Jacob's Ladder - Genesis 28:11-22
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never really felt at home anywhere or that I don’t care about the number of my children, but that they are all happy and cared for, but those promises to me don’t seem all that appealing. Now “in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed,” that is a promise that I would appreciate having. But it’s not just these tangible blessings, Jacob is also promised that the Lord will be with him, and keep him, which I don’t know exactly what that means, but it’s used a lot in old timey stuff, so the meaning must be significant, like “keep you safe,” “keep you in my heart,” something like that. The Lord also promises to bring Jacob into this land again, and that “I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”
The term Jacob’s Ladder was coined in reference to this dream and has been used to describe all types of secular things like a horror movie from 1990 and children’s toys, but the dream is significant in many other ways. First, when Isaac blessed Jacob all those times before he left, I didn’t think that the verbiage was the same as the Abrahamic covenant and maybe it was because Isaac wasn’t convinced that Jacob was ready for it or maybe it was only the Lord who could administer it, because I don’t remember Isaac being put under covenant by Abraham, or maybe I just don’t understand it. This was a turning point in Jacob’s life and it seems like now was the time to administer the covenant.
The article about Jacob’s Ladder dream from Christianity.com says, “the ladder represents the connection between God and man. It demonstrates that the God who created the universe desires an intimate relationship with his creation, especially mankind, and most importantly, that he is the one who initiates that connection, conversation, and relationship.” This seemed a little counterintuitive to me at first because the plan of salvation is all based on what we choose to do and it makes it seem like we are just waiting patiently for God to decide that he wants a relationship with us, which isn’t the case because he already desperately wants one, it’s us who drag our feet.
The article then compared, “unlike the Tower of Babel story, in which man tried to build a tower to connect with the divine, God proves that this connection can only be made by his power and grace. Any connection to God must begin with him.” This comparison gave some pretty profound context to the previous statement. I saw it more as a timing issue, like God will decide when he wants to deal with us, but it seems in actuality to be more about how the covenant relationship can work. God has already decided that the time for us to follow Him is now, but the how must be according to His terms. God wouldn’t go to Jacob and say “ok I want to promise you these things,” and then just give them without any effort or covenant in return on his part, that’s contrary to the laws and nature of God and the universe. We can be with God but we can only do it if we choose to go to Him by following his commandments. The article points out that “this story clearly signifies the covenant made between God and Israel… As Jacob’s Ladder represented the connection between God and men, so Jesus Christ would become the spiritual connection, mediator, and ladder to bridge the gap between God and men created by sin.” Considering Jesus Christ as the ladder between us in our mortal and fallen state and God and our own eventual perfection, the IM comments, “Jacob realized that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings- blessings that would entitled him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord.”
We are completely dependent on Christ to take us from our natural, fallen state and return us to the God who loves and created us, there is no other way, we are fallen by not only our own sins of which everyone is guilty, but also by Adam’s transgression, we physically, spiritually and literally CANNOT get back to God, it is impossible because of the laws of the universe that demand justice for our wrong doings. The only way that we can physically and/or spiritually return to the presence of God is through the atonement which Jesus Christ performed, he was the only one qualified to take upon Himself the sins of the universe, and therefore if we want Him to affect the atonement in our favor, we have to do it His way. It’s His ladder and if we want to climb it, we have to do it the way that he dictates.
I think of the “strait in the gate and narrow is the way” concept and it makes it sound like it’s really difficult to even find the “way” but thinking about the ladder metaphor, I think that the beginning of the ladder is very wide. When we decide that we want to leave our worldliness behind and grow closer to God, we just have to do better, that’s all the process is, just doing better than we were, doing our best to keep the commandments, so when we start the process our “better” is just as varied as the people who embark on the process. For some people, doing better is not shoplifting, for some it’s being kinder, for some it’s working through hate and anger, it all varies and we are all on our own different path. Then as we progress up the ladder, meaning we move further away from our natural selves and become more Christ-like, then the ladder becomes narrower, meaning that we are all working on the finer principles of the plan of salvation, and moving through the same covenants.
28:16-22 – When Jacob wakes up, he took the stones that he used for his pillows “and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el.” Considering that Jacob was traveling a very long way and seemingly was alone, the fact that he had oil with him is interesting because it would have been very heavy and probably had a very specific purpose, like cooking or religious aspect. My guess is that by using that oil to signify the covenant between him and God at that place and to make the pillars of stones a holy altar, it was probably a significant gesture, meaning that he used a substance that he probably needed but didn’t have a lot of to dedicate that spot to God, it was it’s own sacrifice.
The significance of the name Beth-el is explained in the IM saying, “because he had met the Lord and entered into covenants with him there, Jacob considered the site so sacred that he named the place Bethel, a contraction of Beth-Elohim, which means literally ‘the House of the Lord.’ He said of it: ‘… this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’”
It seems like God has made all of these promises to Jacob, the progeny, the land, the companionship and divine influence, etc, but in return Jacob vows that if God does all that, “then shall the Lord be my God.” Initially this seemed to me to be kind of insignificant compared to the explicit promises that came from God’s side, but after considering it further, to accept a being as your God denotes an understanding that your God’s will and desires are now the first and foremost priorities for you. It is an agreement to live according to that God’s requirements and basically to do everything that that God commands you, so that is pretty all encompassing.
Jacob dedicates that spot as “God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Maybe it’s because tithing is so specifically about physically transferring 10% of our income to the specific organization of the Church to be used at their discretion, but it just seems to me that this final vow to pay tithes seems kind of out of left field for me. I don’t know exactly what that means for Jacob and how he would fulfill that part of the promise, we know that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, but does that mean Jacob would sacrifice 10% of everything he gained, would he give it to the poor, would he go find the leader of the church at that time and give it to them? I don’t know, but it’s an interesting concept. Maybe because God was promising so many physical, tangible blessings, that it fed into the promise of tithing. If God came to me and promised me great wealth and family and land, then yeah the way that I would show my love, trust, and appreciation would be to pay tithing, so I guess that makes sense that way.
Interestingly, while all these visions and blessings and interactions seem so non-specific to me, Andrew C. Skinner notes during a discussion about Jacob’s Ladder, “the significance of Jacob’s first vision was at least sixfold”:
1. Jacob began to comprehend “‘the mysteries of Godliness.’ From this comment we also know that Jacob was a righteous Melchizedek Priesthood holder, because the Doctrine and Covenants teaches that ‘this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Jacob would later use that key to unlock a spiritual door.” I don’t know exactly what this means, but maybe it can be interpreted as this is the point at which Jacob could no longer rely on the faith and understanding of his parents and he began on his own path towards a personal relationship with God.
2. Jacob’s status as a prophet was confirmed. He heard God’s voice and that by definition makes him a prophet.
3. Jacob learned “that in his seed, or through his own lineage, all the other families of the earth would be blessed.” It’s hard for me to look back at these situations and think “surely he already knew this from his father,” but maybe not. Maybe Isaac kept that Abrahamic covenant to himself and waited for the Lord to open it up to his chosen son in his own due time. I guess if I had no idea about what my specific role was in human history and I had a vision where God Himself told me that through my children, “all the families of the earth would be blessed,” that would be pretty significant. I always thought that this statement just referred to our modern day command to teach the gospel, but truly the more significant fulfilment of this promise would be having Christ, the Messiah that had been looked for from the beginning of human history, born through his family line. It’s interesting to consider just how much of that specifically was told to Jacob, or was it left at the board “blessed.”
4. Jacob “learned that if he kept the covenant, God would be with him everywhere he went, that God would fulfill everything He promised to do for Jacob, and that God would bring him back to the land of his inheritance.” Again, I don’t know exactly what the nature of Jacob’s personal relationship with God was up to this point, but if Jacob had previously believe that God was a hands-off kind of guy, then learning that you were entitled to the constant companionship of the creator of the whole universe is significant.
5. Jacob “learned that sanctity and place can be, and often are, linked together.” I don’t really understand what this means because of course certain physical places are sacred, but at that point in the ancient gospel, Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob were migrating all over the known world for different reasons, and if I recall correctly, altars had been erected but after using them to worship, that was basically the end of their usefulness and significance. There was no temple, there was no sacred spot to which pilgrimage was made for spiritual enlightenment, it was kind of “find it where you can.” But at this point, Jacob realizes that this spot where all this happened, “Surely the Lord is in this place: and I knew it not… How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” This must have been the beginning of sacred altars that people return to, because there probably weren’t any at that point. If I had lived my whole life and never learned that any one spot brings you closer to God, and that was passed down through generations, then if I had an intense spiritual experience at a specific location, then yes I could see how that could be considered the place where God existed.
6. Finally, “and this point ties the other five points together- Jacob received his endowment at Bethel on the occasion of his first vision.” Again, maybe it’s because our “endowment” is very structured and uniform and elaborate, I don’t understand how Jacob’s first vision with God would constitute his endowment. Just like when we consider the teaching that on the mount of transfiguration, Peter, James, and John received their endowment as well. Those events seem so abstract that it’s difficult for me to understand how that constitutes an “endowment.” Maybe it’s because I lack understanding of what the “endowment” is in our modern times that I have difficulty recognizing exactly what it means for others anciently. From what I understand, the “endowment” as it comes from God, is a gift of knowledge and power, knowledge about how to proceed spiritually back to God, and the power to do so successfully. If that’s the case, then what we consider the endowment today and what that all constitutes is what we need now, but that could mean that different people experienced it differently all throughout time. In fact, we know that at times the specifics of the endowment are changed as we grow collectively as a temple attending community, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that it was different through the earthly tenure of the gospel yet it accomplished the same purposes.
That Jacob received his endowment during this event is appropriate if we consider that he built an altar there and considered the place sacred and the “House of God.” It’s an interesting way to consider our own temples today, instead of just being buildings that we go to, like so many other buildings, but actual places to commune with God and receive spiritual experiences. Maybe it’s because ancient life was so much more earthen, more gritty with the constant reminder of nature, that when you have a profound spiritual experience at a specific place, it can feel special, clean. We spend so much of our lives inside buildings, buildings that we visit to accomplish a purpose, that going to the temple can sometimes just feel like another chore, another trip to the Post Office, something to hurry up and get through so that we can carry on with our lives of going to even more buildings. If we lived in the dirt, like all people did throughout history, then went into a modern day temple, how would it feel then? Maybe the point isn’t to commune with God at the temple because it’s so physically different than the outside world, but instead because it’s so spiritually different than the outside world. Something to consider.
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