The Jesse Tree: Day 6
ASSURANCE OF THE PROMISE
Ladders are helpful. When two things are separated by height, a ladder provides access. It brings the high and low together, the lofty and the lowly.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the relationship between God and humanity was severed, and a separation was formed, an unsurpassable height. Access was gone.
In this story, Jacob is a young man fleeing a hostile home. The brother that he’d wronged hated him and plotted his death. His mother worried about his future, should he stay. So for his safety, his father sent him away to relatives in another land.
Jacob left, parting with all he’d ever known, maybe for good. Forever, he would be a sojourner in a foreign land, missing family and home. But in the midst of his journey, as he lay beneath the stars at night, longing for everything he’d left behind, God visited him. In the darkness, God was with him and gave him a vision.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the relationship between God and humanity was severed, and a separation was formed, an unsurpassable height. Access was gone.
In this story, Jacob is a young man fleeing a hostile home. The brother that he’d wronged hated him and plotted his death. His mother worried about his future, should he stay. So for his safety, his father sent him away to relatives in another land.
Jacob left, parting with all he’d ever known, maybe for good. Forever, he would be a sojourner in a foreign land, missing family and home. But in the midst of his journey, as he lay beneath the stars at night, longing for everything he’d left behind, God visited him. In the darkness, God was with him and gave him a vision.
“And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.”
Genesis 28:12
Genesis 28:12
Jacob dreamed of a ladder standing firm on the ground, but stretching deep into the sky, resting on the brink of heaven. Once again, access was created, a vertical path, a reuniting of the lofty and the lowly. Angels were using the ladder, traveling back and forth. And at the ladder’s top end, God stood. From there he spoke to Jacob reminding him of the promise given to Abraham, his grandfather, that all nations would be blessed through his descendants.
“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. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth...and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
Genesis 28:13-14
Genesis 28:13-14
The land on which he rested, God would give to him. This meant that he wouldn’t be a sojourner forever. He wouldn’t waste his life wandering in exile. One day, Jacob would come home.
And it also meant that the promise made to his father and grandfather was also now extended to him. Through his own descendants, God would bless all nations.
But what Jacob didn’t realize was that this would happen again through God visiting his people at night. And on that night, a ladder would be born who would restore our access to God, repairing our broken relationship. Through Jesus Christ, God would reunite the lofty and the lowly, forever.
And it also meant that the promise made to his father and grandfather was also now extended to him. Through his own descendants, God would bless all nations.
But what Jacob didn’t realize was that this would happen again through God visiting his people at night. And on that night, a ladder would be born who would restore our access to God, repairing our broken relationship. Through Jesus Christ, God would reunite the lofty and the lowly, forever.
Pause to reflect
Are there times when you feel particularly distant from God? Are certain elements of your life common to those times? Maybe certain things lead you to feel closer, while others lead you further away.
How does understanding that Jesus is our ladder, the one who restores our access and connects us to God, help you in the midst of those times when you are feeling distant?
How does understanding that Jesus is our ladder, the one who restores our access and connects us to God, help you in the midst of those times when you are feeling distant?
A Prayer
Father in heaven, as we read this passage and think of the promise you made to Jacob, our minds turn to Jesus. In the Gospel of John, he told his disciples, “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
O Lord, awake us this Advent season from our slumber, and help us to see what Jacob saw and say from the depth of our hearts, “How awesome is this place, and you, Jesus Christ, are the ladder connecting heaven and earth, reuniting the lofty and the lowly.”
Give us eyes to see your majesty and glory this day.
Amen.
Father in heaven, as we read this passage and think of the promise you made to Jacob, our minds turn to Jesus. In the Gospel of John, he told his disciples, “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
O Lord, awake us this Advent season from our slumber, and help us to see what Jacob saw and say from the depth of our hearts, “How awesome is this place, and you, Jesus Christ, are the ladder connecting heaven and earth, reuniting the lofty and the lowly.”
Give us eyes to see your majesty and glory this day.
Amen.
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