(8) Jacob and Bethel

 

(8) Jacob and Bethel

Genesis 28:10-19 『Then Jacob set out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. When he came to a certain place, the sun had set, and he stayed there. He took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in it to sleep. Then he dreamed that a ladder was set up on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 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 will I give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed in you and in your descendants. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!" And he was afraid and said, "How dreadful this place is! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Then Jacob got up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his pillows, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel.

"Jacob set out from Beersheba and went toward Haran." Beersheba symbolizes Israel doing its own work, and Haran is Paddan-aram, an abbreviation of Paddan-aram-narahaim, indicating a place like Haran or Ur of the Chaldeans. It symbolizes those who left the kingdom of God and came to this world, and it signifies those who realize that they are doing their own work.

Where is the "one place"? It's the same word for "one place" in Genesis 1:9, "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so." God's intention in referring to a "one place" is related to the dry land appearing. The dry land appearing signifies the place where God's temple will be built.

Jacob slept there, using a stone as a pillow. When he awoke from his dream, he took a stone and named it Bethel (the temple). The place where the waters gathered together and dry land appeared was also the same. The dry land was where God revealed himself to humanity to speak of salvation.

The land is where the temple will be built, where people come and go. God formed man from the dust of the land, placed a sinful spirit within him, and then that spirit leaves. It is a place like a prison. The first human being, created from the dust of the land, is the first man. The first man, Adam, became a living being to give sinful bodies to all sinful spirits. And the last Adam is Christ, who came to save spirits. All of this is a pictorial representation of the temple. We see sinners entering the temple, the sacrifices dying, and the sinners leaving again.

『When the sun had set, he decided to stay there (rune). He took one of the stones (even) from that place and put it under his head (meraasha: a place to rest his head) and lay down to sleep (shakab).

When the sun sets, night comes. Darkness means death. God's word, which warns humanity of death, is the law. Therefore, to those in darkness, God reveals a vision of salvation, like Jacob's dream.

To dwell is to live in this world of death. Living in this world, one may encounter light (salvation) or not. Those who encounter it are Jacob, while those who do not are Esau. The stone signifies the stone (rock: Christ) on which the law is written. In the law, God promises that people will find Christ. In a world of darkness, the temple (shadow) comes, and when the light truly comes, He becomes the true temple.

“In his dream, he saw a ladder (a ladder connected to the earth and supported by a support) set up on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood upon it and said, ‘The ladder’” The ladder that Jacob dreamed of represents Christ, and the ascending and descending signifies the spirit that sinned with the first man, Adam, descending, and the spirit that was saved ascending with the last Adam. Jacob represents Christ, and what Jacob saw in his dream is telling us that Christ will act in the same way.

These words are identical to what Jesus said to Nathanael in John 1. They indicate that there is no way out of this world except by a ladder. There is no other way to salvation than the ladder (Jesus Christ).

“I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants.”

The word "land" signifies the land (the dry land) where spirits come to live in the world. However, the land here signifies the temple (a shadow: Solomon's Temple). In the shadow temple, no matter how hard you try, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. No matter how many sacrifices you perform, you will not be able to enter.

Without the true temple, the ladder to heaven, salvation is impossible. Giving the land to your descendants means giving them the true temple (Christ). These descendants are those who discover Christ in the law.

“Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.” God created humans from the dust of the earth.

Water entered the dust of the earth, forming a human form (adamah). And then, adamah became Adam. The fact that they multiplied like the dust of the earth signifies a return to the state before Adam. It signifies that spirits returned to their pre-sinner state. And it tells us that all peoples will ascend to this state through Christ, the ladder to heaven.

"I am with you and will keep you (shamar) wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land (adamah)." God said through His word that He would always be with Jacob (Christ), always protect him, and return him to the Adamah state before he became a human (Adam). Even though spirits entered the body, God would protect them until the spirit and flesh separated and left this place. This land (adamah) is a place in Christ.

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How dreadful this place is! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’”

 

Awakening from sleep signifies breaking the power of darkness with the word of power and becoming one with God in Christ. When believers understand God's word, they will develop a heart of reverence (fear) for Him. It is truly shocking to realize that, after committing sin and living in this world, they can become clothed in flesh, only to understand God's word, be reborn in a spiritual body, and return to the kingdom of God.

“And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful this place is! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Then Jacob rose early in the morning, took the stone that he had put under his pillows, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel.”

The saints come to realize that entering into Christ, the true temple, is the gate to heaven, which leads back to the place where they originally were, and they become afraid of the fact that they have turned away from God in order to become like Him.