The Gate of Heaven

Genesis 28:12-17

Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

1. God sovereignly provides a connection with Himself. We cannot make this connection ourselves. Jacob was on the run from Esau, just trying to sleep on a rock. God had other plans, and He makes promises of salvation to Jacob. God reveals Himself to us first.

2. The connection God provides is Jesus, the ladder. His sacrifice on the cross makes fellowship between God and man possible again. He is the bridge between heaven and earth.

3. When Jacob was in distress, God provided comfort. When Elijah ran from Jezebel, God sent an angel with food for his journey.  At this table, this sacrament of Communion, set up by our Lord on the night before His death, is like our Bethel.  It isn’t the ladder itself, but it is where God has set it up.

8/21/16