In one fell swoop Jacob had tricked his brother and aging father. His mother Rebekah told him to hightail it to the land of her brother Laban and to stay there while Esau cooled down. And Jacob did exactly that. On the evening of the second day, he stopped for the night. Jacob’s lack of repentance is what makes the next scene one of the great stories of grace in the Bible.
Jacob dozed, and in a dream he saw “A ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and…angels of God going up and coming down the ladder. Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder” (Genesis 28:12-13 NCV). When Jacob awoke, he realized that he was not alone. He was surrounded by august citizens of heaven!
God came to Jacob, not because of Jacob’s actions, but in spite of them. The word for such kindness: grace.
