In The Beginning – Stories from Genesis: Jacob’s Ladder
January 31, 2021
On the road to Mesopotamia and apparently alone, Jacob is forced by nightfall to bed down on the ground. The Lord appears to Jacob in a dream atop a ladder –or staircase– connecting heaven to earth. On that ladder, angels are ascending and descending. The Lord repeats to Jacob some of the very same promises in the same words He said to Abraham. He will give to Jacob and his descendants the very ground he is sleeping on while dreaming. He will make Jacob’s offspring as the dust of the earth spreading out in every direction. All the peoples of the earth will be blessed through Jacob’s offspring (Genesis 28:10–14). More immediately, the Lord promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes, to keep him safe, and to bring him back to the land of promise. The Lord will not leave Jacob (Genesis 28:15).
