Jacob encounters God

Genesis 28

Our main theme this morning is the secret of heaven’s gate (x2). And it comes

from our key verse which is chapter 28 verse 17. Jacob meets God. and this is

what he says. Verse 17. “How awesome is the place! This is none other than

the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Jacob discovers heaven’s gate. And so this is our main point this morning. The

secret of heavens gate.

There was an article in the New York magazine shortly after September 11th

about how New Yorkers were doing more spiritual seeking and asking more

questions about religion after the events of September 11th. And there was a

quote in the article by a writer who was an atheist or an agnostic. And this is

what she said: she said: at times like this I almost wish I did believe in God.

Because at times like this you need more than starbucks (which is a coffee

shop) and Barns and Noble (which is America’s largest retail bookseller). She

says: I need more than these things to get through it. I wish I could believe in

God. That would help me get through it.

But you know, she’s wrong!

Simply believing in God is not enough to get you through your time of distress.

Simply believing in God will not bring you the comfort and the love and

perspective you need when faced with real distress.

Its not enough simply to believe in God. You must have a personal encounter

with Him.

We continuing with our series on the life of Jacob. And Jacob and Esau have

both been brought up in a God-fearing home. No doubt they both believe in

God. They both believe He exists. But up to this point, neither of them have

personally encountered Him.

And in our passage this morning, they both find themselves in distress. They

both find themselves very alone. Needing acceptance and love.

But only one of them meets God. For one of them heaven’s gate remains

closed. There’s no access to God. For the other, heaven’s gate becomes open.

He encounters God.

And so there might be a few of us here this morning who don’t know much

about God. And maybe you don’t even believe God exists. Maybe there one or

two of you like that. But I suspect that most of us do believe God exists. And

we do know quite a lot about him.

And I want us to see that’s not enough. Its not enough merely to know about

God. We must know Him. Its not enough merely to believe in God. We must

encounter Him! We must meet Him like Jacob does in this passage.

We must find the secret of heaven’s gate.

So lets get into the story. Firstly we zoom in on Esau. And he gives us

A picture of heaven’s gate closed 27v41-28v9

If we remember last week, The great battle between Esau and Jacob has

reached a climax. And Jacob’s won! Isaac’s blessed him. As for Esau, he’s

received an anti-blessing. And there’s nothing he can do to change it.

But where there’s a will there’s a way!

That’s what Esau thinks.

And so he tries pleading with his father. He pours out his heart. With bitterness

and tears. A full grown man. weeping.

But his fathers unmoved. He’s been brought to his senses. Remember how he

trembled. He suddenly saw what he was doing. Trying to deceive God. You

cannot deceive God! And so Isaac comes to his senses. No matter how much

Esau weeps. He wont be moved.

He has blessed Jacob. And indeed he will be blessed.

And so it’s a desperate picture for Esau. We spoke about it last week. Heavens

door is closed to Esau. There’s no second chances. Its over. But that doesn’t

stop him from trying. In his desperation he tries two more things. And they

pretty extreme. Firstly murder.

Verse 41.

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given

him. He said to himself, “the days of mourning for my father are near; then I

will kill my brother Jacob.”

If he’s gona go down, he wants to take Jacob down with him.

If his father wont bless him. Then at least he can stop Jacob from being

blessed.

He’ll do whatever it takes. He’ll even murder his own brother.

But by now Esau should’ve learnt. He needs to hide his plans from his mom!

Verse 42.

When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her

younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother is consoling himself with the

thought of killing you. Now then my son, do what I say: “Flee at once to my

brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury

subsides.

Once again, its Rebekah to the rescue. She’ll do anything to protect Jacob.

She’ll steal. She’ll lie. She’ll even send her beloved Jacob away.

But before she can do that, she needs Isaac’s permission. And that won’t be

too easy. Remember what she’s just done to Isaac. She’s just deceived him.

And so doubt he’s in the mood to do anything for her.

But Rebekah’s a master of getting her way.

And I’m not a fan of this saying. But its sometimes said: If a husband is the

head. Then the wife’s the neck. And the neck moves the head

Well that’s exactly what Rebekah does here. You wanna see a neck moving a

head. Watch this

There’s one thing she and Isaac do still have in common. Their dislike for

Esau’s wives.

Back in chapter 26 verse 35 we told Esau took two Hittite wives. And “they

were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.”

And so Rebekah just plants a seed in Isaac’s mind. Imagine the misery of more

women like this. If Jacob marries a woman of this land.

Verse 46: “Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of

these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land,

from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”

And Isaac also finds that thought unbearable. And so Rebekah doesn’t even

have to ask for Jacob to leave. She just plants the seed. And Isaac reaches the

decision for himself. As if it was his own idea. Verse 1. So Isaac called for Jacob

and blessed him and commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go

at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a

wife for yourself from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.”

That’s exactly what Rebekah had in mind. But now it comes from Isaac.

Jacob’s free to go. He can flee from his brother. And he can do it with his

father’s blessing.

Verse 3. Isaac blesses Jacob. The blessing of many descendants. The blessing of

land. The blessings God promised to Abraham.

Isaac has already blessed Jacob. But he did it unknowingly. He thought he was

blessing Esau. Now he blesses him knowingly. He blesses Jacob as Jacob.

And so put yourself in Esau’s shoes. When Esau hears about it. Jacob’s already

left. And so his murderous plans been spoiled. But more than that he hears of

this blessing.

You can just imagine his pain and confusion. I thought my father was on my

side.

Why doesn’t he share my pain? Why’s he blessing Jacob? Why’s he

withholding blessing from me?

Maybe some of you know the pain of rejection from your parents. Then yopu

can identify with Esau.

All of us have a longing for acceptance and love. And one of the key places

where that blessing is meant to be found is in the family. As a son, you crave

the favour of your dad. You long for the affection of your mom. You want your

siblings to like you.

The family is a key place to experience the love and acceptance we all crave.

Well for Esau all of that is gone. He lost it long ago from his mother and

brother. And now he seems to have lost it from his dad. And he will do

anything to get it back. You can feel his desperation.

He’s tried pleading. He’s considered murder. And now he’s willing to re-marry.

Maybe this is why he lost his father’s blessing. Because of his Hittite wives. And

so he tries to copy Jacob. He tries to take a wife from outside the land. But this

plan also backfires.

Look at verse 8. Who’s daughter does he marry?

He marries Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael.

This just highlights Esau’s blindness. You can’t earn this blessing by who you

marry. And even if you could, definitely not by marrying a daughter of Ishmael.

For those of you who weren’t here, Ishmael was Abraham’s rejected son. He

was cast out. He was outside of God’s blessing. And so Esau is connecting

himself with that line. He too is outside of God’s blessing

And as we said last week, The New Testament uses Esau as a picture of those

who miss out on God’s blessing. You see, the true source of the love and

acceptance we all crave isn’t actually the family. It’s our heavenly Father God.

He offers us unconditional love and acceptance. But if we ignore His grace. If

we despise it like Esau did, then the day will come when it will be permanently

lost. Heaven’s gate will be locked shut. And then there’ll be nothing we can do.

We’ve heard the warning of Esau a number of times the last few weeks. Lets

hear it one more time.

If you live your life for worldly appetites. If you despise the blessing and grace

of God in the gospel. The day will come when heaven’s gate will be shut to

you. And you’ll be full of bitterness and sorrow and desperation. You’ll long for

comfort. You’ll for acceptance. You’ll long for love. But there’ll be no one to

console you. There’ll be no blessing from heaven.

What a tragic picture. A picture of heaven’s gate closed.

But then secondly we zoom in on Jacob. And now we get a picture of heaven’s

gate open. Verses 10-22.

Now you might think Jacob’s full of joy. His just won his lifelong battle with his

brother. His seized his father’s blessing. But in fact, in chapter 35 Jacob refers

back to this time. And he calls it the day of his distress.

You see he might have received his father’s blessing. But none of those

blessings have yet been realized. Instead he’s got a brother who wants to kill

him. He’s got a mother who’s sent him away. He’ll never see her again.

He’s heading out all alone. There’s no mention of camels or servants

accompanying him.

verse 10 just says he reached a certain place. In other words he doesn’t know

the name. Its an unknown place.

And he doesn’t seem to have any possessions. Notice what he uses as a pillow.

Verse 10.

“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place,

he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones

there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.”

I wonder if uv ever used a stone as a pillow. Why would you do that? Surely

that would be your last option. If uv got anything soft, you’ll try that first.

Maybe a bag or a piece of cloth you can roll up. Surely, if Jacob has to use a

stone as his pillow it means he’s got nothing. And the sun sets. Its dark. Its

cold. He’s in an unknown place. This is his day of distress.

But this is something we see over and over again about God. He chooses the

day of distress. Its in the day of our distress, when we are weak and powerless.

That’s when God chooses to make Himself known.

And that’s what God does for Jacob. He gives him a dream. And this dream is

both visual. And its audial. Firstly Jacob sees 3 things. And then he hears 3

things. But the main point in all of it is the openness of heaven.

You can notice what he sees in verse 12. Firstly, he sees a stairway.

This word could refer to a ladder or a stairway. But the main point is that this

stairway stretches from heaven to earth. Its bottom touches the earth. Its top

reaches all the way to heaven. In other words this is a path into heaven. It’s a

bridge that connects heaven and earth.

Secondly, he sees angels. The word angel simply means messenger. Angels are

messengers of God. And these messengers are moving up and down on the

stairway between heaven and earth. In other words, this isn’t a dead

connection. It isn’t like a dead cable with no power moving through it. Its not

like a blocked artery with no blood pumping through. This connection is alive.

God’s sending his messengers back and forth along this path.

But then thirdly, the climax of what Jacob sees is God Himself. At the top of the

ladder stood the LORD. In other words this isn’t just a connection to heaven.

This is a connection to God. Jacob is encountering God.

And then God speaks. Jacob’s seen three things. Now he hears three things.

Three promises

Firstly the promise of blessing. Verses 13 to 14. The same blessings we’ve seen.

of Land. Of Offspring. That he’ll be a blessing to the nations

Jacob’s heard these things from his father. Now he hears them from God

Himself. A promise of blessing.

Secondly, he hears the promise of God’s presence. God won’t just bless him

from a distance. God Himself will be with him. Verse 15. “I am with you and

will watch over you.”

You see, God isn’t just a big vending machine who dispenses blessings. God is a

personal God. He wants a relationship.

And thirdly, a promise of permanence. Verse 15 again.

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, so whatever

happens. Wherever you go. I will be with you.

“and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done

what I have promised you.”

And so this dream won’t just be a once off experience for Jacob. God promises

that this is just the beginning. This blessed presence of God will accompany

him wherever he goes.

What a wonderful dream!

Just think about these words. Isn’t this what you long for? Isn’t this what your

soul craves?

The blessing of God. Knowing that God is working for good in your life.

The presence of God. Knowing that God is always with you. Watching over you.

Caring for You.

The permanence of God. No matter what you do. No matter where you are. No

matter what you going through. God will not leave you. He’ll remain with you

no matter what.

Surely this is the craving of our souls. God’s blessed presence permanently.

That’s what Jacob dreams about.

What a wonderful dream!

But is it only a dream? Is this something that can only be imagined in your

sweetest dreams.

That’s what some people say about Christianity. It’s a nice crutch to lean on

when times are tough. But its not actually real.

Well you can see this is more than just a dream if you look at how Jacob feels

when he wakes. He doesn’t feel all warm and fuzzy and comfortable. That’s

what we might expect if this was just a sweet dream. But look at verse 16. He

feels afraid!

Verse 16. “when Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “surely the LORD is

in this place and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome

is this place!

this is a mark of a true encounter with God. It’s frightening.

But its not a fear that makes you wanna run. Its not a fear that repels. It’s a

fear that attracts. Notice that after this vision Jacob wants more of God.

He makes a vow to God in verse 20. If this is what you gona do for me, if you

gona watch over me and care for and bring me back safely, then you will be my

God.”

Some people criticize Jacob for this vow. They say he’s bargaining with God. If

you do all these things, then you can be my God. But I don’t think that’s right.

For 2 reasons. Firstly because He isn’t asking God to do anything other than

what God has just promised. So he isn’t adding extra conditions that he wants

God to keep.

And secondly, because the Hebrew word for “if” could also be translated as

“since”. And so I don’t think Jacob’s saying. Let’s wait and see God. He’s saying:

Wow! Since you’ve made all these wonderful promises. Therefore I want you

to be my God.”

Jacob wants more of God.

And to really appreciate the significance of this commitment you need to go

back to chapter 27 verse 20.

How did Jacob refer to God in chapter 27 verse 20.

He’s talking with his father Isaac. And Isaac asks him: how did you find the food

so quickly. And look at what he says:

“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.

You see this is how he knew God previously. He believed in God. But he knew

him as the God of his father. He hadn’t encountered him personally. Now

that’s changed. Heaven has been opened to Jacob. He’s met God for himself.

The LORD will be my God.

And that’s a true mark of a personal encounter with God. Do you just refer to

God as the Lord. And the Saviour. Or can you use the word, “my”. He’s my

Lord. He’s my Saviour. Can you say that for yourself?

And so we’ve seen a picture of heaven closed.

We’ve seen a picture of heaven opened.

Now finally, we need to ask: what is the secret of heaven’s gate?

How can we have the same experience as Jacob? How can heaven become

open for us? Do we need to go on a long pilgrimage to this sacred place called

Bethel. And use a rock as a pillow. And hope that God gives us a dream. Is that

how to discover heaven’s gate?

No.

The secret of heaven’s gate is revealed 2000 years later in John 1 verse 45. A

conversation between Jesus and Nathanael. Jesus says the most amazing

things. And they only make sense in the light of Genesis 28.

Look at John 1 verse 45. Philip has just been introduced to Jesus. And he’s gone

to call his friend Nathanael. Now Nathanael’s a self-righteous man. And you

can see that by the way he responds. Philip says we’ve found the Messiah. Its

Jesus of Nazareth. And Nathanael responds in verse 46. “Nazareth! Can

anything good come from Nazareth?”

But he agrees to go along with Philip. And as Jesus sees him coming, he pokes

at his pride. “Truly here’s an Israelite in whom there’s nothing false.”

Now you need to understand. The word false here literally means deceit. And

so already Jesus is referring back to Jacob. Jacob was the Old Testament man

of deceit. His name meant deceit. But in the coming chapters we gona see how

God works in him and drives out the deceit and purifies him until eventually his

name gets changed from Jacob to Israel. And so Jesus is saying behold, you’re

the real deal. You’re the finished product. You’r an Israelite once the Jacob’s

been removed. You’re an Israelite without any deceit.

And so you’ve gotta be a self-righteous person to really think this is true of

you. To think there’s no deceit in your life. But this is what Nathanael thinks.

And you can see that in the way he responds. He doesn’t correct Jesus and say:

actually there is still deceit. I’m not yet the finished product. He agrees with

Jesus. He says: How do you know me?”

In other words you’re right. This is who I am.

But then Jesus pokes further. No he exposes Nathanael.

He says: How do I know you. Well “I saw you while you were still under the fig

tree.”

And suddenly Nathanael’s eyes grow wide. His whole attitude changes. Verse

49. He says: Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.

Now its interesting. We have no idea what Nathanael was doing under that fig

tree. We don’t know who he was with. We don’t know what he was thinking.

We don’t know what he was doing. But clearly it was so private and so

significant, that the fact that Jesus just mentions it blows away all his doubts

about Jesus’ divine origin. It doesn’t matter anymore that you come from

Nazareth. It blows away his self-righteous cover. If You saw me under the fig

tree. Then you really do know me. surely you are the Son of God.

And then Jesus makes this amazing statement. Verse 50. Here is the secret of

the gate of heaven. Verse 50 “You believe because I told you I saw you under

the fig tree. You shall see even greater things that that. He then added, “I tell

you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and

descending on the Son of Man.”

In Jacob’s dream the angels were going up and down on a stairway. But now

Jesus says, “You’ll see the angels ascending and descending on me.” In other

words, “I am the stairway to heaven. I am the link between heaven and earth.

You want a personal encounter with God? You need to come to me.”

And this is what makes Christianity different from every other religion on

earth.

In every other religion, the stairway to God is made up of steps. And these are

steps that you need to walk up. They requirements that you need to take to

get to God. You need to follow these steps.

And every religion has them

The five pillars of Islam. They steps to God

The ten commandments of Judaism. They steps to God.

The eightfold path of Buddhism to enlightenment. Steps to God.

But Christianity’s different. In Christianity the stairway to God isn’t made up of

steps that we need to walk up. The stairway to God is a Person Who has come

down to us. And His Name is Jesus. And the key to encountering God isn’t to

try and do lots of things to try and climb your way up to God. The key to

encountering God is to receive Jesus and to trust in Him.

This is why people like Jacob can encounter God. And people like Nathanael.

People who do still have deceit in their lives.

You don’t have to be perfect to enter heavens gate. You don’t have to keep a

set of steps. You don’t have to make a religious pilgrimage to a sacred place.

You simply have to put your trust in Jesus.

Jesus is the secret of heavens gate.

And so let me close with two final applications.

Firstly you might be someone who hasn’t yet received Jesus. You know about

Him. You believe in Him. You can say that He is the Lord. And you can say He is

the Saviour. But it hasn’t become personal for you. You can’t use the word my.

You haven’t received Him as your Lord and as your Saviour. Then please don’t

miss out on the opportunity. Heavens gate wont be open forever. The time will

come when it will be permanently shut. Now is the time of God’s favour. Now

is the time to receive Jesus.

And secondly, if you have received Jesus, appreciate your access to God. What

Jacob sees in His dream…a stairway to heaven with angels going up and down

and God at the top. This is a permanent reality for you. You might not always

be able to see it. But it is there. No matter where you are. No matter what you

doing. No matter what you’ve done. there’s an active connection between you

and God. His angels are flowing back and forth. He’s watching over you. He’s

with you. And He’s working everything for your good. For your blessing. You

have His permanent blessed presence. Appreciate your access to God.

Lets pray.