The story of Jacob in the Bible and his encounter with God is a powerful reminder of who God is when we are going through a storm. Jacob had made some poor choices which caused him to flee his family, and home to save his life. Through the story of Jacob’s ladder, we get a wonderful picture of how God is always with us.
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The Story Of Jacob In The Bible
Do you remember the story of Jacob in the bible? After he stole his brother’s birthright and was forced to flee. One night in the middle of a certain place -it was a certain place because it was already written into his story, it had a purpose that had been set in stone long before Jacob had ever been born. From the moment that God spoke creation into existence this place had been prepared for just this moment. A divine meeting. Jacob in the Bible laid down and rested his head against a rock for a pillow and closed his eyes. The Bible tells us he had a dream while he slept…
Jacob In The Bible Scripture
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Genesis 28:12-13 NIV
When Jacob in the Bible woke he thought “surely God is in this place, and I was not aware of it”.
What Is Jacob’s Ladder?
The story of Jacob’s Ladder tells us of a vivid, prophetic dream in which Jacob in the Bible sees a ladder stretching from heaven to earth and angels ascending and descending on the staircase. Jacob’s ladder in the Bible is a symbol of God’s connection to mankind. It shows us that the God who spoke the universe into creation desires an intimate relationship with His creation which He loves.
Jacob In The Bible Facts
Jacob in the Bible is an interesting character with so much to teach us, but before we dive into what we can learn from him, let’s get to know him a bit better.
- Jacob in the Bible is the second son of Isaac & Rebekah.
- He is the younger twin brother of Esau.
- Jacob has a history of making some bad choices, but despite that God still uses him for great purposes.
- Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter.
- He was a patriarch of the Hebrew people.
- Jacob in the Bible lived for 147 years
What We Can Learn From Jacob In The Bible
There are so many important lessons we can learn from Jacob in the Bible, but one of the biggest is that God can use any circumstances, any storm, and any choice and turn it around and use it for His own plans. This story is a reminder that there is a purpose in the storm. It’s hard to see it in the midst- while the waves batter you and the winds threaten to break you. But I promise you, there is a purpose.
Despite Jacob in the Bible’s poor choices that leave him alone in the wilderness, fleeing for his life God has a purpose in the midst of this storm He’s experiencing. Sometimes God has to let us walk into the midst of the storm so we can come face to face with Him.
Finding God In Our Own Storm
How often do we miss God? How often do we go through our lives and miss His presence? In the ins and outs of our busy lives, how often do we go to sleep not aware of His presence? How often do we lay our weary heads on “pillows” of worry and pain, hurt and despair?
God didn’t show up when Jacob in the Bible woke- Jacob woke to the knowledge that God had been with him the whole time even though he hadn’t been aware of it. God didn’t just suddenly appear because he dropped Him a thought like a genie in a bottle- He’d been in this place the whole time. Like a loving father He’d been there the whole time, but Jacob was blinded by his own mistakes, and the waves of his storm until he opened his eyes and adjusted his view.
Long before Jacob in the Bible found himself in that place, long before he was even born God spoke that rock into existence and laid it in the exact place where Jacob would choose it for a pillow, that one day it may be turned on end as a pillar- a testament that God had never left Jacob. Something as ordinary as a rock became a holy place in Jacob’s journey and he called it the gateway to heaven.
Jacob In The Bible Storm Brought Him Closer To God
Jacob in the Bible had reached rock bottom – he was fleeing for his life because he listened to the wrong person and stole something that didn’t belong to him. He was leaving everything he’d known up to that point because of a foolish decision. He was trekking through the wilderness and had to use a rock for a pillow- and yet God used that rock to change his perspective.
Sometimes God uses the ordinary to remind you that HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE.
Jacob In The Bible Shows Us That God Is With Us
The story of Jacob in the Bible is a great reminder that your greatest discomfort, your greatest pain, can be the gateway to His greatest revelation in your life. You see God didn’t call that rock a gateway, Jacob did and it became the gate to God’s promise.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:14-15 NIV
We can’t choose the situation, we can’t choose the storm- we can choose its purpose. We can choose to let it remind us that He has been with us all along and let it grow our faith or we can choose to let it be the storm that breaks us.
Jacob In The Bible Shows Us Who God Is In The Storm
He’s with us in the storm.
He’s with us in the dry wasteland.
He’s with you when you’ve reached the end of your rope, and the mistakes are piled like an insurmountable mountain and you just want to give up.
No mistake in your life will change what He has planned for your life since before you were in your mother’s womb. What started as a storm in the life of Jacob in the Bible life turned into a testament. God didn’t live in that rock- but it held the potential to make Jacob in the Bible realize that God was with him. When was the last time we woke up with the knowledge that God had been with us the whole time?
Only God can look at your broken storm-tossed in-the-middle-of-a-certain-place and see the potential for something great. And turn it into a testament of His unfailing love. A reminder that He has been with you the whole time, because the same creator who created that rock and laid it in Jacob in the Bible’s path, created you.
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