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H eb . 1 3 :5 ) . ( b ) “T h e ground,” “ to thee,” th e “ground” to Jacob m ean s th e re su rrection o f Ja co b , (c ) “B ring ag ain in to th is la n d .” Ja c o b w as a ty p e o f fam ily a n d o f n ation al Israel. N o te th e m an y analog ies o f J a c o b ’s exile a n d a t L a b a n 's w ith th e exile a n d b o n d a g e in E gyp t, to th e C haldean s, an d now everyw here am o n g th e G entiles. T h e p rom ise h o ld s; G o d h as n o t fo rsak en ; H e k e ep s; H e will re sto re “ to th e la n d ” (R om . 1 1 :2 ; Ezek. 3 7 :1 2 -1 4 , e tc .). 5. His awe. Such a vision n a t u ra lly filled J a c o b w ith w o rshipful awe. “G o d . . . I knew it n o t.” N ot, -as m any , th a t h e th o u g h t J e h o v a h a house o r trib a l G o d ! A ll th e p re c ed in g show s h e knew G o d as “J u d g e o f all th e e a rth ,” th e “A l m igh ty ” a n d th e re fo re A ll-p resen t. A ch ild saw a n a th e ist’s inscription, “G o d is n ow h e re ,” an d re a d it, “G o d is now h e re .” “T ell m e ,” said a b ishop , “w h ere G o d is.” “ I w ill,” said th e boy , “w h en y o u tell m e w h e re H e is n o t.” W e a re alw ays in B ethel ( “G o d ’s hou se” ) an d H e is alw ays a t hom e. 6. His vow. D id Ja c o b say, “Since G o d . . . I w ill,” o r “ If G o d . . . 1 w ill” ? T h e H eb rew allows either. If h e said th e fo rm e r h e was right, fo r G o d ’s g oodn e ss deserves o u r service; if th e la tte r (th e a d d i tio n “b re a d a n d ra im en t” o f which G o d said n o th in g favo rs th is ), he w as w rong, v ita lly w rong, evangelic a lly w rong, sham efu lly w rong. We can drive no bargains with God. H e d e a ls in gifts, grace, a n d w e c an b u t give “g race fo r g ra c e .” Shall I vow w ho know n o t w h a t a d a y m ay b ring fo rth , a n d w ho shou ld h a v e “no co n fidence in th e flesh” ? V ow s b e lo n g to th e law o f works. W e n e ith e r w ou ld n o r cou ld k eep a vow w ith o u t H is grace. It is b e tte r to a c c ep t H is g ra c e a n d vow no vows.
ray, a n d th e summ it glorious fa r ab o v e . W ith his th o u g h ts a n d th e scene in m ind J a c o b sa id : ( ? ) T h o u g h like a w an d erer,
T h e su n gone down, D ark n ess b e o v e r m e, My rest a stone.
Y et in m y d ream s I’d bo N e are r, m y God, to T hee, N e are r to T hee. A n d it w as so. T h e sh een on th e m oun tain -side b e c am e "S te p s u n to h e av e n :” th e g lo ry o f sun-kissed summ it th e enh alow ed J e h o v a h H im self, a n d “ It w a s n o t all a d re am .” (S e e G en. 1 5 :1 2 -2 0 ; Isa. 6 :5 ; D an . 2 :1 9 -2 3 ; R ev. 1 :9 -1 7 ; A c ts 7 :5 6 ; Jo h n 1 : 5 1 ). L ike th e scene a t B ethel, th e rocks, th e sea, th e sh imm ering an d red d en in g sun, a t P atm o s, seem to b e th e fugue w ov en in to th e im agery o f R evelation s. 4 . His dream. ( 1 ) A w ay from e a rth to heaven , from exile to glory. " I am th e w ay ,” said Jesus, a sc e n d ing to a n d op en ing he av en . ( 2 ) A n gels “ ascend ing a n d de sc end ing ” — n o t “ de sc end ing ” a s if ju st a p p ro a c h ing, b u t “ ascend ing ” a s from fin ished m inistry, a n d de sc end ing w ith new mercies. G raciou s G o d ! Such sub je c ts as Ja c o b a n d we, th e o b je c ts o f such a m inistry. ( 3 ) “J e h o v ah sto o d a b o v e it” ( b esid e h im ,” A . R. V . m a rg .). It w as “ ou r Jesus” ; a n d “ It’s ju st like Jesu s.” R e a d th e con soling w o rd s, verses 13-15. T h is is th e gospel o f grace. If J a c o b ’8 sin a n d m eanness w ere n o t so fully ev id en c ed in c o n tra st w ith J e h o v a h ’s u n a b a te d fav o r which o f us cou ld say, “T h is is a faith fu l saying a n d w o rth y o f all a c c ep ta tio n th a t C h rist Jesu s cam e in to th e w o rld to sav e sinners” ? N o te particu larly , ( a ) “ 1 am w ith th e e ” (M a tt. 2 8 :2 0 ;
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