Introduction of the People of the Bible: Jacob
Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of
Abraham and the younger twin brother of Esau. The story of Jacob is one of
Godly wisdom, and of promise and blessing for faithfulness to God’s promise.
What importance does this story have for us today?
The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your
womb,
and two peoples from within
you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)
Rebekah was an ageing woman who had remained
childless, but through the righteous prayer of her husband, Isaac, God enabled Rebekah
to conceive. During her pregnancy, she asked God why she felt so much
discomfort. God responded, drawing a clear distinction between her two
offspring in the passage above. Such distinction was reinforced by the names
given to her two children at birth. The first boy was hairy and named Esau, and
the second, who was clasping at the heels of his twin brother as he emerged
from her womb, was named Jacob, meaning ‘he grasps the heel’ and a Hebrew idiom
for ‘he deceives’. Jacob was destined to take something that Esau possessed.
What further differed between these two brothers was their personality. Although
raised in the same environment, Esau was a voracious young man who loved hunting
game, whilst Jacob favoured the homely indoors.
Once when Jacob was cooking some
stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red
stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
Jacob replied, “First sell me your
birthright.”
“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright
to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”
So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some
lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis
25:29-34)
Despite having the privilege of being
the firstborn tasked with carrying on the covenant God established with his father
(Isaac) and grandfather (Abraham), Esau had no value for his birthright.
Indeed, he was willing to exchange it to satisfy his hunger and quench his thirst.
To his parents’ grief, Esau had also married non-believing (gentile) women who could
easily turn their children’s hearts away from worshipping the God of Abraham
and Isaac (Gen 26:35). Even
though God had promised to bless Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars
in the sky (Genesis 15:5, 18-21), how would He have felt about Esau’s attitude
and possibly not being able to fulfil His will?
Jacob seized the opportunity to demonstrate
his love for the covenant God established with his forefathers. Sometime later,
when Isaac was old and his vision failing him, he instructed Esau (whom he
loved more) to hunt fine wild game in exchange for a final blessing. Having overheard
their conversation, Rebekah urged Jacob to quickly go out and bring two young
goats to her. She cooked them and Jacob presented them to his father with goatskin
on his hands and neck in order to maintain his brother’s likeness. Unbeknown to
Isaac, he blessed his younger son abundantly and God’s covenant would now pass through Jacob:
“May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.” (Genesis 27:29)
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.” (Genesis 27:29)
Although Jacob’s actions may appear deceitful and
immoral from man’s perspective, they were considered righteous from God’s
perspective because it showed how much he valued God’s
promise to bless all people. He did not whimper in his faith in God’s promise. As
we will see, Jacob would receive a tremendous blessing.
After being blessed, Jacob heard that Esau plotted
to kill him, so, at the urging of his parents, Jacob fled to Haran to stay with
Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Along the journey, God came
to Jacob and directly reaffirmed His promise to him in a dream:
There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of
Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are
lying. Your
descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to
the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on
earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over
you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I
will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis
28:13-15).
God’s promise must surely be fulfilled. Jacob
arrived in Haran, where he was warmly received by his uncle, and married his two
daughters - Leah and Rachel. God gave Jacob 12 sons through
them - six through Leah (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun) and
two through Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin), with four more through their two female
servants (Gad, Asher, Dan and Naphtali). After having faithfully served his uncle on the
land for 20 years, Jacob returned to his parents’ homeland of Canaan with his family
and flock. What happened along the way was of pivotal importance to the fulfilment
of God’s promise - Jacob wrestled with an angel of God.
That
night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his
eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent
them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When
the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s
hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then
the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But
Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The
man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he
answered.
Then
the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you
have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob
said, “Please tell me your name.”
But
he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
So
Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to
face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:22-30)
Because Jacob had overcome man, he was
re-named ‘Israel’, which means ‘he struggles’ or ‘one who overcomes’. Through
having overcome, God established his 12 sons as the heads of the 12 tribes of
Israel. Similarly, Jesus also overcame at the first coming (John 16:33) and so God
was able to establish Christianity through the 12 disciples. In our times today,
which is the time of the second coming, there is one who has overcome and through
whom God has established the 12 tribes of ‘New Spiritual Israel’. It is only through these 12 tribes that God’s
final work is taking place; a place where all humanity can attain its ultimate hope
of heaven. Please come and see🙏
1 comments
Great article, Noah!
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