Ladders and mirrors

Genesis 28. This is the ladder to heaven story. It’s popular because it’s cool. So much has been said about Jacob’s first encounter with God that I didn’t even want to touch it, and that’s why I just skipped blogging last week. (This kind of behavior doesn’t bode well for when I finally get to the crucifixion does it?) Isaac doesn’t hold a grudge against Jacob. He decides to bless him knowingly before Jacob leaves. This is great because this is the last time Jacob will see his parents. He told him to be sure to marry his uncle Laban’s daughters. Esau heard about all this and it really hit home that his wives upset his parents. So he went to Ishmael and married his daughter, Mahalath. Eventually, we see Esau coming to his brother with love and turning into a better man. Despising his blessing and learning a hard lesson is already prompting Esau to make better decisions in the future.

On Jacob’s way to his uncle’s land, he stopped for the night at sunset and used a stone for a pillow. Why is that detail in the story? Did the stone have a hand in causing the strange dream? Are the hippies right that rocks and gems might have some energetic power or spiritual significance? Or was it just included to show how pathetic Jacob’s situation is right now? Jacob dreamt that he saw a ladder to heaven and angels of God were ascending and descending on it. God says, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to your land. I won’t leave you until these promises are fulfilled.”

One of the coolest things about this dream is that it was referenced by Jesus later. And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Jesus is the ladder. Tim Keller also points out that the angels of God were ascending and descending on it, rather than Jacob climbing up the ladder to get to God. God comes to us, through Jesus. The tracts fundies hand out always show us crossing the Jesus Bridge (usually drawn as a cross) to get to God. Who’s doing the crossing here? Who always does all the work?

Jacob woke up and thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.” Jacob was afraid. Early the next morning, he set the pillow stone up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. I’d like to know more about the significance of oil in the Bible, so maybe I should read up on that. Anyway, Jacob called that place Bethel and made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, giving me food and clothing so that I may return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God, and this stone will be God’s house, and of all that is given to me, I will give God a tenth.”

This isn’t the only time someone has realized that God is around and been surprised not to have known it. Rob Bell asks if we miss that we’re on holy ground all the time. Psalms says that you can’t leave God’s spirit or presence. Bethel crops up again later in the Bible. Was Jacob making a deal here, or was he accepting the promise and showing gratitude? It would make a difference to the origin of the tithe. We  would love if the tithe came out of an expression of gratitude for being cared for by God, rather than an obligation. I tend to think the tithe is an Old Testament thing. The New Testament says that we should give “generously.” The ten percent rule can be used as more of a guideline. Today, it makes more sense that everything is God’s and it’s all about the attitude with which we use and transfer money.

When I was a kid, I had a similar dream. I wanted to take communion the night before, but my parents wouldn’t let me, since I hadn’t prayed the Sinner’s Prayer. I was around seven, and I prayed the prayer so that I could do what the adults were doing. It looked official and fun. It was a disappointment. The cracker was stale and who even likes grape juice? I prefer when it’s cranberry. When I went to be that night, I had a dream that angels were going in and out of a mirror. I told my relatives the next morning, and one of them pulled out the Bible and read this story. He read what God said to Jacob and said that’s what God was saying to me.

Sweet thought, but even at that age, I figured that was B.S. (Not that God would say the opposite to a child). I went along with it, believing I was saved, but that a dream was  just a dream. I don’t think that’s how you accurately use the Bible (finding similar dreams and saying your dream meant the same thing). Fortunately, I prayed my own prayer when I was old enough to understand what was actually going on. This story always makes me smile because it reminds me of being a kid. I never worried about hell as a child because I was “saved” through passing a little litmus test and saying the magic words. I don’t think kids should sit around worrying about hell and being scared, so I guess, overall, it was nice.