0207. 204. Christ, the Ladder

204. Christ, the Ladder

Gen_28:12

“Behold a ladder” (Gen_28:12). From Joh_1:51 we know that this ladder was a type of Christ as the means of communication between God and man, and man and God—Joh_14:6.

1. Christ is a safe ladder. He is the only means of escape from the wrath to come, from the grasp of Satan, from the dominion of sin, and the whirlpool of iniquity. A company of shipwrecked sailors, cast on the coast of Scotland at the bottom of a great precipice, where the incoming tide would have broken up their vessel and drowned them, found a ladder hanging down the precipice, which they reached from the ship’s mast, and thus escaped. In like manner Christ is the way of escape from the waves of eternal death, and the righteous wrath of God.

2. Christ is a strong ladder. A friend of mine in going down into the hold of a vessel of which he was captain, did not know that one of the rungs of the ladder was loose or weak, and when he put his foot upon it, it gave way, and down he fell into the hold. There is no fear of Christ’s giving way beneath a soul that rests on Him, for He is the Eternal Rock of ages—Isa_26:4, margin, the sure foundation—Isa_28:16, and the strong arms of omnipotence—Deu_33:27.

3. Christ is a spansive ladder. The top of the ladder that Jacob saw reached to Heaven. It did not go part of the way. The men of Babel built a tower to reach to Heaven—Gen_11:4, but it ended in confusion, as all man’s efforts do. Not so with Christ: He goes all the way, and brings us into communication and connection with God; even as the Tay Bridge spans the Tay and connects Fifeshire with Forfarshire.

By: DR. F. E. MARSH