The Stairway to Heaven (Gen 28:10-22)

"This is the gate of heaven" (Gen 28:17).

"Most people think of religion as man's quest for God. The God of the Bible, however, is the God who seeks us." Edmond Clowney, Preaching Christ in all of Scripture, 80.

"Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is Himself the way." Karl Barth

One of my favorite songs of all time is "The Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin (1971). I could listen to it every day without ever getting tired of it. It is the perfect rock song. Why? The progressive crescendo and the spell binding ambiance makes the song mesmerizing. A google search says, "this song is about a woman who accumulates money, but finds out the hard way that her life had no meaning and will not get her into heaven."

Perhaps, this song has captivated countless millions of people of all ages through out the world for 40 years, because we human beings are all, without exception, seeking a "stairway to heaven," however we chose, on our own terms, to define heaven or God. In today's text, Jacob discovers, through his dream given to him by God, something radical about the stairway to heaven. It is the polar opposite of what most people and most religions think. Even Christians who misunderstand this "stairway to heaven" live a religious life that is not Christian, and which is no different from all other religions in the world.
Theme: The stairway to heaven originates from God (not man), and it is a gift of God. [The Lord will be with his people wherever they go.]

Goal: To distinguish between the gospel (God's salvation given to man) and religion (Man's effort to attain his own salvation). [To comfort God's people with his promise that he will be with them wherever they go.]

Application: Rely on God who wants to do everything for his people.

The subject of this text is the subject of heaven. There are 3 parts to this passage:

1. Jacob's condition before the dream
   
2. The dream itself
   
3. Jacob's response to the dream

We can look at this text in 3 ways:

1. The Darkness of Heaven (where heaven seems closed to Jacob)
   
2. The Openness of Heaven (where heaven opens in his dream)
   
3. The Gateway of Heaven (where Jacob begins to learn the way to heaven, the secret to heaven's gate)

We often think that our faith in God will help us to circumvent the problems of our own life. But is this true? Jacob believed in God. But it wasn't enough; he could not overcome the difficulties in his own life. What does he need? He needed a life changing encounter with God.

I. The Darkness of Heaven (Gen 28:10-11)

Gen 28:10-11 say, "Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep." When Jacob reached a certain unknown place, he used a stone as a pillow, likely because he had nothing else that he could use to cushion his head while he slept. This was the narrator's way of showing us how completely Jacob's life had fallen apart as a result of all that had happened (Gen 27:1-28:9). Because of his brother Esau's fury and desire to kill him, Jacob had no choice but to leave "...because the sun had set" (Gen 28:10). It was as though the sun had just set upon Jacob's entire life, as though his life was closed, shattered and dark with no light at the end of the tunnel in 2 ways:

1) Heaven is a closed book to Jacob. God had stated that he had chosen Jacob (Gen 25:23). But now everything had fallen apart. Why did God let all this happen? His life was in complete contradiction to what God had promised him. It's like being told that God loves us. Yet God allows nasty stuff to happen to us. There is an utter contradiction to what God had promised.

2) Heaven is a closed door to Jacob. It is not just that God's actions are dark to Jacob. It is that God himself is remote from Jacob. Abraham, Sarah (Gen 18:9-15) and Isaac (Gen 26:24) had each met God personally. Genesis shows it is never enough just to know about God. We need to know God, to have a personal encounter with God. It is not enough to believe in God, but to believe God. It is not enough to just have a cognitive subscription to a body of doctrine, or to have an ethical compliance to a set of rules. We need to have an encounter with God, which Jacob has not had. It does not seem that this is that time for him to meet God personally, since he had just acted deceitfully and blasphemously before his blind father Isaac. Furthermore, Jacob was not seeking God, or crying out for God. He was not praying or asking for mercy or help. Heaven was closed and dark to Jacob. Then Jacob had a dream and all of the darkness changes.

II. The Openness of Heaven (Gen 28:12-15)

In his dream, Jacob saw 3 things, he heard 3 things, and we learn 3 things about God. Jacob saw:

1. A stairway. Gen 28:12 says, "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." It was something huge with dozens, hundreds or thousands of angels ascending and descending on this stairway. It must have been a stunning unforgettable sight.
   
2. Angels on the stairway. What are angels? It is not what the TV/movies portray. Often, when an angel shows up in the Bible, he says, "Fear not." The word "angel" means a royal herald or attendant, a herald of his royal majesty, declaring and executing the degrees and declarations of the King. The angels ascending and descending means that God's royal power is on the move. Messengers were coming out of and returning to the throne of God. Jacob saw the angels descending from the throne of God to the earth, and returning from the earth to the throne of God. Jacob saw a visual display of the royal power of the majesty/holiness of God.
3. The Lord. Gen 28:13 says, "There above it stood the LORD..." Robert Altar, the Hebrew expert, thinks that it is over or "above him." God came and stood right over Jacob in a posture of intimacy and nearness. And God told Jacob 3 things.
   

1. "I am with you" (Gen 28:15), when Jacob was utterly friendless. The only person who loved him in the world is his mother, whom he will never see again for the rest of his life.
2. "(I) will watch over you" (Gen 28:15), when he was utterly defenseless.
3. "I will give you...the land" (Gen 28:13-14), when he was utterly penniless. 

We also learn 3 things about God: He is the God of the past, future, present. He is the:

1. God of the past, God of the fathers, Abraham and Isaac (Gen 28:13).
2. God of the future, confirming his promises to Jacob (Gen 28:13-14).
3. God of the present, for God says, "I am with you and will watch over you" (Gen 28:15). Thus we learn that:

1) Heaven is not a closed book. This vision tells Jacob that he was utterly wrong about heaven. Jacob and us often feel that God is remote and that he doesn't care, that our life is tragic and awful. We think heaven is closed. But this vision says otherwise. Heaven is not closed. God's royal power is on the move. He is working and busily involved with the world. His kingship is flowing out into the world, and God is working things out to bring perfect love, justice and peace at the end of history. God is doing this, but we can't see it. For a brief moment, God showed Jacob what he is doing, that his kingdom and power are always on the move. God is not unconcerned, uninvolved removed. Once, the prophet Elisha's servant was afraid, because they were surrounded by an enemy army with horses and chariots. The servant said, "Oh no, my lord, what shall we do?" 2 Kings 6:16-17 say, “'Don’t be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.' Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Though we are blind to seeing God, yet the power of God is working mightily all around us in the world.

The higher we go up a mountain the more we are able to see the landscape and how things are connected on ground level. But no one is high enough to see what only God is able to see how all things are connected. Heaven is not remote; it is not closed. Try this logic: People are often angry at God for not stopping the suffering, even though God is infinite, great and powerful enough to stop them. But if we are angry at such a great and powerful God for not stopping suffering, we must grant that he must be wise enough to have a perspective that we do not have, or have reasons for it that we cannot see. We cannot have it both ways. We are on the ground. God is higher. God can always see things that we cannot see.

2) Heaven is not a closed door. God did not stand on top of the stairway and ask Jacob to ascend. God came down to be over him. Jacob was not seeking God. He was not repenting. But God comes to him in grace. Jacob is at a lowest point of his life. He has done horrible things. But there is not a word of condemnation. God only utters to him unconditional promises of blessing (Gen 28:13-15). Why is God not the holy God of Isaiah 6:5 or Exodus 33:18-20?

III. The Gateway of Heaven

Gen 28:16-17 say, "When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'” Jacob says, "this is the gate of heaven.” What does this mean? The narrator is contrasting this with the tower of Babel, where the people were building "a tower that reaches to the heavens" (Gen 11:4). The word Babel is related to Babylon. Babel comes from two words: “gate” (bab) and “god” (el), which means “gate to heaven” or “gate of god.” The tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat--a rectangular stepped tower. It is a temple tower of the ancient Assyrians/Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories. It is a temple with a stairway to heaven. It was built by man at a famous place where important people tended to live, or it became a famous place. People came here to ascend the steps with their sacrifices, offering and prayers to God, so as to get the blessing of the gods for themselves and their families.

Jacob was astounded because he realized that this is the way "the gate of heaven" works. Every religion requires you to ascend the man made gate of heaven to the gods. But Jacob's dream is of a gate from heaven, a stairway chosen by God. It is not the way to ascend up to God to get the blessing by important people being good. But it where God descends down to man by sheer grace to give his blessing to unimportant, undeserving, broken and bad people. God comes to us; we do not go to him. Religion requires man to fulfill certain conditions, but God comes to us with unconditional love, the way He came to Jacob. Every other religion is a stairway/gateway up to heaven. But the stairway to heaven is where God descends to us by his grace alone. This is different from every other religion in the world.

There is a problem. How could a holy God do this? Abraham asks God, God answers him (Gen 15:9-17). Moses says, "Show me your glory," God responds (Exo 33:18-20). Isaiah goes into the temple, he sees God (Isa 6:1-7). But Jacob does none of this. He didn't pray. He wasn't seeking God. He didn't go into the temple. He likely wasn't thinking about God. He was consumed with his own survival. Yet God comes to him completely in grace with his multitude of angels right into his life. How can this be?

Many centuries later, there is a story recorded in John 1:45-51. When Nathaneal realized Jesus' transcendent knowledge about him, he declared, “'Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.' Jesus said, 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.' He then added, 'Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.'” Here Jesus is saying, "I am the stairway to heaven" that Jacob saw. I am the link to heaven.

Every religion has "steps" to God. The 10 commandments of Judaism. The 5 pillars of Islam. The 8 fold path of Buddhism. Jesus is saying that he is the steps. Every religion has the steps which is a what--something that we must do. But the real gate of heaven is a who--it is a person. Jesus fulfilled the requirements. He lived the steps. He lived the life I should have lived and died the death I should have died. When we understand who Jesus is, only then will we "see heaven open." Jesus did not come to found a religion. He did not come to show the steps/stairway. He came to be the steps/stairway. Heaven and earth came to intersect over Jesus' dead and resurrected body. Jesus opened a cleft in the pitiless walls of the world. Jesus came down and did everything for us. Only when we understand this we will know who Jesus is and heaven will be open for us.

1) Only in Jesus do we resolve the problem of suffering in the world. Only Christianity teaches that God came down and suffered himself. He suffered unjustly. He suffered tragedy. He suffered seemingly senselessly. But through his death he resolves all our conflicts. Out of physical death he brought real life. Out of material poverty he brought real riches. Out of worldly brokenness and weakness, he brought real strength. God's redemption works through the troubles, the suffering, the agonies, the injustice, the self-denial, the death. It is through the suffering that I come to see heaven open and know Jesus.

2) Only when we know that Jesus is the steps/the stairway that we can have an encounter with God. (Jesus does not point to the steps/the stairway.) We may believe in Christianity/the Bible, but without knowing that Jesus is the stairway, we will never see heaven open. We will not have the experience of his love and grace, the sense of Jesus being right over us in intimacy and speaking words of unconditional love. Why?

If we see the Bible as a book of instructions, or if we see Jesus living as an example for me to follow, then we think that Christianity are steps that we must follow. We see Jesus' suffering and death as an example, and a loving inspiration at best. But if we see Jesus not ascending the steps as an example, but being the steps, then we do not see him as an example for me, but as a substitute for me, as one who gave himself to suffer and die for me, then I can begin to have an encounter with God and see heaven open.

Why was Jacob so miserable? He was lonely, deceitful, proud, wicked. He had malice. But Jesus came down and took all of Jacob's misery and loneliness upon himself as the steps, as the penalty that we deserve. Jesus suffered cosmic loneliness on the cross, suffering the ultimate penalty for sin, and crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46) Jesus did this for me. Do you sense this? Do you see this? Does it move you? Jesus became the stairway for me, not just an inspirational example. Only then does cognition become experience. Only then does believing about God become knowing God and experiencing him.

The angels were ascending and descending on Jesus, not to Jesus. Every other religion has angels ascending and descending to, and so there are steps that we must do. But Christianity is the only religion that says that God came and fulfilled all the requirements for you by becoming the steps. God did it all for us, so that he can come into our lives by sheer grace. That's why God could stand over Jacob and speak words of unconditional love to Jacob, who was one who was not even looking for God. Let us conclude with 3 things as application:

1. Any place is the gate of heaven: Don't dichotomize your life. There is no place where God is not working. God's power can work and come down anywhere, for "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it" (Ps 24:1; 1 Cor 10:26). Therefore, a Christian must not dichotomize his life. Do we act, think and feel differently on Sun at church, than at other places or at other times? Practice God's presence everywhere, because God's presence is everywhere.
   
2. God works especially in times when we are totally weak, totally alone, totally forlorn. God reveals himself the best at such times. Why did God come to Jacob when he didn't ask? When he didn't pray? When he wasn't living a good life in any way? God is attracted to his brokenness. God does not just come despite Jacob's brokenness, but because of it. Jacob has been dressing up. He's looking to other people for approval, so he has to be somebody else. But at this point everything falls apart. The emperor has no clothes. He is laid bare. God comes down and sees him sleeping. He is completely defenseless with no facades left. God looks at him at the bottom and loves him to the sky. This is what we all need. No husband, wife, father, mother, king, leader, human being can take our complete weakness. They are too weak to bless us if we show them all of our weakness. But there is the one Father, King, Friend, Husband who comes down and sees us at the bottom with all of our weaknesses, brokenness with no facades, and is actually attracted to us because of them. Ps 25:11 says, "For the sake of your name, LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great." Jonathan Edwards pointed out that God forgives us not in spite of our sins but because of it. He is that kind of God.
3. God doesn't give up on us, despite our "disgusting" motives. Do you think Christianity is too much work, and I can't keep this up? Look at Jacob's response. What's interesting is that it is so bad/horrible. God comes and gives him unbelievable unconditional promises of love without a single "if." God simply says, "I love you." But Jacob says I will serve you "if" you do all the things you promised....then you will be my God. Don't do that! How can you come to One who has utterly given himself to you without you giving yourself utterly to him? But does God give up on Jacob after hearing his "nauseating vow"? No. What do we learn here? Even though our responses to God will always be half-ass, God will not give up on us. Why? Because Jesus took our penalty. Jesus is our stairway. Heaven opens over us by sheer grace. If we see Jesus do this for us, and to the degree we see it, we will see heaven open. Have you seen heaven open?
   

This is based on a sermon by Tim Keller entitled "The Openness of Heaven."