10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 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.” (Gen. 28:10-15 ESV)
In the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, the miraculous beanstalk that grows into the clouds provides Jack upward access to the heavenly realm of a giant. It also provides the giant downward access to the earthly realm of Jack. It’s a two-way beanstalk.
The same is true for the ladder in Jacob’s dream–only the emphasis seems to be on God’s downward access to our earthly realm, and in a much more positive sense than in Jack’s topsy turvy story! What God wishes Jacob to know is that he is not alone. God is with him. God will continue to be with him.
God has descended the ladder and will continue to descend the ladder to accompany Jacob and his people to accomplish God’s purposes upon the earth.
“I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.”
“I will not leave you.”
The ladder symbolizes the fact that God is near. God has descended from heaven to earth to remain with Jacob.
This seems to be why Jesus grabs on to the same image:
51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51 ESV)
In Jesus, God has come near. Jesus is the ladder upon which God descends and draws near to us.
Jacob’s dream reminds us that ours is a God who always wants to descend. He’s always ready to leave heaven for earth. He’s always eager to whisper into our anxious ears, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. I will not leave you.”
Prayer: “Thank you, Father, for being ever ready to draw near to me. Thank for coming so close through your son Jesus.”
Action: Consider someone who needs you to draw near to them. Consider one way you might draw near to them today.
