Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:10-17, NRSV)
Here is one of those readings we know, because we learned about it in Sunday School…
We see the picture of the stairs/ladder and the angels ascending and descending on it. The thing we sometimes miss is the promise and the presence…
The promise is the land where he is sleeping will be his and his offsprings, and all of the world will be blessed by him and his offspring. And that God Himself will keep Jacob and be with him and being him back to this place. And God will always be with Him until the promise is fulfilled.
Now this might seem like God is going to leave Jacob. But what is the promise? That the land will be his and his offspring, so as long as Jacob has an offspring, no matter how far removed, God will be with Him. And that is the presence…
God stood beside him… Why do we not see pictures with God standing beside Jacob? God stood with Him and promised to not leave him until the promise was fulfilled.
That is the same presence He gives to you. And His promise is to be with you!
aSacredRebel 