Title: Find the Ladder (Genesis 28:10-15)
Contents
According to the Talmud, the two travelers were very tired and hungry after a long journey. As I was walking, I came to a village and knocked on the front door of the nearest house. There was no one in the house, but the door was unlocked. Hungry, they went to Buek in search of food. Fortunately, there was a basket of fruit hanging from the high ceiling. However, no matter how much he reached out, he could not reach the fruit. A man said. "I want to eat that fruit, but it's hanging too high, so I can't get it off." At this time, another man said: "I'm sure I'll stick with that fruit. No matter how high it hangs, someone must have hung it up there. Then there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to climb over there?"
The man walked around the house and found something. Finally found a ladder in the barn and brought it into the kitchen. Then he finally climbed the ladder and ate the fruit from the basket.
Although there are many difficulties in this world, there is nothing without solutions. All you have to do is find your own ladder, step on it, and climb one step at a time.
Jacob was a very cunning man. He is the kind of person who does not choose any means and methods to satisfy his greed. The meaning of the name Jacob is "the one holding the heel". Jacob was twins, and he fought with his older brother from inside his mother's womb, and when he was born, he tried to come out before his older brother, but he came out holding his older brother's heel (25:22,26). When his brother was hungry and he was exhausted, he seized his brother's weakness and took his brother's birthright for a bowl of red bean soup (25:27-34). The "eldest son" refers to a person who inherits the father's generation. He inherits twice as much as his other sons. He stole the birthright. Also, when his father tried to bless his older brother as the eldest son, he deceived his father, turned away from his older brother, and hijacked the eldest son's blessing. Jacob did everything he could to achieve his goal. When Esau learned what had happened to his brother Jacob, he tried to kill him. When her mother Rebekah learned about this, she used Jacob's marriage as an excuse to run away to the house of her uncle Laban, who lived in a place called Haran.
Today's text records an incident that happened on the way.
Jacob fled frantically and came to the land of Luz. It got dark. I couldn't pack properly because I was running away in a hurry. I almost fell asleep with a stone as a pillow. Neither his parents nor his neighbours, no one could support him. Jacob thought he could live life in style. He was cunning, greedy, capable, and talented. He knew how to grab an opportunity when it came, and he was quick to turn his head and very sensitive. However, he encountered a problem that could not be solved even by that. Everyone gets into this kind of situation at some point. Some people think that they are completely alienated because of mental problems, some because of love problems, some because of economic problems, and some people because of spiritual problems.
Aren't you being chased like Jacob at this time? Are you facing a major crisis in your life? Are you tired? Now is the time for you to meet God. It is time to renew your mission and vision. Now is the time to dream. The more difficult the times, the deeper and deeper the shadow of despair, the more people of God have to dream. The more severe your spiritual stagnation, the more you should dream. If you have a spiritual dream, God will give you a spiritual strategy.
You need to find the ladder. You must discover the ladder vision. There must be a place between God and us.
During the most difficult time of Jacob's life, God "showed him a ladder"
Jacob saw a ladder vision. You have found your ladder vision. What is a ladder? A ladder is a tool that helps you reach a target by connecting low and high places. Jacob is now abandoned by his family. He was being pursued by his murderous brother Esau. He is in a position to foresee the future. It is a state of loneliness and anxiety. Jacob had a dream when he squatted and fell asleep with such an anxious heart. There was a ladder that reached from the ground to the sky, and I saw the angel of God ascending and descending there. Having a ladder from earth to heaven means that there is a path from the earth where you are to heaven. Jacob is now surrounded by a completely barren situation in front of him and is in a state of uncertainty. He looks around to the left and right, but there is no way, but when he looks up at the sky, a way has been created. God showed us the way to heaven. He showed me a ray of light going to the sky even though the whole place was dark. There was a way to God. You have given me ladder vision.
Psalm 84:5] says, "Blessed is the one whose strength is in the Lord, and the highways of Zion are in his heart."
The ladder Jacob discovered is a vision that God and I are unbroken and connected. .
Because of his greed, he deceived his brother and his father, so he got the blessing of the firstborn and ran away. He not only sinned against his brother and his father, but also against God. This man is the prodigal son of the Old Testament. Jacob, who was so weakened and terrified, saw in his dream a ladder coming down and touching the heavens and the earth, and seeing the angels of God ascending and descending there, what did he realize?
What does it mean when a ladder touches the earth and the sky? Jacob lay down on the ground. There is God in heaven. However, the two are connected by a ladder. It is saying that Jacob and God are not separated. It shows that God's love and interest in Jacob was not cut off because of Jacob's weakness and wrongdoing, but that he still continues to continue toward Jacob. When Jacob saw this scene, he couldn't help but realize that 'God still loves a sinner like me, and he has not forsaken me'.
Dear saints, Who is Jacob? Aren't we Jacob?
Even though we say we believe in God, are we still greedy in our hearts, and have we not tried to obtain it by any means? By deceiving and rolling my cunning head. And when we look at ourselves, we become discouraged and despair. I am a believer in Jesus, so why am I like this? Now, isn't this really the only time I feel like God has forsaken me and left me? Could it be that God has chosen me wrong? Have you ever thought like this?
But don't worry now. God loves us unconditionally, no matter what our circumstances. To tell us this once again, through today's sermon, He gives us a 'vision of the ladder'.
In a crisis situation, meeting God is the greatest encouragement, and the promise that God is with you is the promise of hope.
Our God was present at the end of the ladder to heaven. God came to Jacob and met him. God met Jacob the liar and Jacob the deceiver. He met Jacob, who was collapsed in anxiety and fear. God found and found Jacob, who was hated and chased away by people. God came to Jacob and met him in an unexpected place, a desolate place where he lay on a stone pillow in the field. It is the amazing grace of God.
When Jacob was in a crisis situation, God came to meet him. In the most anxious times, the most lonely times, and the most difficult and difficult times, God looked after us and came to meet us. God is no longer the God of our ancestors. He is not an indirect God whom we have heard through testimony. He became the God of Jacob.
Ladies and gentlemen, even when we are in crisis, when we are anxious and lonely, or when we are abandoned by people, God visits us and meets us. When everything is closed and you are drowning in darkness, my dear friends, please lift up your eyes and look to God. And I want you to meet God personally and personally. I hope that you will be able to meet God during this worship service today.
A ladder has a symbolic meaning. It is a bridge between God and Jacob and symbolizes the Mediator, Jesus Christ. At this time, Jacob was a sinner. It is the position of a fugitive from his brother and father. For this sinner to come to God, there is only one Mediator, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way, the truth, and the life that leads sinners to God. The wall that was blocked by the ladder of Jesus Christ is torn down, and the broken meeting continues again. Jesus Christ is the only way for man to come to God (John 10:9, Acts 4:12). It is the gateway to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). As the only mediator, he appeals to God for man's earnest desires (John 14:13-14).
And it comes through this very ladder in the hallway of heaven. That is, it comes through Jesus Christ. It means that the blessing of heaven is not given by God through a ladder, that is, through Jesus Christ, rather than deceiving others and stealing by any means as Jacob thought. Is this ladder between you and God okay? John 14:13 "Whatever ye shall ask in my name, I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Jesus Christ is the channel of God's blessing.
All other ladders are fake. It is a false ladder. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only true ladder.
Jesus Christ He is the ladder of our lives. You must hold the ladder firmly. We need both of our hands. And never look down. It should not be shaken.