Jacob: Prefiguring Christ's Greatness

with me this evening to the book of Genesis. We've been looking at the story of Jacob and we're continuing with that this evening. And we're going to read from Genesis chapter 27 verse 41 all the way through to the end of chapter 28. Genesis chapter 27 starting to read at verse 41. Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, the days of mourning for my father are near, then I will kill my brother Jacob. When Rebecca was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then my son, do what I say.

Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word to you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day? Then Rebecca said to Isaac, I am disgusted with living because these Hittite women, because of these Hittite women, if Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living. So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and then he commanded him, do not marry a Canaanite woman.

Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there from among the daughters of Laban, mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham. And Isaac sent Jacob on his way and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel, the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there and that when he blessed him, he commanded him, do not marry a Canaanite woman.

And that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realised how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac, so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. Jacob then left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.

I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it. He was afraid and said, how awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God.

This is the gate of heaven. Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow saying, if God be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking, and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God, and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house. And of all that you gave me, I will give you a tenth. Well we thank God for the reading of his word.

It's some time ago now, but there was a lottery advert on the television, and in it this lottery hand came down and pointed to a particular individual. And I seem to remember that there was a voice that said, it's you. In other words, you out of millions of people that have done the lottery are the winner. It's you. this lottery and came down and pointed to a particular individual. And I seem to remember that there was a voice that said, it's you. In other words, you out of millions of people that have done the lottery are the winner. It's you. It's perhaps an unfortunate illustration that I have just used, but I think this is kind of what is happening here in these verses.

God appears to Jacob and effectively points to him and says, you are the one. You are the one to inherit the promises I first gave to Abraham and then to your father Isaac. I'm going to make you into a great nation. I'm going to give your descendants the land of Canaan and through your seed, through your offspring, all the nations on earth are going to be blessed. Now we know from our reading thus far that God had already told Rebekah that Jacob, the younger son, would be the one who would inherit the promises.

Did she tell Jacob? I'm not sure that we're told that she did in the scripture, but I find it hard to believe that she didn't. Surely he knew and this was the reason he so confidently went after his older brother's birthright and his older brother's blessing. He believed that these things rightly belonged to him, that God would have him receive them. But you know, there's nothing quite like a direct word of confirmation from God.

And that is what Jacob receives in these verses that we're looking at this evening. Jacob, you are the one who is going to inherit the promises. Now, because Jacob stole his brother's birthright and blessing, we see at the end of chapter 27 that Esau held a grudge against him, and it was a big grudge that he was intent on killing his younger brother.

So Jacob was advised by his mother, Rebekah, to flee to the place where her brother lived, where he could stay with him. His name was Laban, until Esau's fury had subsided. Therefore, Jacob left Bathsheba. He left home in order to go to this place which commentators tell me was about 500 miles away, Paddan Aram or Haram. Now, after about 70 miles of travelling, I don't think he would have been on foot.

He might have been, but I suspect he used a donkey or a camel or something like that on his journey. He came to this place called Luz, and it was the end of the day and he was tired, and so he took a stone and he used it to rest on for the night. I don't know how long it took for him to go to sleep, but eventually he went off, and during the night he had a dream. And it was no ordinary dream. It was a remarkable dream. It was a dream where heaven literally opened where he lay. That doesn't happen very often, does it, in the scripture, but we do see the same kind of thing happening in the New Testament. You may remember when Stephen was stoned, he saw heaven open.

I think Stephen was awake when he saw this and not asleep like Jacob, but not a so dissimilar experience. And in Jacob's dream, he saw this stairway that reached from earth to heaven or from heaven to earth. And on the stairway there were angels ascending and descending on it, and above that stood the law. Now the word stood there is interesting.

It suggests that God appeared in human form. God, as we know, is spirit. He cannot be seen. He's the unseen God, but God appeared and stood in human form. We often refer to this sort of thing as a theophany. And God spoke to Jacob. Now this, I think, was the first time that Jacob had ever.

Human form. God, as we know, is spirit. He cannot be seen. He's the unseen God. But God appeared and stood in human form.

We often refer to this sort of thing as a theophany. And God spoke to Jacob. Now this, I think, was the first time that Jacob had ever seen God.

It was also the first time that Jacob had heard the voice of God. Look at verses 13 and 14 to see what God said to Jacob.

I am the Lord, the God of your father Jacob and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying, the land of Canaan. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. In other words, he's going to be made into a great nation. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. We know from the New Testament that the offspring, the seed, was the Lord Jesus. Jacob, you are the one. You are the one who will inherit the promises I gave, first of all, to your father Abraham and then to your father Isaac.

And we see also in these verses that Jacob was also given assurance of God's presence and protection. Look at verse 15.

God says to Jacob, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. And we just want to remind ourselves, I think, again as we look at the story of Jacob, of God's amazing grace toward him. Because we've seen, haven't we, the kind of young man that Jacob is. He's a deceiver. He's a liar. He's not, in that sense, a particularly godly young man, though things I think do begin to change from this point. This is a significant turning point in the life of Jacob.

But here is God promising that Jacob will be the one who inherits the promises. What amazing grace. Well, what was Jacob's response to this?

Well, I think we can say a number of things. Firstly, verse 16, amazement.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, surely God is in this place and I was unaware of it. Secondly, fear.

Verse 17, he was afraid. Thirdly, awe and wonder.

How awesome is this place. This is nothing other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. Fourthly, worship. Verse 18, early the next morning, Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar, poured oil on top of it.

And then fifthly, commitment to God. Look at verses 20 and 21.

Though before I read these verses, we should note that there is debate amongst the scholars as to whether Jacob's words in verse 20 begin with an if or with a since. If Jacob's words begin with an if, then he seems to be laying down a condition for his commitment to God. If his words begin with a since, then he's expressing his confidence in God and his willingness to commit to him. I'm not sure whether it should be a since or an if, but let me read to you what it says in 20 and 21. Then Jacob made a vow saying, if or since, God will be with me and watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household. Then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house and of all that you give me, I will give you a tenth. Now what do we do with a story like this from the Old Testament?

How do we apply it? Well, I want to apply it this evening by taking us to the Lord Jesus.

That's why our hymns this evening are all about the Lord Jesus. You see, I think that Jacob is a type of Christ. I think that Jacob, to put it another way, is one who prefigures Christ. Now am I justified in saying this?

I think I am. I think this is what the New Testament teaches us. Jacob was God's chosen one. that Jacob is a type of Christ. I think that Jacob, to put it another way, is one who prefigures Christ. Now am I justified in saying this?

I think I am. I think this is what the New Testament teaches us. Jacob was God's chosen one. Jesus too was God's chosen one. Turn with me, will you, for a little while to the Gospel of John.

The Gospel of John and Chapter 1, and I'm going to read from verse 43. As we're reading these verses, perhaps you can tell me why you think it is that I'm turning to them. That's a rhetorical question, by the way. John Chapter 1, starting to read at verse 43. The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee, and finding Philip, he said to him, Follow me.

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nazareth? Can anything good come from there, Nathanael asked. Come and see, said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. How do you know me, Nathanael asked. And Jesus answered, I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.

Supernatural knowledge. Jesus is truly man and truly God. I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Then Nathanael declared, Rabbi, which means teacher, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. I think Nathanael probably declared more than he understood, but what a wonderful declaration he made. Then verse 50, Jesus said, You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see even greater things than that.

And Nathanael and the other disciples did indeed see even greater things. And I think we're supposed to think that reference there is being made to the miracles or to the signs that Jesus performed and are recorded for us in John's Gospel. Verse 51.

He then added, Jesus then added, Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. And here I think is an allusion to the story in Genesis 28 where the angels of heaven ascended and descended on this staircase. And perhaps I might suggest that we can talk about them descending on Jacob himself. Now the difference between Genesis 28 and verse 51 of John chapter 1 is that the angels of God ascend and descend on this staircase but not on Jacob.

Rather they descend on the Son of Man, they descend on Jesus. So there is a parallel that's being drawn between Jacob and Jesus.

The angels ascend and descend on Jacob because he is God's chosen one. The angels ascend and descend on the Son of Man because Jesus is God's chosen one. He is the one who has come into the world in order to bring salvation. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He is one greater than Jacob. Indeed the New Testament impresses upon us that Jesus is one who is greater than Jacob. Just turn over the page with me, will you, to John chapter 4.

John chapter 4 and you know this story well, I'm sure. I'm going to pick things up at verse 7. We'll read through to the end of verse 14. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, Will you give me a drink? His disciples had gone into town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

And Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. Sir, the woman said, You have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob? Here again, a parallel is being drawn.... for a drink for Jews do not associate with Samaritans. And Jesus answered her, if you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep, where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob?

Here again, a parallel is being drawn. Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself as did also his sons and his livestock? And Jesus answered, everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Jacob, many years prior to this, dug a well, and it quenched the thirst of his family and his animals and many who lived after him. But Jesus is much greater than Jacob, because he is able to give a water that wells up to eternal life.

He's able to give salvation. He's able to satisfy one's soul into all eternity. Actually, I think there are other ways this evening in which the New Testament tells us that Jesus is greater, much greater than Jacob. Three more things, briefly. Jesus is the gate of heaven. Jacob, back in Genesis 28, found himself at the gate of heaven. But Jesus is the gate of heaven.

He's the one through whom we gain access to God and an abundant life. John 10, 7-9, Therefore Jesus said again, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they might have life and have it to the full. Jacob found himself at the gate of heaven for a short period of time. Jesus is the gate of heaven.

He's also the house or the temple of God. Again, Jacob found himself at the house of God for this brief amount of time in his dream. But Jesus is the temple of God.

He is the one in whom God dwells in all his fullness. And then the last thought is that Jesus is one who came full of grace and truth. Jacob came full of lies. He came full of deceit. But the New Testament tells us that Jesus came full of grace and truth.

How much greater is Jesus than Jacob? No wonder C. Spurgeon once said, and I quote, I would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avail myself a Calvinist. I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist. But if I am asked what is my creed, I reply, it is Jesus Christ.

My venerated predecessor, Dr. Gill, has left a theological heritage admirable and excellent in its way. But the legacy to which I would pin and by myself forever, God helping me, is Jesus Christ.

He who is the arm and the substance of the gospel, who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth. So on a Sunday evening, we're looking at Jacob, this great patriarch.

And as we look through the scriptures, we repeatedly read, don't we, about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Great men of old, men who were looked up to and highly respected by Jews throughout the ages. But Jesus is greater still.

Greater than Abraham, greater than Isaac, and as we've seen this evening, greater than Jacob. God helping me, writes Spurgeon, the one I would pin and by myself to forever is Jesus Christ, who is the arm and substance of the gospel, who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth. In Jesus we see God. In Jesus we see the Saviour of the world. We see our Savior. And therefore we want to preach Christ, not Jacob. And we want to make much of Jesus in all that we say and in all that we do. Let's pray together.

Our loving God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word this evening, which has pointed us to the Lord Jesus, whom we know and love and delight in and are so thankful for. We pray that you would help us to know him more. That was the great prayer of the Apostle Paul, even at the end of his earthly life, as he was chained between Roman soldiers in Rome. And Lord, that is our desire to know Christ better, to know him more. And we pray that you would help us to make much of him in our church life. Indeed, may we be a fellowship, a church that preaches Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen again and ascended to the right hand of the Father. Hear our prayer. We ask it in his name.

Amen.