In my Bible study yesterday on Jacob, my eye was caught up in seeing references to Jesus throughout the whole Jacob story. The following verse is the Lord speaking to Rebekah, Isaac's wife, the mother of Jacob and Esau. “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23 ESV) On the surface, of course, it seems as if God is talking of Jacob and Esau being foes, which they were, over the birthright through Isaac. But under the surface, it's almost like God is speaking of the Jewish nation being divided among the saved thru Jesus, and the unsaved. Or...the Old Testament being subservient (probably not the right word to use, but tired here right now) to the New Testament, the older serving the younger, the younger being stronger than the older.
[11] And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. [12] And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! [13] And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. [14] Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth 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 promised you.” [16] Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:11-16 ESV)
Stay with me here... In John, we find this verse, And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (John 1:51 ESV) Here, in this verse from John, Jesus just described Himself as that Ladder to heaven in Jacob's dream. And who in Jacob's dream, says that He is the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac? When Jacob awoke he said, The Lord is here and that he didn't realize it, he thought he wrestled with God the Father, but the Lord here, is God the Son. Well, just as I thought in my Bible study yesterday about who Jacob wrestled with, it can only be God the Son, Jesus. Also, on what did Jacob lay his head, before he had the dream? A rock, and what did Jacob do with that rock? He made it the cornerstone of God's house. The "Cornerstone" is found in these verses, [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.” [18] So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. [19] He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. [20] Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, [21] so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, [22] and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (Genesis 28:17-22 ESV) In the New Testament, these verses are found about Jesus, [17] But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: ’The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?” (Luke 20:17 ESV) And in 1 Peter, this verse about Jesus is found, For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6 ESV) In the earlier verse about Jacob's dream, the Lord of Abraham and Isaac said he was going to give all of the land to "Jacob's" people. How was the Lord going to do that? At the cross as the Messiah. Christian believers are the "offspring" of the lineage to Jesus.
Jesus is all over Jacob. Jacob leads to Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment