106
From Eternity Past
Abraham and to Isaac, and now it was renewed to Jacob. Then the
words of comfort and encouragement were spoken: “Behold, I am
with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have
done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
The Lord in mercy opened up the future before the repentant
fugitive, that he might be prepared to resist the temptations that would
come to him when alone amid idolaters and scheming men. The
knowledge that through him the purpose of God was reaching its
accomplishment would constantly prompt him to faithfulness.
In this vision the plan of redemption was presented to Jacob in
such parts as were essential to him at that time. The mystic ladder
revealed in his dream was the same to which Christ referred in His
conversation with Nathanael: “Ye shall see heaven open and the angels
of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
John 1:51
.
The sin of Adam and Eve separated earth from heaven, so that man
could not have communion with his Maker. Yet the world was not left
in hopelessness. The ladder represents Jesus, the appointed medium of
communication. Christ connects man in his weakness and helplessness
with the source of infinite power.
All this was revealed to Jacob in his dream. Although his mind at
once grasped a part of the revelation, its great and mysterious truths
were the study of his lifetime and unfolded to his understanding more
and more.
[121]
Jacob awoke in the deep stillness of night. The vision had disap-
peared. Only the dim outline of lonely hills and the heavens bright
with stars now met his gaze. But he had a solemn sense that God was
with him. “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.”
“And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that
he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon
the top of it.” He called the place Bethel, or “the house of God.” And
then he made the solemn vow, “If God will be with me, and will keep
me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to
put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall
the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall