The Ladder of the Lord
(Genesis 27-28)
Landscape with the Dream of Jacob
By Michael Willman
1691
As a lover of literature, I find myself fascinated by the amazing authorship of God. What a Master!
Jacob, fearing for his life, flees from his home and his estranged twin brother, Esau. The birthright-stealing debacle widened the rift between the two. Their parents, Isaac and Rebekah, took opposing sides.
Esau acted out his own rebellion by taking a third wife from outside his heritage. This time, he married a daughter of Ishmael, which probably got his parents’ goat – quite literally.
God’s mercy never ends.
Even as Jacob fled more than 400 miles, the Lord was with him. Jacob headed for his kinsman’s home in Paddan-Aram, where he would seek a wife who shared his heritage. Along the way, God spoke to Jacob in a dream, revealing His famous stairway to Heaven.
Amazingly, the Lord gave Jacob this revelation on the very spot where He had intervened in Abraham’s obedient sacrifice of his son Isaac (Jacob’s own father).
Location is everything. (Ask any real estate marketer.)
This same site, Mount Moriah, would feature Solomon’s Temple, the House of the Lord, where God’s priests would perform sacrifices to His glory.
With the advent of Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrifice would be given, as the Savior on the cross would become the ladder to the Lord and the stairway to Heaven.
“Jesus told him,
‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one can come to the Father
except through Me.’”
(John 14:6, NLT)
To demonstrate this truth, here is a simple Gospel-sharing tool we have enjoyed using.
Several years ago, a very handy friend actually constructed and painted a Gospel Ladder for us to use. We have employed this simple five-rung ladder to demonstrate these Bible truths and explain the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, to children of all ages. Certainly, any five-rung ladder could be painted in these colors for use as an illustration.
Artwork c2009 by Nickers and Ink
All rights reserved.
Steps to Truth for Old and Youth
God built a ladder we can climb
To be with Him beyond all time.
Each rung steps closer to His heart,
An ever-present brand-new start.
The bottom rung is royal gold
To represent the King, behold!
He reigns in Heaven and on earth
In love,1 He wants to give rebirth.
The second rung is very dark
To represent our sins2 so stark.
Each time we fall or seek to stray
We grieve the Lord and fall away.
The third rung, it is scarlet red
To represent the blood3 He shed
When Jesus died upon the cross
To sacrifice and pay our cost.
The fourth rung up is white and pure
To represent God’s holy cure.
When we confess4 and seek His face,
He washes us with His great grace.
The highest rung is green, you know.
To represent how we must grow5.
We’ll walk with Jesus day and night,
Forever living in His light.
c2009 by Linda Ann Nickerson
All rights reserved.
Notes:
1 See Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’” (NIV)
2 See Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NIV)
3 See Hebrews 9:22: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (NIV)
4 See 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV)
5 See 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (NIV)
Will you pray with me?
Beloved God,
Thank You for creating us,
For loving us,
And for saving us
From ourselves.
We admit we have gone our own way.
We have grieved You.
We want to serve you.
Set our feet upon Your ladder.
Lead us into Your loving arms.
Thank You for paying the cost for our sin
Through Jesus’ death on the cross.
We praise You for raising Jesus from the dead,
So we need not fear death.
Help us to live for You.
Grow us up in Your truth.
We love You.
Amen.
Thank you for visiting my blog for TSMSS. You are one busy lady! I have glanced through each of your blogs and decided to comment on this one. Your devotion was wonderful and I loved the "gospel ladder".
ReplyDeleteThe Lord has been dealing with me the last few months about listening, trusting, and waiting. Listening to that still small voice...trusting in what my eyes can not see...and waiting for God's promise to come to pass. He is so good!