We Are Climbing Susie’s Dresser

Scripture — Genesis 28:10–17 (NRSV)

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him 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; and 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 all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that 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 woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And 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.”

Devotion

Many years ago, when my now-teenage daughter Elizabeth was two years old, we were visiting family friends in Pennsylvania. They had four teenage daughters at that point (I believe they are all married with families now) and we stayed in the room of one of them, Susie, who was away—where, I don’t remember; camp or college, perhaps. At any rate, my daughter was fascinated by Susie’s room, particularly drawn to her dresser, which had little wooden handles just the right size for tiny hands to hold and feet to step on. (Kind of like this. P.S. This is not a sponsored link—we don’t do that at De Pree—and if you follow this devotional up by buying this Etsy dresser, I am not responsible.)

As we were all settling down to sleep, Elizabeth made her move and began to attempt an ascent of the dresser. My husband stopped her, singing to the tune of the old Black spiritual “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” as he did, “Do not climb up Susie’s dresser, do not climb up Susie’s dresser…” From that day to this, whenever this song is sung in church, at least one of us will transform one of the verses to sing about Susie’s dresser.

The original spiritual, of course, is based on this passage, where Jacob—who has fallen asleep with a stone for his pillow, at the end of his rope through crises of his own making—has one of the most beautiful visions in the book of Genesis. He dreams of a ladder connecting earth and heaven, and angels ascending and descending its rungs. And then God appears to him and promises him the very land on which he has lain down to sleep when he had nowhere else to go.

When Jacob awakens, he has a genuine spiritual revelation—one of the first that he will have in a life where he is destined to continue to trick others and be tricked in return, fall in love, and largely fail at fatherhood, reconcile with his estranged brother, wrestle with God (literally), and die far from his home: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16, CSB)

We don’t know exactly when the song “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” arose, except that it was before 1825. Like most spirituals, it has a double meaning: it speaks of growth in the Christian life, and also of the struggle necessary to escape from brutal enslavement. Over the years, verses have been added and changed, and it has been adopted as an anthem by many groups seeking to free people from unjust oppression, but it still maintains its continual upward movement as a reminder that the Lord accompanies the climb. Still, its central question remains and haunts us:

Sinner, do you love my Jesus? …soldier of the cross.
If you love him, why not serve him? …soldier of the cross.

Surely the Lord has been in all kinds of places, even Susie’s dresser, and we did not always know it. Next time you can’t find the Lord, look harder.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: God’s Surprising Presence.