Observations From Sulam Yaakov

Sulam Yaakov is known to us as Jacob's Ladder. It is a inter-dimensional ladder and the only means of traveling from this reality into God's. It can be seen in Genesis 28:10–19.

"Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.And behold, the Lord stood above it [or "beside him"] and said, "I am the Lord (Yahweh), the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; "

We also see in John 1:51 that it is the Word of God, Y'shua, who is this ladder.

"And he said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Also, when John ascended into Heaven, in Revelation 4, he was in the presence of Sulam Yaakov, Y'shua.

Observation #1

Since angels can only ascend and descend into heaven on Jacob’s ladder, then does Satan use Jacob’s ladder to gain access to the throne of God in order to accuse us before God?

Observation #2

Does the souls of God's Elect also gain access that way? Therefore, when we die and we are in the presence of the Lord(II Corinthians 5:8), does this mean we are at the foot of Sulam Yaakov, Jacob's Ladder?

Observation #3

After Jacob had his dream, he named the place Beth-El, the House of God. Is this a physical portal into the House of God or is symbolic of something else or both?

As we delve into these and other questions or observations within the Word of God, we gain a more intimate knowledge of our Lord and G-d thereby growing closer to him.

Shabbat Shalom my Friends

And This Is Love?????

It's a simple concept or is it?

So....How do we love God?

How does God love us?

How do we share the love of God with each other?

Many of Gods children are dumbfounded by this question and their answers are varied.

I believe the answer can be found in what appears to be one simple verse.

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

Isn't this what it is all about?

What are your thoughts?

Whimsical Holiness

This post (by Hugh Halter) attempts to describe the way in which Jesus was holy, and thus the way in which we should be holy.

In summary, the holiness we should pursue is:

• Holding fast to personal convictions and values of Christ-likeness (which includes purity from sin)
• Being deeply integrated in non-condemning, whimsical relationships with people who do not hold the same convictions.

I agree with these two statements.

But the author takes artistic license too far and fails to recognize the context or purpose of the scripture he refers to. He ends up painting a very lopsided view of Christ - one which fails to use any form of sternness toward sinful hearts as a part of being 'whimsical'.

You can read the article yourself, but I want to specifically address the four example relationships used while painting this picture:

• 'Jesus made more wine for people who were already hammered drunk'. I don't read that they were drunk (but they may have been). God is deliberate about what He puts in (and leaves out of) scripture. I don't think He wanted us to learn this point from this incident. Rather, the point seemed to be an induction of the ministry of Jesus, proving to people that He was the Son of God.
• 'Jesus purposefully neglected to remind His disciples to wash their hands correctly before eating'. The purpose was NOT to instruct us on how to deliberately avoid appearances of sternness in upholding purity. Rather it was to redirect where we should be stern - real purity is joyful heart submission to Christ as Lord.
• 'Jesus bend down and drew something in the tear-moistened dirt beneath the sex-addicted woman caught in adultery'. This is beautiful and encouraging. I have no doubt Jesus continued to be gentle and patient with her as she followed Him. But He knew that sternness about upholding purity was part of His love for them, and part of why sinners found Him whimsical. So He DID say to her afterwards, with full authority and without apology - 'Go, and sin no more'.
• 'Jesus ate with tax collectors and prostitutes'. Interesting that all the specific examples we have of these sinners in the Gospels were extremely repentant, more so than many 'holy' people in church today! I think it is a mistake to assume Jesus was 'friends' of every single sinner. Rather He was friends with sinners who had been called by God to recognize their need for a doctor, to hunger and thirst after righteousness. For these people, just being in their midst was probably stern enough in upholding purity! This does not apply to every group of sinners on earth. Besides, these would respond with gratitude to the perfectly wise and gentle sternness which I am sure Jesus gave to them.

I agree that we should pursue integrated relationships with sinners, even the worst, and that we should be whimsical in our holiness, not condemning. But we also need to be wise and humble before the Lord - seeking His leading about when and where we should apply sternness as part of our whimsical love toward those observing, and about which sinners are being called by Him to hunger after purity.