Never but a Ladder's Distance Away

In Genesis 28, Isaac tells Jacob that he is not to marry one of the daughters in Canaan, and instead, he is to marry one of Laban's, Jacob's mother's brother, daughters. Isaac gave Jacob his blessing, and he went on his way to Padanaram to see Laban. Esau, Jacob's brother, was upset because Isaac had blessed Jacob instead of him, and he went unto Ishmael and took to wife his daughter. After traveling for some time, Jacob decided to stop and rest. He found a place to stay all night, and he used a stone as a pillow. Once asleep, God came to him in a dream. There was a ladder that set upon the Earth, and it reached all the way unto Heaven. Jacob saw the angels of God climbing up and down the ladder, and the Lord stood at the top of it. The Lord spoke unto Jacob saying, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

Once Jacob woke, he knew that the Lord had been in his presence. He was afraid because of the great power the Lord had. Jacob set up the stone that he had used as a pillow and poured oil on it as a representation of the Lord's work. Jacob named the place that the Lord had visited him, Bethel. Jacob then made a vow to God that if God will be with him, feed him, and cloth him, so that he could go back home to his father in peace, due to his brother's anger, he would give a tenth of his wage to God.

Jacob was a great man of God, therefore, He blessed him with many things of the Earth. Isaac saw great potential in Jacob, so he sent him to marry someone that he thought would be worthy of him. When we put our faith in God and worship him, people will see those things, and see us in a Godly manner, and God will also bless us for those works. We don't do God's work to show off to the world, but instead, to be an influence to them, and try our best to be an example of God.

When the Lord came to Jacob in a dream, God had a purpose. God showed Jacob the great connection between the Earth and Heaven. It represented that God could always be reached with prayer, and that God could always reach His people that are on Earth. God told Jacob that He would give him and his following generations the land that he was on,  and that He would always be with him. This piece of land was given unto Jacob because God saw that he was true and faithful. As a saved person, it is our duty to follow God and do His work, but God will still bless us, even though we don't deserve it.

Jacob woke up like I think any of us would if the Lord had just visited our dreams, terrified. The Lord's power can be scary because He is all powerful, and we depend on Him for our every breath. Jacob remembered the great vow that God gave unto him, and he praised God by setting up the stone and blessing it as a representation of the Lord with oil. He then vowed to give God a tenth of his wages if He would help him. This is what we would call tithing today, which is giving 10% of our salaries unto God through church offerings.

It is such a blessing to know that God can reach us at any point in time. Even though we are separated from God physically, He can always ascend down the ladder from Heaven unto our hearts here on Earth. God doesn't ignore the work that we do for Him. He sees everything that we do for Him, and he will always remember us when He is sending blessings unto His people. If we are to vow our lives to God, we can be a great influence to those around us, and do our best to make God proud of us. He is never but a ladder's distance away.

Jacob Fights for Rachel

The story of Rachel is one of my favorite stories in the Bible because I love a good romance story. The love wasn't about sex or lust like it is in the books and movies today, but it is real love. A love that was worth fighting for.

Rachel and Jacob met one day when Rachel was at the well feeding her father's sheep and Jacob was passing by, following his mother's wishes to go to her land. Jacob loved Rachel as soon as he laid his eyes on her. He removed the large stone was atop the well, and gave water to her flock. He then kissed Rachel, and Rachel ran home to tell her father. Her father, Laban, came and sought Jacob so that he could come work for him. Jacob agreed to work for him seven years for the exchange of his daughter. Jacob was willing to wait however long it took to have Rachel as his own.

When the seven years was up, a wedding was prepared, and Jacob was finally going to be able to marry his love. At the wedding, Laban's daughter was heavily veiled. It was the next day that Jacob found out that he had been fooled. He hadn't married Rachel, but her older sister, Leah. Jacob did not love Leah. Upset, Jacob went unto Laban, and Laban told him that it was customary for the older daughter to marry first. Laban and Jacob made another deal; if Jacob were to work for him another seven years, he could have Rachel as well. After Jacob agreed, he was wed to Rachel a week later.

Leah began having sons, but Rachel did not. This upset Rachel because she is the one that Jacob truly loved, and she was not able to give him sons. After Leah had 10 sons and a daughter, God finally gave Rachel a son, Joseph. Jacob loved Joseph the most because he had came from Rachel.

Twenty years passed and Jacob wanted to leave with his family, but Laban did not want him to. Laban wanted him to wait until the flock was born, and he would give Jacob some. Even after the six years of waiting to receive the flock, Laban still did not want them to leave. Jacob decided enough as enough, and he secretly ran away with his family.

To me, this story shows the real meaning of love. Jacob was willing to do whatever it took to have Rachel as his wife, along with the blessing from her father. Unfortunately, Jacob was not able to leave with her father's blessing, but he repeatedly tried. How many times do we hear stories about someone waiting for twenty plus years for someone's love? How loved Rachel must have felt to see a man that loved her so much that he never gave up on her. From the moment Jacob saw Rachel at the well, he never failed to do whatever was asked of him and he never failed to show Rachel his love. I couldn't imagine how heartbroken Jacob was when he saw that Leah had become his wife instead of Rachel. He had been deceived by Rachel's own father. Though, the happiness that came a week later when he was finally able to marry his love, must have been worth all the pain.

I really feel for Rachel as she had to watch Leah have Jacob's sons and daughter. Rachel saw that it was supposed to be her having Jacob's children because she is the one that Jacob truly loved. Putting myself in Rachel's shoes, I would have been jealous beyond belief and angry because Jacob had been deceived in marrying Leah. It wouldn't have seemed fair that Leah, who Jacob didn't love, was able to have children, but Rachel could not. Though, Rachel received the most blessing when she was able to have the most loved by Jacob when she had Joseph. Joseph turned out to be a great man, and Rachel and Jacob loved him.

I think this story can show us both what love truly means and the patience that we should have for love. Jacob had to wait twenty plus years, so it gives me the strength to wait until God sends the right person to me. We have to fight for the right love. Jacob didn't find the love he wanted in Leah, so he kept fighting and fighting. It's okay to wait. It's okay that there's obstacles. Overcome them, and keep fighting.