We tell the story of two men who were discussing the character of a third.
Let me describe him this way, said the first.
He's the kind of a guy who follows you into a revolving door and comes out ahead of you.
That's the kind of a man Jacob was.
And because of that, he had to leave home.
We pick up his story today in Genesis chapter 28, beginning in verse 10.
Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Heron.
And he came to a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set.
And he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in
that place.
And he had a dream.
And behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven.
And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Have you ever wondered about the meaning of one of your dreams?
That's a normal human curiosity, isn't it?
There are books on the shelves today that naive people buy that purport to be able to
tell the meaning of dreams.
Others call 900 numbers to find some psychic connected with the occult who claims to be
able to understand and to interpret dreams.
Jacob's dream is in a different category altogether than the kinds of dreams that you
and I have.
His dream was a dream from God.
It was a dream that was a revelation in which God said something very specific to Jacob.
His dream was not the result of an active imagination or some emotional trauma, much
less the product of a spicy meal.
His dream is given by Almighty God Himself as a divine revelation.
The dream of a ladder or perhaps better a stairway to heaven.
And the words spoken by the Lord on that occasion are significant and they are recorded here
for our learning.
It seems to me that the dream provides an understanding of God's divine work in the
world.
God is telling Jacob in this vision, this dream that he had about his work in the world
and as we look over Jacob's shoulder and we listen and we watch with him, then we also
can understand something more of God's awesome work.
God's work is in conjunction with the promise given to send a Savior to redeem the fallen
race of Adam.
Let's think about God's awesome work in the world this morning as we find it in our text.
The first work is this, that heaven descends to arrange the affairs of the earth.
Look at this dream again.
A ladder or a staircase links heaven and earth and angels are moving up and down both directions
on this staircase.
And what are they doing?
We wonder that.
They don't tell us precisely, but angels are the servants of the Lord and so we assume
that they are carrying out his will.
I believe what we are seeing here is the fact that God is involved in the affairs of the
earth.
They are under his sovereign authority.
Which books of the Bible do you think talk the most about angels?
Have you ever thought about that?
They are mentioned in a number of books, but which talk the most about angels?
I think if you were to examine it, you would find that one would be the book of Daniel,
another would be the book of Revelation where some of us are studying together, and a third
would be the book of Zechariah.
Now when I stop to think about that, I ask myself, why do these books talk about angels
more than any other books?
And the first thing that I notice is that all of those books are prophetic books.
They are prophetic books that deal with political transitions of nations and empires and the
ultimate establish of God's rule, the theocracy, the kingdom upon the earth.
And so it seems to me that angels are associated with the giving of revelation and are therefore
presumably involved in the histories of leaders and their administrations.
They are involved in the turning over of nations and empires.
They are involved in carrying out God's will in the affairs of man.
They are involved in doing the revealed purpose of the Lord upon the earth.
Wise is the leader who understands the rule of heaven in the affairs of the earth.
Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest man in the world in his day, came to understand that.
And he says after a particular judgment from the Lord in Daniel chapter 4, all of the inhabitants
of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he, the most high, does according to his will
in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
Nebuchadnezzar, this pagan king of Babylon, came to understand something about the most
high God, something he even came to believe, savingly, in the most high God.
That of course only heaven will tell.
But he did understand that the Almighty, the most high, has his way not only in the host
of heaven, the angels, but also among the inhabitants of the earth.
And it's interesting to me that he links the two.
That is, that he links the host of heaven with the affairs of man.
And he says no one can ward off his hand or say to him, what has thou done?
Wise is the human leader who understands the rule of heaven over the affairs of the earth.
George Washington in his first inaugural address in 1789 says, it would be peculiarly improper
to admit in this first, omit rather, in this first official act, my fervent supplications
to that Almighty being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of
nations.
The first president of the United States, the father of his country, understood the
rule of the heavens over the affairs of men.
Our leaders today largely have forgotten that, and we have what we have in our world.
Now when we say this, it does not mean, of course, that God is responsible for all of
the actions of men. The evil cruelties of men cannot be attributed to God.
What happened this week in Oregon, in that school, and has happened far too often in
schools across the country, cannot be attributed to the product of God's will.
Indeed, they originate in the sinfulness of human nature and in the manipulation and
the deception of the devil.
That's where evil originates. But the Almighty God so oversees and supervises all things
that his purposes cannot fail. The evil deeds of men are unable to impede or to defeat what
God decrees.
Now for Jacob, this dream was the assurance that although he was separated from home,
he was not separated from heaven, as Warren Wersby writes.
Jacob is seeing here that God is involved in the affairs of earth, including his own
life. God was at work in his circumstances, and the angels of God were caring for him.
The reassurance that you and I have is that God also is at work in our affairs as believers
in Jesus Christ, that his angels minister to us who are the heirs of salvation, Hebrews
1, 13, and 14.
So when we think of this dream that Jacob had, the first awesome work of God, it seems
to me, is that God descends to supervise the affairs of the earth. Not only the affairs
of nations and empires, but the affairs and the lives of his children. God is involved
in the macrocosm of history as well as in the microcosm of history, in the little things
of our lives. And to me that is awesome. That wherever I am today in my pilgrimage, wherever
you are in your pilgrimage, God is right there with you. And the angels of God are carrying
out the purpose of God in your life. Whether you see him or see them or feel them or recognize
him or not, God is at work, and his angels minister to you also.
But as we think some more about this vision, it seems to me that the second awesome work
of God that we understand is that heaven determines to bless the families of the earth. Let's
go on and read a little bit more in our text. Because it says in verse 13, Behold the Lord
stood above it, that is the stairway, and said, I am the Lord, the God of your Father,
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to
your descendants. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall
spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you
and in your descendants 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. And so God speaks to Jacob.
In this young man who is now only about 77 years of age, traveling away from home toward
Iran, a stark and lonely figure, desolate, perhaps fearful, he makes his way along the
caravan route that went through Bersheba north through Jebus, which was later Jerusalem,
and then up through AI, and nearby there he is at this place called Luz, or Luz. He has
covered about 60 miles so far in his journey, perhaps three or four days, of an arduous
walk. Donald Barnhill says, we do not know how much baggage Jacob carried on his shoulder,
but he was carrying a heavy load in his heart. Undoubtedly he was. And as he laid down that
evening to sleep using a stone for a pillow, his heart perhaps was fearful and lonely,
and he wondered what he was doing and where God was, and God speaks to him. It was a dark
night in several respects for this man, Jacob. And God speaks to him in this dream and affirms
to him the covenant that God had made with his grandfather, Abraham, and with his father,
Isaac. Abraham, in fact, had been near this very spot. Earlier he had been there and built
an altar to the Lord on that mountain that was between AI and Bethel. It was a sacred
spot. It was near there that Jacob rested that night. And God spoke to him in the dream
and said, the land will be yours, this land upon which you lie. I will give it to you
and to your descendants. Secondly, he says, your descendants will be many and they will
be widespread. Third, he says, all the families of the earth, including Gentiles, including
the family of Ishmael, the family of Esau, all the families of the earth will be blessed
in your descendants. And fourth, he says, my presence and protection and my promise will
be real in your life, Jacob. I'm with you. I will go with you where you're going. I will
bring you back to this place. I will not leave you until I have fulfilled everything that
I have spoken concerning you. Folks, this is all of grace. Jacob doesn't deserve this.
Jacob was in this fix because of what he had done. God is not rewarding him here because
he's been a good man. God is giving to Jacob by grace the promises of the covenant that
he had made with Abraham. The following events in Jacob's life demonstrate the reality of
what God says here because God was with Jacob as he went on to pay to Nerim. As he served
Laban, God blessed him. And then in 20 years or so, God brought him back to this very place.
In fact, to this spot as we shall see in weeks ahead. But God's purpose here is not only
for Jacob and for his descendants. What we learn here that is so awesome is that God
through Jacob determines to bless all the families of the earth. God blesses this family
so that it then can be a blessing to the whole world. Now we understand that the primary
application of this is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the descendant of Jacob, would bless
by his salvation all the families of the earth. You see the story here is bigger than Jacob.
It is God at work bringing about the promised Redeemer and through him blessing the families
of the earth. The reason that God blesses you and me too is so that we can be a blessing
to the world. This is an awesome thing that God is at work right here in Jacob's life
determining to bless all the families of the earth although he is with Jacob in this one
isolated spot on this night giving him this dream. The world is in view. Folks, God always
has the world in view. God has a heart for all peoples of the earth. I'm so excited
that we're a part of this world view for world healing conference this week because you see
that's why God has blessed us that we might bless the nations of the world. And so we
house these young people who are coming. We work at the conference as volunteers. We support
it financially. We do our little part so that these people can be equipped and go back to
the nations of the world. That is always God's view. The world, the world, not just us, the
world, the world. God determines to bless all the families of the earth. That's awesome.
And we see that here. We come to understand what God is about in this vision. That brings
us to a third awesome work and that is that heaven deploys to reconcile the lost of the
earth because there is another insight that I want us to get from this story. An insight
that we gain not from the text itself here but from John chapter one and I invite you
to open your Bible to the gospel of John. The Lord Jesus is beginning to call his disciples
to himself. And it says in verse 40, and one of the two who heard John speak and followed
him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And he found first his own brother Simon and said
to him, we found the Messiah. He brought him to Jesus and Jesus looked at him and said,
you are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas or Peter. The next day he
purposed to go forth to Galilee. And he found Philip and Jesus said to him, follow me. And
Philip was of the beset of the city of Andrew and Peter. And he found Nathaniel and said
to him, we found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip
said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said of him, behold, an
Israelite indeed in whom is no guile. Now that's an interesting statement. Who is the
original Israelite? Jacob. And what was he best known for? Deceit, guile, trickery. You
see, Jesus is linking this back to Jacob. He says, here's an Israelite, a descendant
of Jacob in whom there is no guile. Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered
and said to him, before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
Wow. Jesus saw him as he was resting under the fig tree. Nathaniel responded, Rabbi,
you are the son of God, you're the king of Israel, messianic language. He sees that this
one who is speaking to him has knowledge that not a normal man has. He's supernatural.
And Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you that I saw you under the fig
tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these. And he said to him, truly,
truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the son of man. So you see, again, there is this tie back to the dream
of Jacob. The stairway or the ladder in Jacob's dream may not be a type of Jesus Christ specifically,
but there is no question that Jesus draws an analogy between that ladder and himself.
What he is saying is that he is the bridge that spans the separation between God and
man. He is the bridge that spans the gulf between heaven and earth, just as that ladder
in Jacob's dream spanned heaven and earth. W.H. Griffith Thomas writes, write down to
Jacob's deepest need the ladder came, right up to the presence of God the ladder reached.
And my friend, that is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is the one who reaches
right down to the deepest needs of the sinner and brings us right up into the presence of
God himself. Heaven is reached through Jesus Christ. What we see in this dream is that
heaven deploys to reconcile the lost of the earth. The Father dispatches the Son. He sends
the Son to be the Savior of the world. God is infinite and we could never know God apart
from the Son coming into the world revealing Him to us. In the Son we behold the condescending
grace of God making it possible for us to know Him. God is holy and we can never be
reconciled to God apart from His Son. And in Jesus Christ we see the exalting love
of God making it possible for us to share His heaven and His glory. Descending and ascending.
God reconciling sinners through Jesus Christ we become vitally connected with God. Vitally
connected so much as branches to the vine. We are joined to His very life so that we
may draw from its fullness. This is God's most awesome work. As the poet said, his most
awesome work done in the frailty of His Son. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and
man. It is His cross that bridges the gulf. He provides in His sacrifice the access to
God for all who believe. He opens the way to heaven for us becoming as it were the
latter. He is the Lord from heaven. He touches heaven. But He is also the Son of man. He
touches earth. And He brings heaven and earth together in Himself. One poet has written
as to the holy patriarch that wondrous dream was given. So seems my Savior's cross to
me a ladder up to heaven. Warren Wersby writes, Jacob is a perfect picture of a lost soul.
In the darkness fleeing for his life away from the presence of his father's house,
burdened with sin and ignorant of the fact that God is near him and wants to save him.
That's what this awesome dream is about. And it had a life-transforming effect on Jacob.
His response is the response of faith. This is his conversion experience. This is the
time when his faith personally goes out to the revelation of God's love and grace to
him. And as a result of that, our text says that he raised a memorial to God. He took
that stone on which his head had rested. He placed it upright and he poured oil, probably
olive oil on top of that stone, making it as it were an altar. On this weekend we remember
those who have given their lives in defense of freedom for our nation. We call it Memorial
Day Weekend. What we have here is also a memorial, a stone that becomes an altar as Jacob worships
God in faith. And he renames this place by faith. Instead of it being called Luz, from
this point on it is called Bethel, the house of God. Henry Morris says Bethel would become
a lifelong memorial of God's promises to him and his ability to fulfill those promises.
Whenever you hear the name Bethel, and we hear it a lot in our community, the first thing
that should come to your mind is, I remember that God is faithful to his promises. That's
what the name means. We see Jacob making a vow of loyalty to God. Notice it says in
verse 20 of Genesis 28, if God be with me, and he's not questioning it, it might be better
understood saying, since God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I
take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, I'll return to my Father's house
and safety. The Lord will be my God, he says. He makes this personal commitment to God,
a vow of loyalty to God. And this stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house,
and of all that thou dost give me, I will surely give a tenth to thee. And so he promises
to God a tithe of all of his increase, representing the whole of all that he would gain under
the blessing of God. From this we begin to understand something of what a faith response
includes. When we are believing God, it means that we are praising him, that we are giving
a testimony to God, that we are committing ourselves to him, we are giving to him.
And Jacob, twenty years later, as I said earlier, returns to this very place, and a similar
experience takes place as he worships God here, God having then fulfilled his promises
in Jacob's pilgrimage. From this account we understand something of what God is about
in the world. He is not a God who is far off and distant and uninvolved, he is a God who
is accessible. He is a God who is near. He is a God who comes to us too in our loneliness,
in our fears. When we are running from God, when we are in darkness, and he comes to us
and reveals himself to us, that's the kind of a God that we are called upon to trust.
He believed the promise of God, and the question today is, will you? Will you believe whatever
the promise of God is that he is trying to write on your heart today? In that area of
your life where God is saying, will you trust me? Will you give me this? Will you lean upon
me? God is a trustworthy God, a God of awesome deeds. He is a God who seeks us out in grace.
Max Locato tells the story in one of his books of Christina. Let me give it to you in his
words. Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the
world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a wash basin, and a
wood-burning stove. She dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped
away, breaking her mother's heart. Knowing what life on the streets would mean for her
young, attractive daughter, Maria, hurriedly packed to go find her. On her way to the bus
stop, she entered a drugstore to get one last thing, pictures. She sat in the photograph
booth, closed the curtain, and spent all she could on pictures of herself. With her purse
full of small black and white photos, she boarded the next bus to Rio. Maria knew Christina
had no way of earning money. She also knew that her daughter was too stubborn to give
up. When pride meets hunger, a human will will do things unthinkable. Knowing this, Maria
began her search. Bars, hotels, nightclubs, any place with a reputation for street walkers
or prostitutes. She went to the mall. At each place, she left a picture taped on the bathroom
mirror or tacked to a hotel bulletin board or fastened to a corner phone booth. On the
back of each photo, she wrote a note. It wasn't too long before both the money and the pictures
ran out and Maria had to go home. The weary mother wept as the bus began its long journey
back to her small village. It was weeks later that young Christina descended the hotel
stairs. Her young face was tired. Her brown eyes no longer danced with youth but spoke
of pain and fear. Her laughter was broken. Her dream was becoming a nightmare. A thousand
times over, she had longed to trade those countless beds for her secure pallet. Yet
the little village was in too many ways, too far away. As she reached the bottom of the
stairs, her eyes noticed a familiar face. She looked again and there on the lobby mirror
was a small picture of her mother. Christina's eyes burned and her throat tightened as she
walked across the room and removed the small photo. Written on the back was this compelling
invitation, whatever you've done, whatever you've become, it doesn't matter. Please
come home. And she did. And do you see friend, that is what the latter is about. It's God
coming to earth, involved in our affairs, seeking us out, saying no matter what you've
done, I love you. Please come home. What an awesome God. Let's pray. Father, I pray this
morning with all of my heart that we will see that we also are in an awesome place.
For anywhere you are working is awesome and you are working in our lives. And I pray that
we will hear your voice and respond to you this morning. And for those who do not know
Christ, may they in particular understand that you love them and want them to come.
And for those of us who are your children but who are out in the darkness wandering away,
may this be a morning of a fresh new commitment. In Christ's name. Amen.