Ignite Your Faith and Help You Experience Jesus in HdExemplo

Day Two: Jesus is the Ladder of Connection

Jacob was worried. He stole by deception the blessing from his brother Esau, and now, he's fleeing from his brother and afraid Esau is going to kill him. Tired from his journey, Jacob laid down for the evening to go to bed, and he had a dream. There's a ladder that descends from heaven in this dream, and Jacob saw angels ascending and descending on the ladder. It's so interesting because the ladder comes from heaven to earth. The ladder represents the way God communicates with Jacob and with us as well—from heaven to earth.

The ladder represents the connecting of heaven and earth. It represents the revelation of God to Jacob or the revelation of God to us. This idea connects to the events at Mt. Sinai because, at Sinai, God came down and encountered the children of Israel and spoke to them. The children of Israel heard God's voice at Mt. Sinai through the giving of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament). Jacob heard God's voice at the ladder. They made a significant connection. We can connect and hear God's voice today through His Word and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

What does this story teach to us? Jacob's encounter with the ladder reveals to us that Jesus is the ladder. Jesus is the one who connects heaven and earth. He is how we hear God's voice. The same voice that spoke to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments. The same voice who called Israel to be a holy priesthood and a royal nation is now in these last days speaking to us through God's Son, Jesus the Messiah. He is the true ladder and the one who connects heaven and earth.

But there's more! Later in Jacob's life (Genesis 32:22–32), Jacob wrestled with God. The man who dreamed of connecting with God now must wrestle with God. Why? Jacob, the schemer, had to go through the process. Jacob had the blessing, but he had to go through the process to receive it fully. God had to break Jacob before He could bless him. And that's true for all of us. God has to break us before He can make us; there has to be brokenness before there can be blessing in our lives.

Our brokenness is not something we should be ashamed of, and our brokenness is not something that we need to hide. Candidly, God only uses broken people. He only uses broken vessels, and that's good news for you and me because out of our brokenness, God can make us better. Sometimes God allows our lives to be taken apart piece by piece, but it's because He wants to make something better (Romans 8:28) out of you as He did with Jacob.

And while we're going through the process, who is our connection? Jesus Messiah. Hebrews 2:18 tells us, "Because He Himself suffered when put to the test, He is able to help those being tested." Jesus is going to bring wholeness to this world. On that day, and at that moment, Jesus will transform the world. You and I will be transformed. Heaven and earth will be connected, and there'll be peace and wholeness. May that day come quickly. But even as we wait, we can still experience wholeness out of brokenness in our own life through connecting with our ladder, Yeshua Jesus, our Messiah.