The Story of Jacob's Ladder

Genesis 28:12 says that Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
The verse from Genesis 28 is about Jacob when he was on his way to Padan Aram, his mother, Rebekahs birthplace. His father and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, sent him there to find a wife after he cheated Esau out of his father's blessing. Jacob, in prior verses, had already cheated Esau out of his birthright!

As Jacob slept one night while on his way to Padan Aram, the Lord gave him a dream where he saw angels ascending and descending a stairway that reached up to heaven. This popular Bible story, "Jacob's Ladder" tells us that God spoke to Jacob in a dream, saying, "the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth, you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you wherever you go..." Genesis 28: 10-15

Many people are familiar with the story of Jacob stealing Esau's birthright from Issac, his father, and then about him stealing Esau's blessing. Rebekah set Jacob up to steal from Esau! (Jacob and Esau were twins. Esau was Isaac's favorite son. Jacob was Rebekahs.) Rebekah and Jacob were not truthful! They played dirty tricks on Esau and they lied to Issac, yet the Lord still blessed Jacob. I've never understood why the Lord would do this, yet He did. Why would He bless someone who lied and tricked someone? In my opinion, when I think about it, it was because Esau was ignorant enough to go along with Jacob's lies. He was gullible. Doesn't the Lord want us to be wise enough to know right from wrong? Even though Jacob and Rebekah tricked Esau, Esau should have known better. I've still always felt that Esau got the bad end of the deal.

As we read on, we see that Jacob found the wife of his dreams, yet not without cost. When he arrived at Padan Aram, he saw Rachel at the well watering her father's sheep and immediately fell in love with her. Rebekah's brother, Laban, tricked Jacob into marrying Rachel's older sister, Leah, without him knowing. He got what he deserved. This time he was the gullible one. He didn't know that the woman whom he was lying with was Leah! And then, in order to marry Rachel, he had to work for Laban for 7 years. And after that, another 7 years! (read the stories about Jacob in Gen. 25-33)

The point of me telling you this story is not only about the angels, yet they played a vital part in God's message to Jacob. They were a sign of encouragement to Jacob. It's also about why God does what He does. Jacob eventually received his blessing from the Lord, but he had to work for it! God knew about Jacob's trickery, of course, and Jacob paid dearly for it. Oh, he got the wife he really loved, but he had to work hard before he was finally allowed to marry her. The Lord made sure that Jacob learned his lesson from lying to his brother, Esau! He made sure that Jacob never forgot what it was like to be cheated from something valuable to him. And I believe that He does the same today.

We never have to "pay back" someone who lies and cheats us from something we have earned or something we deserve! The Lord will do it and He will do it in His perfect timing! He knows all, so we must leave these matters in His hands! Certainly, we must pray and inquire of Him about what we should do, but we should not try taking matters such as these in our own hands. The Lord will deal with those who lie and cheat, and He will do it in His own time and in His own way! May God bless you as you live an honest life! After all, lying never gets us anywhere.