While Jacob flees for his brother Esau, he has a nightly dream (Genesis 28). He sees angels moving upwards and downwards on a ladder. He describes this place as an awful place, because it is here that he has had an encounter with God. He calls it Bethel, ‘house of God’. In the practising, I have pictured the ladder in the form of a burning scroll, the Word, a holy way between heaven and earth, between God and mankind. The text on the scroll is from Proverbs, it also mentions angels moving upward and downward.
Surely I am the most ignorant man, And don’t have a man’s understanding. have not learned wisdom, Neither do I have the knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended up into heaven, and descended? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has bound the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if you know? Proverbs 30:2-4
Jacob's dream
2002
Oil on canvas
110 x 90 cm
