Torah: Genesis 28:10-32:2(3)
Haftarah: Hosea 11:7-14:9(10)

In this portion, scheduled for November 22 this year, we see the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant. Jacob fled Canaan because Esau said he would kill him when Isaac died. On his way to Haran, he made an overnight stop at Bethel (House of God), and he had a memorable dream in which God 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. ¹⁴ 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 in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Gen 28:13-14).

Here God lays the foundation of His identity. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.” This God would also become the God of Israel the person renamed from Jacob and Israel the nation. Today, God is still the God of Israel. Besides being called the God of Israel throughout the Old Testament, in the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah the priest blessed the “God of Israel” when he could speak again after being mute since Gabriel’s visitation until the circumcision of his son, John the Baptist.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
             for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David” (Lk. 1:68-69).

That’s a timely connection during the Christmas season. He praised “the God of Israel” for the Messiah, Jesus Christ, for whom his son, John, would prepare the way. By the way, Jews today still begin their prayers like this. Baruch atah Adonia means “Blessed be the Lord.”

When Jesus performed many miracles during his three-year ministry, people didn’t glorify a new god of a new religion. Some people say Jesus started a new religion. This may be insulting, but that’s stupid. When Jesus worked, they praised “the God of Israel:”

And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel (Mt. 15:30-32).

When Paul took the gospel to Antioch, he began his sermon by laying the foundation of the identity of God as “the God of this people Israel” (Acts 13:17). God didn’t reject Israel at Jesus’ crucifixion as some claim. As the gospel spread across the known world, He was still the God of Israel, as He is this day.

So, in Jacob’s dream, God first identified Himself, then He reiterated the promises given to Abraham and Isaac, the promise of land and the promise of being a global blessing. God said, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring… and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” God promised the land of Israel to Jacob and his descendants long before the modern world’s nations even existed. Sorry guys. I’m just sayin. The second part of God’s promise to Jacob, the blessing to the world, is given through the revelation of God, primarily through the Word of God, the Bible, since the Bible was written by Jews, you know. This blessing to the world is also given through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob according to the flesh. Jesus was, you know, Jewish. My college roommate and friend for seven years got so mad at me for saying that, she stopped living with me and ended our friendship.

Now let me elaborate on four images in Jacob’s story alone that foreshadow that promised Messiah Who would bless the world with salvation. First, Jacob’s ladder, second, the gate to heaven, third, the house of God, and fourth, the stone.

So first, let’s talk about the ladder:

And he [Jacob] dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac (Gen. 28:12-13a).

This ladder connected heaven to earth, God to man. Guess what, folks? Jesus is the ladder! How can I be so confident? Because Jesus says so! Let’s go to the Gospel of John chapter 1:

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (Jn. 1:51).

This is profound. Jesus tells Nathaniel that, like Jacob, he will see “greater things.” But instead of a ladder upon which angels go up and down, it’s Jesus Himself, “the Son of Man,” which is a Messianic title. See Daniel for Old Testament context on “Son of Man.” Jesus is saying that He is the ladder to heaven, He is the one connecting God with mankind. Wow. Like Jacob, Nathaniel makes a similar proclamation of faith. Jacob said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen 28:16b). Nathaniel said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus is the ladder.

Secondly, Jesus is the House of God. Jacob, upon waking from his dream, exclaims, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” The house of God became a term for the temple of God, used in the Bible. Isaiah 56:6-8 says,

“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
   to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
⁸ The Lord God,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

Here, God calls the temple His house. Jesus quotes this passage when He drive out the moneychangers from the temple:

And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers (Mk. 11:17).

See also Matthew 11:17 and Luke 19:46.

Jesus’s body is also God’s House on earth because He says He is.

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus was God incarnate, God in the flesh. His body on earth was His home on earth. In fact, Revelation 22:21 says, concerning the new Jerusalem,

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

Thirdly, Jesus is the gate or door of heaven. Remember, Jacob said this place at Bethel, or the encounter at Bethel, was the gate of heaven. Jesus said,

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Mt. 7:13-14).

Luke records these words similarly:

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able (Lk. 13:24).

What Jesus says about Himself indirectly in these instances, John records Jesus making explicit connections.

^“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (Jn. 10:9).

Jesus used pastoral imagery in many of His parables and teachings. Jacob was a shepherd, as were His fathers and descendants. I find this a very appropriate connection. Archaeologist Joel Kramer put out a great video that helps people today, who are disconnected from pastoral lifestyles, to understand what Jesus meant when He said He was the Gate or Door. I will leave a link to that video at the bottom of this post. If we expand this to Jacob’s dream, heaven is the fold.

Jesus also said,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6).

There was no other way to heaven in Jacob’s dream but by the ladder. At the top of the ladder was God. There is no other way to heaven and to God but by Jesus, who is the Ladder and the Door, the Gate.

Fourthly, Jesus is the Stone. Jacob laid his head on a stone to sleep, upon which he dreampt his dream. When he woke, he set the stone up as a standing stone and anointed it with olive oil. I’ve seen standing stones in Israel, and they are usually large, meant to be monuments. Either Jacob had a really big pillow, or he had a small monument. I don’t know, but either way, it happened. He then made a very important vow:

“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you” (Gen. 28:20b-22).

That’s very interesting that he said the stone shall be God’s house, since God’s house is later known as the temple, even Jesus Himself. As far as I know, none of the structural temples were built in Bethel, but Jerusalem. So he must be talking about something bigger than the temple building, something prophetic. There may be more extra-biblical I could research about this from the Talmud, but I’m just doing the best I can with the time I have right now. Send me your input if you have any. Jacob anointed the stone with oil (Gen. 28:18). Now it’s important to know that things were anointed to dedicate them to God. Priests were anointed for their priestly role. Kings were anointed upon their coronation. There are too many Biblical instances of this for me to cite here, but it’s all throughout Leviticus, and David is a well-known instance of anointing a king. Holy vessels were also anointed. This stone, God’s house, is anointed like a priest or king or holy vessel. Jesus, the Stone, is, according to the Book of Hebrews, the High Priest and King. Now a stone is an image used for God all throughout the Bible, but I will focus on one citation that Jesus Himself used in regard to Himself. Psalm 118:22 says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Jesus quotes this verse about Himself:

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? (Mt. 21:42). Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Jesus also alluded to Daniel 2, which talks about the stone hewn by no human hand, coming and crushing the kingdoms of the earth and then being established as an eternal kingdom. This is a Messianic dream given to Nebuchadnezzar. It also talks about Jesus, and Jesus refers to that stone as Himself.

When Jesus made His triumphal entry, the crowds praised Him. When the Pharisees told Him to rebuke His disciples, he said,

“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40).

Dr. Kevin Dieckilman, a Biblical archaeologist and former pastor, who I have the privilege of knowing, has talked about what the stones are that Jesus is referring to in Luke 19:40. He argues that it is not the little stones along the road as many may think, but Jesus is referring to all the stones set up throughout history as monuments and altars to God throughout Israel. Jesus is effectively saying, “All your history points to me!” This would include Jacob’s standing-stone. Thus, Jesus is the Stone.

The Bible also calls Israel a stone.

“On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it” (Zech. 12:3).

God will enter judgement with all the nations and vindicate His people Israel and make His name holy before all people. As unbelievers rejected Jesus, King of the Jews, Whom God made the Cornerstone of salvation, the world rejects His people, the Jews, whom God will exalt in the eyes of all nations. The enemy is working so hard against this because they are part of God’s plan.

But back to the life of Jacob, he went into “exile” in Haran and served Laban for 20 years. During that time, He had eleven of his twelve sons and accumulated great wealth through livestock, even when Laban set the odds against him and changed his wages 10 times. Laban clearly saw God’s blessing on Jacob (30:27) as did Abimelech see God’s blessing on Abraham and Isaac. Jacob iterated that blessing (30:29-30). When Jacob separated from Laban, Laban made a covenant with him similar to when Abraham and Isaac separated from King Abimelech. That king went out looking for them and made a covenant of peace with them. Today, I think God’s blessing on the modern state of Israel is obvious too, and the Abraham Accords are creating covenants between Israel and the surrounding people. Israel makes peace, and through adversity, they stay distinct.

God brought Jacob back to Canaan and stayed with him to fulfill His promises. God brought Jacob’s descendants back again and again and will stay with them until He fulfills all the promises He gave them through the patriarchs and prophets. Disfavor sent Jacob back to Canaan, but God was with him. After World War II, disfavor sent the Jews back to Israel, and continues to do so, because God is with them. Out of the aftermath of the Holocaust, the nation was born again in a single day! What the enemy meant for evil, God took and made it the next fulfillment of His plan. What then, for the next onslaught? Could it be the life from the dead of which Paul speaks of in Romans 11:15? In fact, Israel is anticipating and preparing for a large influx of Jews making aliyah because of the growing antisemitism worldwide. Jacob left Canaan twice, once when he fled his brother to go to Haran, the land of his kinsmen, Laban, and once for the severe famine to go to Egypt. When Jacob’s descendants returned to Canaan 400 years later as a mighty nation, it was time to claim the promises God made to Abraham and passed down through Isaac and Jacob (Israel). The nation of Israel went into exile during the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, returned for a time to the land, and went into exile again after the destruction of the Romans led by Titus in 70 AD for two thousand years! As Jacob’s family returned the second time to stay, I hope and pray his modern-day descendants have returned from their second exile to stay. Why do I say this? Because God’s promises are forever upon Israel and to the world through Israel. The Bible testifies to this all throughout. And I want God to fulfill His promises and to bless the world. This didn’t stop with the earthly ministry of Jesus. It goes until the end times, the end of the end time. Read Zechariah, Ezekiel. If anyone loves God, why wouldn’t they want that? In the New Testament, Paul himself supports this:

“Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection [by God] means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance [by God] mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches” (Rom. 11:12-16).

Israel was and still is a holy, or set apart, nation. I say this now because the life of Jacob (renamed Israel) and the promises he received are the root of modern-day Israel. If you don’t believe me, go study history. Take some DNA samples. It’s obvious.

I may lose the interest of some readers because I stand so strongly on the Word of God in these matters, but I am so strong on these points right now because it is so necessary for our times right now. I don’t write this blog to be popular, but to write what I believe is God’s truth to win a few if I can. I don’t get paid to do this like Tucker Qatarlson and other “far right” journalists and influencers do. I do this because I believe this is part of my small calling on earth right now.

I hope this blog encourages you or at least gives you some things to think about. No matter the day or the time, you can put your trust in God, just like Jacob did in his trouble, and say as He did, “[T]he God of my father has been with me” (Gen. 31:5).

Jacob’s Ladder

There is a ladder set on earth
That angels can descend,
Stepping down to kiss the earth
And by it re-ascend,
And at the top there stands the Lord
Declaring His great Name
To Jacob and his descendants
His blessing and His aim,
That through him all nations be blessed,
And to him gives that land,
For the Lord was within that place
Though he’d not understand.

There is a ladder to heaven
with one rail and one rung.
It is the ladder made of wood
Upon which Jesus hung.
It is the axis mundi
And the way from God to man.
It is the way men may see God
And from it hear His plan.
Nathanael, Philip had told,
An Israelite indeed,
A man who harbored no deceit
Come from Abraham’s seed.
Nathanael doubted at first
If He was any good,
But Messiah told him his life
And then he understood
That Jesus is the Son of God,
The King of Israel,
Of whom Moses, the prophets wrote,
Of whom Philip did tell,
On whom he’d see angels descend
and re-ascend upon,
Declaring heaven’s presence here
Because the veil was gone.

And now Lord, lift up Jacob’s veil,
Let Israel awake,
To see the Ladder You have made
And not Your love forsake.
Declare to Israel her life
And help her understand
That by her all nations are blessed
Through Christ as You command.

If you like this poem, you can buy a copy of my already-published book Learning to Love: A Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions on Amazon. It would make a great Christmas gift, and proceeds go to charity. Until next time, God bless.

Links

Kramer, Joel. Jesus, The Soul Shepherd. YouTube. 9 Dec. 2025.