"And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." (Genesis 28:10-22)
Isaac prayed over Jacob just before he departed to go to Haran, prophesying that he would receive the blessing of Abraham. And here Jacob has received that blessing: "thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth" and "in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." That seed in which all the families of the earth will be blessed is none other than Jesus Christ.
God's promise that says "I am with thee" is the same promise that God will give to Moses as he crosses over the Jordan; to Joshua as he enters into the battle; to Solomon as he builds the temple. And it is a promise to us still today, who are of the spiritual seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through the One who is of their seed and of the seed of the Holy Spirit: Jesus Christ. For me, this promise is the one that causes me to endure by faith. For I am never alone: either in time of battle or in times of peace.
What shall we make of the dream that Jacob dreamed? Jesus gave us some insight into this dream when he met Nathaniel who was to be one of the twelve disciples.
John 1:51 –
"and He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
Jacob's dream was prophetic. It prophesied of Jesus Christ who was to come to earth as God incarnate in order to save all who were lost.
The ladder was what Jacob called the "gate of heaven." And Jesus is that gate. The temple that Solomon built had within it a gate that led into the inner court of the temple which was the Lord's house; and there was a curtain made of various colored cloths and linen that were prophetic of Jesus Christ:
Exodus 27:16 – "the gate of the court shall be a hanging of twenty cubits of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen"
Blue for the heavens which was the former dwelling place of Jesus before he became man, purple to signify his kingship over heaven and earth, scarlet that signifies His blood that was shed for us by his death on the cross, and fine linen that signifies the burial clothes He was wrapped in when placed in the tomb, and which were left behind when He was resurrected by the power of God.
Just as Jesus was prophetically the gate through which men walked in order to get closer to God who dwelled at that time in the temple; He is absolutely the gate through which men still must pass in order to enter into the courts and the very throne room of God, which was, in the temple, known as the "Holy of Holies." Whether in the temple (which no longer stands) or without the temple, unless we pass through the gate which is Jesus Christ, we cannot enter into God's presence. All men must pass through that gate.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:14)
A gate is also a door.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers…..Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I AM THE DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." (John 10:1-11)
After Jacob woke he became fearful for he believed that he was standing on holy ground, in the very house of God, in fact. The place where he stood had been called Luz – which means "separation." He renamed it Bethel – which means "house of God." Interestingly prophetic of the fact that God calls out – or separates from the world – those whom He chooses and calls to be His own….those whom He brings into His courts and into His presence.
Jacob was one of these. He had not yet become the man of God that he was destined to be. We see that by his vow. God makes a promise to him, and Jacob vows a list of "works" to keep that promise. He offers to God what is God's in the first place. The firstfruits of all that we are and all that we have belong to God…that tenth has by divine principle always belonged to God. It is when we do not give back that tenth to God that we rob Him. But a sacrifice, such as what Jacob is trying to offer, begins past that tenth. For it is already God's.
Jacob does not yet understand that he can neither earn, nor keep of his own will, the blessings of God. God alone will fullfill His promises; and it is by God's power (through the Holy Spirit) that Jacob will be kept in God's promises, not by Jacob's own will or strength.
It is by God's grace that Jacob received the blessing of God. And it is by God's grace that Jacob will be kept in that promise.
4 comments:
Is it correct to assume that Jacob and Issac were sacrifing animals to God prior to this dream? If so, what were the specifics? Meaning, were sacrifies made on a weekly, monthly or yearly calendar? Were they made sole on special occasions, such as the birth of a child, the gathering of the harvest, or all of the above?
Did they just make sacrifies using animals, or did they also use grains, fruits and vegtables. I didn't know if you knew any specifics about this. GW
Jacob did not sacrifice an animal on this spot that he considered to be sacred. But that doesn't indicate to me that he didn't sacrifice animals. Isaac, his father, would have had a very clear understanding of sacrificing animals and the purpose for doing so. While we are not told that Isaac or Jacob did any of this, I think we should assume that they did. And that the sacrifice was animal. To this point in our study, it appears that animal sacrifice is used most often for sealing or acknowledging a covenant between two parties. In fact, further on, we will see such a sacrifice and covenant take place between Jacob and his uncle, Laban. I don't think they were set up on a schedule such as happened when God gave the Israelites the law. At least that is my understanding. If I have overlooked something and you found a different answer, be sure to let me know!
No, I have found nothing that disputes what you have said. My thoughts returned to the story of Cain and Abel. How Cain was the “tiller of the ground” and Abel “was a keeper of sheep.” And “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offered it unto the Lord. And Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.”
What made me ask my question about offerings is this; in the scripture above (Genesis Chapter 4) it doesn’t tell us that Cain offered from the first of his fruits or that they were the best. Is it because of this and the fact that Cain killed Abel that offerings are restricted to animals? I just find it interesting that after the story of Cain making his offering of fruits/grains there is no further mention of this type of offering made to God until it is discussed in Leviticus 2.
It is actually because of Adam and Eve's sin that the sacrifices thus far are kept to animal sacrifice. When they sinned, God killed animals to "cover" their nakedness. In other words, blood was required to be shed to cover their sin. This was prophetic of the blood that Jesus Christ would shed one day for all mankind, and is the reason why Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God, while Cain's was not. It wasn't whether or not it was the firstfruits of his harvest, it was that by sacrificing an animal, the one who made the sacrifice was telling God that they realized what a sinner they were and how much that blood sacrifice was needed to cover them. It showed humility towards the Lord, and an attitude of repentance; whereas Cain's sacrifice showed an arrogant and prideful spirit that was totally oblivious to his own evil heart that also filled with jealousy. Obviously, as he ended up murdering his own brother. Remember that almost EVERYTHING that we see happening in the Old Testament is prophetic is some way or another about Jesus who is to come. HE IS THE WORD OF GOD, BOTH OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW! Hope that helped?
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