climb mountains, or to get into the hay loft or the attic. Often, we use ladders to reach things that we wouldn’t normally be able to reach. Ladders bridge a gap. They allow a person to pass from one place to another. You wouldn’t be able to get into the attic without a ladder to bridge the gap.
Jacob needed a ladder. On his own, he was unable to bridge the gap between the human and the Divine. As a scoundrel, liar, and cheat, he was not able to enter into clear and constant communion with God. He was isolated on the desert floor, without hope of divine guidance in his life. Yet, precisely at his point of need, Jacob has a strange dream, consisting of a ladder, angels ascending and descending the ladder, and God’s voice speaking forth from heaven.
I find it interesting that Jacob didn’t build this ladder, God did. Since a “modern” ladder probably didn’t exist during Jacob’s day, it has been suggested that this “ladder” was more like a tower, or ziggurat. Perhaps, it resembled something very similar to the Tower of Babel spoken of in Genesis chapter 11. You remember the Tower of Babel don’t you? The people wanted to build a tower that would reach the heavens, and to make a name for themselves. God did not allow them to build a tower to heaven, and confused their languages so they could not understand each other. The difference between the Tower of Babel, and Jacob’s Ladder was the builder. God initiated Jacob’s close encounter with the Divine, not Jacob. God wanted to speak meaning into Jacob’s life and so created an avenue for that to happen. Jacob was not able to control God and make Him speak at Jacob’s bidding, rather God chose the time and place when He would speak to Jacob.
We would do well to remember that we are not in control of when God speaks to us. It is our responsibility to be open and available, listening for His voice. However, He chooses the time and place when He will speak to us. He builds the ladder upon which He will communicate with us. We may be tempted to manipulate experiences, believing that we can force a close encounter with the Divine, but these encounters are initiated only by God, and not controlled by us.
As we remember that the main character in Genesis is God, and the main theme is seeing Him at work in the lives of His children, we realize that the ladder must teach us something about the nature of God. The ladder forms a bridge between heaven and earth, upon which activity can occur. In Jacob’s dream, we see angels ascending and descending the ladder, presumably carrying out God’s business both in heaven and on earth.
The ladder reminds us of the transcendent nature of God. Even as we hear God’s voice speaking to Jacob from the top of the ladder, we are reminded that He is above all. We are reminded that He is the Creator, and we are but the creation. God’s transcendence indicates that He is above all powers, kings, thrones, riches and wealth that this world could ever offer. And yet, the ladder is firmly planted on the ground, reminding us of God’s immanence. He is ever present among us, guiding us, comforting us, speaking to us, and working His will among us.
Throughout Scripture, we see this paradoxical nature of God as He is transcendent and immanent at the same time. This transcendent immanence is reflected in the very incarnational nature of Christ. Even as the ladder is firmly planted on earth and present in heaven, Christ embodies all that is human and all that is divine within His very person. The ladder teaches us that Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, desires to focus His attention on His creation, interacting with us and caring for us.
Jacob--the lying, cheating, scoundrel--needed a close encounter with the Divine. He needed God’s grace and mercy in his life. He needed God to initiate a relationship with him. And so, Jacob awoke from his dream, realizing that he had been in the very presence of God, and so, he did the only thing he could do...he worshipped. Jacob took the stone that had been under his head, worshipped God, and made a vow to give him a tenth of all he would ever receive.
Throughout history, people have been fascinated with “thin places.” You know what a “thin place” is, right? A “thin place” is one of those marvelous locations on earth where the space between heaven and earth seems especially thin. A “thin place” is a place where divine-human interaction seems so much more common. St. Angus declared Balquhidder, Scotland to be a “thin place” after he had a close encounter with the Divine. St. Angus built a monument to God there, despite the pagan influences in the area. The island of Iona, which has housed several monasteries and abbeys throughout history, has been called a “thin place” where the distractions of the world seem so far away, and God seems so close.
Perhaps you have been to locations on this earth which you might call “thin places.” Maybe by a lake, or on a mountain top. Maybe out on the ocean, or on an island. Maybe a special church or campground functions as a place where you remember a close encounter with the Divine. If you’ve ever been in a “thin place,” you know exactly what I’m talking about. The memories of those locations stay with us our entire lives. I’ve been to Balquhidder, Scotland. And I know exactly what St. Angus saw when he was there. He would have watched the mist slowly rising off from the nearby loch. He would have seen the blue sky and the unadulterated canvas of God’s creation spread out before him. And there, in the silence, I imagine he heard the very voice of God speaking to him. St. Angus’ response to God’s presence in Balquhidder must have been very much like Jacob’s response after he experienced the original “thin place” there in Bethel. Jacob awoke from his dream and thought,
16b “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
I find Jacob’s response interesting. If I were Jacob, I think I would have been tempted to never move again. Like the disciples at Jesus’ transfiguration, I would have wanted to set camp up and stay right there at the gates of heaven. Once we’ve found the gates of heaven, we find it difficult to leave. But Jacob realized that he couldn’t live in the “thin place.” He realized that he must continue his earthly journey. Perhaps you’ve had the same experience at a campmeeting or revival services. You’ve felt the presence of God in a real tangible way. You felt His call upon your life, and have heard His voice clearly. But God’s call is never to stay and live life in the “thin places,” but to go out into the world and complete His mission for us. Jacob could never have fulfilled the call of God to have many descendents and to be a blessing to the entire world if he had stayed in the “thin place.” Instead, he had to leave Bethel to complete the work God had for him.
But note what Jacob does before he leaves. Realizing that in the middle of the desert, one spot seems like another, Jacob sets up a monument to God there at Bethel, knowing that the day will come when he will wish to return to the “thin place” in hopes of hearing God’s voice again. In the middle of the barren desert of Jacob’s life, he finds a spiritual oasis where he hears God’s voice. Jacob wants to be sure that he can return to that spot, and be reminded of the call and promises of God for his life.
I imagine you have your own monuments in your life. Hopefully you remember that day when you were confronted with the truths of the Gospel message and accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. Perhaps you remember a day when you sensed His calling to give more than just lip service to the Kingdom, but to turn over your entire life to Him. Some of us remember a crisis experience in our lives when the Holy Spirit came upon us in full force cleansing us from sin and beginning God’s work of entire sanctification in our lives. Perhaps you remember a gentle nudging to speak to a neighbor. Perhaps it was a subtle insistence to give up a habit. Perhaps it was a clear, divine call on your life for Christian ministry and service. Whatever it was, I encourage you to cherish those moments. Like Jacob, make monuments out of those dates and events in your life. For, when God builds a ladder into our lives and speaks to us, we will do well to listen and remember what He had to say.
Today, I ask you this…do you need a ladder? Are you in need of a close encounter with the Divine? Are you in need of experiencing a “thin place”? If so, I would encourage you to pray that God would speak to you. Take time this week to carve out time for solitude, prayer and Scripture reading. We can’t force a “thin place” experience, but we can create the space in which God can speak to us. We can’t control the way in which God interacts with us, but we can pray that He will make Himself known to us. If you are anything like Jacob—lonely, outcast, stranger, sinner—then you need a close encounter with the Divine. If you’re in need of such a touch from God, then pray. Pray, and don’t stop praying, until you hear His voice.
Perhaps, as you have heard the story of Jacob, you have thought about those “thin place” experiences in your life when God spoke to you. Perhaps, you have a sense of loss or guilt because you don’t feel that you have completed all that He asked of you, or that you haven’t lived your life in the manner that you had set out to. The value of monuments is that they remind us. Our spiritual monuments remind us of our commitments and decisions. Today, as you look back at the monuments in your life, you may be challenged to renew your commitments that you made at those monuments.
I wish we never felt like Jacob. I wish we never felt like an outcast or a stranger. I wish we never felt like a deceiver or liar. But, at times when we might feel like Jacob, all alone on the desert floor, I’m glad we serve a God who is entirely transcendent, yet desires to interact with us and guide us. I thank God for the times in our lives when He has built a ladder, enabling us to draw closer to Him and commune with Him.
Benediction: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.
