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Hope for a Fugitive, February 27
Genesis 27:41-28:15
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and
descending on it.
Genesis 28:12
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Threatened with death by the wrath of Esau, Jacob went out from his father’s
home a fugitive; but he carried with him the father’s blessing; Isaac had renewed
to him the covenant promise, and had bidden him, as its inheritor, to seek a wife
of his mother’s family in Mesopotamia. Yet it was with a deeply troubled heart
that Jacob set out on his lonely journey. With only his staff in his hand he must
travel hundreds of miles through a country inhabited by wild, roving tribes. In
his remorse and timidity he sought to avoid men, lest he should be traced by
his angry brother. He feared that he had lost forever the blessing that God had
purposed to give him; and Satan was at hand to press temptations upon him....
The darkness of despair pressed upon his soul, and he hardly dared to pray.
But he was so utterly lonely that he felt the need of protection from God as he
had never felt it before. With weeping and deep humiliation he confessed his
sin, and entreated for some evidence that he was not utterly forsaken.... God did
not forsake Jacob. His mercy was still extended to His erring, distrustful servant.
The Lord compassionately revealed just what Jacob needed—a Saviour....
Wearied with his journey, the wanderer lay down upon the ground, with a
stone for his pillow. As he slept he beheld a ladder, bright and shining, whose
base rested upon the earth, while the top reached to heaven. Upon this ladder
angels were ascending and descending; above it was the Lord of glory....
Jacob awoke from his sleep in the deep stillness of night. The shining forms
of his vision had disappeared. Only the dim outline of the lonely hills, and above
them the heavens bright with stars, now met his gaze. But he had a solemn sense
that God was with him. An unseen presence filled the solitude. “Surely the Lord
is in this place,” he said, “and I knew it not.... This is none other but the house
of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
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Patriarchs and Prophets, 183-187
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