1. Genesis 27-50 present the life of Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah. He is buried in chapter 50.
2. In chapter 27, Jacob, with his mother’s assistance, deceived his father Isaac into giving him the blessing that should have gone to Esau, the elder brother.
3. The real reason Rebekah arranged Jacob’s departure from home was to avoid the wrath of Esau (cf. 27:41-45). But she made up an excuse for Jacob (27:46).
4. So Jacob left his mother and father and moved to Padan-aram in Mesopotamia. It was about a three or four day journey and on the way he stopped at "a certain place," which he named Bethel, meaning "the house of God" (28:16-22). Bethel is about twelve miles north of Jerusalem.
5. The reason Jacob called this place Bethel was because this was where God first appeared unto him (28:12-15) in the vision of a ladder from earth to heaven.
6. God revealed several things to Jacob that night while he slept. I have picked out three important truths from the vision of Jacob’s ladder, hoping that they will encourage us this day.

I. THERE IS ONLY ONE LADDER TO HEAVEN (28:12).

1. Look closely at Genesis 28:12, the Bible says: "and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven."
2. People think that there are many different ladders reaching up to heaven and then when they climb up, they find out that it does not lead to heaven, but hell!
3. Sometimes, by the time they make this discovery, it is too late. For example, the "Heaven’s Gate" cult woke up to discover that they were not in a spaceship, but in hell!
4. They did not go through the real gate of heaven (28:17).
5. Jesus Christ is the only gate to heaven; Jacob’s ladder is a picture of Christ (cf. John 1:50,51; 10:1,2,7-9; 14:6).
6. The ladder symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the only way to heaven. He opens heaven for us and brings heaven’s blessings to our lives.
7. The great evangelist, D.L. Moody, served as a chaplain during the Civil War. He was talking to a wounded soldier after the Battle of Shiloh, and he knew the young man did not have long to live. Moody said to him, "William, do you know where you are?" The soldier looked around for a moment in a daze, and then said, "Oh, yes, I am on my way home to see my mother." Moody said: "Yes, you are on your way home, but the doctor says you will not reach your earthly home. Is there a message you would like me to pass on to your mother?" The young soldier’s face lit up, and he told D.L. Moody, "Yes sir, tell my mother that I died trusting in Jesus Christ." He was ready to enter heaven the right way, the only way – by trusting in Jesus Christ.
8. Jacob is a perfect picture of a lost man stumbling around in the wilderness and waking up to discover that he is at the very gate of heaven!
9. The angels on the ladder demonstrate to us God’s care (28:12). They appeared again to protect Jacob when he was about to meet Esau (32:1,2).
10. These same angels that ministered to Jacob, are still ministering to believers today (cf. Ps.91:11; Heb.1:14).

II. GOD IS THE GOD OF THE LIVING (28:13).

1. When God appeared unto Jacob at Bethel, Abraham had already been dead for 100 years. But God identified Himself to Jacob by saying, "I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac"(28:13).
2. Over 200 years later, God appeared unto Moses out of the burning bush and identified Himself as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Ex.3:15).
3. Approximately 1,500 years after Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ said to the unbelieving Sadducees: "Have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham. And the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err" (Mark 12:26,27).
4. God appeared to Jacob on seven different occasions and this was the first time. What God said to him that night included a reiteration of the Abrahamic Covenant (28:13b,14) – the land of Canaan, innumerable descendants ("And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth…"), and the blessings of all the families of the earth through his seed, i.e. the Messiah (28:14b; cf. 12:1-3). I will say more about this aspect of Jacob’s ladder in a few minutes.
5. When Jacob awoke, he was overwhelmed at what he had seen (28:16,17). Every believer needs an experience like this. Too many Christians are complacent – we compare ourselves with each other and are satisfied. But we need to get a vision of God to wake us up.
6. Jacob called the place Bethel, meaning "house of God" (28:19; cf. vs. 17). The city nearby "was called Luz at the first" (28:19). Luz means "separation" – Jacob was separated from God, but now that He met God he was to separate from the world.
7. Some people miss this important truth. God wants us to separate from the world and enter into Bethel – the house of God.
8. When a person meets God, when a person is genuinely converted, things start to change. We can see this in the life of Jacob (28:20-22). He vowed a vow, he made a commitment, he dedicated himself to God, he started tithing. Have you done this?
9. After Jacob was converted, he promised the Lord that he would never forget two things – he would never forget God’s place, Bethel, and he would never forget God’s portion, the tithe.
10. If you are saved, no one should have to remind you that on Sunday you go to church, or that the tithe belongs to God. No one should have to push you to go to church or give. The Bible says, "And Jacob vowed a vow…" (28:20). God did not try and force him to do it, he did it willingly. This is the first vow in the Bible.

III. IN JACOB’S SEED SHALL ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED (28:14).

1. God told Jacob, "And thy seed shalt 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…" (28:14). This has been fulfilled – today there are Jews at every point of the compass.
2. The most important part of this promise is found in the latter part of verse 14 – "and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
3. God had already made this promise to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham, when he gave him the Abrahamic Covenant (12:3).
4. Now, God repeats this wonderful promise – that in Jacob’s seed "shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (28:14b).
5. God kept His promise and sent His only begotten Son, born of a Jewish virgin, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6. He went to the cross and died for our sins, and through His substitutionary death, we have been blessed.
7. This is the blessing that Jacob was promised. Have you experienced this blessing? Have you been genuinely saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?
8. Most Christians have heard about the great evangelist, George Whitefield, but most have never heard about his brother. He was not living for the Lord and went to hear his brother preach. George Whitefield preached hard against sin and his brother was under tremendous conviction. He was talking with a friend named Lady Huntington and said, "I am a lost man," and started moaning and crying. "I am glad to hear that," said Lady Huntington. "Your ladyship, how can you talk like that? It is cruel to say you are glad that I am lost," said Whitefield. "I repeat it, sir. I am very glad – because the Bible says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." With tears rolling down his cheeks, he said: "Oh, what a precious Scripture; and how it comes to me with such force! Then Jesus will save me; I trust my soul in His hands; He has forgiven me." He walked outside, felt sick, fell on the ground and died.
9. That is a wonderful conversion story, but I do not recommend waiting till the ;last minute to get saved like George Whitefield’s brother!
10. God also promised Jacob that He was with him, that He would keep him, that He would bring him back to Bethel, and that He would never leave him (28:15).
11. God makes the same promise to us today, but first we have to come to Bethel. We have to come to Jacob’s ladder – there is no other way (cf. Heb.13:5).

CONCLUSION:

1. One of my favorite hymns was written over 150 years ago in England by a woman named Sarah Adams. It is called "Nearer, My God to Thee," and it is about Jacob’s ladder. God has blessed this hymn and there are many unusual incidents that have been associated with it.
2. For example, during the famous Johnstown City flood in 1889, a railroad train rushed into the swirling waters and one car turned over.
3. A woman on her way to the far East as a missionary was trapped and beyond the hope of rescue. She spoke calmly to the crowd of people that stood helplessly by. Then she prayed and sung "Nearer, My God to Thee" and the sorrowing, sympathizing throng joined in.
4. It was the favorite hymn of President William McKinley and when he was assassinated and died singing it. The song was widely sung and played at his funeral and at memorial services held throughout our country in 1901.
5. Then in 1912, when the Titanic hit an iceberg and started sinking, the captain instructed the ship’s orchestra to play "Nearer, My God to Thee," and they played it as the ship sank with 1,500 people on their way to eternity.
6. Are you ready for eternity? Are you nearer to God now than you were when you first walked in here this morning?