Genesis 28:14, commentary and pictures

The Lord spoke the promise to Jacob in a night dream at Bethel, renewing to him the covenant already made with Abraham and Isaac together with the gift of the land where he lay, that his descendants would become countless as dust and spread outward in every direction. Its heart is that in Jacob and his offspring every family on earth would be blessed, meaning a Saviour would come through whom sinful people could be restored to favor and receive compassion from the Father. It was given when Jacob lay alone as a guilty, despairing fugitive fearing God had cast him off for his deception, and it assured him of divine presence, keeping in all places, and safe return. The shining ladder he saw with its foot on earth and its top at God's throne is Jesus Christ, who with His humanity embraces the race and with His divinity grasps the throne, reopening communication between heaven and earth so that angels minister and every blessing descends. The promise therefore brings light and hope to the lonely and discouraged, calls all who love God to climb heavenward by clinging to Christ and to acknowledge such favor by devoting time, talents, and property to lifting others toward the eternal.

Vision at Bethel

The words were spoken by the Lord in a dream and night vision at Bethel on the second evening of Jacob's flight, when as a lonely, weary, hungry, homeless fugitive and exile he lay on the ground in a desolate, dreary wilderness under the open sky with stones for a pillow and a stone for his head. The place itself was made by God's presence into the house of God and the gate of heaven, bringing comfort and hope even in so lonely a place.

Jacob was distressed, guilt-stricken, repentant, discouraged and despairing over his own wrong course of deception and falsehood, confessing his sin and seeking protection while fearing that God had forsaken and cast him off. He feared that gaining the birthright had cost him his connection with God, his home, and everything, and though his difficulties remained, the encounter gave him light and encouragement. Alone and distressed on his journey, he was shown by angels the connection between heaven and earth.

In the vision he saw a ladder of shining brightness with its base resting firmly on the earth and its top reaching above the starry host to the highest heavens and the throne of God and to heaven itself. Bright angel messengers were ascending and descending on it to show the pathway of communication between earth and heaven, and the continuing communication between this world and heaven through angels. The Lord of glory stood above it with His glory streaming from heaven to earth.

The ladder represents Jesus Christ, the world's Redeemer, who with His human arm encircles the race and with His divine arm grasps the throne of the Almighty, bridging with His own body the gulf that sin made. Through Him lost communion with God is renewed and the way to regain the lost paradise is opened, heavenly help and light reach earth, every blessing comes, and angels communicate with humanity. In this vision Christ showed Jacob the way of life and the plan of salvation, so that the gospel was preached and revealed to him, including the promise that his descendants would become numerous, spread in every direction, and bring blessing to all the families of the earth.

Jacob received the promise as a precious assurance of compassion and love, awed at being in the immediate presence of God. With gratitude, holy joy, and renewed confidence he repeated it, his despair relieved and his grace refreshed, regarding the light as most precious and the hard stone as the most desirable on which his head had ever rested. Waking with thoughts bright with praise, he raised Bethel out of his stony griefs, set up his stone pillow as a memorial pillar with oil, and named the place Bethel. He vowed to take the Lord as his God and give a tenth of all if God kept him and brought him back in peace, and that night he experienced the new birth and became a child of God.

Promise to Jacob's Seed

The promise renews to Jacob the covenant already made with Abraham and with Isaac, joined with the gift to him and to his posterity of the land on which he lies. It was spoken by the Lord of glory from heaven above the bright ladder with angels ascending and descending, to Jacob as a lonely, distressed, repentant exile and fugitive lying on the ground with a stone for his pillow after his own wrong course. It was mercy to an erring servant, with gracious assurance of compassion and love and of divine presence and keeping in all places where he would go, of being brought back to the land, and of not being left until all spoken to him was done. Jacob received it as precious assurance of unseen angels with him, and with gratitude repeated it, set up the stone pillow as a memorial pillar with oil, named the place Bethel, the house of God and gate of heaven, and vowed to take the Lord as his God and to give a tenth of all if God kept him and brought him back in peace.

His seed shall be as the dust of the earth for number and shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. In him and in his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed, which revealed what Jacob needed, a Saviour and a way by which sinful people could be restored to God's favor. Through Christ the Father regards sinful people with compassion, lost communion with God is renewed, the lost paradise may be regained, and angels communicate with humanity. Christ thereby showed him the way of life and the plan of salvation, and that night marked his new birth and becoming a child of God. The promise assured him of God's mercy, protection, and future blessings among the assurances God gave him.

The covenant made with Jacob was preserved for two thousand years, exalting Israel as a nation above every people on the earth. Under that covenant God hedged Israel in as a vineyard by sea and mountains, granted for more than a thousand years every favor to call forth gratitude and a sense of obligation, kept the moral law ever before them with the Sabbath to be observed as the memorial of creation, and gave moral principles of government superior in every respect to other nations. He fully organized them at Mount Sinai with the ordinance of public worship and His law engraven on stone placed in the ark, committed to them the oracles of God, and furnished every facility in richest abundance so that if obeyed they would be preserved pure and uncorrupted and become all God designed, a godly nation among ungodly nations. Its sacred associations belong to Shechem and call Israel to renew their vows upon entering Canaan, and it stands fulfilled in what God wrought for them in giving them a land for which they did not labor, and cities which they built not, and vineyards and oliveyards which they planted not.

Jacob later held fast to the Bethel promises, including mercy, protection, future blessings, and the covenant with his fathers, which gave him assurance of God's mercy and help as he pleaded for blessing. With confession, deep humiliation, repentance, self-surrender, and persevering prayer he pleaded them back to God when alone interceding for deliverance in the crisis of his life and during his night of anguish. His trembling grasp upon the promises moved the heart of a covenant-keeping God, so that through persevering prayer he prevailed, gained assurance that his sin was pardoned, and received assurance that God was his defense and he would prevail with men. Remembering the vision had brought him hope and courage when he fled, and the memory of it, together with angels accompanying him, reassured him that God's messengers were guarding his return to Canaan. Remembering that encounter and God's promises of mercy also softened his heart and helped prepare his household to worship God.

Joseph had learned that God fulfilled the promise of numerous descendants and blessing, and remembering this strengthened him to trust the God of his fathers while exiled. When Joseph made known the future God was revealing to him, Jacob called to mind the promise made to Abraham, to Isaac, and to himself. Grieved and disappointed by his older sons and seeing the qualities of mind possessed by Joseph, Jacob centered his hopes in him, the eldest son of his beloved Rachel, hoping God would wonderfully bless him as the one through whom the promise would stand.

Comfort and Calling

God did not forsake His erring, distrustful servant after his own wrong course of deception and falsehood had made him an outcast and lonely fugitive fearing himself cast off. He met him at his humble resting place where he lay on the ground with a stone for his pillow, consecrated it by divine glory, and showed heaven open and connected with earth with the ladder reaching to heaven and angels ascending and descending and the Lord standing above it. There He renewed to him the covenant made with Abraham and Isaac, with the gracious promise of divine presence and keeping in all places where he would go, of being brought back to the land, and of not being left until all spoken to him was done. Jacob received the promise as precious assurance of compassion and love and of unseen angels as companions with him on his journey, and with gratitude repeated it, set up the stone pillow as a memorial pillar with oil, named the place Bethel, the house of God and gate of heaven, and vowed to take the Lord as his God and to give a tenth of all if God kept him and brought him back in peace. The promise that in him and in his seed all families of the earth would be blessed revealed just what he needed, a Saviour and a way by which sinful people could be restored to the favor of God, filling his burdened, despairing heart with gratitude.

The promise gives light and encouragement to the discouraged and despairing, and comfort and hope even in a lonely place, for God can be present even when not known. It was given on the second evening of flight when, weary, hungry, homeless, guilt-stricken, confessing sin and seeking protection under the open sky with stones for a pillow, and fearing himself forsaken, Jacob was refreshed with grace in a night vision of a ladder resting on earth and reaching above the starry host to the highest heavens, with bright angel messengers ascending and descending to show the pathway of communication between earth and heaven and a voice renewing mercy and protection and future blessings for himself and his seed. Waking awed at being in the immediate presence of God, full of gratitude and holy joy, regarding the light as most precious and the hard stone as the most desirable on which his head had ever rested, he experienced that night the new birth and became a child of God. Even a cross, wandering, darkness, and woe can thus bring one nearer to God, as the wanderer with daylight gone and darkness over him raised Bethel out of stony griefs with thoughts bright with praise. If eyes were opened the angels of God would be seen all around, with evil angels also present trying to destroy but good angels pressing them back.

The vision opened the future to show the divine purpose reaching its accomplishment through Jacob, and set before him the high standard he must aim at to prompt him to faithfulness and prepare him to resist temptation alone amid idolaters and scheming men. The ladder of shining brightness with its base resting firmly on the earth and its top reaching to heaven and to the throne of God, with God above it and His glory streaming from heaven to earth, is the symbol of the ladder that all who love God must ascend round after round heavenward. It is Jesus Christ, whose long human arm encircles the race while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Almighty, bridging with His own body the gulf sin made, so that one who has lost all connection with God and longs for heaven but sees no way can climb because the base is on earth and the top is in heaven. Climbing is by climbing on Christ, clinging to Christ, advancing with Him, and being made one with Him, climbing round by round away from the customs, practices, and fashions of earth toward heaven with the light and glory of God on every round. Christ so becomes the believer's wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, the source of power and secret of success, and heavenly things are discerned by spiritual vision, not natural sight, as angels ascend and descend lifting people toward the unseen and eternal, strengthening believers to press upward till they step into the everlasting kingdom, with the church built from foundation to topstone on and in Christ.

The promised favor lays a claim that must be acknowledged, so every blessing bestowed calls for gratitude and tangible return, with time, talents, and property sacredly devoted and pledged to the service of God who gave them in trust. The ladder joining earth and heaven shows continuing communication between this world and heaven through angels. Those who receive the truth in Christ and accept the truth and profess faith in Jesus are to share the heavenly gifts and treasures they receive by serving as missionaries. In this way angels ascending and descending lift people toward the unseen and eternal.