Genesis 28 Collection: The Vision

The Genesis 28 Collection

In Genesis chapter 28, we read of a young man leaving home for the first time.  He knows that it is time to go but what does the future hold…where does he go?  Exhausted and tired, his journey is leading him to a foreign land.  Night comes, with nothing but the desert air surrounding him.  He lays down his head, with only a rock for a pillow, sleep finally overtakes him.  He is scared…lonely…what does the future hold?

The actual scripture passage reads,

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a particular 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, and 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.  Genesis 28:10-19

During the night, he has a dream.  He sees a ladder leading to heaven.  On it are angels of God ascending and descending.  In the barren darkness, the young man has an encounter with God.

He awakes in the morning suddenly aware of his surroundings.  With a feeling of awe, he builds an altar to the Lord and names the place BETHEL meaning house of God.  What is so fascinating is the fact that it is a young man leaving home who names the place, BETHEL

Later in the New Testament Jesus refers to Himself as the ladder that leads to heaven when He calls Philip and Nathanael to be His disciples.  In John 1:43-51 we read,

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. 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.  Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”  Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”  He 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.”

Many a young man or woman has packed up and left home, coming from all over the world, to go to college finding themselves in rural West Tennessee and saying, “where am I?  Lord, why did you lead me here?”  Only later to realize, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it…How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God.” BETHEL.

This Biblical story is played out every time a new student enrolls at Bethel University.  As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the ladder that leads us to our ultimate home, eternity with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the ladder that leads humanity from our fallen state of sin to life everlasting. 

The Mission of the University is “to create opportunities for members of the learning community to develop in a Christian environment to their highest intellectual, spiritual and social potential.  This includes synchronous and asynchronous modes of education.”  The Office of the Chaplains strives to point to various “ladder experiences” (i.e., encounters with Christ) provided at the University.  In this way, we foster the Christian environment and help students develop to their highest spiritual potential referred to in the Mission Statement.

Being a lover of art and the daughter of a professional artist, I decided to start collecting and framing art that portrays this story.  It is my dream to have some of these pieces along with a brief explanation of the section displayed throughout the University one day.  My husband and I are currently working on building the collection for the glory of God and the enjoyment of all.  We would love to hear your thoughts and comments about the collection.

Grace and Shalom,

Dr. Anne Hames
Senior Chaplain​
BETHEL UNIVERSITY