As we are in chapter 28 of Genesis, we find our word for today also used for the first time in the Bible. חָלַם dream, become strong, restore to health. It is used 29 times in the Old Testament. A good example of our word is in Isaiah 29:8 as when a hungry person חָלַם dreams of eating, but awakens hungry still; as when a thirsty person חָלַם dreams of drinking, but awakens faint and thirsty still. So we see that it is a picture of a possible reality that is not the one a person is currently experiencing. People definitely took advantage of others by claiming that they have a vision of what God would do because they had a dream from God. This is why God gives these instructions when people make these claims. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 If a prophet, or one who foretells by חָלַם dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or חָלַם dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul...That prophet or חָלַם dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. God takes speaking for him very seriously because of the influence one can have on others relationship with God. During Jeremiah’s time it was popular to just say that everything would continue as it had been which is what the prophets were doing. That is except Jeremiah. Jeremiah 23:25-27 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a חָלַם dream! I had a חָלַם dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the חֲלוֹם dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name. Jeremiah 29:8-9 The God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the חָלַם dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. So God is not shy about people using dreams to lead people away from God into evil. He has a lot more to say about what will happen to people who do this. We will look at that on another day. Warnings are good and healthy so that we make wise discernments. At the same time the Bible has many examples of God using dreams to communicate his picture of the future. We will look at people like Joseph, Pharaoh, Gideon, Daniel, and many others in the days to come who had these experiences with God. For today we will just look at Jacob’s dream in our chapter.
Genesis 28:12-16 And he חָלַם dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 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 promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” We know that this was from God because what God communicated to Jacob in his dream came about. As we close what I find interesting is how much Jacob needed this reassurance that God was with him even when he was away from his home and fleeing from his brother Esau who wanted to kill him. God has a way of showing up in our lives and surprising us when we forget he is with us working out his plan to benefit us.
