In every book of the Old Testament, we find Jesus. We discover Him in creation, we call Him the last Adam, we see Him in the first sacrifice, and as the ark of salvation. He comes alive in the story of Abraham and Isaac, and we can also discover Him in the story of Jacob’s Ladder.
Who is Jacob?
Names in the Bible have meaning; they are full of symbolism. Jacob’s name was no exception; it means supplanter or deceived. He lived up to his name when he took his brother Esau’s birthright as the firstborn son. Then later, by tricking his father, he stole Esau’s blessing. Because of this act of deceit, Esau threatened to murder Jacob. Rebecca, to protect her son, convinced Isaac to send Jacob away to Harran to find a wife (Genesis 28:1-2).
Beersheba to Haran
Jacob’s journey from Beersheba to Haran was not an easy one. Unlike Esau, Jacob was not a man of the field; he was “content to stay at home among the tents” (Genesis 25:27). Jacob, not used to being away from home, must have been lonely and afraid. One night on this journey, he took a stone and laid his head on it, and fell asleep. He dreamed of a ladder that reached from the earth up to heaven, and on it angels were going up and down. God stood above the ladder, and he said,
“I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” Genesis 28:13-15
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he was encouraged and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it” (Genesis 28:16). Jacob knew about God’s promise of land, seed, and blessing, yet, at the request of his parents, he was walking away from this very promise. God reassured Jacob by reaffirming the covenant with him that He had made with Abraham and then Isaac. God told Jacob that He would bring him back, that he would not leave him until He had done what He promised (Genesis 28:15).
Jacob’s dream was more than just a dream; it was a glimpse into a more profound truth, a truth that would culminate in the promised Messiah. Although Jacob may not have wholly understood what he was seeing, his vision would become clearer to future generations as God continued to unfold His divine plan of salvation.
Reaching to Heaven
The ladder in Jacob’s dream represented a divine connection between heaven and earth. Earlier in Genesis, we are told about a people who tried to make their own divine connection by building a tower reaching to heaven, a tower built through their own works. Their tower, called the Tower of Babel, never reached heaven because God scattered the people forcing them to stop constructing it.
The same phrase, “reaching to heaven” used earlier in Genesis describing the Tower of Babel, is also used to portray the ladder Jacob saw in his dream. Joshua Bokel quoting Ed Clowney, says that the “stairway-tower of Jacob’s dream was God’s answer to the Tower of Babel. The top of it did reach to heaven, for God was the builder, not man. God alone establishes communication between heaven and earth.”
Jacob’s Ladder Expanded
Jesus certainly knew the story of Jacob’s ladder and, through his interaction with his disciples Philip and Nathaniel, further expands our understanding of Jacob’s dream. Philip and Jesus had just met. In his excitement, Philip found Nathanael and told him that Jesus was the one whom the prophets had written about and invited him to meet Jesus. “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (John 1:47). Nathanael immediately asked Jesus how he knew him. Jesus said that he saw him under the fig tree. Upon this revelation, Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus goes on to tell Nathanael, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that,” He then added, Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Jesus is the Ladder
Jesus, from the moment he met Nathanael, was alluding to Jacob and the story of Jacob and the ladder. Was it possible that Nathanael was reading the story of Jacob’s ladder when Jesus saw him under the fig tree? We don’t know. But Nathanael was moved by what Jesus said so much that he immediately knew that Jesus was the Son of God.
When Jesus described Nathanael as an “Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” he was distinguishing Jacob and Nathanael. Remember, Jacob’s name means supplanter or deceived. Then Jesus continues referring to Jacob when he tells Nathanael that he would see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Instead of angels descending and ascending on a ladder, as was the case in Jacob’s dream, angels will ascend and descend on Jesus. You see, Jesus is the ladder. He is the divine connection between heaven and earth.
Jacob’s dream of the ladder was a shadow of Christ to come. What Nathanael would witness would be far greater than what Jacob saw in his dream. Nathanael would see the ultimate ladder, the final connection between heaven and earth. Jesus would be the perfect ladder, the bringer of peace between man and God, and the connection between heaven and earth.
