Jacob encounters GOD personally!
We’ve heard of Jacob’s ladder, when Jacob placed a rock under his head and went to sleep, to dream of angels going up and down the ladder, from earth to heaven. But had I previously noticed that the Lord — Yeshua Messiah — was also present, speaking from above, making a promise to Jacob? I don’t think so…
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Genesis 28:10-17
“Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
“And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall 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 spoken to you.”
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “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!””
Jacob’s personal starting point
GOD is a personal god. And so this is a look at Jacob’s personal story… when he encountered GOD in his own very personal way, in his dream, in his own experience.
First, he is heading toward Haran, the starting point for Abrahm, his grandfather (Genesis 11:31). Maybe he was heading back to that start, away from the land GOD had promised his grandfather… Well, he put down for the night, he put his head on a rock (which reminds me of Jesus’ word: ‘I will call you Peter and on this rock I will build my church.’)
He sleeps, and he dreams of angels going up from him to heaven, and back again.
Then he experiences the voice of the Lord, who is the voice of the Messiah Yeshua, for himself. (Whenever LORD typed = Father GOD; whenever Lord typed = Son of GOD, Yeshua/Jesus)
And he was frightened!
Perhaps he needed the fear of the Lord put into him, because he was such a self-sufficient sort, who honoured his mother but cheated his brother in the doing of it. Both his father and grandfather were liars. Perhaps the LORD GOD knew He needed to inject some personal investment into this man to keep him from going astray. So Jacob encountered the Lord Jesus.
It worked!
When we encounter GOD for ourselves, we know that we know, and that is important in our journey.
There will come a time always, when our faith will be tested. That’s when we need to know GOD for ourselves. Yes, we need scriptures, Yes, we need Holy Spirit. But a personal encounter will help us through a time of testing. A time when “we know that we know” beyond a shadow of a doubt, will safeguard us in a time of stress. Jacob experienced it in his life. And we can experience it in ours.
Shalom on your journey this week.