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From the reference Scripture and those closely related, we can see a most remarkable account of one man, Jacob, and his surprising revelations of the Presence of the Lord Himself, the LORD God and Angels from Heaven!

As you may read of these Scriptures, keep in mind that the Old Testament Scriptures give us types and shadows of things to come that are revealed and confirmed by the New Testament!

Someone has said that some certain things have been Concealed in the Old, but, these same things are Revealed in the New. This Plan of God allows us to reach a greater depth of understanding about the things of God, even to the building of our stronger faith in HIM!

In the opening verses of Genesis Chapter 27, we are shown that Isaac was old, that his eyesight had failed and that he desired to make his Will and Blessing before his death. His intentions were to bless his eldest son Esau, but Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, intervened so that Jacob would receive the blessing instead. Several things happened that showed the nature of mankind’s natural heart. Let me enumerate a few: (1) Rebekah by deceit opposed and disobeyed the desires of her husband, Isaac. (2) Rebekah was willing to receive the curse for deceiving, lying and stealing. (3) Jacob acted in deception and lied at least three times so that he may receive the blessing of Isaac. He definitely knew the divine penalty for lying! Does this Scripture describe the nature of their hearts? Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

It is well that we know the Blessing of Isaac that he desired to pass to his son Esau, but, by intervention, deceit and lies was received by Jacob. Here is the loss of Esau and the gain of Jacob: Gen 27:27-29 "Surely, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!"

A side note: Notice, "the smell of my son…" is compared to the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed! Some of you may have experienced the Presence of the Son of God and even come to know that there is a distinctive smell when the Lord is near to us! Thank you, Lord that we can know your Presence!

When Esau heard about all of this, he was a little upset! Gen 27:34-35 "When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me -- me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing."

Esau pleaded with his father, Isaac, for a second blessing of which he did receive from Isaac. But it was inferior to the blessing given to Jacob. Esau was bound by the first blessing of Isaac to serve his younger brother, Esau. We see that Esau was blessed to be a "farmer" and receive the "fat" grown by the earth and yet, watered by the dew of Heaven! His defense was to be his own sword rather than the Presence and Providence of God. To show again the wickedness of the heart of man, we note here what Esau harbored in his heart: Gen 27:39

"So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, ’The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’" Some of you by this may know that evil things can be spoken in the heart, with out a sound of the lips, even to avowed hatred and murder! This is in agreement with Prov 23:7

Then, again, Rebekah called Jacob to warn him about the intent of Esau. She then practically commanded him to obey her voice and flee to her brother, Laban, in Haran. She told him to wait there a few days until the anger and fury of Esau were turned away and that Esau would forget how Jacob had stolen from him. This was good motherly advice to avoid conflict and danger! She did not want either of her sons to be damaged in this wild fury of Esau or the murderous hatred of Esau for Jacob! (Gen 27:42-45)

So then, Rebekah, being totally fed up, disappointed and heartbroken went to Isaac and made it clear that she did not want her son to marry another daughter of Heth! Such would only lead to further interference, confusion and division of the family. Rather than Jacob taking a wife from the local population of Heth, she wanted her son to marry within the family (the family of God). Therefore Isaac called Jacob to himself and he blessed Jacob, but, Isaac strictly forbade Jacob to take a wife from among the Canaanites that lived all around them! He commanded Jacob to go to Padan Aram, to his grandfather’s house (Bethual) and take a wife of his uncle Laban, Rebekah’s brother. By this he would have a wife who was his first cousin! Understand that all of these were of the same family of God and not foreigners or strangers to the seed of Abraham! God surely has his ways of protecting His Family, children!

It is extremely important that we know and understand some of the content of the blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob before Jacob departed for the land of his grandfather. Let’s read the blessing as given to Jacob: Gen 28:3-4 "May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham." NKJV

This blessing contains some of the most powerful and magnificent provisions of God

for the whole family of God of that time and for all times of the Church, the Body of Christ! As previously stated, in the Old it was concealed, but in the New it is revealed. This revelation I bring to you with Godly, crystal clarity about its meaning to the present day Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Let me enumerate:

• And Isaac prayed: And give you the blessing of Abraham, Children, compare this to: Gal 3:13-14 "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." I would suggest that you also read all of Gal 3:1-14.

• Abraham was not cursed but blessed! If you are redeemed from being cursed, then you stand within the same standing before God as Abraham, and you are blessed with the same blessing of abundance as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Never, never cursed again into the realms of poverty, sickness, diseases or stripped naked of lands and possessions by the enemy and the powers of darkness!

• All of these things can be yours and for all of your descendents as well as Jacob’s as it resides in the Faith and Grace of God and not in the law later given by Moses!
• "That you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham." Children, did you know that at one time you were strangers and sojourners in a foreign land? BUT NOW, you have been made to inherit the land that God has given to Abraham. Look at this Scripture:  Eph 2:19-22
•         "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, the Church, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
• Please note that each of you are like building blocks that contain a portion of Christ within, and when you come together in Assembly, you are that dwelling place of God in the Spirit!
• Folks, dear children, it is your land and not the land of the Jews. Abraham was a Hebrew and a man of faith and righteousness in Christ! He was not a Jew! Be a proud possessor of the land, because it is the land of faith, that you may possess by faith in Christ in you (the Holy Seed) the Hope of Glory, that was given to the Church! Are you not of the seed of Abraham? Are you ready now to possess your portion of the Promised Land and all that be in it! Do you remember the story about Caleb and Joshua….? They were the only two spies to come back with a positive, faithful report, "But we are well able to take it!" (See Numbers 13:30 for a most remarkable testimony of faith!)

• Until this particular, certain day of Jacob, when he declared that this is the House of God,  God had not revealed the plan and the predestined Heavenly Design of His Church! Now it happens, in just one Day of Jacob, that God reveals the nature, plan and His function in the Church, the House of God, and His Presence as Head of it as shown in Genesis 28. It all happened in the same day that Isaac blessed his sons, pronounced The Blessing of Abraham upon Jacob and sent Jacob from Beersheba towards Haran. I think that Jacob probably kisses his mother goodbye. Then Jacob went along his way and came unto a certain place where he camped for the night. We should all come along the Way to Our Certain place. What a blessing it would be! Let’s read the Scripture: Gen 28:10-12

•         "Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 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. 12 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."

The above Scripture records and reflects the first revealed knowledge of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ!  My dear friends and children, This Ladder represents the Lord Jesus Christ on whom the ministering Spirits of God, His Angels, ascend and descend at His will to minister to the Church. Jesus the Son of God surely reaches from Heaven to Earth and from Earth to Heaven!

This Ladder is our Direct Link between Heaven and Earth and the Lord God Almighty! There can be no Church without This Ladder!

Over two thousand years later, Nathanael met Jesus and there were a few words exchanged between them: John 1:49-51 "Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 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." NKJV

Now it should be plain to our understanding that Jesus is the Way to Heaven and that there are Angels present to support, lead us to the Way and reveal to us the Father God at the very Top of the Ladder! This should be happening in your church now even though it was foreordained of God from Eternity! Have you personally been on this Ladder? Do you know that God’s Ladder (Jesus) takes you to the very presence of God the Father? Do you know that the Angels on the Way (Jesus) are there to minister to you and bring you along the Ladder until you are face to face with The Lord God Almighty (LORD)? Do you know that He waits for you only to Bless you as one of His own beloved children? Would you come to the Ladder that God has created for you?

When you arrive at the Top of the Ladder and there is the LORD meeting you face to face, what would you expect him to say? Would He be angry or peaceful? Would he be vengeful or loving? Would He say welcome and invite you to come on in? Would He bless you or Curse you? Apparently Jacob was in a place to hear God speaking from the Top of the Ladder and this is what He said to Jacob: Gen 28:13-15 "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. 14 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. 15 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."

The loving nature of the LORD is surely revealed after He fully identifies Himself. Promise of a "Place" of habitation is given and the population of this Place is predestined as the Habitation of God (Church) and the People of God!.... by God. Could it be that this is the Holy Habitation and a New Nation as spoken of in I Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

He goes further in declaring that all the families of this "seed" (The incorruptible Seed of Christ!) shall be blessed! And you say, "Blessed with what?" AND THE ANSWER IS: THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM!

At this time when the LORD spoke to Jacob, the known world was very small in relation to what would later be discovered and knowledge was limited primarily to the Tigres/Euphrates Valley. But, the LORD said to Jacob, "you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south…. to all the families of the Earth!" There are some within the Church today who place limits upon who may be a part of the Church by their misunderstanding of, "Who are the elect or God or His chosen people? Such heretical thinking leads to a false teaching and belief of Elitism that they are the predestinated ones of God! Perhaps to highlight this erroneous thinking we could use this illustration of a prayer by someone, "Lord bless me and these three and us four and no more!" Our Lord has built a much larger Habitation for His praises than this. Not even Peter understood the enormity of the Church that Jesus would build upon Christ, the Rock of our Salvation.

We can look farther ahead, to many more that are of the family of God, to forever bear the Promise of the LORD as given to Jacob: "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go,…." Lord, thank you for this, for where would I be had you not given this promise to me! "….and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." Thank you, Lord, for letting us have a glimpse through You of the future Promised Land, not of this terra, but of the Eternal Place of God as you show us that you indeed are at the top of the Ladder and have spoken to us from Heaven!

We marvel at your assurance and oath to us, that you will not leave us until you have done whatsoever you have spoken to us! Thank you , Lord God!

Could we examine these Scriptures so that we may have a Revelation of what the House of God is suppose to be like? Gen 28:16-17 "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ 17 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!’" How awesome it would be in our local churches of today for the people to wake up and find out what an awesome place is the House of God! Yet the Church continues to slumber and sleep on while the Lord is in their midst! What would it be like if the people of the Assembly knew for sure that the Lord (The Ladder) is right there with them in their Assembly? And, when they did know, would they have Godly fear and reverence for HIM?

If their fear became the beginning of their Wisdom about the things of God could they accept God’s Holy Angels going up and down the Ladder, from Heaven to Earth and back again to the Presence of God in Heaven to bring Heavenly Ministry to us on Earth things of the Kingdom of Heaven? What a Day it will be when people of the Church accept the ministering of Angels on the Ladder of God and the Ladder Himself as a normal practice in their midst! And what is the ultimate end of all of this activity in the Church? It is to bring us face to face with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY WHO STANDS AT THE TOP OF THE LADDER AND SPEAKS CLEARLY OF HIS LOVE AND CARE FOR US!

So then, Jacob arose early the next morning, took the rock that he had slept upon and erected it as a monument and pillar of remembrance to where God had appeared to Him. Then he poured oil on top of it in an act of consecration to God and named it Bethel, the House of God. Once again, man built a monument to what God had done and as if to say such memorial or shrine would honor God! Better yet if Jacob had placed a marker in his heart of thanksgiving to how much God loved him and the mighty promises He had given to him!

Because….then the evilness of Jacob’s heart was revealed again! Is it not a little strange that even though Jacob had just minutes ago heard the Lord God speak to Him assurances and promises that now Jacob wanted to make a "deal" or a bargain with God.?

It seems that Jacob makes this vow, or bargain, in his Heart: Gen 28:20-21"If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God." Notice that the very first word is the "badge of doubt", "IF". The LORD had already told him that He would be with him in Verse 15 and went further to say to Jacob that He would bring him back to this land! Now, please note the conditions of the bargain that Jacob makes about receiving and believing the promises that God had given just moments before! It was if Jacob was telling God that he had to see and experience the LORD doing these things before Jacob would accept Him as his God! Jacob had no trust in God, because this is what he demanded of God before he would believe: Gen 28:21 "….then (after I see these things come to pass!) the LORD shall be my God." Jacob did not realize that he was in the presence of the Truth. We already know that Jacob had a lying heart. Perhaps he thought the same about all other men, even the Lord Himself! But the lie really was in his own heart!

Then Jacob wanted to add to the oath and promises of the Lord God to him by this: Gen 28:21-22 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Jacob could not see the significance of his placing the first stone as a foundation or pillar, in the Building of God’s house. Little did he realize that this "rock" would be the "stone" that the builders rejected! Jacob only acted in his contemptuous way of setting a bargain with God! How ridiculous for any man to demand or bargain with God when such is only an act of unbelief and doubt! Man cannot take away from nor can he add to the Sovereignty or Providence of God. It is so much more profitable and beneficial to us as believers, that we simply, as a child, come humbly before His Throne of Grace and Mercy for all our needs!

Keep in mind that in these closing words we are speaking about the evilness of Jacob’s heart. Let us refresh our memory with this Scripture: Jer 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" NASU

Our natural minds cannot fathom or understand why the heart (spirit of man) can be so evil, twisted, perverted and so full of malicious thoughts, vows, revenge or vengeance, We cannot even imagine the depths of depravity that man will sink to in his natural inclinations!  Only the Lord can know this corrupt heart and at times, He reveals to us a small part of it.

Now let us look at the depraved depth that Jacob fell to in his vow to God.

In colloquial speech, Jacob has said to God, "Either put up or shut up!" Is this strong language?…. Maybe, but from a heart so described above it is quite probable.  Some of you are going to have much difficulty in accepting what I am about to reveal to you, because of custom, tradition, TV Evangogators, church boards and ambitious church building preachers in pulpits claiming that you are robbing God (and his income)!

This has to do with the "tenth" or the Tithe. Most of the known world of academics and mathematics credit the knowledge of such to not earlier that the 7^th century and did not reach a zenith until the 12th century, but, few know that the 12^th century zenith in mathematics was reached by Arab Moslems, from which we draw the word Algebra! They also excelled in Trigonometry, calculations presently used in Astronomy, spacial physics, coordinates and even the calculus.

Now let me ask you this question. How did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob know what a 10^th was? Did they know division, multiplication and conduct their business using a decimal system based upon the number 10? I come to the conclusion that Abraham knew 1/10^th through 10/10^th and therefore knew division of 10/10 equals One or the Whole part of putting all of the 10^th's together! So maybe Abraham was the first mathematician. What do you think?

But let us get back to the story of the crooked, wicked, disbelieving mind of Jacob. Hold on to you hats and seats, you tithing grabbers! Read this very clearly of what Jacob said:  Gen 28:22"….and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Was this a Tithe offering? NO, it was a work of the evil, wicked heart of Jacob to bribe God in the bargaining that he argued before God!  A true Tithe can only be given in love and as an expression of love. There was no love in the heart of Jacob, but only greed, covetousness and thievery. His Heart was desperately wicked, far more then the human mind can comprehend.

NEVERTHELESS, God loved Jacob because of the blessing of Abraham. Jacob was blessed that night wherein he saw the "Ladder" to Heaven and the way to the Father who stood at the Top of the "Ladder"! Jacob had also received a vision of the House of God that had never been recorded in the history of man. What an awesome night it was!

Has God given you the Revelation of Jesus, the Ladder, that reaches from Heaven to Earth and then from Earth to Heaven as he translates you from the Kingdom of darkness unto the Kingdom of Light (Christ)?

Has God given you an exciting living vision of what is divinely designed and built as the House of God?

Has God given you the knowledge that He even sends his Angels of Salvation to you to minister to you and help show you the Way to Heaven?

THIS, IS WHAT HE IS ALL ABOUT!



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