Jacob's Vision

by J.D. Terrell, Carlisle | Category: The House Of God | Jan 1974

It seems clear from the early chapters of the book of Genesis that communication between God and man in Eden was free, frequent and intimate. No doubt the fresh coolness of evening became a time of holy and joyful communion between the Creator and the man and woman whom He had made. There came a day, however, when Adam and Eve knew the cruel emotion of fear at the sound of that voice (Gen. 3:10), and the fugitives went forth in sorrow from paradise which had become a fearful place.

Sin had entered. If there was to be a dwelling-place for God in the midst of this hostile environment it must be in a selected, sanctified place. Thus, in the unfolding scriptural revelation of God's relations with men the truth of a house for God on earth became prominent and central. It is only to be expected that the initial presentation of this theme should figure in the book of Genesis. We shall consider Jacob's vision in terms of its setting, its content, its message and its response.

The Vision - its Setting

The physical setting of this remarkable revelation seems, at first sight, no less incongruous than the spiritual state of the man involved. A barren, rocky expanse is how this area is commonly depicted at that time; a scene which must have reflected quite accurately Jacob's sense of desolation. A fugitive from the consequences of his own guile and dishonesty; yet a man with a priceless birthright and a blessing of surpassing richness. God's purpose in and for Adam was not dissipated by the catastrophe of the Fall. Eden was no longer the place of unbroken fellowship and communion, but the resulting desolation was immediately the object of divine reconstruction in the promise of the Seed of the woman. It is, therefore, entirely appropriate that Holy Scripture should introduce the concept of a dwelling-place for God on earth in this geographical and spiritual context. Until the consummation of God's purposes in redemption is realized and the perfections and glories of Eden restored, the house of God on earth will be amongst men and women "born in sin" yet "begotten again" and sanctified "unto obedience" (1 Pet. 1:2). We may gladly identify with Jacob in his personal unworthiness at this point in his life in order to share in his vision of God's house, and in the princely calling he received from the God of unbroken promises and unfailing faithfulness.

This early introduction to the truth of God's house thus underlines the fundamental thought of God's condescending grace in dwelling with men; a thought so nobly expressed by Solomon in a day when desolation and loneliness had given way to splendour and well-ordered collective service (2 Chron. 6:18).

The Vision - its Content

What Jacob saw, we learn from Genesis 28:12,13, was "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. And, behold, the LORD stood above it...". The hand of God had set this ladder up, and at the command of God the angels ascended and descended. Continuous commuting between earth and heaven by angelic beings is indicated; perhaps by angels charged with a particular responsibility in relation to men on earth. And God stands above. To man is now offered a concept infinitely more wonderful, that of God Himself in Person condescending to dwell with him on earth. Would man respond to such a deep longing on the part of his God, 'and hallow the spot on which the celestial ladder had rested? Such was the implicit challenge and invitation presented to our weary traveller. Centuries before, man had taken an initiative: it involved a city and a tower. Its top was to reach up to heaven, and man was to make a name for himself in the skies (Gen. 11:4). The sinful human heart has an almost infinite capacity to twist and distort the thoughts of God. What God saw in prospect was a building on earth in which a subject people, a holy nation, would honour and glorify His Name, so graciously placed therein (Exod. 19:5,6; 25:8; 1 Pet. 2:5,9). The activities of Babel were destroyed and the Lord reserved the true vision for His own good time; initially for a nation in embryo in Jacob, for a kingdom to spring from a prince of God. A ladder. While the mind of man conjures up something elaborate, a city, a tower, the mind of God presents essential simplicity. True it is that Solomon's Temple was exceedingly magnificent, yet the inmost sanctuary could feature only that precious box with its eloquent and symbolic contents, overshadowed by the cherubim, a place of almost stark simplicity, but a fearful place, for God's presence was there (Exod. 25:21,22; Heb. 9:4). So, in turn, the central truth of a spiritual house today, built up of living stones, remains uncomplicated although its inmost holy priesthood service is in a sanctuary in the heavens (Heb. 9:2410:19-22).

The Vision - its Message

"I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac". We have a declaration, followed by a promise. This opening declaration of the Divine Name, is linked first to Abraham, then to Isaac. Now it is well to reflect that central in Abraham's spiritual experience was the principle of faith, and the inseparable issue of obedience to God. The spiritual pilgrimage of the friend of God established forever the essential basis of any acceptable relationship between God and man. Abraham believed God, and he obeyed. Furthermore, in the same patriarch's dealings with God there emerges the crucial principle of substitutionary sacrifice. On Moriah, where Abraham's faith reached its high watermark, there was enacted one of the clearest and most precious foreshadowings of Calvary.

Isaac, in his turn, whose name is next acknowledged in God's sovereign pronouncement, portrays the Person of Christ in an outstanding way as the long-expected and awaited Seed, and as "thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest" (Gen. 22:2; John 3:16). Can it be that, when we come to Jacob, there is indicated a progression and extension of the revelation of God's purpose for man in the matter of the house? This seems appropriate, particularly in the context of the New Covenant situation and the spiritual house.

Then comes the promise of God to His servant, a promise encompassing a land, a nation, and a Presence. These are all highly relevant matters in our consideration of the house of God, and the doctrine of Scripture on this theme. At this stage of God's leading, Beth-el symbolized the land of Israel which Jacob was about to leave for a time, and in due course an altar was built there (Gen. 35:7). The ultimate site of a dwelling-place had been foreshadowed at Moriah and was confirmed, again in the context of sacrifice, by Oman's threshing-floor (1 Chron. 21:24,25). Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 unmistakably link the thought of that land of promise, and the entering in thereto, with the rest of God today, and this in turn with the spiritual house.

The land and the nation are inseparable. Though "as the dust of the earth", Jacob's seed was destined for a nationhood which no powers on earth would be able to dissolve - nor have they. To make a holy nation, moreover, was the Lord's ambition for the seed, as expressed to Moses in the terms of the covenant of Sinai (Exod. 19:6). Right down into our own day extends the lofty purpose - ye are an elect race, ... a holy nation, a people for God's own possession ..." (1 Pet. 2:9). For the assurance contained the words, "in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 28:14).

Finally, and of supreme importance - "and, behold I am with thee" (v.15), "the LORD is in this place" (v.16). The hallmark of God's house is God's presence. "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle" (Exod. 40:34). "Now therefore arise, 0 LORD God, into Thy resting place, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength" (2 Chron. 6:41). And when the golden portals of the spiritual house for a New Covenant people of God were erected by the Master in Matt. 28:19,20, this promise attended the commission to make disciples, "Lo, I am with you always... ".

The Vision - its Response

God's expressed desire concerning a dwelling-place with men on earth, with all the gracious enabling provisions and promises which attend it, looks ultimately for fulfilment to human response, and involves human responsibility. We may be assured from this that any revelation in the New Testament of a spiritual house of God will involve men and women sanctified by the sacrifice of Calvary, who in turn have responded in obedience to a revealed pattern of corporate spiritual activity and service. The principles of this human responsibility are featured in Jacob's vision.

Jacob, firstly, appreciated and acknowledged God's presence and activity in his vision; he recognized the voice of Jehovah. The thunderous pronouncements from Sinai were unmistakable. As for Solomon, the word of the Lord which he respected and regarded was one given years before to David about the house (2 Chron. 6:8,9). No less challenging to us in our own day is the word given some two thousand years ago, "Ye also, as living stones, are built up ... "(1 Pet. 2:5). Further this appreciation of the divine Presence evoked in Jacob a profound awe and God-fearing humility, a foreshadowing of the awe which lay upon the camp of Israel at Sinai. Much of the epistle to the Hebrews impresses on a subject people today, enjoying the privileges of God's house, that "our God is a consuming fire" (see Heb. 12:18-29).

Then the amazed pilgrim of Beth-el discerned access to God, revealed in the ladder and the voice - the "gate of heaven". If this were true then, and amplified in the experiences of the sanctuary service of Tabernacle and Temple, how much more is the truth enshrined in the spiritual experience of a holy priesthood today (Heb. 9:11,12; 10:19-22).

Next, Jacob established a pillar of testimony, sanctified it by the anointing of oil, and identified the place by name. The people of God, as the privileged keepers of the house of God, should be clearly identifiable by their testimony and their name. Furthermore, a vow was taken of devotion and worship. It is better, we are solemnly instructed in Scripture, not to vow, rather than to vow and fail to pay (Eccles. 5:5). It was no light thing at any stage of the revelation of God's will about His house to become committed to the house and to the custody of the honour of the God of the house. The wrestling of Peniel lay before Jacob ere the wheel of divinely ordered circumstances returned him to Beth-el and to the building of an altar to Elbeth-el, the God of Beth-el (Gen. 35:1, 6,7). Thereafter, the prince of God, Israel, renews his early Beth-el experience in very similar terms, but surrounded by all the evidences of the faithfulness of a covenant keeping God (see Gen. 35:9-15). Said Paul through the Spirit to the Corinthian church, "God is faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9).

Finally, Jacob's response to his vision was a practical one, "I will give a tenth". The sanctity of the presence of God is not divorced from the market-place of everyday human experience of living; and our spiritual service is indivisible from our regular exercise in giving to the Lord of His own vast generosity to us. Jacob's material sustenance at the good hand of God was a token of His presence; Jacob's return in kind, a measure of his devotion and love.

So from the book of the seed-plot of divine revelation there grows a plant most precious to God - the truth of His house, as variously expressed in the successive dispensations of His dealings with men. May the progressive exposition of this truth in this magazine in 1974, in the will of the Lord, stimulate deep spiritual exercise among all its readers.

J.D. Terrell, Carlisle | Jan 1974
The House Of God