Every religion that believes in an afterlife has concocted a system that they think will enable the person who follows their path to make it to whatever they call eternal life. They have essentially invented a ladder that each person has to climb their own way through their own actions and their own power. But the Bible shows us the truth is the exact opposite of that. No one is able to climb their way up to heaven, nor would anyone want to before they are changed by Jesus. Rather, God had to come down and meet each of us and provide the way and change each of our hearts. And this story that we are looking at this morning in Genesis is a picture prophecy of just that. Please open your Bibles with me this morning to Genesis 28, 10 through 22. Genesis 28, 10 through 22, as we continue to work section by section through this wonderful book of Genesis. This is the Word of God. It is inerrant and infallible, and it is very useful to our souls. Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 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. 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. 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 your offspring. 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 the south. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth 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 promised.' 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. So early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and he set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God's house, and all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you. Here ends the reading of God's word. In this story, God met Jacob and he changed him forever, giving Jacob the promise that was originally given in the Garden of Eden and then was carried on with Noah and then to Abraham, a promise that still stands today for all who will receive it through faith. This was Jacob's moment of salvation, and it is a story that stands out in the book of Genesis along with other key gospel or salvation moments. Places like Genesis 3 and 12 and 15. Because it provides a very clear picture of things to come, a clear picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this story, when we left Jacob, he was setting out on a journey to his mother's family, a journey that was one part fleeing from his brother who was planning to kill him, and one part being sent on a mission by his father and mother to obtain a wife from the chosen family line. But when he set out, no part of his journey was motivated by God. Because though he might have known some facts about God and the spiritual reason undergirding the blessing, He was not a follower of God at that point or a person who trusted in God's gospel promise. He left his home in Beersheba in the southwestern part of the promised land and began a long journey up to Haran in the north in what is modern-day Turkey. He was afraid of his brother. He was sad that he might not see his father again, since that was his mother's plan. He was supposed to stay until his father died and his brother's anger dissipated. And then his mother would send someone to him and ask him to return once she thought that it would be safe for him. And if everything happened according to his mother's plans, though it did not, That would have been what took place. He would have never seen his father again. Jacob was most likely apprehensive about how things would transpire once he got to Laban's house as well. And so he was probably a little bit of a wreck. He might've been preparing his introduction when he arrived in his mind. After all, he was showing up in order to marry someone, not just for dinner. But one thing he was not preparing for was what was about to happen on the way. Verse 11 tells us, he came to a certain place and stayed there that night. He had traveled about 50 miles away from his home. So this would have been several days into his journey. And he had to stop because the sun had set. And in that time, of course, there were no car headlights or streetlights or any other lights around him. And so it would have been very dark. All he would have had is the moon or the stars. We are told he took a stone and he placed it under his head and he lay down to sleep. I don't know about you, but that sounds terribly uncomfortable. I don't think that I would want to sleep that way at all. But the fact is the Hebrew word translated under could mean either under or at his head, which is the way that it is translated in 1 Samuel 26-7. There the same Hebrew word shows up and we read that King Saul lay sleeping and he stuck his spear in the ground near or at his head. He didn't lay his head on his spear. So either way, this rock served as protection or it served as a pillow. And if it served as a pillow, which is more than likely the case, it was there to elevate his head. And this was something that was done in ancient times, especially outdoors. And often they would use wood or stone or metal, woven bamboo or leather. And the leather, of course, sounds like the nicest, the most comfortable, but usually they would have some sort of shellac that they would put on it and make it almost as hard as a rock. And often these looked like either just a box or a crescent moon on a pedestal. And often they would carve them or paint them. There are several on display at the Met in New York City. And they did this in order to keep things out of their ears and out of their nose and out of their mouth as they slept. But also, many of the cultures did not take baths as often as we do. And so they would have elaborate hairstyles as well, and often things that they would put into their hair. And since they wouldn't wash it as often, they did this to keep their hair looking perfect as well. So they weren't that different from us, really. But either way, he was sleeping out with the bumps and the bugs in a bleak situation, an oblique situation that matched his soul. And he was not expecting anything to happen that night. But it did. Jacob fell asleep and he had a dream, and it was not a normal dream where the various random things that we have thought about sometime in our day or in the past week, or even our life, gets shaken up and then rolled out like dice on the table. When we wake up, we may or may not remember or are scratching our heads trying to remember what we dreamed. But this was not that kind of dream. When God spoke through a dream or a vision when someone was awake, as he did many times in the Old Testament. And the book of Hebrews chapter 1 and 2 makes mention of this, that God spoke in different ways, it says. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers and to the prophets. God actually came and he met with the person and he overtook the person's mind so that they saw, as it were, the movie of God being played out before them. And it communicated a message that they knew for certain came from God, imparting his revelation and his sovereign purpose. As we have already seen this a little bit in Genesis, in Genesis chapter 15 with Abraham, where he fell into a deep sleep, or a God-induced sleep, and God came to him and spoke to him. And that is what he did here. God actually came to Jacob and gave him exactly what he needed in this moment. Despite the mess that Jacob had created with his brother just before this, and his reasons for taking this journey, despite his sin and his unworthiness, God had good prepared for him, and good prepared for each of us. We are here this morning because of what took place here. And he came with a message of hope, real hope, hope for him and hope for all of us. He saw a ladder set up on the earth, and the top, we are told, reached to heaven. And verse 12 tells us, and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. He may have envisioned a ladder like we envision when we think of that word today, since ladders like that did exist back then. But the unique Hebrew word that is used here can also mean a ramp of stairs, similar to the way that flights of stairs linked each section of a ziggurat back in this time. And structures that we have uncovered also tell us really interesting things about ziggurats. The people back then thought they served as a pathway between heaven and earth. and a pathway for the dead to ascend to heaven and for their false gods or idols to descend. Which is why they often built a shrine at the top for their idols. And the most famous one in the region in Babylon was actually called the House of the Foundations of Heaven and Earth. And so that is very telling. due to the fact that it would be much easier for a group of angels to walk up and down a wide flight of stairs than to climb hand over hand on a ladder. And also the intentional symbolism that Jacob would have understood in this dream. This is most likely a stairway and not a ladder like we would envision. In Genesis chapter 11, rebellious people created a ziggurat called the Tower of Babel. that they thought would reach into the heavens and make a name for themselves. They pridefully attempted to challenge God and gain access into heaven and find immortality by their own hands, which of course did not end so well for them. But here in this dream, God communicated the exact opposite of what they tried and what people were trying all around them in this time period and what people still try today. Here in the stream, God communicated that there is a pathway to heaven, a way for us to meet God, a way for us to be reconciled to Him and not be terrified when we stand before Him, a way for us to have a relationship with Him. But it is God who initiated that way. And it is God who is in sovereign control over that. So there is only one way, His way. Jacob knew his sin. He knew his pride and his selfishness. He knew that he was a liar and a deceiver. He knew the mess that he had created with his family. He understood the truth that we find in Romans chapter three. No one is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God, but all have turned aside. Or Romans chapter five that tells us that sin made us enemies of God. But God did not give him a dream of judgment and wrath, which we all deserve. Instead, God gave him a dream of hope and assurance, of divine help, and a dream that pointed forward. God was reaching out to him, revealing to him his mercy and his grace. Jacob saw angels who were real beings, created to worship God and serve him as his messengers and protectors. And we see this first in chapter 3 of Genesis, where they show up protecting Adam and Eve, keeping them from trying to re-enter the Garden of Eden after they were removed from the Garden, and actually protecting them from reaching out and taking a hold of the fruit of the Tree of Life. Then later, this is seen In chapter 18, angels showed up and communicated with Abraham, giving him vital information about what they were getting ready to do. As Hebrews 1.14 tells us, they are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. And that is what they did here. This communicated something to Jacob. It communicated that he was not alone. It communicated that he was protected by God. And it communicated, most of all, that there was a way to God, even for sinners like him. In verse 13, we are told, the Lord stood above it. The Hebrew word here can mean either above or beside. And this has been a source of debate since it was written, really. But either way, it communicated that God is the Lord over heaven and earth. And it communicated that there is a way both to meet with God and for God to be with us as our God in a close and personal way. As Jacob would proclaim later on in verse 16, the Lord is in this place. So whether he stood above it and is showing that he is uniting the two, then he is saying the Lord is in this place. Or whether he was saying that in verse 16 because God actually came down and was standing beside him. Then God spoke to Jacob in verses 13 through 15, telling him, 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 your offspring. 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 in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. In chapter 27, 20, Jacob lied to his father, pretending to be his brother. And he told his father he was unable, he told his father that he was able, I mean, to go and to get the food that he was hunting in such a quick way, to bring it back to him in such a quick amount of time, because the God of his father granted him success. It was a lie, and it was a form of taking God's name in vain, misusing it, and it revealed that Jacob did not follow God at that point, that this was his father's faith, not his own faith. So when God spoke to Jacob here in this moment, God responded to what Jacob had told his father. God told Jacob that he had chosen him to have personal faith just like his father and just like his grandfather before him. And he chose him to be the one who would become a conduit for others to receive it. He had tried to lie and trick his way into getting the blessing and just receiving the earthly portions of it that he wanted. But here, God was giving him both the earthly part and the most important, the spiritual part, as an undeserved gift. As God called him to a deeper understanding of the blessing and to a new heart. God communicated that he was going to use Jacob to advance his plans, and that he was going to give him the covenant, the covenant that he made with his father and grandfather, and involve him in the greatest blessing that he could imagine, a blessing that was far greater than anything that he was striving after, and that God was gonna do this despite his sin. Everything God told him mirrored what was first promised to Abraham, but God added new personal things for Jacob here as well, binding himself to Jacob in this covenant. First, he said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac. This was the normal means of establishing a covenant or starting a contract between two people or two groups of people. The one initiating the contract or the one with the greater power and the greater position would introduce themselves and explain something about their relationship to the other party and also their authority to make that contract. Here, he communicated that he is the ultimate authority and he has the ability to make any contract he wants and so obligates anyone that he wants to obligate. But he does this not just because he can. He does this for our benefits. He does it here for Jacob's benefit and for his hope. He is the Lord, Yahweh, the I Am. That is the word that is used here. And that is meant to tell him that he is the eternal, self-existing, self-sufficient God. The all-powerful God who is the source of life and all created things. So all of life is dependent upon him and owes him everything. And he is able to give and uphold any covenant because of that with anyone. But that is not all that he communicated. He is also the God of Abraham and Isaac, the God who had been merciful and gracious to Jacob's father and grandfather, who did not hold their sins or their failures against them, and who blessed them in numerous ways that they did not deserve, stories that Jacob would have known very well. So God was communicating to Jacob that he would treat him in the same way that he had treated his father and grandfather. Second, he restates and reconfirms the past promises that were already given to Abraham. In verse 13, he told him, I will give you the land on which you lie, numerous offspring, and bless the whole world through you. In other words, Jacob was told what God had planned was a gift received, not something to be taken and not something to be manipulated. God was going to give him all of these things that he had already promised to Abraham. God was gently also confronting Jacob with the truth and changing him by it. And though Jacob did not even have a wife yet at this point, he was on his way to go and to enter into a relationship and to gain a wife, God was going to give him, he says here, so many offspring who would inherit this land that they would be like the dust of the earth. Not an image that we all often tend to think about very often, but dust is so small and there is so much of it that fills the entire world that what he is saying is, I'm expanding this even beyond what I told your grandfather. There is so much of this that it is absolutely going to blow your mind what I am going to do. You can't possibly count dust, and you can't possibly count the offspring that are going to come from you. Through him and his offspring, God's nation would be built, and it would become a blessing to all the different people groups of the world. It would become a blessing to us today. Third, God gave Jacob three promises that were personal, that were focused on his immediate situation. First, he said, I will be with you. God would be close and personal by his side every step of his journey. And though he could look around and it appeared like he was alone before this dream without any family or friends who were with him, The truth was he had God with him, beginning a relationship with him, and he was not alone. He needed this insurance. He needed strengthened. And the same truth is repeated to us throughout the Bible as well, and we can rest on this when we know Christ. In Exodus 3, 11 through 12, we see it repeated to Moses. Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses said. But God replied, but I will be with you, and this will be a sign for you, that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. He also told the apostles and the disciples in the Great Commission in Matthew 28, 19 through 20, And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. And one of my favorite verses in Hebrews 13, 5, he says, I will never leave you or forsake you. And so we see this promise that is given to Jacob repeated throughout the scriptures and repeated to us personally as well. Second, he said, I will go with you. He promised his preservation and his protection. God is Emmanuel to him, a military term meaning that he is present and that he also fights on our behalf and protects. And this is also showcased by the angels that he saw, which Psalm 91 verse 11 informs us protection is one of their roles, when it says, First speaking about the psalmist and then applied to Christ. God would protect his faith and God would protect Jacob physically, something he needed as he traveled and stayed in this new land. And also, as God said, he would bring him back to the land, back to where his brother, who currently wanted to murder him, was staying. And so this was a very needed promise. And third, he was told, I will bring you back to this land. Something that he would need as he spent 20 years in the foreign land, much longer than he ever anticipated when he was on this journey at this moment. Something that he could rely on as he faced future trials and testing over that 20 years, and things did not go the way that he wanted them to go. God would bring him back home. God would just direct his steps in his time and for his purpose. Because he belonged to God and now he knew his life was in God's hands. And we can take those principles and apply them to our lives as well. How could God do all that? How could he bless a sinful man such as Jacob, who wanted the earthly blessing without the spiritual blessing, the gift without the giver behind it all? How could he bless someone who is selfish and a liar and a deceiver, who took God's name in vain? How can God, who is holy, give anything to sinners except his judgment? When we look in the mirror, how can God do that for each of us? The answer is found in this dream. God's message to Jacob is his message today, though we are all sinners like Jacob, chasing after the wrong stuff, thinking it will fulfill us, creating our own share of problems in our lives and the lives of others just like Jacob. God had provided the way for sinners who rebelled against him, a way to be reconciled. There is a real stairway to heaven, real access to God and to his grace. God made a way for sinners to gain acceptance and restoration with him, a way to rise above all of the mess that we create in this world, all of our failures and fears and trials, all the way to heaven. and to the house of God, and to his presence and protection, to true joy, lasting joy and fulfillment, so much more than what Jacob was after. And that way is his son, Jesus, the promised Messiah. You see, Jesus is the ladder or the stairway of this passage. Jesus is the fulfillment of this dream, this type, this picture prophecy. Jesus told us that very clearly in John 1, 46 through 51 that we opened with this morning. And at the tail end of that, when he said, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened. and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. When Jesus said this, he was referring to this event in the life of Jacob, explaining that he is the latter. He is the fulfillment of this passage. And he is, as he would say in John 14, 6, the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way to heaven and to the Father. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, "'Tis by Christ alone that there comes to be such a ladder sent down on the earth, for poor sinful man to ascend out of a state of misery to a state of blessedness. By his death, Christ paid the penalty for our sin, completely removing all of our guilt. the thing that separated us from God. And by his resurrection, he provided the way for us to receive new life and a new heart. He wants us to know him and to be reconciled to him. And that is the greatest news of all. Everyone has regrets in life. This is the way that we can be free of those. And this is the way that we can become a new person. Jesus is the point of this passage. Jesus is the point of the entire covenant. The nation would eventually be created through Jacob. We will get to that in a few weeks. so that Jesus, the ultimate offspring of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the ultimate one who was promised to come, would come through that nation to create the real kingdom, the eternal kingdom in the real land, the new heavens and the new earth that will be for all eternity. In that moment, Jacob met God and he was saved. He didn't become perfect, and we will see that as we continue to read his story, but he was forgiven of all of his sins, including the ones that we will read about in the future. And he responded with the only response that is appropriate, with faith and worship. We see that in verses 16 through 22. When he woke up, he proclaimed his faith saying, surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. Admitting his former ignorance, admitting that he was wrong, but also telling his new perspective. We are told that he had faith, but also that he had a godly fear. As the book of Proverbs tells us, this type of fear is the beginning of knowledge that comes when we realize what he was realizing in this moment, that God is holy and that we are sinful, rightly deserving his judgment. If we got what we deserved, every one of us would be in hell. But that is not the message of this. And so this is the beginning of knowledge, to begin to realize what we deserve and where we would be if it were not for God providing this ladder. That type of fear doesn't leave us there. It moves us to Him and His mercy. Not a sinful dread that causes most people to run from Him in hatred and anger and terror. but a fear that causes us to run to him for forgiveness. Jacob realized his past sin and he had faith in the goodness and the mercy of God in that moment. And we know it was that type of fear by his next statement. How awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven. He realized that God is for him and provided a way of reconciliation, a way to heaven. And he trusted God and his promise and the gospel as much as he understood at that moment. Lastly, we are told that Jacob made a vow early in the morning because this was his immediate priority after he woke from the stream. He moved the stone, setting it up and anointing it with oil. And he did this as a monument or a memorial of what had taken place. And the oil consecrated it or set it apart and symbolized God's anointing of him. Now this is often confusing to people what follows because of how he said what he said. And it seems often that to people that he is speaking conditionally or he is offering a bargain to God. When he says, if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I will go. If is the way that it starts out is what many people will say. And then he goes on to say, then at the end of this, I will serve God and I will give a tenth to God. Calvin commented on this and said, it may seem absurd that Jacob here makes a covenant with God to be his worshiper if he will give him what he desires. As if truly he did not intend to worship God for nothing. I answer that by interposing this condition, Jacob did not by any means act from distrust as if he doubted God's continual protection. In other words, he was preparing to celebrate the divine goodness by this vow that he made. Another way of saying this was it was not a bargain at all. The only thing that was on his mind was to proclaim his gratitude in the best way that he understood, as a new believer. Kind of like saying, God, if this is what you're going to do for me, then once you do, this is how I know I am going to respond. He's not doubting. He's saying, I know for sure you are going to do this. Therefore, this is what, or since this is what you are going to do, this is how I'm going to respond. He rephrased what God had just told him. And he said, if this is how you are going to bless me, and I see how good of a God you are, then this is how I am going to thank you with my life. He expressed awe and faith and anticipation. God was going to do what he said, so he would voluntarily give his life and give a tenth, and he would do it with a full heart. This is another amazing clear picture of the gospel in the book of Genesis. Revealing the amazing unity of the Bible, written by different people in different times, all progressing the same story of redemption from start to finish. All pointing us to Jesus and the way he provided. He is the stairway to heaven. And the way is still open to anyone who will repent of their sins and place their trust in Jesus to save them alone. And everyone who has faith can rest assured God will uphold this promise to us just like he did in the life of Jacob. The way was open for us and we will spend eternity with Jesus. We can bank on that completely. So let us respond with genuine heartfelt gratitude and worship every day, just like we see Jacob doing. And look forward to worshiping him together every single Lord's Day. When we come, let us come to church with hearts that are full, that want to be here and want to worship him. because of all that he has done for us. Because without Jesus being this ladder, providing this way, every one of us would be lost for eternity. Let us reorient our lives according to the gospel and really live in light of eternity every day. as we anticipate, just like Jacob did, his return to the land, as we anticipate our return to the ultimate land that will be our home for all eternity, where we will meet Jesus face-to-face, the consummation of the story will take place, and we will see Jesus and be with Him for all eternity. Amen. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this passage. We thank you for these clear pictures of Jesus that we see over and over throughout the Old Testament. What an amazing gift you have given us. We love you and we need you. And it's in your name we praise you and thank you. Amen.