The dream that Jacob had in Genesis 28 is the most crucial point in the whole book of Genesis and the most crucial word in the revelation of God.
Jacob, a supplanter who ran away from his parents house for fear of his brother whose birthright and firstborn blessing he stole, was wandering in the wilderness until he reached a certain place where he stayed for the night. He took a stone and made it a pillow, laying his head on it to sleep. It is not very comfortable to sleep on a stone, and many people prefer something softer, but in Jacob’s case, he used a stone as a pillar.
During the night he had an awesome dream of a heavenly ladder set up on earth and joining earth to heaven, on which ladder the angels of God were ascending and descending (see Gen. 28:10-22). Even though Jacob was such a terrible person, one who stole his own brother’s birthright and blessing and had to flee his family because of this, because God chose him he had a revelation of the house of God, the heavenly ladder joining earth to heaven and bringing heaven to earth.
After he woke up from his dream, Jacob was both amazed and scared – this is an awesome place, this is the house of God! How did he have such an understanding and revelation? It must have been from the Father, who reveals such things to His chosen ones (see Matt. 16:17). Jacob took the stone-pillow and turned it and made it a pillar, upon which he poured oil, calling that place Bethel, the house of God (Gen. 28:22).
Here we see four main elements: the stone, the pillar, the house of God, and the oil. These four things are outstanding items as the basic factor with which the entire Bible is composed!
- The stone refers to Christ as the living stone, cornerstone, foundation stone, topstone, and the Stone in God’s building, and to the transformed humanity who has Christ wrought into it for God’s building.
- The pillar refers to the material to support God’s building, God’s house.
- The house of God is God’s dream, God’s heart’s desire, the mingling of God and man for God to dwell in man and man to dwell in God. The oil is a symbol of the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God reaching man and anointing man to fill man and cause man to express God.
- What an amazing and crucial revelation we have in Genesis 28!
The Spiritual Significance of the Stone, the Pillar, the House of God, and the Oil in Gen. 28
In the account in Genesis 28:10-22 concerning Jacob’s dream, we have four outstanding items: the stone (vv. 11, 18, 22), the pillar (v. 18), the house of God (vv. 17, 19, 22), and the oil (v. 18); these are the basic factors with which the entire Bible is composed.
What does the stone signify? The stone first represents Christ as the Stone for God’s building: He is the cornerstone, the topstone, the foundation stone, and the living stone – He is the stone for God’s building. Also, the stone signifies the transformed man who has been constituted with Christ as the stone element for God’s house, which is the church today. Also, the stone was used by Jacob as a pillow, that is, as a support and resting place. Christ as the solid stone for God’s building is our support and our rest.
Jacob took the stone which he used as a pillow and turned it into a pillar – nobody told him to do that, he just did it, and it is very significant. The pillar is for God’s building, for the supporting of the building of God. We are all becoming pillars in God’s building for His testimony and expression on the earth.
Jacob said, This is the house of God! The house of God is the place of God’s rest, His satisfaction, and His expression. God feels at home when He’s in His house, and He expresses Himself in His house. Today God’s house is the church (Eph. 2:22) and it is the manifestation of God in the flesh, God manifested in man (1 Tim. 3:15). Eventually, God’s house will be enlarged to be the New Jerusalem, the holy city having the same appearance as God (see Rev. 4:2-3; 21:11).
The oil is a type of God reaching man, God flowing as the Father in the Son through the Spirit to reach man. The Triune God is flowing to reach man, anoint man, and fill man for the house of God. Before the Spirit reaches us we are mere stones; after we have the anointing, we become God’s house.
Hallelujah! We are living stones for God’s building (1 Pet. 2:5). We are becoming pillars in the temple of God, the church (Rev. 3:12). We are the house of God in spirit, God manifested in the flesh (Eph. 2:22; 1 Tim. 3:15). We are being anointed with the Triune God flowing as the Spirit to be God’s house, God’s home, His dwelling place (1 John 2:20, 27). Hallelujah!
Lord Jesus, You are the stone for God’s building. Work Yourself with Your stone-element into us to make us living stones buildable into God’s house! Lord, make us pillars in Your house, those strong and standing to support the testimony of Jesus and express Christ corporately. Build us up with all the saints into Your house so that we may be for Your rest and satisfaction! Keep us under the anointing of the Spirit, enjoying the flowing Triune God to reach us and fill us with God!
Both God and We are Restless and Homeless until We are at Home in God and God is at Home in us!
In this story in Genesis 28 Jacob was homeless (he ran away from home) and he was restless (he was wandering in the wilderness, seeking a place to stay for the night). When man is homeless, God is also homeless. God created everything: heaven is His throne and the earth is the footstool for His feet, but where is His house (Isa. 66:1)?
In Genesis 28 and even today God is homeless – He wants a home, a dwelling place, and He will not rest (He is restless!) until He will get it. We are homeless and restless until we find our home, and God is homeless and restless until He finds His home.
When we come home after a long day of work or after a trip somewhere, we are happy to say, Praise the Lord, I am home! Spiritually speaking, we are at home when we are in God. God is our home – He is our dwelling place throughout the generations (see Psa. 90:1; 91:1, 9). We are not at home in reality when we reach our physical house – we are at home when we are in God, one with God!
The unsaved people are never at home until they receive the Lord and enter into God, their real home. When we are away from God, we are away from home – we are homeless and restless. But when we are in God, we are at home! In the same way, God is homeless and restless whenever He is not one with us, being pleased to dwell in us and among us.
When we take God as our home, we become His home. When we are separated from God by sin, the self, the world, rebellion, or anything else, we are restless and homeless. God is at home when we are at home, and we are at home when God is at home. We need to stay home in God, abiding in Him by exercising our spirit to be one with Him in everything.
This is God’s dream and this is also our dream: God and us, we dream of having a home, a dwelling place in rest, peace, and satisfaction. God’s dwelling place is in man, and for this He builds Himself into man and builds us up to be His dwelling place. Our dwelling place is God, and for this God builds us into Himself, He Himself being the Father’s house with many abodes for us (John 14:1-6).
Oh Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout the generations! You are our home, and we are at home only in You. Keep us abiding in You by exercising our spirit to be one with You in everything we do. Lord, save us from running away from home. Make Your home in our heart and gain Your home in the redeemed and built-up humanity. Keep us abiding in You as You are abiding in us so that we may be at home in You as You are at home in us!
Read the Spanish translation of this blog post via, El significado de la Piedra, la columna, la Casa de Dios y el aceite en Génesis 28.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Minoru Chen’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-Study of Genesis (msg. 72), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 1 / msg 1, The Dream of Bethel.
- Picture credit: first picture source here (with thanks).
- Hymns on this topic:
# The church is the house of the living God; / The church is the pillar and base of the truth. / And great is the myst’ry of godliness; / That God was manifested in the flesh. (Scripture song, 1 Tim. 3:15)
# Praise the Lord, I’m home at last; / I’ll never go back anymore. / Praise the Lord, I’m home at last; / I’ll never go back anymore. (Hymns #1127)
# My home is God Himself; Christ brought me there, / And bade me dwell in Him, rejoicing there; / He bore me where no foot but His hath trod, / Within the holiest at home with God. / O holy place! O home divinely fair! / And we, God’s little ones, abiding there. (Hymns #605)
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