After deceiving his father Isaac and taking his brother Esau’s blessing, Jacob was forced to flee for his life. Esau burned with anger, and Rebekah, their mother, urged Jacob to escape to her brother Laban’s house in Haran.
So Jacob set out alone on a long journey into the unknown. He traveled through rugged terrain, likely filled with guilt, fear, and uncertainty. One night, as the sun set and the sky turned dark, he stopped to rest. With a stone for a pillow, he lay down to sleep under the open sky.
That night, Jacob had a dream—a divine encounter that would change his life forever.
He saw a stairway (or ladder) reaching from the earth up to heaven, and on it, angels were ascending and descending. At the top stood the Lord, who spoke to Jacob and reaffirmed the covenant He had made with Abraham and Isaac:
“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. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.”
Jacob woke up in awe.
“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it,” he said. Filled with reverence, he added,
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil on it to consecrate it. He named the place Bethel, meaning “House of God.”
Jacob made a vow: if God would protect him on his journey and bring him back safely, then the Lord would be his God. He even promised to give God a tenth of all he received.
This story marks a turning point in Jacob’s life. Though he had just come from deception and strife, God met him with grace. Jacob didn’t find God in a temple or a perfect moment—he found Him in the wilderness, while running from his mistakes.
The vision of the ladder reminds us that heaven is not far off. There’s a connection between the divine and the earthly, between God’s realm and ours. And Jesus would later say, in John 1:51, that He is the true ladder—the way to the Father, the bridge between heaven and earth.