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Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, 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 spoken to you.”
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
—From Genesis 28:10–17 (NKJV)
And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
—From John 1:51 (NKJV)

Meditation

Jacob had an unfortunate history, beginning with his very birth. Born a twin, Jacob, mere minutes younger than his brother Esau, lost the inheritance and blessing of their father. As he grew, he also lost their father’s affection. Esau was a man’s man like his father. He loved things of the flesh: hunting, good food, the local women—in fact, he married two of the local women, who vexed his parents, especially his mother, Rebecca.

Esau may have been his father’s favorite, but Jacob was his mother’s. We might imagine him as gentler, more patient, more thoughtful than his fleshly brother, and here he used his cunning to overcome his unfortunate birth order.

He recognized and used his brother’s impatience and appetites by offering him a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright. Esau, being a man fit for our modern era of instant gratification, took the offer without a second thought.

Jacob also recognized that his brother’s troublesome wives made his position of favor precarious. He was not about to make his brother’s mistake. No, he wouldn’t follow his passions to the women of the land. He took his mother’s advice and, since he was fleeing his enraged brother as it was, went back to his own people to find a wife among them.

So often we see the string of deceptions in Jacob’s life and wonder why these deceptions were honored and even blessed. The fact is, Jacob, like all of us, was flawed. God often chooses for His greatest purposes those people who “least deserve it.”

Abram lied about Sarai, telling local rulers she was his sister rather than his wife, not once but twice. And Sarah’s own impatience led to a rival heir and so much pain.

Despite Jacob’s flaws, he had traits that Esau lacked. The patience to wait, the willingness to obey, and most importantly—he recognized the value of his inheritance.

So we should be slightly less surprised when Jacob, fleeing for his life, has the strangest dream.

A ladder appears, dropped down from heaven, bridging the gap between the heavenly realm and the earth below. Angels were ascending and descending, and God spoke from its highest point.

Scholars have wondered at this strange vision from the time the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) was set down. They wondered and discussed this same question while the child Jesus sat listening in the temple.

“Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Later, grown Jesus would say, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Jacob would have grown up hearing a story we now find in Genesis 11. The story of a people, united in purpose and language, who attempted to build a tower so high it could reach God in heaven. He would have learned how the people’s languages were confused into bable, the tower never completed. He would have known that humanity cannot reach heaven, no matter how high they build.

We cannot build a ladder to heaven, but God can descend to us. He did so on that Silent Night more than two thousand years ago.

Inspiration

Jacob’s Dream

Bartolome Esteban Murillo, 1665. A vision and a passing of the blessing from Abraham and Isaac to Jacob.

Ascend, my brothers, ascend eagerly. Let your hearts’ resolve be to climb. Listen to the voice of the one who says: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of our God” (Isa. 2:3), Who makes our feet to be like the feet of the deer, “Who sets us on the high places that we may be triumphant on His road” (Hab. 3:19). Run, I beg you, run with him who said, “Let us hurry until we arrive at the unity of faith and of the knowledge of God, at mature manhood, at the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness” (Eph. 4:13).

From “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” by St. John Climacus

Music

Share in the joy of the angels with Angels We Have Heard on High.

This arrangement of What Child Is This visually demonstrates how Christ bridges heaven and earth.

Visit our Joy of Advent YouTube playlist for featured videos, our Ultimate Christmas playlist for all our favorite carols, or our sing-along carols to enjoy karaoke style.

Reflection

How far away is heaven? The ancients thought it was immeasurable, but with all our technology we know how long it would take to reach the nearest star. Yet what is heaven? For Adam and Eve heaven was the garden, not because of its beauty, but because it was the dwelling place of God. What if heaven is dwelling with, communing with our Heavenly Father? He’s so far distant we can never reach Him on our own, but this doesn’t keep us from trying. Like the ancients, who tried to reach God with a tower, we try to earn His favor with goodness, social justice, having a perfect face on social media. Reflect today on how you are trying to reach God. Consider how simple, yet how dear, God’s Way to Him is—all you need do is trust and obey.

Prayer

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit both now and forever. Amen.

O Holy Father, hearing the voice of the Gospel of the Lord, you have forsaken the world, counting its riches and its glory as nothing; and so you have cried out to all: “Love God, and you shall find eternal graces. Set nothing higher than His love, that when He comes in glory you may find rest with all the saints.” At our prayers, O Christ, guard and save our souls.

(From the Vespers of St. John of the Ladder)

Family Celebration

A ladder reminds us of the point of connection between heaven and earth.

In your child’s favorite Children’s Bible, read the story of Jacob’s Ladder.

Say: Do you ever remember your dreams? Jacob had a very strange dream, didn’t he? A ladder went all the way up to God in heaven! A long time before Jacob all the people of the world tried to build a tower to heaven, but God confused them and scattered them. They couldn’t build a tower to God. Nobody can build a tower or a ladder tall enough to reach heaven. But when Jesus was born, God came all the way to earth to be with us! Jesus is like Jacob’s ladder—that’s why a ladder in the clouds is our symbol today.

Especially for Toddlers and PreK

Resources

Did you know that there is historical evidence to support the existence of the Tower of Babel?
Enjoy a printable coloring page of Jacob's Ladder.
Would you like to make Jesse Tree ornaments to accompany your readings? Find tutorials and ideas from simple to advanced at our Jesse Tree Ornaments Pinterest board.

Recent Resources from Joy of Advent