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. There above it stood the Lord…. (Genesis 28:12,13a NIV).
The dream of a stairway is symbolic of blessing. The author of blessing is God Himself. He is above the stairway or ladder that touches heaven and rests on earth.
All the movements upon it are under His guiding care. And His messengers are none less than angels. They do not rest because the move swiftly to do God’s bidding.
In another sense our God is constantly watchful of our every move, and even while we rest, His angels are active doing His commands.
The dream of a stairway comes at a time when you’re alone and tired from the journey. It could happen when your resting place is hard like a stone. In the midst of such a situation a vision of God standing above the ladder is indeed a great comfort.
And He speaks words of comfort and blessing. He promises His watching presence for the weary traveler. He promises never to leave you.
The dream of a stairway is given so that we would recognize God’s presence. Often we are not aware of His presence because we think that He is not likely to be present in difficult circumstances.
Yet this dream impressed on Jacob’s heart that the very place he was lodging was indeed “Bethel,” meaning “house of God.” Let us remind ourselves that God is present in our midst and our lodging places do not surprise Him the least.
The dream of a stairway is given to open our hearts to greater possibilities in life. Even after the dream we find Jacob responding to God in a very narrow-minded way.
God had spoken of great blessings and had promised that He will fulfill it for Jacob. Yet Jacob was telling God that he would be content with little little things.
Let us always remember that the stairway touches heaven and above it stands God Almighty!
—
Related Post
More Manna: