February 05, 2024 | Be God's Light
Jacob's Dream of a Stairway to Heaven
Scripture: Genesis 28(NIV)
1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 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 descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants 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 household, 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.”
Devotional
Step up on a stool in the home and you can paint the ceiling. Ascend a ladder outside the house and you can reshingle the roof. Climb the 897 steps to the top of the Washington Monument and you have a breathtaking view of our nation’s capital. But a stairway to heaven on which the angels of God are ascending and descending is another level.
Jacob was on the run from his angry brother and on the way to find a wife from his family’s homeland. But the Lord stopped him just a short way into his journey to remind him that he would always have access to Him. God reiterated the covenant he had made with his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, promising to give him descendants, the land of Israel, and blessings enough to spread to the whole world. God promised to stay with Jacob at all times. The stairway to heaven was a mental picture of those promises.
Jesus once said about Himself, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man” (John 1:51). In His New Covenant, Jesus promises to give us spiritual descendants, a home in heaven, and blessings to share with the whole world. Jesus even promised to never leave us, saying, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Jacob called the place Bethel, which means “house of God.” When he returned in the future, he dedicated himself to serve the Lord, worship Him, and give Him a tenth (tithe) of everything he has. This would set the people of Israel on the right course for their future.
In the same way, we have an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to Jesus. How is He calling you to serve Him, worship Him and give to Him? Are you lacking in any of these areas? Take time to praise Jesus for being the stairway to heaven for us!
Poem
Stone Pillow
Deceived trust
Stolen blessing
Torn family
Enemy brother
Slammed door
Crumbly picnic
Damp bed
Stone pillow
