16. Jacob’s Covenant Dream
Dream Setting/Backstory
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Jacob was an important Bible character. He was the father of the leaders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Apart from this dream God appeared to Jacob another seven times in Scripture. Jacob even wrestled with God in human form. This I believe was Jesus.
God sent Jacob’s Covenant Dream thirty-nine years after King Abimelek’s Dream. In the meantime God had appeared and prophesied to Isaac’s wife Rebekah about the struggling twins in her womb. He revealed His purpose was that Jacob’s line was to inherit the covenant blessing. God said,
Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples
from within you will be separated; one
people will be stronger than the other, and
the older will serve the younger. [1]
The twins were Esau the eldest and Jacob the youngest. The nations were Edom from Esau and Israel from Jacob. Normally Isaac’s eldest son Esau was the one to inherit the spiritual covenant but he valued it so little he sold it to Jacob for a bowl of stew.
Esau continually chose the natural over the supernatural. His carelessness and impulsiveness finally disqualified him from leadership and the covenantal inheritance.
He also married two Hittite women in violation of God’s will and Abraham's ruling not to take wives from among the Canaanites. [2] This rebellious act severed his children from the Abrahamic line.
Rebekah knew Jacob was God’s chosen child[3] but instead of reminding Isaac of this prophecy she conspired with Jacob to deceive her husband. Like Sarah before her she tried to work out God’s plans and purpose in her own way. This caused great pain for her and many others.
Just before this dream, seventy year old Jacob was fleeing for his life from Esau, whom Rebekah and Jacob had tricked out of his inheritance. Esau was now seething like Cain, who slew his brother Abel.
Again we see the work of Satan who constantly laboured to hinder God’s plan of redemption by blocking the promised seed of the woman from being born through the prophesied lineage.
As Jacob sets off to flee five hundred miles away to Haran Isaac reminds him not to marry a Canaanite but to marry a woman from Laban’s line in order to keep the Messiah Bloodline uncontaminated. Isaac also blessed Jacob with Abraham’s blessing of descendants and land.
The Dream Scripture
Genesis 28:10-22
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Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 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.
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, 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. 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. 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.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. 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.
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.
The Problem
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Jacob’s scheming had backfired and now he was fleeing for his life to a place five hundred miles away and facing an uncertain future. This lonely fugitive sleeping in the open field was being blessed because of the Abrahamic covenant. Jacob carried God’s promises and the Messiah bloodline in his loins though he didn’t realise this. All that was about to change.
The Dreamers Metron
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Jacob had a powerful metron he had inherited from his grandfather Abraham. This was to bless all nations until the end of time. The dream also speaks of Jacob’s offspring, which refers to Jacob’s metron of being the father of twelve sons who would father the twelve tribes of Israel.
After Jacob wrestled with God his name was changed to Israel and this became both the name of the people and the land of God’s Chosen People. God told Jacob,
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. 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. 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. [4]
Jacob’s metron also included his call to bring the children of Israel down to Egypt as promised to Abraham in his covenant dream.
The Message
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God chose a significant time to affirm Jacob’s call. Like Abraham and Isaac, God was going to multiply Jacob’s descendants, give him land, protect him and bring him back to the Promised Land.
Prophetically this has also been the constant story of Israel until this very day. God’s spoken message was clear and required no interpretation,
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. 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. 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.
God’s Purpose
* * *
God’s main purpose was to keep the Abrahamic Covenant on track. Here God is calling Jacob into play by activating his faith through prophecy. God’s purpose was also to comfort and focus Jacob at this vulnerable time.
God didn’t judge Jacob for his bad behaviour. Instead he revealed the treasures of his inheritance and prophesied about His world blessing future for Jacob and his offspring.
He also revealed more of Himself to Jacob. Before this Jacob knew Him only as the God of his father Isaac. In this dream Jacob was told the covenant promises made to Abraham and Isaac were now his as well. Jacob also received confirmation of all three major benefits of the covenant: dynasty, land and God’s protection.
Satan’s Purpose
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Satan wanted to kill Jacob and nearly had Esau do it after he got angry when he realised the treachery of Rebekah and Jacob in stealing his birthright. When Jacob escaped, Satan then began working at making him fearful and discouraged.
Dreamer’s Eyes Enlightened
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Jacob got to see and hear God and was amazed and transformed by the dream. He said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was also afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.
He didn’t realise Jesus was the stairway to heaven and probably never knew it would be through Jesus Christ that all nations would be blessed.
Dreamer’s Response and Application
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Jacob is delighted with his dream. Yet unlike obedient and believing Abraham, Jacob was not fully convinced for he made a conditional vow saying if God would keep His word then he would tithe to God’s work. Sounds a bit like doubting Thomas. There was still a long way to go before Jacob would totally trust God.
Know God Better
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God is again seen as a loving covenant keeping God diligently caring for the Messiah’s seed line. He’s also shown as a God who wants a personal relationship with His people.
The Dream Process
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The message is easily understood and doesn’t require interpretation yet there was symbolism in the dream that Jacob couldn’t understand but we with hindsight can clearly see.
This is a spectacular dream in which God in the form of Jesus appears with many angels who keep descending and ascending to heaven. Unlike the tower of Babel which was man’s self effort to reach heaven these angels are carrying out God’s work between heaven and earth in God’s way.
Jesus is also hidden in plain sight for Jesus is the stairway to heaven and the offspring of Jacob who will bless all nations. He is the way the truth and the life. Jesus told Nathaniel,
I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open
and the angels of God going up and down
on the Son of Man, the one who is the
stairway between heaven and earth. [5]
Yet this fuller interpretation was not necessary in order for Jacob to be encouraged and strengthened by the dream. The dream has personal, national and international importance. The dream covers thousands of years until Jesus finally comes back and saves all Israel.
The Usual Suspects
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God is there in the form of Jesus at the top of the stairs who reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob. Jesus is also there as the stairway to heaven and the offspring of Jacob[6] who will bless all nations. Satan is seen as the cause of the fearful fleeing of Jacob.
Takeaways
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Bethel, which means house of God, was a significant place for Abraham and his descendants. They sought God there in times of trouble. When Abraham first entered Canaan his second encampment was between Bethel and Hai and when he returned from Egypt he went back to Bethel and called upon the name of the Lord.
When Jacob was fleeing Esau he met God in this dream at Bethel. When he later returned he again visited Bethel where God talked with him and he built an altar, calling the place El-beth-el.
Hosea said of Jacob, He found him at Bethel and talked with him there, the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name! [7]
The Ark of the Covenant also spent time at Bethel. Samuel occasionally held court at Bethel and after Israel was divided Bethel became a seat of worship of the golden calf until Josiah dealt with Israel’s idolatry. Israel’s priests always remained at Bethel even after the king of Assyria destroyed the kingdom.
Jesus can be hidden in our dreams just like he was in Jacob’s dream. Perhaps like Jacob and Abraham our dreams can be similar to the dreams of our ancestors for God has plans and purpose for family lines.
The dream covers thousands of years until Jesus returns. The trinity were in this dream. God was at the top of the stairway, Jesus was the stairway and the Holy Spirit gave the dream. Jacob is afraid and awestruck afterwards and there is the first ever mention of him setting up a memorial and worshipping God.
The Gospel is also mentioned again in this dream. Jacob was told, All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
1 Genesis 25:23
2 Genesis 26:34-35
3 Genesis 25:23
4 Genesis 28:13-15
5 John 1:51 (NLT)
6 Matthew 1:16
7 Hosea 12:4