Jacob represents the true man of God, the person who is of the foreknowledge and election of God. Jacob started out as a young man, leaving his family, Isaac, Rebekah, and Esau, in order to find a wife for himself.

No human being is anything at all until he or she is "married." I am using the term symbolically, as soon will be evident.

All humans are nothing more than the dust of the ground. It is only as we enter union (marriage) with God that we are able to be or do anything of eternal worth. God is substantial and eternal. The life of man is but a vapor. Man is red clay, fashioned in the image of his Creator.

As soon as Jacob started on his way, God visited him. Jacob saw the Lord's Christ.

It is Christ who is the Ladder reaching from earth to Heaven.

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. (John 1:51)

The Ladder of God always is set up on the earth, not in Heaven. The angels of God ascend and then descend on the Ladder, revealing that the base of operations is the earth. The work begins and ends on the earth. The life and glory of the Kingdom come from Heaven but the revelation of God is in the earth.

God met Jacob personally because Jacob's calling had to be confirmed. God always meets each of us personally because the election that abides on us must be confirmed.

God met the Lord Jesus personally when His ministry was about to begin.

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:16,17)

Isaac had blessed Jacob previously (Genesis 28:3,4). So it is with us. There comes a time in our life when we are blessed and called in some specific manner. We may (or may not) have been raised in a Christian family. We may have the blessing of our church on us. Then there must be subsequent confirmations of the calling of God. God must speak to us personally concerning our unique inheritance in Himself.

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. (Genesis 28:13-1515)

God calls us and gives us a vision. Now we go in search of a "wife," looking for some reality in the spirit realm. For only in the spirit realm is there substance, life, and eternal joy.

To be continued.