Reflections on Messiah

“Jacob left Beersheba and he traveled towards Haran. And when he came to a certain
place, he spent the night there. He took one of the stones, put it under his head, and he
dosed off. Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway (or ladder) set up on the
earth, with its top reaching up to the heavens. On it, he saw the angels of God
ascending-up and descending-down.” (Genesis 28: 10-12)

Above the top-rung stood the LORD.

“I AM the LORD, the God of your father Abraham, and of Isaac. I (the LORD) will give
you, and your descendants, the land upon which you now lay. In you and your
descendants all the families of the earth will find blessing. I AM with you; and I will
watch over (protect) you wherever you go.” (Genesis 28: 14-15)
Now, fast forward to the arrival of the Messiah.

“Philip (who was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter) found Nathaniel,
and told him, ‘We have found the one about whom Moses wrote about in the Torah, also
the Prophets—it’s Yeshua Ben-Yosef from Nazareth!” (John 1: 45)

Nathaniel’s response to news about the Messiah illustrates how presumptuous human
nature can be. Nathaniel assumed nothing of value could possibly come from the sleepy
“backwards” village of Nazareth. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Philip answered, ‘Come and see.’” (John 1: 46)

Those with “eyes of faith” witness Jacob’s Ladder, personified.
A person’s willingness to believe (faith) activates God’s faithfulness to promises.
Yeshua said;
“Truly, truly I tell you, you’ll see heaven open, and the angels of God going-up
(ascending) and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1: 51)
The Hebrew word for “ladder” is “sullam”, which, in this rendering, appears one place in
Scripture, Genesis 28: 12).

The imagery of the “ladder” in Jacob’s dream, not only directs us upward, but it clues us
in on the way to the Father; through Yeshua the Son. He is our ladder!