Tbei vision at Bethel is comparatively simple. Jacob had ^ hitherto lived, in the shelter of his father's home, a peaceful and industrious life, with little trouble, danger, or anxiety. But now, not without^his own gri^yous fault, the peace was broken up, and he had_ become a wanderer. Yet though the wrench may have been great, and he could not have been without apprehension as he set forth on his lonely journey, he could have little actual knowledge of what might lie before him. Xhe optimism of youth was not dead; life had hitherto presented no difficult or insuper- lf^,.K able problem ;_hi8 present undertaking might _.even lead to un- expected heights pf success. So in a^iifisert place, apparently neaE^.tJie,J3aQaanite.jcity of Lug,.ha lay down to rest, and in the night had a dreajn.^.
II E[e was in the central thoroughfare, on the hard backbone jp\..j, oi the. mpuu tains of Palestine; the ground was strewn with wide
' Principal A. Stewart.
220 JACOB'S VISION
sheets of bare, rack ; here and there stpodjip- isolated fragments like ancient JDruidical monuments. On the hard -ground he lay down to rest,, and in the visions of the night the rough stones formed theiMelves into a vast, 8t^irca9e,.,reaching into the depth of the wide and open sky, which, without any interruption of tent or tree, was stretched above the sleeper's head. On the staircase were seen ascending and descending the messengers of Grod ; %»d from above there came the Divine voice which told the houseless wanderer that, little as he thought it, he had a Protector there and everywhere ; that even in this bare and open thoroughfare, in no, consecrated grove or cave, the Lord was in this place, though he knew it not. This was Bethel, the House of God, and tjbis was the gate of heaven.^
The Presence of the Lomj.
And Jacob waked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord Is in this place ; suid I knew it not.
1. What Jacob saw in his dream was only the glorified pre- sentment of the thoughts with which his mind had been filled during the day. The ladder, which was the scenic framework of his vision, may have been but the terraced hillside on which he had been gazing ere he fell asleep. All day long, as he had pursued his journey, the glorious expanse of an Oriental sky, one quivering, trembling mass of blue, had been above him, and as he had looked up with wonder and awe into its silent depths, deep questionings had beset him. Then as the twilight stole over the scene, and the stars peeped forth, the sense of mystery deepened, and the questions which had been urging themselves redoubled their solemnity and intensity. And so there rose within his heart strong yearnings; and those yearnings half articulated themselves into prayers. The vision was evidently a surprise. But he would have had no spiritual vision if he had had no spiritual desires. We see in the universe only what our moral earnestness prepares and disposes us to see. It is the pure in heart alone who behold the face of God. The spiritual revela- tions that we receive are but the sublimation and the fruition of our own spiritual struggles. Had there been none of those yearu-
^ Dean Stanlty.
GENESIS xxviii. i6, 17 221
ings and longings in his heart towards a higher and a worthier existence, Jacob would have seen no angels. He already carried in his heart the key to that heaven through whose opened portals he was permitted to look — " Spiritual things are spiritually dis- cerned."
Thou hast been with me in the dark and cold, And all the night I thought I was alone;
The chariots of Thy glory round me rolled, On me attending, yet by me unknown.
Clouds were Thy chariots, and I knew them not;
They came in solemn thunders to my ear; I thought that far away Thou hadst forgot, —
But Thou wert by my side, and heaven was near.
Why did I murmur underneath the night. When night was spanned by golden steps to Thee?
Why did I cry disconsolate for light.
When all Thy stars were bending over me?
The darkness of my night has been Thy day;
My stony pillow was Thy ladder's rest; And all Thine angels watched my couch of clay
To bless the soul, unconscious it was blest.^
2. We are apt to cling to the old superstitious notion that in order to draw near to God it is needful to sever ourselves from life's common duties and surroundings. But the Bible lends little favour to any such idea. Jacob's vision was not granted to him at a. spot that had previously been accounted holy. He was at Xuz — an obscure locality, to which, he had chance^ Jtp come. " He lighted," we read, "upon a certain place." Nor was he engaged in any sacred observances. On the contrary, he__^as travelling xm foot through a desolate region— a very^proaaifi and seQular occupation. But itjyaainJiiat place, and wjtiile he was thus^engaged, that God drew. near- to .speak to Jacob.
^ The same lesson comes again and again from the Divine revelations of which we read in Scripture. Moses was tending bis aheep-amidst the jocks and^furje of_Horebj..when God appeared to him in the burning busji_^and taught him that that mountain-side