Throughout most of my Christian years of studying Holy Scripture, the Book of Revelation was the major end-time eschatology source. Little consideration was given to similar sources in the Old Covenant. Yet, beginning with the very first words of the Torah (Gen. 1: 1) and continuing through Noah, Abraham, and beyond we find Torah replete with both Messianic prophecy and end-time eschatology, of which this portion is no exception.
At the conclusion of the last portion, Jacob had his bags packed and was receiving last minute instructions before embarking upon his journey to Paddan-aram. At the conclusion of the first day of his journey, he made camp for the night (Beth-el) and took a rock, used it as a pillow, and fell into a sleep. During his sleep, he had a rather unusual, but vivid, dream as detailed below.
"And he dreamed and saw a ladder set up on the earth, and its top reached to the heavens, and saw messengers of Elohim going up and coming down on it. And see, יהוה stood above it and said, 'I am יהוה Elohim of Abraham your father and the Elohim of Yitsḥaq. The land on which you are lying, I give it to you and your seed. And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall break forth to the west and to the east, to the north and the south. And all the clans of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your seed. And see, I am with you and shall guard you wherever you go, and shall bring you back to this land. For I am not going to leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.'"
Genesis 28: 12-15
For most of my life, my vision of this dream was of a literal ladder connecting earth with heaven. As I have been studying Torah and the original Hebrew texts regarding this story, I find it is not a ladder as we would regard a ladder. The orginal text presents the word "ladder" in a masculine gender rather than in the neuter. The ladder in Jacob's dream is not an object. The ladder is a real person. If not an inanimate object, then who is this real person?
To find the answer to this question, we need to consider a man by the name of Nathanael. As recorded by John this man was sitting under a fig tree. It is not recorded what he was doing under the tree. Yet, a good assertion could be made for prayer. When Philip tells him of the new found Messiah, Nathanael wonders aloud, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Consider now the dialogue between he and Messiah Yeshua.
"Yeshua saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me? Yeshua answered and said unto him, before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of Elohim; Thou art King of Israel. Yeshua answered and said unto him, because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And He saith unto him, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of Elohim ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
John 1: 47-51
The Person of the ladder is clearly Messiah Yeshua. The account of Jacob's dream has the Father standing at the top of the ladder. Yet, the Hebrew more correctly says, "and He was beside the Lord". Yeshua told Nathanael he would see this come true in his lifetime. Possibly with Nathanael as a witness, Stephen unashamedly spoke with the power of the Holy Spirit to his countrymen concerning the truth of Messiah, even though it would cost him his life. Luke records the glory of Adonai revealed on Stephen's behalf.
"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of Elohim, and Yeshua standing on the right hand of Elohim, and said, behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of Elohim." Acts 7: 55-56
Before I leave this part of the portion, I wish to consider Yeshua's greeting of Nathanael, "Behold, an Israelite with no guile". According to Strong's, "guile" means "a trick or decoy". It exemplifies "deceit, craftiness, or subtlety". The opposite of the meaning given of "guile" is humility, an absense of self-thinking.
Yeshua says He "saw him under the fig tree" even before Philip gave him the news of the Messiah. Just what was it that caught Messiah's attention regarding this man under the fig tree? Nathanael was most likely praying or otherwise communing with YHVH. With Messiah's forthright intent to bestow this compliment, Nathanael's heart and spirit while under the tree, as well as in all his life, was obviously open and humble.
With the true picture of "Jacob's Ladder" as Mediator between heaven and earth in mind, Nathanael and all Messiah's servants that follow are benefactors of His mercy and loving kindness. Ministering angels freely ascend and descend upon Him to do His bidding in our lives. It is no wonder Scripture says, "(Cast) your care upon Him, for He cares for you". With one hand stretched to the Father and another to us, we are far better off than the Allstate insurance slogan--"in good hands".
Yeshua says He "saw him under the fig tree" even before Philip gave him the news of the Messiah. Just what was it that caught Messiah's attention regarding this man under the fig tree? Nathanael was most likely praying or otherwise communing with YHVH. With Messiah's forthright intent to bestow this compliment, Nathanael's heart and spirit while under the tree, as well as in all his life, was obviously open and humble.
With the true picture of "Jacob's Ladder" as Mediator between heaven and earth in mind, Nathanael and all Messiah's servants that follow are benefactors of His mercy and loving kindness. Ministering angels freely ascend and descend upon Him to do His bidding in our lives. It is no wonder Scripture says, "(Cast) your care upon Him, for He cares for you". With one hand stretched to the Father and another to us, we are far better off than the Allstate insurance slogan--"in good hands".
I often find myself walking along the beach or the bluff above and gazing out across the bay to the North Pacific. I find myself in praise to Him for his beautiful creation and the blessing He has afforded me, as I bring my requests before Him. Sometimes I find myself in seeming aloneness, longing to go home to the Promised Land.
As I commune with the Father in these times, I try to lose a little more of myself and put on a little more of Messiah. The point of encouragement I see in Nathanael under the fig tree is for all those that desire to seek in humility a closer walk with Yeshua. Whether this person is walking a beach, under a big oak tree, walking along a creek bank, or any other quite spot, I reach out in encouragement to say Yeshua sees you just as He saw Nathanael. He is always right there with you and will never leave you. Consider His words through Matthew.
"...teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
Matthew 28: 20
After leaving the place of his dream, Jacob completes his journey to Haran. In this part of the account of Jacob, we are given detail of his marital arrangements and dealings with Laban, a very deceitful and self-serving employer. In ALL Jacob's children, we will see a most beautiful story of the coming of our Messiah, both as Redeemer and soon coming King. In the far less than optimal working relationship with Laban, we will see Jacob come out on top. Be encouraged of heart and spirit to know that we, too, will attain the bigger blessing in a world filled with unhospitable Labans.
Even before Jacob arrives at his final destination in the house of Bethuel and Laban, Rebecca's brother, he meets and falls head-over-heels in love with Rachel. When all is said and done, Jacob winds up with twelve sons and one daughter from his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and their handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah.
It has already been established that every Hebrew name has a specific meaning. With only one exception (Benjamin), the children of Jacob were named by their mother. Leah starts the process of children with four sons--Reuben (see, a son), Simeon (unloved), Levi (loved or attached in love), and Judah (praise). Not to be outdone by her sister, Rebecca gives her handmaid (Bilhah) to Jacob who bears two sons--Dan (judged) and Napthali (I have prevailed).
Because Rebecca made use of her handmaid to procure sons for Jacob, Leah chose to do the same and gave him Zilpah who bore two sons--Gad (a troop) and Asher (happy). Leah would then bear two more sons, Issachar (wages) and Zebulon (dwell with honor), and one daughter Dinah (feminine form of Dan, judged). To round out the number of children in the house of Jacob, Rachel gives him two sons--Joseph (add to me, give me more) and Benjamin (son of my right hand) before she dies.
In our culture and society, names are usually selected with very little thought as to meaning. Hebrew is different. The "remez" level of study concerning the meaning of the above names actually tells a prophetic story of Messiah and Redeemer, Yeshua. Of the children specifically from Leah we have the following story.
"Adonai will send us His Son (Reuben) and He will be hated or unloved by some (Simeon) but loved by others (Levi). He will be YHVH's praise (Judah). He will be the wages for our sin (Issachar) so that we might dwell with Him (Zebulon) and be His bride (Dinah)."
With the idea in mind that the number seven being one of diety, it could easily be reasoned that Leah was Father's choice as wife for Jacob. The "remez level" story of Messiah in the children's names gives witness to that conclusion. But, what about Rachel? Is she left out of the picture? Is she any less chosen to be Jacob's wife? Let us consider the two children specifically from her.
Joseph was the first of two sons specifically from Rachel. As the redemption of Messiah took away our reproach, Rachel says of the birth of Joseph in 30: 23, "Elohim has taken away my reproach." Rather than first born Reuben, Joseph is chosen to receive the blessing passed down from Abraham through his fathers. It will be through his bloodline the Seed of Abraham's covenant will come. Joseph's name means "add to me, give me more". Through Messiah, sons and daughters, as the stars of heaven, will be added to Jacob.
Joseph is the Messiah figure in his family. He is rejected by his brothers and cast into a pit. He was raised out of that pit and sold into Egyptian slavery. Even so, he would be raised up out of slavery to be in charge of the known world of the time. As the "breadman of life", he brought salvation and deliverance to all his brothers. Yeshua said through John in 6: 35, "I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall not hunger, and he that believes on Me shall never thirst".
Sometime thereafter, Benjamin was born to Jacob through Rachel. In the birth of this son, Rachel died from serious child birth complications. As was the custom, she named her new son, "Ben-oni (son of my sorrow)". Even so, Jacob overruled this one time and called him "Ben-jamin (son of my right hand)". Yeshua is known both as "a man of sorrow" and as One "standing at the right hand of the Father". Together, Joseph and Benjamin are the strongest examples of Messiah in all of Jacob's family.
In using the "remez level" of Torah understanding, a story was brought forth concerning the coming of the Messiah as Redeemer. Yet, the telling of that story only used seven of Jacob's children through Leah. Other than Joseph and Benjamin, there were four sons left out of that understanding--Dan, Napthali, Gad, and Asher, children of Bilhah and Zilpah. According to the meaning of their names, I present my "remez" understanding in regards to Messiah's triumphant second coming, supporting the idea they, too, were chosen by Father along with Leah and Rachel.
"Elohim has judged and vendicated us through the blood of Messiah (Dan). Because He has prevailed against Hasatan (Napthali), we now have the affections of our Husband, Yeshua. As a part of the seed of Abraham, we will gather or assemble ourselves together in or by troops (Gad). With Messiah at the helm of our righteous camp, we will overcome and enter into the joy of our eternal Salvation (Asher)."
We are possibly just a few short months from gathering into one of many camps of the righteous. That for which we have long prepared is at the very door. Let us continue in that preparation in all aspects--physical, mental, and spiritual. Let us lift holy hands and praise our Messiah for His loving kindness through His active words of wisdom. With abundant infilling of Ruach YHVH, we will enter the camp and begin our journey to the land of Abraham's covenant. Baruch Hashem!
