“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” (Gen. 28:12).
The Lord alludes to this passage in John 1:51: “Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” I think the right way of looking at this chapter is to view it in contrast with the previous one where man fills the scene, and confusion is the result. Here God fills the scene and, where He is, all is blessing. What a pity He cannot have His way always.
In chapter 27, we find Isaac in haste to give the blessing, and Jacob scheming to get it, while Esau is sorrowing. Yet, after all the hurry and confusion, Jacob did not then really obtain the blessing. Jacob fled the family compound as a fugitive, with no peace, no joy, and no relationship with God. Hardly a blessed man! But when he was low down, God came to him: “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” (v. 13).
The Lord presented Himself to Jacob as “El Shaddai,” the Self-sufficient One, who is equal to every emergency. The very same night, He gave the blessing to Jacob. What a wonderful God!
Jacob was a homeless stranger without a friend in the world, but of course “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” Jacob had no idea that God would visit him that night. He was full of trouble which he had brought upon himself. Man would have said, “You have made your bed, so you must lie on it,” but God’s grace does “much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). God took Jacob by surprise–the way He always loves to do.
There are four “Beholds” in this chapter. They reveal to us the El Shaddai who delights to surprise us with joy and unexpected blessing.
1. “Behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven” (v. 12). In John 1:51, Christ speaks of this, and in John 14:6 shows how He is “the Way.” Again in Hebrews 3:1, He is seen as the Apostle and High Priest. He is Apostle down here and High Priest up there. Christ fills the scene: He has been on earth, and is now up there; yet He is here also: “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). Christ is with us personally too, I in Him and He in me (Jn. 17:23; 1 Jn. 5: 20).
We must not think the idea in the ladder is that there are steps up to God. Not so. God said to Moses: “Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto Mine altar” (Ex. 20:26). The Holy Spirit wishes to show us how Christ fills the vision between us and God–a living Christ at the bottom and at the top as well. This is God’s way; grace comes down to us, and brings us up to God. If I believe in Christ, I am in Christ. “God dwelleth in Him, and He in God” (1 Jn. 4:15).
2. “Behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it” (v. 12). As already mentioned, this is referred to in John 1:51, and is evidently a millennial scene. Observe the thought; there is a time coming when Christ will fill heaven and earth. This has not been yet, but God will have it so. We have an illustration of this in the case of Israel who murmured against God. As a result of their murmuring, God said they would not enter the land (Num. 14), and we must remember that without Israel, God could not bless this earth. Thus God appeared frustrated in His purposes. Yet it was at that very time that God swore, “As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21). Thus God waits forty years for Israel. He can look right on over difficulties and say, “It shall be done.”
In 1 Peter 1:3-4, we have another sweet portion for ourselves: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . who hath begotten us again . . . to an inheritance.” Looking right on, this is God’s blessed way, beyond our failures and sinning and wrong turns to the fulness of our inheritance. So here when Jacob is thoroughly in a mess on account of his sin, then God looks right on to His Son and sees “angels of God ascending and descending.” Oh, what a Christ we have!
3. “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” (v. 13). Nothing can thwart grace, and God is dealing with us in grace. It is true we are unworthy, but grace does not look at that. God says He will give it. God is dealing with His people today in greater grace than He did with Old Testament saints, because He puts great honor on His rejected Christ, and therefore blesses us who first trusted in Him.
I don’t know what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have thought of Ephesians 1, which we are so fond of, or of John 14. They would have been astonished. Their blessing was earthly as well as heavenly. “I will give you the land of Canaan,” said God. Yet in Hebrews 11:10, we read: “He looked for a city which hath foundations.” Our portion is: “I will come again and receive you unto Myself” (Jn. 14:3). All is sovereign grace to us, and that being so, a Christian should never talk about claiming his rights. It is all grace from first to last, which simply means that God is giving us what we do not deserve, as surely as at the cross He did not give us what we did deserve.
4. “Behold, I am with thee . . . and will bring thee again into this land” (v. 15). “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of the place Mahanaim” (32:1-2). “Mahanaim” means “two hosts.” In Hebrew there is a dual number as well as a singular and plural, and it is the dual that is used here–a host before and a host behind. Is there no such assurance bestowed upon us? Look at Hebrews 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” I don’t know how many angels there are. Daniel speaks of “thousands of thousands” (Dan. 7:10). And they are sent forth to minister for them “who shall be heirs of salvation.” “I will keep thee,” said God, and Jacob knew not how. Oh, this wonderful God! The more I know of Him, the more wonderful He seems.
“He sees my thoughts, He knows my fears, And counts and treasures all my tears.”
God, having promised to keep, made good His promise. I think, at the judgment seat, God will prove to us His faithfulness to His Word. You know Satan often tempts us to doubt in our hearts as to whether God will keep all His Word to us. This vision to Jacob was God’s proof. When Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, and fearing the waves, was about to sink, “Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Mt. 14:31).
Then when God had appeared in such blessing to Jacob, he awakened and vowed a vow: “If God will be with me . . .” This is of the devil. Jacob had only asked for food and raiment, yet he doubts God, and cannot rise to His grace. Why do I notice this? Because it is just such a doubting, mistrusting heart that you and I have. You know how often you say “if.” When you rise in the morning, you ask for food and raiment according to your bit of need, when He tells us of the exceeding riches of His grace and His ability and willingness to supply all our need “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4: 19). The trouble is, none of us is used to grace.
I would notice one point more. God begins with Jacob at Bethel, the house of God (v. 19), where He will begin with us, but it is important to notice that the name of Bethel at the first was Luz, which means separation. I must have done with self and everything that is against God. It is, however, not only Luz–separation–or I would become a hermit; it is “Bethel,” the house of God. Separation alone is not good, there is no separation in heaven. Merely to be done with a given sin is not enough without God. Always keep Bethel and Luz together. Are you enjoying God and separate from evil? There are some who wish to dwell at Bethel, but know nothing of Luz, and vice versa, but the two cannot be separated.
We must come to the finale. Did El Shaddai keep His promise? Away down in Egypt many years later, old Jacob was dying. Listen to his boast: “God which fed (shepherded) me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil . . . ” (Gen. 48:15-16). He is the All-sufficient One.