A Pillow as Hard as a Rock

O.T. "A Pillow as Hard as a Rock"
May 30, 2013
Genesis 28-Part 2
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set;
and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that
place to sleep.  Genesis 28:11

LET IT GLOW

When we go on a trip, I usually take my own pillow along. Experience has taught me that most motels' pillows are usually too soft, so I need two, but two are too high for my neck and one is too low. so in order to be comfortable, I use my own. I used to sleep with two pillows until I figured
it out that they were the cause of my neck hurting in the morning. Now I sleep on only one pillow
and it isn't as hard as a rock, but soft, yet firm. Jacob's pillow was as hard as a rock because it was
a rock. Enough about pillows. Shall we continue?

Got your hiking boots on? Isaac, Jacob's father, sent his son to Laban, Rebekah's brothers' house
to find a wife. In reality, it was another scheme of the mother of Jacob, so Esau wouldn't kill him for taking his birthright and blessings.
Jacob traveled about seventy miles from Beersheba to Bethel, a three-day journey. He was away
from his aging and mild father, scheming mother, and jealous brother. Was he alone or did he take servants with him for the journey? The Bible doesn't say.
But that night...

• He lighted in a certain place and tarried there all night. Lighted has several meanings in the Hebrew, but the ones that fit this verse refers to fall upon, to lay. I like that word lighted.    Does it matter where we light for the night? Apparently so. (Jacob later called the place  Bethel, which we will discuss later.) Where have you lighted? Where do you pitch the tent? Where did you hang the shingle out, calling it home? Our decisions are important. Are we living and working in the places that are in God's will or our will? Are we willing to move when God says or are our roots down too deep?
• It was a certain place, identified as Bethel in verse 19. Located about 50 miles north of Beersheba and about 6 miles north of Jerusalem, Jacob spent the night in an open field. (MacArthur)
• The name of the city was called Luz at first. Jacob called it Bethel, which means house of bread. Jacob's experience that night not only changed him, but it changed the name of the  place where he slept. Does our presence change things? Are we taking Jesus with us    wherever we go? What was so special about this place? Jacob was away from all his family's influence. He encountered God there. Let's look further into it.

LET IT GROW

It's night and Jacob is tired from the traveling. All he wants to do is make camp, eat a bite, and get some sleep. He looks around and finds some rocks to use for pillows. It doesn't sound too comfortable to me, but whatever works. And it worked because it put him right to sleep.
This was a significant place and a significant night.
What happened next?

• He dreamed. He dreamed about a ladder. It's not just any ladder, but one (longgggg ladder)  that reached from heaven to earth.

Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament explains:

The ladder symbolizes Jesus Christ. Jacob is a picture of the lost soul in darkness, fleeing for his life, away from the father's house, burdened with sin, and ignorant of the fact that God is near him and wants to save him. The ladder pictures Christ as the only way from earth to heaven. He alone can take us to heaven. Jacob thought he was in a lonely wilderness and awakened to discover he had been at the very gate of heaven!

• The ladder was was a ramp or staircase. (Falwell)
• Angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  
• Jesus stood above it.
• Jesus spoke to Jacob in his dream.

In tomorrow's lesson we will see what Jesus told Jacob.

Am I expecting to encounter Jesus today? Am I quiet before the Lord, listening for his Spirit to
speak to my soul?

LET IT GO

Let go of comfort and come to The Rock, Jesus.

Be still and know that He is God.

Listen and obey His voice.