Genesis 28 — Thoughts

WHO Is Jacob’s Ladder?

I think this might be the first time we see "dreams and visions" in the Bible — and it couldn't be better.

While traveling alone, Jacob lays down to sleep for the night with a rock as a pillow. That night, he dreams of a staircase (some translations say "ladder"). It comes down from heaven to creation, and he sees angels going up and down it. Wow!

What's beautiful is that, those of us who know the Gospel — those of us who know Jesus — can clearly see what's happening in this vision. This ladder is a single connection between heaven and creation, a single pathway for humanity to reach God. And so is Jesus.

  • John 14:6 tells us that Jesus is the only way to God.

  • 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us that Jesus is the one Mediator between God and humanity.

  • Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that Jesus is the narrow gate that leads to life.

  • John 10:9 tells us that Jesus is the door that leads to salvation.

  • And Acts 4:12 tells us that Jesus is the only name that leads to salvation.

I've often wondered how much believers in the Old Testament understood the Gospel. We know that salvation comes only by grace through faith in Jesus and His work on the Cross (Ephesians 2:8). But in the Old Testament, they didn't know the name "Jesus" and they didn't know the story of the Cross. For them, the object of their faith was something of a mystery.

And yet, they knew that they couldn't save themselves and that God was their only hope. That's why Abraham could believe God and have it credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:3). And that's why we see symbols and foreshadowing throughout the Old Testament that point us to the Cross — symbols like Jacob's ladder.

You and I have the benefit of hindsight. We know who Jesus is, and we know the story of the Cross. So when we see stories like this, we know what we're looking at. God has not left humanity alone in our sin. He's provided a ladder for us. And that ladder's name is Jesus.

Tell someone else about the ladder today.⁠

(Originally written July 28, 2020)

Previous
Previous

Genesis 29 — Sketch

Next
Next

Genesis 28 — Sketch