Jacob at Bethel
by Pastor Jake
Jacob is now the third generation of God's children of faith since He began laying the foundation upon which He would build a nation; first Abraham, and then Isaac, and now Jacob. Starting with Noah, Jacob is the thirteenth generation from the flood. But before we continue to study Jacob's life let us take another brief look back at Adam.
As we discuss Adam we will invoke a thought using the word "womb." According to Webster's the word "womb" means, (1) the belly, (2) Uterus, and/or (3) any place or part that holds, envelops, generates, etc.
As we think upon this definition the first Scripture that comes to mind is when our Lord spoke saying,
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"
[John 7:38 NAS]
Therefore when we speak of the womb of a man's soul we are speaking of the very heart of the soul of man, his innermost being. It is in the womb of his soul that his thoughts are "generated" or "conceived" and held or kept until they are given birth through man's acts, deeds or spoken word.
God created Adam's body from the dust of the ground, and in the loins of his body was the seed to the future generations of mankind. And then God breathed the breath of life, his Spirit, into man and he became a living soul {Gen. 2:7}. By the indwelling of His Spirit God had prepared a living soul to receive His seed---His word. And then God placed His seed in the womb of the living soul of Adam {Gen. 2:16}. And so man became a steward of a great treasure, the living word of God. From the loins of Adam's body would come children with living souls; and speaking by the Spirit of God, from the womb of his soul he would sow God's seed in the living souls of his children. From the loins of Adam would come the sons of men, and from the living soul of Adam would come sons of God. And so in this we see the seed that is in the womb of the living soul of man is the word of God.
When Adam sinned against God, warfare began between the son of man and the son of God. Or, spoken in other terms, warfare began between the child of the flesh and the child of the Spirit. Such was the case with Cain and Able {Gen. 4:1-11}, Ishmael and Isaac {Gen. 21:8-10}, and Esau and Jacob. Of course there is also that inner warfare of the flesh warring against the Spirit {Rom. 7:14-15}. It is warfare started by Satan in an effort to un-seat or uproot the seed of God from the womb of man's soul and to sow his own seed there {Gen. 3:1-7}.
When God called Abraham, he heard, believed and obeyed Him; and God "reckoned" it unto him as righteousness {Gen. 15:6}. Thus Abraham, by God's grace, through faith in the word of God, was "reckoned" a living soul. Then God planted His seed in the womb of Abraham's soul and then commanded him, through teaching, to pass it on to his descendants {Gen. 18:19}. There was first born to Abraham a child who was the works of the flesh, Ishmael, who later contended against the promised seed. And then from the loins of Abraham was born Isaac, a son born according to the promise of God.
From the loins of Isaac was born two sons of man, Esau and Jacob. From the womb of the soul of Isaac were born two sons of God; but Esau exchanged his birthright of son-ship of God to satisfy the lust of his flesh. Thus to Jacob was passed the promised seed, the word of God. And so, since the call of Abraham, Jacob is the third generation of the sons of God, and it is these that are also called the children of father Abraham {Gal. 3:7}.
And now we continue the story of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of God. One of the most dramatic moments in Jacob's life occurred at Bethel {Gen. 28:10-22}, at the ford of the River Jabbok {Gen.32:22-32}, and the other was on his deathbed {Gen. 49: 1-33}. When Jacob fled to escape Esau's wrath he departed his father's house in Beersheba and traveled unaccompanied in a northerly direction toward Syria for about forty miles. Night caught up with him at a place in Canaan called Luz {Gen. 28:19}, about eleven miles north of a place that would one day be called Jerusalem. Before lying down on the bare ground to rest he chooses a stone upon which to lay his head. With a stone as his pillow and the ground as his bed he began his nights sleep.
As he slept: "--- 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. And behold, the LORD stood above it 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. And 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.' Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.'"
[Gen. 28:12-16 NAS]
Of God's words we have some understanding, but why a vision in a dream? Well, we understand that a picture speaks more than a thousand words, and so, what does this picture speak? As we ponder Jacob's dream the thoughts of our mind gaze upon the ladder; what does it mean? Was it a plain simply ladder from ancient days, with strings of leather fastening the rungs to the side railings as they extend upward touching heaven? Such a ladder would have a certain matchless rustic beauty. Or was it a beautiful, eloquent, more modern staircase spiraling toward heaven? This too would have a certain enrichment of charm. And then our focus is turned to these majestic angels ascending and descending as if they are in a ministry from heaven to earth as they also guard the ladder against intruders. And then we look toward the window of heaven and there stands the Lord God Almighty Himself at the top of the ladder. What a beautiful sight it must have been for Jacob to behold!! And we ask again; what is the meaning of these things?
As we continue to mediate we begin to see that it tells of an event, which at that time, was yet future. It tells of a time when that once again the windows of heaven will be opened and the ladder will be lowered to the earth with the angels of heaven in attendance {John 1:51}. We see the ladder as a type or a prophetic message concerning the Christ, the living Word of God. His appearing would be in an ancient rustic form, yet having a charming and eloquent beauty. And then our thoughts turn to the little country town of Bethlehem that would be not far from where Jacob is sleeping; and of a stable and a manger hewed from a tree; and of the Christ child asleep in the manger; now we are beginning to understand what the vision is revealing to Jacob. The ladder touching the earth presents the prophesy of the incarnation of Christ in a commonly and simple humility; then rising from humility in the earth to exaltation in heaven. Appearing at the top of the ladder is His holy and divine nature; therefore we see Him as an extension of the Father in heaven to the earth as an invitation to those who believe to come to the Father by way of the Ladder.
As Jacob sleeps we can hear the words of a loving Father as His Spirit caresses Jacob's soul; and in His love their souls are knit together as one {1 Sam.18:1; Col. 2:2NAS}. He speaks in a whisper and the sound of His voice falls upon the ears of the soul of Jacob as soft and peaceful as the night dew that falls on the earth around him. The former promises made to his father and his grandfather before him are repeated and ratified. It is confirmed to him that indeed he is the heir of the covenant and blessings of his forefathers. As our heavenly Father continues to speak to Jacob, He promises to give him the land upon which he now so contentedly sleeps. It is promised him that his posterity should multiply exceedingly and would spread out like the branches of a tree planted by the waters, thus filling the four corners of the earth; and in him and his posterity all the families of the earth would be blessed; these were the blessings with which his father Isaac had blessed him, and it seems that here God is giving the AMEN that Jacob might be comforted.
And then came a most comforting promise: "And 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."
Oh what love!! God's mercy and grace had been poured out upon Jacob.
The excitement in his soul must have awakened him, and he exclaimed, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it!!" "And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'"
[Gen. 28:17 NAS]
Not since the Garden of Eden had the gates of heaven been opened. When Adam sinned he and his posterity was cast out of the Garden away from God's presence {Gen. 3:23-24}; and the gates were closed and guarded. And now Jacob had been privileged, through the eyes of his soul, to look into the future and see the redemption of mankind He had seen the windows of heaven again opened, the ladder lowered and the invitation extended, saying to all who would believe, come to the Garden of My presence. He had seen the Open Door and the "Seed of the woman {Gen. 3:14-15};" in a vision he had seen the promised Messiah.
God had placed His seed in the womb of Jacob's soul where it would be kept as a precious jewel until ready to give birth. Then it would come forth and fall upon the ears of his children, and his children's children, and every generation that followed until the glorious and wonderful day of its fulfillment. "So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its top. And he called the name of that place Bethel {meaning, house of God}; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz. "Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If 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, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my 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 {Gen. 28:18-22NAS}.'"
 | James “Pastor Jake” Sanford is a minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the past six years, he has been ministering at the Mississippi State Veteran’s Home in Collins, MS. At 71 years young, he has no plans to stop serving the Lord. |