A Hindsight Hint

 

A Hindsight Hint

^“He [Jacob] came to a certain place and stayed there for the 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.  And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of Elohim were ascending and descending on it.  And YHVH stood beside him and said, ‘I am YHVH, the Elohim of Abraham your father and the Elohim of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and 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 all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that 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’" (Genesis 28:11-15).

Is there something concealed in this picture, a hint of a glory yet to be revealed, beside that which is obvious?  To recap. Jacob the man is the object of the above description.  He had arrived at a place, and night was beginning to settle in. He therefore picked up a stone, put his head on it for a pillow and had a dream of a ladder that was set up on earth with its top reaching heaven. On it were messengers/angels that were going up and coming down, while YHVH was standing next to him or above the ladder (the Hebrew can be read as either or).  YHVH introduced Himself as the Elohim of his fathers and reiterated the covenants and promises.  Upon waking up Jacob exclaimed: “Surely YHVH is in this place-- and I did not know it!" (Genesis 28:16).  Next he was gripped with fear, making the following statement:  “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of Elohim and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17). 

This prophetic dream obviously took place inside Jacob’s head. It was a vision of what was to happen to Jacob the man and to the multitudes of his progeny.  It is a picture of the future nation/house of Elohim, which will be made up of this particular family (of earthen dust).  It guaranteed that generation after generation YHVH’s messengers will be ministering His will and directing the affairs of His people in order to fulfill everything that He had promised to Jacob in the above stated covenant.  Elohim will be in constant back-and-forth communication with Jacob’s posterity, as is testified throughout the recorded history of Israel and Judah.  He promised to our forefather Jacob that “he would never leave nor forsake him/us” even when going through corrective punishment. His words “you only have I chosen among all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2) have been echoing in the corridor of Time. 

There is no clearer evidence of Jacob’s selection to be the “House of YHVH” than the message proclaimed approximately two thousand years later, by the angel Gabriel to Yeshua’s mother: “He [Yeshua] will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and YHVH Elohim will give to him the throne of his father David. He will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32-33).  The house of Jacob and the throne of David are to be established in the former’s posterity.  But in order for this to happen, they too must lay their head upon “the stone that the builders rejected”.  Jacob’s offspring is also destined to become the head of all the nations and not the tail. "And YHVH will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of YHVH your Elohim, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them” (Deuteronomy 28:13).  "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27).  “And He said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in [b’toch] the children of Israel forever’” (Ezekiel 43:7).  This promise began to be realized after Yeshua the Redeemer of Jacob’s house was glorified (see John 7:39).

Isaiah points to a people whom YHVH has created and formed in which to house His presence and glory: “Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." (Isaiah 43:7).  Does YHVH give any indication as to who He is addressing?  The answer is in verse 1 of the same chapter:  “But now, thus says YHVH, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).  Paul also makes reference back to YHVH’s covenant promises to those whom He foreknew: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” Romans 8:29-30 emphasis added).  

As a result of his dream/vision Jacob concluded that the place where he had his experience was the “gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17). However, much later on, in a prophecy yet to be fulfilled about New Jerusalem’s gates, it is Jacob’s offspring that is, the twelve tribes of Israel, who are to be the City’s twelve gates. “Also she [Jerusalem] had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 21:12).  So, “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors! That the King of glory may come in.  Who is the King of glory? YHVH, strong and mighty, YHVH, mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:7-8).