10 Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. 12 He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. 14 “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 “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.” 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
I’m sure I am not the only one that always thought it odd that Jacob used a stone for a pillow. Jacob must have left in a terrible hurry, and must have been in dire straights to be using a stone for a pillow. He was likely not even used to staying outside, having been a bit of a “momma’s boy” while at home. It seems Jacob had hit bottom here, and probably felt quite alone. And it was here that God met him, in a place without a name, where the only pillow was a stone. It was here, when it seemed he couldn’t go any lower, that God found Jacob, and showed him a ladder to heaven. Not unlike where He meets us. God meets us in the valley, and takes us to the mountaintop.