Let us turn to God's Word in
the chapter that we read, Genesis 28, and our text is found in verse
12, Genesis 28, 12. 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."
Here we have the vision of the ladder that was granted to Jacob
at what he called Bethel as he is leaving his father and his
mother going to the family of Bethuel, his grandfather and
there of course he will be with Laban and in due course he will
return with both Leah and Rachel and their handmates and his family
and on Thursday we were looking at the return as it's recorded
later in chapter 32 where we see him at Peniel and on Thursday
we thought of Jacob there where the angel wrestled with him and
leaves him in a crippled condition we thought of Jacob as he halts
as he seeks to cross the the brook at Jabok considering then
those verses 25 and 31 and 32 in in the 32nd chapter and I
thought we might and I trust with some profit turn today to
consider something of Jacob's previous experience as he is
leaving we thought of him returning there the anticipation of meeting
with the brother whom he had cheated And here, of course,
we read of him as the Lord appears and so graciously reassures him. The words then of verse 12 where
we have the record of the way in which God came and was pleased
to communicate with him. He dreamed, it says. This is
the Old Testament. There was no complete canon of
Scripture. The Lord God was pleased to make
himself known to his people in a variety of ways. He would send
his prophets, he would speak his word, on occasions he himself
would come and appear, as was the case there at Penia. The
very name, of course, means the face of God and it was the Lord
himself who did appear unto Jacob on that occasion. But often in
the Old Testament we see how God is pleased to make himself
known whilst men sleep by means of dreams. And we have those
words of Elihu in the book of Job, in Job chapter 33. And there
at verses 15 through to 17 we find this particular statement. For God speaketh once, yea, twice,
yet man perceiveth it not in a dream, in a vision of the night
when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the
bed, then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from
man." Now God was pleased then to speak. We live in a very favored
dispensation. We now have the complete canon
scripture we have the old and the New Testament and with us
surely it must be to the law and to the testimony if they
speak not according to this word it is because there is no light
in them but here is God then in the Old Testament so graciously
coming to reassure Jacob 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. I want us to consider
then this ladder and the particular use of the ladder. The ladder
really is a type, it's a type of the Lord Jesus. Christ is
certainly spoken of in this chapter when the Lord speaks those words
in the 14th verse, I seed, He says to Jacob shall be as the
dust of the earth and they shall spread abroad to the west and
to the east and to the north and to the south and in thee
and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And that seed spoken of at the
end of that verse is a reference to the Lord Jesus himself. But
it is Christ that we see here by type in the ladder that is
set up on the earth and the top reaches to heaven. Remember the
words of the Lord Jesus as he speaks to Nathanael at the end
of John chapter 1. Verily, verily, hereafter ye
shall see heaven open. and the angels of God ascending
and descending upon the Son of Man. And isn't that, in many
ways, the key whereby we're able to unlock what is granted to
Jacob here in the Old Testament. We must always, as I've said
on previous occasions, read the Scriptures from the New Testament
back into the Old Testament. It is in the Old Testament that
we see things darkly and we need that light of the full revelation
of God in the New Testament to grant us a proper understanding
of those things written here in the Old Testament. I think
it was Augustine of Hippo who said concerning the Bible how
the new is in the old concealed and the old is in the new revealed
and so those words spoken by Christ to Nathanael where he
speaks of the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
Man indicate that this particular verse is typical, it's a type
of Christ. Here is a ladder that's on the
earth and yet its top reaches to heaven. Christ is that one
who is the mediator between heaven and earth. again remember the
language that we have in the book of Job he says neither is
there any days man betwixt us that may lay his hand upon us
both well here is the days man who stands between God and men
for there is one God and one mediator between God and men
the man Christ Jesus Christ then is revealed to to Jacob even
as he leaves his own home and makes this perilous journey to
return to the family of his mother, Rebekah. They say we have that
promise at the end of verse 14 concerning his seed, in thy seed. shall all the families of the
earth be blessed. This is that one who is first
spoken of back in Genesis chapter 3 as the seed of the woman and
then subsequently as the word of God is increasingly unfolded
we see the seed of the woman spoken of as the seed of Abraham. in Genesis 13, 15 again in Genesis
17 verse 8 and also in that great 22nd chapter where Abraham has been commanded to
make the sacrifice of his son, even his only son Isaac, and
he is willing to obey, although he doesn't sacrifice the son,
God makes provision. There is that ram that's caught
by its horns in the thicket which is to be sacrificed in place
of his son. It's a tremendous chapter, Genesis
22. It sets before us the great truth
of substitutionary atonement. And it is that chapter that the
Lord Jesus is speaking of in John's Gospel when he says to
the Jews concerning Abraham, Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my dying. And he saw it and was glad. It was there in Genesis 22 in
particular where Abram discerned the day of the Lord Jesus Christ
and that great substitutionary sacrifice that the Lord would
make. And in that chapter again we read of the seed. In verse
18, to Abram God says, And in thy seed shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice, the
seed of Abraham. Spoken of again when we come
to the New Testament, the language of Paul in Galatians 3.16, Be
set not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed
which is Christ. the seed of the woman, the seed
of Abraham is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ and it
is the same Christ that we have here revealed to Jacob in verse
14, in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
It's the renewing of the promise that had previously been given
to his grandfather Abraham and he sees him I say also in this
remarkable vision that is granted to him in the dream, the ladder that is set up on the earth and
the top of it reached to heaven. and behold the angels of God
ascending and descending on it." Well, let us, having sought to
establish what the ladder sets before us, it's Christ, it's
a type of Christ, in the second place to consider the particular
use of this ladder. And what we see here is the outworking
of the covenant the eternal covenant of grace
or that covenant of redemption that was made between the persons
in the Godhead. We read of the angels of God
ascending and descending on it. That indicates something of that
out work and I want us to notice two things with regards to the
use of this ladder then. First of all to say something
with regards to covenant engagements and then secondly to make some
observation with regards to covenant blessings. First of all those
covenant engagements. Remember how the Lord Jesus as
he comes into this world is ever aware of that covenant that he
has entered into with the father he says my meat is to do the
will of him that has sent me and to finish his work his necessary
food that sustains him is to do the will of God and to finish
all that work that the father had committed to him in the language
of Hebrews 10 7 then said I know I come in the volume of the book
it is written of me to do thy will oh God and it is clear there
that the language of the of the Psalmist belongs to the Lord
Jesus the book that is being spoken of in the volume of the
book it is written of me is that book of the covenant that book
of God's decree and in terms of that covenant and the engagements
of the covenant we know that the father is the one who was
promised to uphold the son the father has engagements that
he has undertaken also in terms of that glorious compact covenant
of grace He says, Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighted, I have put my spirit upon him. The Father is the one who upholds
him, who sustains him. He goes on and declares, I will
hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles. how the father
is there, the father is with him, the father is watching over
him, the father will ultimately reward him as he is obedient,
as he accomplishes all the goodwill and pleasure of his father, he
shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied."
All these are those engagements that Christ has so willingly
undertaken in terms of the Covenant and as I say the Father also
has those engagements that He must fulfill and accomplish in
the outworking of that Covenant. It is all then in accordance
with what God Himself has ordained. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the Lord. He is made of a woman, He is
the seed of the woman. As was said back in Genesis chapter
3, We're familiar with these various scriptures that speak
of the coming of the Lord Jesus, the fullness of the time. Paul
says, without controversy, great is that mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. Now, Jacob here is so very much
aware that this is the manifestation of God to him. Verse 17, we're
told he was afraid and said, how dreadful is this place. This
is none other but the house of God. And this is the gate of
heaven. It's the revelation of God to
him. And it is in and through the Lord Jesus that God reveals
himself. It all anticipates that great
mystery. of godliness when God was manifest
in the flesh we have it there again in the language of the
prophet Isaiah in chapter 9 verse 6, unto us a child is born unto
us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and
this is the name whereby he shall be called and amongst those things
that are said concerning his name he is the mighty God this is the name whereby he shall
be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace." Or this one then, who is revealed,
it's the Eternal Son of God, it's the outworking of that covenant
that God had entered into with himself, the three persons of
the Godhead. and there really can be no disputing
concerning the person of the Lord Jesus. We read of him again,
remember, in the language of Philippians chapter 3, who being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, yet took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. How the Lord Jesus is that one
who so willingly goes to the very end of the law of God. How He honors and He magnifies
the law of God both in living and in dying. Having loved His
own which were in the world, He loves them unto the end. He will not only fulfill all
righteousness for them by the obedience of that sinless life,
the end of the law, for righteousness, Oh, but He so loves them that
He will bear that punishment that was their deserts. He will
suffer in their room and in their stead. He will honor and magnify
God's law, not only with regards to its precepts and its commandments,
but also He will undertake to honor and magnify it in terms
of all its penalties, the punishment that is due to the sinner. Here
then, we're reminded of that outworking of the Great Covenant,
those engagements that were undertaken by the Lord Jesus. But what of
the blessings of the Covenant? I said two things with regards
to the use of the ladder. It is set upon the earth and
the top of it reaches to heaven. And behold, the angels of God
ascending and descending upon him. What are the blessings?
Well, observe this expression concerning the top. The top of
it reached to heaven. These are heavenly blessings.
These are heavenly blessings that are being revealed unto
Jacob. And as they are heavenly blessings,
so they are eternal blessings. The heaven that is being spoken
of here is the heaven of heavens. It is the third heaven. Remember
how there are those three heavens? There is that atmosphere around
the planet Earth. When we look up into the heavens
and we see the azure sky. When we go beyond that into space,
the vastness of the universe, we look into the night sky and
we see the myriad of stars. There is the second heavens,
but there is that that is beyond. That that Paul speaks of in 2
Corinthians chapter 12, where he is caught up into the third
heavens, into the paradise of God, he's caught up altogether
outside of space, outside of time, caught up into the very
presence of God, the place where God dwells, eternity. and the
blessings, the blessings of this covenant are that it reaches
to heaven, they are eternal. Now what are these eternal blessings?
Well there is that great blessing of course of election and that
election we know is an eternal election. The language of Paul
when he writes in that great opening chapter of the Ephesian
epistle He says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places, in Christ. Or the latter reaches to heaven,
the spiritual blessings therein, the heavenlies, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blind before Him in Christ. Here is that blessing
then of an eternal election, one of the great blessings of
the New Covenant, the Covenant of Christ. And then he goes on
there to speak of another of those eternal heavenly blessings. He speaks of adoption, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself
according to the good pleasure of his will. Adoption is an eternal blessing,
is it not? Adoption is eternal just as election
is eternal. When Paul writes in Galatians
4.6 he says because ye are sons that is ye are sons by predestination
eternal sons because you are sons God has sent forth the spirit
of his son into your hearts crying Abba father they are eternal
sons in that sense by God's predestination Again, in the language of Paul's
epistle to the Romans, he says, If children, then heirs of God,
and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, as Christ is that
eternal Son of God, the eternally begotten Son of God, so those
who are chosen in him are eternally adopted. And so too with the
great doctrine of justification. as with those former two, as
with election, and as with adoption. So also, justification is an
imminent and an eternal act of God. The language of Dr. Gilley says, active justification
is the act of God. Passive justification is the
act of God terminating on the conscience of a believer. It's an interesting distinction
that Dr. Gill is making. First of all,
justification is the act of God. Just as God's will to elect is
election, so God's will to justify is justification. That's what
he means when he speaks of justification as the active. the active act of God himself,
but then passive justification when that eternal purpose of
God is brought to terminate on the conscience of the believer. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. yea,
rather, that is risen again." Here are the blessings in. These
blessings are in heavenly places. These blessings are eternal in
the Lord Jesus Christ, be it the great truth of God's election,
or His adoption of His children, or His justification of them. All of these blessings are those
that come from heaven itself. Behold, a ladder set up on the
earth and the top of it reached to heaven. When Paul writes in
Ephesians, Ephesians 2.6, he says that God hath raised us
up together and made us sit together in heavenly places, in Christ
Jesus. But out of these blessings Though
they be heavenly, though they be eternal blessings, they are
to be experienced here upon the earth. And so there is not only
the ascending of the angels, there is also the descending
of the angels. And these blessings must come,
God must come, God must visit his children, God must take possession
of their hearts. We have it there in those words
we've already made some reference to in Galatians 4.6, Because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Now, the Spirit must come into
the heart, there must be that work in the soul of the sinner. And now we see it demonstrated
in the experience of the Apostle Paul. when he writes there in
the opening chapter of the epistle to the Galatians. He reminds
them how God had dealt with him. It pleased God, he says, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me. He speaks of what was involved
then in that call, that efficacious call, that sovereign call by
the Spirit of God, and it was, he says, an inward revelation. It was what God was pleased to
do in his soul. And as I said before, the prepositions
so often in these Pauline epistles are so important. Someone has
said that this is where the doctrine is to be found. The theology
is in the prepositions. He doesn't say, please God to
reveal his son to me. Or there was a revelation to
the Apostle. But it was more than that. The
language is so specific, it pleads God to reveal His Son in me. The Kingdom of God is within
you. Yes, the blessings are heavenly. The blessings are eternal. Be it election, be it adoption,
be it justification, but it's not enough. We need to have these
things brought home. We need to have that ministry
that descends, that comes just where we are. Now what is the
evidence? What is the evidence of these
covenant blessings becoming real in the soul of the sinner? Well, three things I want to
mention. First of all, there is the great work of regeneration. It all must begin here. All by
nature, were those who are dead in trespasses and in sins. Such is the awful condition of
man as the consequence of Adam's transgression, the awful doctrine
of man's total depravity. And it means that man is in that
condition where he is indeed spiritually dead. There is no
life at all spiritually. why the carnal mind is enmity
against God, it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed
can be, that's man's natural mind he's in a state of alienation
he has no thought of God, no desire after God, it's impossible
he's so impotent in his sinful state And so, the Lord Jesus
declares so clearly in that familiar third chapter of John's Gospel,
his discourse with Nicodemus, where he teaches the need of
the new birth. Verily, verily, except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Thou the
Lord's prefixes his teaching there with that double verb Amen! Amen! or truly, truly, so be
it so be it here is the truth there must be that mighty work
of the Spirit of God in the soul of the sinner and how sovereign
a work of the Spirit it is The wind bloweth where it listeth,
says Christ, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence he cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit. The sovereign work of the Spirit,
the comparison that the Lord makes, are with those circuits
of the wind. How the wind has its circuits. and so the Spirit as His sovereign
circuits too and He works as and when He will and those who
experience anything of those blessings of the of the covenant
must know first and foremost this great work of regeneration
when Paul writes to the Ephesians he reminds them you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and in sins or they were dead but
they were quickened but as there is to be that great work of regeneration
so there will also come a gracious enlightenment all man's understanding
must be enlightened and again we see it there in that opening
chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians in Ephesians chapter
1 and there at verse 17 following here is Paul in his prayer for
these Ephesians he says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ
the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that she may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to usward who believe." He speaks in of the eyes of the
understanding being enlightened, how they need that spirit of
wisdom, that spirit of revelation if they're going to have any
knowledge. They were of course by nature Gentiles, They were
a Gentile church. They were not favored as the
Jews with all the blessings of the Old Testament. And so he
writes later in chapter 4 at verse 18, having the understanding
darkened, he says, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their
heart. He's speaking of Gentiles. but
they are not to walk now as those other Gentiles walk no more is
the understanding darkened no more are they in that state of
alienation and ignorance and blindness and hardness of heart
and oh this must come where there is first that gracious work of
the Spirit in the new birth so there will be that opening of
the eyes that enlightening of the eyes to see the blessed truth
of the covenant It's not enough, as I say, to see that these blessings
are heavenly and eternal, but they must become real. We must
see these things and know these things for ourselves. First,
the great work of the new birth, and then the enlightening of
the understanding, the opening of the eyes, and then, of course,
the gift of faith. The gift of faith. That's faith that is from God. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, says Paul, it is the gift of
God, not of works. Lest any man should boast, for
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. It's God's creation. As he says
in Colossians 2.12, it is that faith that is of the operation
of God. And so, the believer is to walk
by faith. The believer is to walk by faith.
This is what Jacob must do. He must walk by faith. The Lord comes and the Lord reveals
Himself to him and gives him gracious words of promise. Verse
13, Behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God
of Abraham thy father. and the God of Isaac, the land
whereon thou layest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt
spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north,
and to the south. And in thee and in thy seed shall all the
families of the earth be blessed. And 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." Here is God's
promise. And what is Jacob to do? He's to live on this world.
Or he's to walk by faith. Paul says we walk by faith and
not by sight. And this is how Jacob must proceed. He's had this gracious revelation. This remarkable type has been
set before him. The type of the Lord Jesus, the
ladder, set upon earth and the top of it reaching to heaven.
And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending upon
it. Oh, there is that ministry of
the angels. And isn't that in many ways part
and parcel of the providential dealings of God? There is a ministry
of angels. Paul says in Hebrews 1.14, Are
they not all ministering spirits? sent forth to minister to them
who shall be the heirs of salvation this man is going to know God's
providential dealings and when we read in the subsequent chapter
how strange those dealings are how at times it seems that God's
hand does go out against him he had cheated he had deceived
his own father he had stolen the birthright from his brother
and when he goes to Laban, Laban deceives him in the matter of
Rachel and Leah in many ways Jacob is much abused
by Laban in the time that he spends there with him and yet
in all of these things this man is to be living the life of faith
is to be looking onto God seeking to discern something of the hand
of God and the ways of God remember those words at the end
of the 107th psalm concerning God's providential dealings whoso
is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand
the loving kindness of the Lord and we need to be an observant
people And here, are we not bidden to consider what was granted
to this man Jacob? The opening words of verse 13,
and behold it is, the Lord stood above it. previous to that in
the words of our text he dreamed and behold a ladder set up on
the earth but above the ladder there is the Lord himself overruling
in all these things or that we might be those then who look
to that overruling hand of God in all his providential dealings
with us we might be those who are truly living that life of
faith, those who are simply resting in the things that God has been
pleased to declare to us and reveal to us here in His Word. Jacob then had the blessings
that he knows, even those covenant blessings. Heavenly and eternal,
yes, but they must also be brought into his life. He must experience
these things here upon the earth. He dreamed, and behold, a ladder
set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. Behold,
the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. And remember his His words at
the end of the chapter. He calls the name of that place
Bethel, the house of God. And vowed a vow saying, 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
be God's house, and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely
give the tenth unto thee. May the Lord bless His word to
us.