The Big Story: God Lets Jacob See Behind the Curtain


We perceive the world through our physical senses: sight, smell, sound, and touch.  Science tells us that things exist beyond the range of our senses, and scientists develop means of observing them.  Telescopes enable us to see faraway stars, and microscopes help us see cells.  

The scriptures teach that realities exist in the spiritual realm that are beyond our physical senses.  This is where God mostly operates.  Genesis 28:10-22 records an incident in which the Lord drew back the curtain and let Jacob see spiritual realities.

Jacob was in a dicey time. He had to leave his home because his brother Esau wanted to kill him.  He was traveling to Haran to live with relatives he had never met.  He was alone and vulnerable.

Early in his journey to Haran, while he was still in Canaan, he stopped for the night at a certain spot and slept.  While he slept, God revealed to him what he was doing through a dream.  The King James Version of the Bible says he saw a ladder.  The word translated "ladder" can also mean "stairway" or "ramp."  Most likely, Jacob saw a stairway like the ones on ancient Babylonian ziggurats.

Heaven was at the top of the stairway and earth at the bottom.  Angels were ascending and descending it.  

In the Bible, heaven is where God rules, and earth is where evil rules.  They are separate and distinct.  They don't overlap, but sometimes they intersect.  Here, they intersect.  Angels are God's servants.  The Bible describes them as primarily messengers, but sometimes they intervene in the world  Their action of ascending and descending means they're engaged in missions for God in the world.  The image says that God is engaged with our sinful, broken world.

As Jacob continued to dream, the Lord appeared beside him and spoke.  He identified himself as the Lord of his fathers.  He said that he would give him the land he was sleeping on, he would give him innumerable descendants, he would bless him, and he would bless the whole world through him.  Though his life was up in the air, God was with him and would deliver on his blessings.

God is still interacting with us.  He's still involved.  His stairway is still in operation.  Christ was his ultimate stairway, his ultimate point of intersection (John 1:51).  He brought the kingdom of heaven to earth.  As Christ lives in us by his Spirit, we become God's intersecting points with this world, living as citizens of his kingdom each day!  

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