Jacob’s Angel Encounter at Bethel (Genesis 28)
The Setting (Genesis 27:1–28:5)
Jacob made a truly big mistake: He had alienated his brother, Esau, and Esau was a man of action. Years earlier, Jacob got Esau to trade his birthright—the right to inherit the covenant promises God made to their grandfather, Abraham—for a bowl of stew. The fact that Esau was willing to make the trade revealed how little he valued the Lord’s promises. Even so, when Esau remembered how his brother had taken advantage of his hunger, he was resentful.
More recently, the brothers’ mother had actually helped Jacob, her favorite, trick their father, Isaac, into giving Jacob (the younger son) the blessing intended for Esau (the eldest). By stealing his brother’s blessing, Jacob turned Esau’s antagonism into active hostility, and Esau had been heard to mutter that when his father died, he intended to kill Jacob. So the parents quickly sent Jacob to a distant country to find a wife among relatives who lived there.
The Encounter (Genesis 28:10–13a)
On the way to his relatives’ home, Jacob was frightened and exhausted. Lying under the open sky, his head pillowed on a rock, Jacob had a vision of angels. The story is told in Genesis 28.
So he [Jacob] 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, and said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac” Genesis 28:11–13a nkjv.
Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28:12). People have seen angels either with their natural eyes, when the angels are cloaked in human form, or in visions, when angels appear in their spiritual form. Jacob’s experience was of the second kind: In his dream Jacob saw angels passing back and forth on a “ladder” (literally, a “stairway” or “ramp”) between the spiritual and material realms. Angels clearly can bridge the gap between the two realms!
God spoke to Jacob (Genesis 28:13a). The focus of Jacob’s dream shifted very quickly. The vision of angels receded into the background as Jacob’s gaze was drawn to a Being standing above the ramp, a Being who identified Himself as “the Lord God.”
From this point to the end of Genesis 28, no reference is made to angels. Jacob’s attention is fixed completely on the Lord and what He has to say. There’s a healthy reminder here. Yes, the Bible has much to say about angels, but Scripture is always focused on the Lord Himself—thus, our focus is to be upon Him also. We study angels not for their own sake, but to learn more about the God who sends angels to us. We can and should appreciate the ministry of angels, but we ought to give thanks to God, for He is the One who directs them to care for us.
God’s purpose in the encounter (Genesis 28:13b–15). The Lord had a clear purpose in giving Jacob this vision of angels passing between heaven and earth. God was preparing Jacob to hear a reaffirmation of His covenant. “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants” (28:13). With this restatement of His promise to Abraham, the Lord made a special, personal promise to Jacob: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you” (28:15).
Jacob’s response to the encounter (Genesis 28:17–22). Jacob’s initial response was one of awe and fear (28:17), but then he made a vow.
If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You. Genesis 28:20–22
Rabbi Sholomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat and dean of the Ohr Tora institutions, observed in the “Shabbat Shalom” column of the Jerusalem Post (December 9, 1989) that Jacob’s statement
is not conditional. It is pure prayer: I will believe, Jacob is saying, no matter what transpires, and if the Lord [Elohim] will protect and clothe me, and I’ll return to my father’s house in peace. “Then shall the Lord [JHVH] be my God [Elohim] ...” and I’ll be able to worship You not only as the God of justice and power but as the personal God of love and compassion.
The effect of the encounter in Jacob’s life (Genesis 28:21b–22). Jacob’s vision of angels compelled belief and also served as the setting for a message delivered by God Himself. Jacob’s first response of awe and fear led to the realization that God was now, and would continue to be, with him. The long-term impact of this encounter was that Jacob committed himself to worship the Lord and serve Him. Like Saint Teresa’s vision, the vision given to Jacob resulted in a heightened awareness of God and deepened love for Him.
Before we analyze other reports of angel visitations in Scripture, we need to understand more about angels themselves.
Who or What Are Angels?
In chapter 1 we observed that the angel encounters reported throughout the Bible confirm the fact that there are two realms, the material and the spiritual. The spiritual realm is home to God and the angels; the material realm is home to human beings and to all living things on earth. While we cannot pass from one realm to the other, evil angels (like Satan) and good angels (like the Angel of the Lord) can cross into our realm and act in it!
The Bible Clearly Teaches that Angels Exist
There can be no question that the existence of angels is presupposed in the Bible. In the Old Testament (nkjv), the word “angel” appears 15 times in the Books of Moses, 13 times in the Historical Books, 8 times in the Poetical Books, and 17 times in the Prophets. Angels are mentioned much more frequently in the New Testament (nkjv): 30 times in the Gospels, 16 times in Acts, 30 times in the Epistles, and 74 times in Revelation. In addition, angels are called “living creatures” 23 times, cherubs or cherubim 10 times. Two angels, Gabriel (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26) and Michael (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 13:7), are identified by name. God’s angels are called “spirits” 4 times (in the nkjv) and “holy ones” 10 times (in the niv). The phrase “heavenly hosts” is applied to angels once (in the nkjv), but God is called “Lord of hosts” (that is, commander of heaven’s angelic armies) no less than 281 times in the Old Testament. These 535 biblical references are all to God’s angels and do not include the many references to Satan and the dark angels who follow him.
Scripture refers to angels in other ways also. The Bible uses the word “stars” symbolically to refer to angels, as in Job 38:72. In Psalm 89:6, angels are called bene elim (“sons of the mighty”), a name that emphasizes their great strength. In Psalm 103:20, David cried out, “Bless the Lord, you His angels, / Who excel in strength.” The name “sons of the mighty” is surely appropriate, for Scripture depicts angels as performing feats impossible for human beings.
Another name for angels is bene ’elohim, “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). The phrase “son of” is often used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate the class to which one belongs. For instance, the phrase “son of man” emphasizes the fact that the one described is truly, or merely, a human being. Even the term ’elohim, normally translated “God,” is applied to angels in Psalm 8:5 and in descriptions of an experience such as Jacob’s (Gen. 35:7; see also Dan. 3:25). In such cases, the expressions “sons of God” or “gods” simply mean “supernatural beings.” These texts emphasize the fact that angels belong to the realm of the supernatural, not the realm of the natural.
Answers to Our Questions About Angels Must Be Drawn from Many Different Bible Passages
Despite the many references to angels in the Bible, no single passage develops a theology of angels or tries to answer all our questions about them. Instead, we must examine all of the references in order to come up with answers to the questions people ask. Here are some of the typical questions—and their answers.
Can we see angels? Not normally. Colossians 1:16 speaks of Christ as the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible. We cannot see the spiritual realm with our eyes. Neither Moses nor the Israelites saw the Law and Order Angels who brought destruction to Egypt. No one saw the angel who struck Herod. When Elisha was protected by an army of angels, he had to pray that his servant’s eyes would be opened before the servant was able to see the mountainside filled by a fiery angelic army, which stood between the prophet and the enemy (2 Kings 6:17). Even though angels are normally invisible to us, they are present.
Where do angels come from? The Bible makes it clear that angels are created beings. John 1:1–3 teaches that Christ’s own creative acts were the source of everything that exists; the text specifically says that “without Him nothing was made that was made.” The psalmist recognized this by calling on the visible and invisible creation to praise its Creator:
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,
And you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For He commanded and they were created.
Psalm 148:1–5
When were angels created? John Calvin, in his Institutes, criticized those who “stir up questions concerning the time or order in which they [angels] were created.” All that we can say is that the spiritual realm was populated with angels before the creation of the material universe. The Lord asked Job where he was when He designed the earth and laid its foundation, “When the morning stars sang together, / And all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy?” (Job 38:7).
How are angels like human beings? It is a mistake to assume that angels in their uncloaked form “look like” people. We simply do not know. However, in many ways angels seem to be very much like human beings. They clearly are individuals, as we are. Angels have curiosity and intellect. First Peter 1:12 describes them as eagerly studying the events that transpire on earth in order to learn more about God’s plan as it is worked out in history and in our lives. Angels are often described as engaged in conversation with human beings (see Dan. 10; Luke 1:27–38). Angels also have emotions. They rejoice in heaven over the salvation of individual sinners (Luke 15:10). Angels also have free will—that is, they can recognize options and make choices—as can be seen in the heavenly counsels described in 1 Kings 22 and Job 1. Like us, angels are individuals. Two angels—Michael and Gabriel—are given personal names, and the Bible speaks of multitudes of individual angels gathering on special occasions (see Luke 2:13). In these respects, angels and humans are not so different. Angels and humans are certainly enough alike that they can understand and communicate with each other.
How do angels differ from human beings? There are so many differences that it is difficult to list them. Angels have continued to exist since the time of their creation—they do not die (Luke 20:36). Their lives span millennia, and in that time they have come to understand us far better than we understand them.
As citizens of the spiritual realm, angels have experienced God directly; thus, they know Him in ways that we do not. God’s angels are distinctive in that they remained faithful to the Lord when Satan rebelled, and apparently they have been confirmed in that faithful state. There is no biblical evidence to indicate that holy angels can still fall; they do God’s will as perfectly as is possible for created beings (Ps. 103:20). Because God’s angels always act in harmony with God’s will, they are called His holy ones (Ps. 89:5, 7, niv).
Angels are also called spirits (Heb. 1:14). The bodies of angels—whatever they may be—are not corporeal. Still, the fact that angels are individuals who can move from place to place indicates that their identity is organized and localized in some way. We have no notion what the actual bodies of angels look like; we know only that when angels appear to human beings, they are most often cloaked in human form.
Unlike humans, angels are sexless (Matt. 22:30). God created human beings as male and female. Because God created the ranks of angels in their entirety at one time, and because angels do not die (Luke 20:36), they have no need to procreate.
How do angels differ from God? It’s extremely important not to become so engrossed with angels that we confuse their traits and abilities with those of God. Angels are created beings, and God is their Creator. God is omnipresent; that is, He is everywhere at once. Angels are limited spatially; angels can only be in one place at a time. God’s angels are dependent; they depend upon God for direction and for their very existence. Most important, God’s angels are His agents; their mission is to carry out God’s will. God’s angels do not act independently.
We are not told whether God’s angels have any affection for us, but we are assured that God Himself loves us dearly. Although angels have powers far greater than ours, we are not to rely on angels. Instead, we are to depend on the God who sends angels to help us and who protects us in other ways as well.
What basic information about angels do we possess? We can sum up the basic information about God’s angels provided in the Bible in this way. God’s angels are spirits, beings who were directly created by God. Like human beings, angels are individuals. We know nothing about the bodies of angels, other than that when they have visited earth, they appeared to be ordinary—or, in some instances, extraordinary—human beings. Nevertheless, angels are active in our world in ways we cannot see. Our consideration of God’s Law and Order Angels in chapter 3 indicated that angels do much of their work “behind the scenes,” without appearing to us at all. God’s angels, who have remained faithful to Him since their creation, serve Him in the material realm and in the spiritual realm.