Jacob's Ladder
DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 30, 2024
Jacob's Ladder
By David Wilkerson
One of the most interesting people in the Old Testament is Jacob. Although he was a cheating, deceiving, and manipulative man, God loved him dearly.
Jacob had tricked his brother Esau out of his birthright. When a famished Esau came in from hunting, Jacob offered him a pot of stew in exchange for his birthright. In their culture, the birthright was the right of the firstborn male to be the head of the clan. This included a double blessing, receiving a double portion of all their father’s possessions. More importantly, whoever had the birthright was to be the progenitor of the patriarchal seed through which Christ would come:
“And in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 28:14, NKJV).
Jacob had also stolen the patriarchal blessing from his father, Isaac. It was a blessing that belonged to Esau, but he pretended to be Esau. When Esau learned that Jacob had stolen his blessing from their father, he was determined to kill him.
Their mother, Rebekah, persuaded Isaac to send Jacob away to where her brother Laban lived. She wanted Jacob to find a wife there and live peacefully. While Jacob was on his way, God gave him an incredible vision.
He saw a ladder descending from heaven down to earth, with angels going to and from the throne of God, doing his bidding (see Genesis 28:12).
God was drawing back the curtain and showing Jacob the divine activity that was going on all the time. All those angels were on assignment, going back and forth to the earth to guide and lead God’s people, minister to them, camp around them, warn them, protect them, guard them and provide for their needs.
God said to Jacob, “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 spoken to you” (Genesis 28:15). These words to Jacob are also words of encouragement to us today.
Beloved, that ladder is still there! Those same angels have not aged a single hour since Jacob saw them. In fact, they are still working and ministering on our behalf today.
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