14. In a dream, the divine son appears when he commits a crime and escapes, how does the god treat him?

Jesus said, “If I tell you about earthly matters and you do not believe, how can you believe what is in heaven?” No one has ever gone to heaven except the Son of Man who came down from heaven. “[John 3:12-13]

Jacob ran wildly toward the northeast. The mountain path was as flat as if left behind by him. The heavy backpack pressed tightly against his back, making him sweat pour down his face, but he didn’t dare stop. He stared straight at the hill ahead, ran over, and then set his sights on the next target. It was a journey of over a thousand li, but he wished he could get there in just one day.

His heart felt like it was about to burst, but he preferred to burst rather than stop, anxious like a hunting prey, as if an arrow was chasing him from behind. He is naturally quiet, but this time he has to leave his parents and travel thousands of miles alone. He knew his mother loved him the most, but he didn’t know that Lingchen’s sudden farewell to his mother was actually a farewell. He left in disarray, not even having time to comfort his mother with a few words of comfort.

He tricked his brother Esau twice—once for the status of the eldest son, once with God’s blessing—thinking he could finally rest easy, waiting for good fortune to come, but never expected disaster to come upon him like his brother’s bow and arrow.

The brother, furious, secretly conspired with his thugs to kill him to vent his rage. When Rebekah heard about this, she immediately called Jacob and told him to escape. Jacob was left speechless with horror upon hearing his mother’s secret report.

He knew his brother’s hunter temperament—he always said his word, married like that, met his prey, and gave him the status of the eldest son. The brother hunted year-round, possessed extraordinary stamina, was as fast as an antelope, and never missed his arrow. Could he possibly outrun the prey falling under his arrows? Jacob’s face turned pale, as if he could feel the tearing arrow in his back, seeing his brother’s furious eyes before he raised his knife to kill him.

But where do you run to? Looking around, there was no relatives; the only relatives were my mother’s brother’s house, but they were thousands of miles away in Harlan. He couldn’t just leave his father without saying goodbye, could he? With tears in her eyes, the mother pulled Jacob to his father’s bedside and pleaded, “When Esau was forty, he married two Hittite women from here without consulting us. So many years have passed, and they have left us in tears, heartbroken.”

As for the second son, Jacob, he still hasn’t married. He’s too quiet and doesn’t like local women, so he’s kept waiting until he’s so old. Is he going to stay unmarried for the rest of his life? For my sake, please allow him to go to my brother Laban to marry his own woman.

After a moment of silence, Isaac said to Jacob, “Go, my son. May God bless your uncle and grant him a daughter, and may you come to love her. But remember, you must return to this land, for God has given it to you and your descendants—just as He promised your grandfather Abraham and me.”

I am now old and about to die, but God’s promises will surely be fulfilled, and God will fulfill my blessings for you. “The moon sets in the west, the sky is filled with stars, the Milky Way flows like a ribbon. Jacob finally stops his legs, which have been running like clockwork all day, and sits on a flat rock. Looking back southwest, he was already more than two hundred li away from his parents.

Grandfather and father had only reached Mount Moria in three days back then, but he had already left them behind. He listened intently. Only the wind rustled over the wilderness, and the distant howls of wolves were barely visible. Hearing this, he calmed down, took off his waist knife, and placed it on a rock. His anxious heart finally settled—his brother definitely wouldn’t chase from so far away.

Besides, he might not know where I escaped. When his heart relaxed, fatigue and thirst surged like waves. He ate and drank his fill, no longer had the strength to sit, so he found a flat stone to rest his head on, lay down on the rock, and stared blankly at the star-filled sky.

Leaving the father’s tent, his mother immediately packed his belongings. After traveling a thousand miles, unfamiliar with the land and roaming wild animals, his mother said nothing but quietly tidied with tears in her eyes. She packed up her gold and silver valuables, took off her own bracelet, and gave it to her son—the engagement gift her father-in-law had given her through the butler years ago.

At dawn, his mother pushed him out of the tent, not daring to speak, cry, or ride a donkey. He had no time or any trouble, and the donkey was nowhere near as fast as Esau.

Why is that? Jacob gazed at the stars, feeling guilty rising in his heart. Father, you are old, but I cannot fulfill my filial duties. Mother, I have let down your nurturing kindness and broken your heart. Brother, I truly have let you down. I lied to you twice and made you so angry. When we meet again, can you forgive me? God, where are you? You appeared and spoke to my grandfather and father, entrusting them to pay the debt, yet I destroyed the family in an instant. Mother and son separated, siblings became enemies.

God, please do not abandon me, please forgive me… In a daze, he saw a gap in the starry sky suddenly open like a heavenly net, and a white ladder was dropped vertically from that opening, all the way to the ground, not far from the stone where he lay. The heavenly ladder was wide, with many angels moving up and down in an orderly manner.

Jacob stared in a daze, silent, noticing that angels surrounded the majestic god. His hair was as white as snow, his eyes as bright as flames, his face shining like the blazing sun, and his voice like a mighty roar. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of Isaac.” I will give you and your offspring the place where you lie now.

Your offspring will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, spread throughout the four directions, and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants. I am with you; wherever you go, I will protect you and lead you back to this land.

I will fulfill my promise to you and will never forsake you. Jacob saw and heard this, and was greatly afraid. He suddenly opened his eyes and was about to speak, but saw the starry sky still as quiet as the Milky Way, and the angels and gods of the Heavenly Ladder had vanished. After a moment, he came to his senses and realized he had just dreamed.

The dream was so vivid that Jacob even walked to the spot where the heavenly ladder had been placed and saw clear marks on the ground. Jacob didn’t know how long he had slept, nor how long the dream had lasted. But upon waking, he was all awake, sitting upright on the rock, his awe growing even stronger. “The Lord is here, and I do not know it. How terrifying this place is! This wilder, uninhabited place is the home of God, with a gateway to heaven.

As he pondered this, the stars gradually faded and dawn began to break in the east. Jacob raised the pillow stone, poured oil as an offering, and silently made a vow to God: “If God is with me, protects me on the road, provides me with food and clothing, and leads me safely back to my father’s house, I will surely worship the Lord as my God.”

The stone I set as a pillar will become the temple of God. Whatever you have given me, I will give you a tenth. “Jacob named the place Bethel (meaning ‘the dwelling place of God’), packed his bags, and set out toward the morning light.

He was no longer fearful, no longer fleeing, because he remembered that dream and kept his vow firmly in mind. God did not forget this moment, because two thousand years later, the Son of God Jesus personally mentioned Jacob’s dream and pointed out that the ladder symbolized Himself.