Saturday 13 July, 2019

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He 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. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

This is an intriguing story and is the origin of the sayings ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ and ‘stairway to heaven’. The imagery describes a bridge between two realms, the realm of man and the realm of God. It is the stuff of movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark with an appeal that touches deep desires.

It is not until John 1:47-51 we discover the bridge is not a place but a person. It’s Jesus.

However, for me the most striking aspect of this passage is that until it was revealed to Jacob, he had no idea he was standing on Holy ground. This has left me wondering how often I am standing on Holy ground and don’t know it. Many times, I have faced difficult situations that have later turned out to be the provision of God. If Romans 8:28 is true, then much of our life we are walking on Holy ground without realising it.  Do you agree?

Lord, I ask you to help us see how great an influence you have in our life and through us others may know your presence in their lives.

Amen!

Written by David Newton