Have you ever wondered how Jacob could sleep with a rock for a pillow? The first twenty, or so, times that I read this scripture, that is exactly what I thought. Personally I like a hard mattress and a firm pillow. If we can remember, whenever Judy and I have to spend a night at a motel, we take our own pillows. There are a couple of reasons, and one is that I like a special, relatively hard pillow. How hard was Jacob’s pillow?
Actually lexiconographers suggest that this is not our kind of pillow. “Meraashoth” (mer-ah-ash-oth) means “head place” and is translated “bolster,” “pillow” and “at his head.” Some think that means nothing more than something like our “head of the bed.” Remember in the early days of David’s life with Michal that she helped him to escape from her father Saul? I Samuel 19:13 says, “And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.” And then in verse 16 – “And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster.” Both those verses distinguish between the actual pillow and the “bolster” which is the word translated “pillow” here in Genesis 28. In another scripture Saul was asleep with a spear and cruse of water “at his bolster.” These few references don’t help us very much to understand the word. This scripture from Genesis 28 gives us more information about Hebrew camping equipment than any other passage in the Bible.
Whether or not there is a lesson here about beds and sleeping, there is a good application. If there is a relationship between the hard bed Jacob slept on and his vision, we might conclude that there is value in the hard places in our lives. There are benefits in our trials and difficulties.
For example, hard places make God more real to us.
You might say that Jacob grew up in a “Christian” home – a very IMPERFECT Christian home. Any time parents show favoritism between children, there is going to be trouble. Kids see the love of God in the light of Mom’s and Dad’s love to each other and towards them. This is a very natural thing, especially when those parents are calling themselves “Christians.”
Jacob grew up with a very misshapen picture of the love of God. And he grew up with a misshapen picture of what a servant of God was supposed to be. Jacob heard his father, Isaac, deceive Abimelech, saying that Rebekah was his “sister.” Jacob saw his father permit his mother to become part of the harem of another man. I don’t care how old that boy was, it must have been devastating to his emotional and spiritual well-being. Jacob knew that his parents gave lip-service to God, but he rarely ever saw any really positive service. Isaac is, to my way of thinking, the weakest of all the Hebrew patriarchs and worthy of only nominal respect. And as for Rebekah, Jacob’s mother taught the boy how to lie and steal – even towards his father.
Jacob is a picture of a 21st Century child of the church. His parents might have been members of good Baptist church. But they were saved yet so as by fire – by the skin of their teeth – they were christianityized hypocrites. They prayed when they were in trouble, but they were never really thankful when things went well. They expected the Lord to be there when they needed Him, but they weren’t there for Him. They might have been like the members who slap the preacher on back at the close of every service, but then they roast him on way home after the service.
And the corrupt lives of these parents can be seen in both their children. Esau was – well – Esau. And as for Jacob – he grew up with very little respect for the Lord. Parents who are weak in Christ often drive their kids completely away from Him. And Jacob was turned away, all right – the man was a scoundrel – a cheat – a thief. He stole the patriarchal blessing of his father, and he schemed away the birthright of his brother.
But that night the prodigal lay down in a hard place, and there he saw the Lord. For the first time in his life he really saw God – high and lifted up. Although he didn’t hear the words, he felt the reality, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” “I am the Lord your God, the God Abraham and the God of Isaac. Be ye holy for I am holy.” “The earth is mine and fulness thereof, but, Jacob, I’m going to permit you to be a steward of a part of it.” Yet, don’t think that it’s because you are such a great person. It is not because of who you are, but because of my grace toward your grandfather Abraham.”
Whether the vision was directly related to Jacob’s hard bed or not, I can’t say. But I know for a fact, that many people look to God when times get tough – but only when things are tough. Nationally, whole societies have turned to Lord when the bread lines start growing. And personally, when some people learn the nearness of eternity, they turn to the one who holds eternity in His hands. As a general rule, hard places make God more real.
And in this case, this was the first time Jacob ever listened to the voice of the Lord.
Difficulties tend to do that to people. Why is it that the Bible is found in more hotel rooms than common bedrooms? Jacob was on the road, and there at his bolster was a Bible so-to-speak. Why is the Bible more widely used in hospitals than at home? Sure there is more time for reading while recovering from open-heart surgery. And yes, there is need for a little non-strenuous diversion. But there is also more desire for spiritual things, and there is more fear. Why is it that in prison the Bible is more obvious than in the cosy cottage? Why is it easier to talk to a poor man about Lord than that a rich man? Why do hardened sinners listen to the sermon at the funeral – but seldom at any other time?
Isn’t it because hard places open people’s ears unlike anything else? When I lay on my right side and bury my head in my pillow, I can’t hear a thing in my right ear. But I can assure you that if I was laying on the dirt, or had a couple rocks to hold up my head, I’d hear every pine needle that fell from the neighboring tree – all night long. Jacob heard the voice of the Lord for the first time at Bethel. You can see that by his response – by his fear.
When the Lord sends trials into a person’s life, a common response is to turn to Word of Lord. I almost said, that it’s a natural response, but I’m quite sure it’s an unnatural response. That response is special; it is often Holy Spirit induced; it is God-blessed. Don’t be ashamed of it; it can be a very healthy thing to do. Just as the sick man might go to a physician for help, falling on his knowledge and skill, when trouble comes your way, pick up the Word of God and prayerfully read it.
And obviously, hard places teach us about some of our special resources.
Jacob was the chosen son of a chosen son, and he became “Israel” – the father of the nation. But to that point he hadn’t a single idea on whose side he was and what his life was all about Then, one day he lay on a pillow stones, fleeing from a murderous brother, suffering under the guilt of his sin, God opened the sky to him, so he could see the ladder of heaven full of angels. Perhaps he would never have seen this if hadn’t had a bolster of granite.
What is the lesson of the ladder? Who built it and what was it for? It is safe to say that it was built under the command of Jehovah – the Lord of Heaven and earth. And if nothing more, it says that God is very interested in the affairs of men. As such he has made sure of an access for the saint at His holy headquarters. You might say that traveling up and down with the angels of God, were the prayers and answers of the saints.
Prayer is one of the resources the Christian possesses. It is one that is often forgotten until the hard times and hard places come. Do you suppose that even Rebekah had remembered prayer by this time, and that while she vainly tried to fall asleep on her pillowed bolster, she awkwardly tried to pray for her wayward and wayfaring son? Paul constantly reminds us to pray, and to pray right now, because we forget so soon. “Pray without ceasing.” “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The Lord Jesus reminds us to pray. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” James reminds to pray as do Jude and John. Despite the encouragement, usually it’s hardness that actually forces us to remember to pray. If you learn nothing more from your hard times, thank God for the lesson about prayer. Prayer increases the value of hardness. If we can learn to pray, then those granite bolsters really do turn into gold.
This vision also showed to Jacob the resource of God’s angels. People may laugh at the thought, but I believe in angel power, and that is very, very different from believing in ghosts. Despite the fact that Satan is alive and well on planet earth, I am convinced that God has not given up His control of this globe and His people. He can turn the hearts men, stop the forces of nature, and alter societies. He sets up rulers and removes them. And once in a while the Lord pulls back the curtain and shows us that it’s the death angel who is flying in the eye of the tornado or out of the belly of the volcano. Or then again those angels may be marking the foreheads of the Lord’s elect so that the coming destruction will not be able to touch them. I believe in the power of God and in the ministry of angels, even though, for the most part, those ministries are unseen or at least unrecognized. In Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea “the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them.” At the call of Gideon, the angel of God was there to convince him of Jehovah’s will. And then there was Peter with the boot-print of an angel on his ribs when it was time for him to leave Herod’s prison. Sometimes it take a hard place before we recognize God’s resources.
And when we do finally see, there is often a surge of faith.
At first, the faith Jacob displayed was not worthy of much emulation. I mean, it was about as weak a faith as can be. But we must remember that before this, faith in God had never really crossed his mind. Thus far everything that he had done had been of the flesh. At least now he was willing say that God was there at Bethel – the House of God. And besides, it’s not the strength or size of our faith that is important, it’s the One in Whom we place that faith.
Again faith is a rather common reaction to times of difficulty, especially in the life of the Christian. So many people have the idea that when all else fails we should trust in the Lord. But the scripture doesn’t teach if worse comes worse, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” It tells us to trust the Lord in the days of smooth sailing, so that when the storms come, we’ll be trained to trust Him more. The Bible says that the Christian should live in constant faith in God. But sometimes we need a bit of prodding, and hard places can do that.
We can see other valuable effects of sleeping on stones.
For example, beginning at this point, Jacob began to look on his family differently. Not only was Jacob taken down a notch or two, but Esau may have taken a step up in Jacob’s mind. I wouldn’t say that after that particular night those two young men could have become the best of friends, but this was the first step toward their reconciliation.
Jacob also learned a little bit about patience and courage. Soon he was going to come face to face with the woman of his dreams. But before he could have her, he’d have to endure some of the same sort of things that he’d been inflicting on others. This vision of God and the Lord’s ladder helped to prepare him for that.
There are all kinds of positive benefits in trouble. The great lesson of this chapter is that we need to pray for God’s help to use the hard places. And we need to use them to the Lord’s glory, not our own.