Jacob

Jacob is the twin son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was born second, holding onto his brother Esau’s heel. His mom could feel them struggling in her womb and asked the Lord about it. He responded, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body, And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.” Gen 25:23. The nations referenced are Edom (Esau) and Isreal (Jacob). The name Jacob according to Strongs means “heel-catcher, ie supplanter”. It is from the root word aqab, meaning to swell out or up, to seize by the heel or restrain.

Jacob and Esau were very different from each other. Esau was an outdoorsman, a hunter, headstrong, hairy and rugged. He was favored by his father, Isaac. Jacob was favored by his mother, Rebekah, and was a peaceful man preferring the indoors. When they were older, Jacob cooked some stew and Esau came in from the field hungry. He asked for a bite of that red stew, for he was famished, therefore he was called Edom (red). Gen 25:30. Jacob responded by telling Esau to first swear to him his birthright. Esau gave it to him, showing he did not value it. This attitude of carelessness toward his own birthright is condemned in Heb 12:16 which states, “that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.”

When Isaac was old, he called to Esau and told him to go hunt game and prepare a savory dish for him so that he may eat it and then bless him before he died. Rebekah overheard, and since she favored Jacob she told him to go into their flock and get two choice young goats that she might prepare for Isaac so that Jacob could bring it into him pretending to be Esau and take the blessing from Esau. Jacob was afraid Isaac would know, for Esau was hairy and he was sure his father would tell the difference and see him as a deceiver and curse him. Rebekah assures him she will take the curse if so, and she prepares the meal and disguises Jacob in Esau’s clothes and goatskins, for Esau was hairy and Jacob was not.

So Jacob takes the meal Rebekah had prepared into Isaac and requests his blessing as Esau. Isaac questions, he can tell it is Jacob’s voice, but when he feels the goatskins on Jacob’s arms and neck and smells Esau’s scent on his clothes, he believes Jacob is Esau and so blesses him with the blessing intended for Esau. The blessing is as follows, found in Gen 27:27-29 – “See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed; Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.”

Then, Esau came in from hunting, prepared Issac a meal and went in to receive his blessing. Isaac asks who he is and when he realizes what has happened he trembles. When Isaac tells Esau he gave his blessing to Jacob in error, Esau cries for him to bless him too and says Jacob is rightly named, for he supplanted him twice – taking away his birthright and his blessing. Isaac says there is nothing he can do and gives him his secondary blessing: “Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, that you will break his yoke from your neck” Gen 27:39-40.

So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob and vowed to kill him once Isaac passed away. Rebekah knew Esau was going to try to kill Jacob and wanted to get Jacob out of Esau’s reach, so she deceives Isaac again by portraying she is most worried about Jacob choosing a Canaanite wife and so Isaac sends Jacob to Paddanaram to chose a wife from the daughters of Laban, Rebekah’s uncle.

So Jacob goes on his way and comes to Haran where he goes to sleep and dreams of angels going up and down a ladder that extends from earth to heaven with the Lord standing over it. He tells Jacob He is the God of his father Isaac and Abraham and that He will give him the land in which he lays, that he will have many descendants, and that He will be with him everywhere he goes and will bless him. Jacob wakes up knowing the Lord was surely there and he was afraid. He made a vow that if the Lord remains with him until he returns safely to his father’s home the Lord will be his God and he set up a pillar in that spot and promises to give God a tenth of everything he is blessed with. Gen 28

Jacob continues on his journey and comes to Laban’s home. He meets Rachael and is falls in love with her. He tells Laban he will serve him for seven years to have Rachael and Laban agrees. But after seven years, Laban tricks Jacob and gives him Leah. When Jacob wakes the next morning to discover Leah instead of Rachel he is disappointed and confronts Laban, who says he could not marry the younger before the older. So Laban gives Rachel to Jacob also after the week of celebration of the marriage to Leah and requires Jacob to serve him another seven years.

Jacob loves Rachel and not Leah. The Lord sees Leah is unloved and He blesses her with a fruitful womb while Rachel remains barren. Leah conceives four sons before Rachel has any children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Rachel burns with jealously and blames Jacob, who becomes angry and says he is not God and cannot himself make her conceive. So she gives him her maid Bilhah that through her she may have children. Bilhah conceives twice, both sons, Dan & Naphtali.

Leah had not conceived since the birth of Judah and sees the success of Bilhah, so she too gives Jacob her maid Zilpah, who bears a son Asher. A fierce childbearing competition continues. Leah bears two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun and a daughter, Dinah. God blessed Rachel to finally be able to children and she concieves a son, Joseph.

After Joseph was born, Jacob requests to leave Laban. Laban tries to get him to stay by offering him more wages, etc but Jacob wants to provide for his own household. Jacob agrees to stay a little longer, but asks that he be given the speckled and spotted animals from the flock as his wages so he could start building his own flocks. Laban agrees and separates the animals and puts three days difference between the flocks. Jacob watches over the mating process and greatly increases his flocks. The Lord blesses Jacob and he becomes prosperous with large flocks, servants, camels and donkeys.

Laban’s sons grumble about this and encite Laban and he was no longer friendly toward Jacob. Jacob tells his wives and family they are going to flee and that he will no longer stay with Laban, who has continually taken advantage of him and who is now hostile toward him. So he gathered all of his things and family and they secretly flee to Gilead. As they are leaving, Rachel steals the household idols of Laban and takes them with her.

Laban pursues him and catches up to him. He tells him he could harm him if he wanted to, but God had told him not to. He asks why he left without letting him tell his family goodbye and questions why he stole the idols. Jacob knew nothing of this so they search Leah and Rachel’s tents for the idols but find nothing. Rachel deceives them by sitting on the idols (they were in her saddle bag as she sat on her camel and said she could not rise because she was menstruating). Jacob is angry Laban is accusing him. He reminds Laban of all he has done for him, how he took nothing from him and how if it were Laban’s wish he would have nothing.

Laban disagrees and says everything he has is his, but they make a covenant and set up a pillar and agree not pursue each other across the pillar. Laban stays the night and kisses and blesses his sons and daughters in the morning and returns to his place.

The Lord had spoke to Jacob when he was leaving Laban to return to his family, so Jacob went on his way but was concerned about Esau. He sent messengers to him to try to win his favor. They return and tell him Esau and four hundred men are coming to meet him. Jacob prays to the Lord, he knows the Lord sent him back to his family and promised to prosper him but he is terrified of Esau.

He sends a present of livestock to Esau by way of his servants and sends his servants on ahead of him. He tells them when they see Esau to tell him that he is following behind them and perhaps after he receives the presents he will gain Esau’s favor. That night he took his two wives, two maids, and eleven children and when they came to the stream of Jabbock he sent them across and was left alone.

When Jacob was left alone, he wrestled with a man, who was really an angel of the Lord until daybreak. The angel realized that he was not prevailing, so touched Jacob’s thigh so the socket was dislocated. The angel asked to be let go, but Jacob said not unless you bless me. The angel changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means wrestles with God. Jacob asked the angel’s name, but he would not tell it. He named the place Penuel and left limping due to his thigh. This is why Jews during that time would not eat the sinew of the hip.

Jacob meets Esau and bowed to the ground seven times in front of him. Esau greeted him with joy and offered help, but Jacob asked to just pass through and they parted ways. Jacob came to Shechem in Canaan and bought a piece of land and there he made it know that he worshiped the Lord.

Dinah, Leah’s daughter, goes out and is raped by the son of a Hivite prince named Shechem.  He wanted to marry Dinah, but to get revenge Jacob’s sons deceive him and the town by first convincing Shechem and his father, Hamor, to be circumsized. Shechem and Hamor then encouraged the entire town to be circumcised and once they had done this, Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi killed Shechem, his father Hamor, and all the men of the city to avenge Dinah. Jacob scolded them, for now the Canaanites would be against them and so God instructs him to leave for Bethel to live there.

So Jacob tells his family to spiritually prepare – put away foreign gods, purify themselves, and change clothes and they left for Bethel. As they traveled the cities were afraid of them and did not pursue him. So he came to Luz (Bethel) safely and built an altar there.

The Lord appeared to Jacob again and blessed him and called him by the name of Israel. He told him he would give him the land of his father Abraham and that a nation and a company of nations and kings would come from him. So he set up a pillar in that place and poured out a drink offering and an oil offering and carried on with their journey, now going toward Bethlehem.

As they were traveling, Rachel went into labor and struggled. She had a son Benjamin, but she did not survive the birth and was buried. Israel, mourning, set up a gravesite and then went on. When he was close to Bethlehem he set up his tent and dwelled there. While they were living here, Reuben his son lay with Bilhah, Israel’s concubine and he found out about it.

He then went to see his father Isaac, who was 180 years old. Isaac died and Esau and Jacob buried him. Jacob and Esau had both become very wealthy and the land of Isaac could not support them, their livestock and servants both. Esau moved to the hill country of Seir. Jacob stayed in Canaan with his family and belongings. This is where his favored son Joseph was sold to the Egyptians. They would have killed him instead of selling him, but Reuben talked them into selling him. Then they dipped Joseph’s tunic in blood and told their father he had been devoured by a wild beast. Jacob tore his clothes and could not be comforted he so mourned the death of Joseph.

But, despite this Joseph becomes a great man of God and has great success in Egypt, trusted by Pharaoh and being made a ruler there. He was also wise and discerning, and when he was put as a ruler over Egypt he realized there would be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. So, in preparation he went through all of Egypt and for seven years stored up a great abundance of grain and food. When a severe famine came upon earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. Then people from all nations came to buy grain from Joseph.

During this time, Jacob and his family are also suffering from the famine and he sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain (still unaware Joseph is alive). Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Joseph takes care of his brothers but does not let them know who he immediately. Through a series of meetings and requirements of them, including them going back to their home and bringing their brother Benjamin back, he sees all of his brothers. He then makes it known to them that he is Joseph their brother. He deals kindly with them and Pharaoh instructs them to bring Jacob to Egypt where he will give them choice land. So they go back and tell Jacob about Joseph and Pharaoh and they move to Egypt. Jacob/Israel is overjoyed to see Joseph.

On their way to Egypt, God comes to Israel in a dream telling him He will be with him in Egypt and build him into a great nation there and that Joseph will be with him when he dies. So Israel is reunited with Joseph and lives in Egypt in the land of Goshen for seventeen years. He asks Joseph to not bury him in Egypt but to carry his bones back to where his fathers were buried and Joseph promised him he would.

When Israel becomes sick in Egypt, Joseph takes his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim to him to be blessed. Israel tells him of the promises God had made to him, to multiply his descendants, and he tells him he will bless his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own. He places his hands on the two boys and Joseph bows to the ground. Israel blesses them, blessing the younger, Ephraim, as the older. When Joseph sees this he is upset, but Israel tells him they will both be great, but the younger will be greater than the older.

Israel was about to die and went to bless his sons. He told Joseph he had originally thought he would never see him again and he was overjoyed because not only get to see him, but his sons also. He gave Joseph one portion more than his brothers as a blessing.

These are the children of Israel and his blessing upon each of them:

Rueben (1^st born) – his birthright was taken because he slept with Bilah. He would be “uncontrolled as water and not have preeminence”; unstable; (mother – Leah)

Simeon & Levi – because of their anger & cruelty will be scattered (see above Dinah). Simeon was stripped of Moses blessing. However, the Levites were shown grace by God & were loyal to God. Became priestly tribe but did not possess land. (mother Leah)

Judah – prominence & prosperity. As a young and old lion. Abundance. In the Messianic line. “Lion of Judah” On the march through the wilderness, Judah went first and had the largest population in Moses census. (Mother – Leah)

Zebulun – will dwell on the seashore; haven for ships – (mother – Leah)

Issachar – strong & industrious –(mother – Leah)

Dan – “Judge”; eventually abandons his land allotment; omitted in the list of tribes in Revelation; In the way, Falls backwards. (mother – Bilah)

Gad – valiant fighters. (Mother – Zilpah)

Asher – Rich in food & royal dainties. (mother – Zilpah)

Naphtali – beautiful words, military as graceful as a doe. (mother – Bilah)

Joseph  - most distinguished, most directly linked to the Lord for help and blessings, strong even in conflict – “bitterly attacked but remained firm” (mother – Rachel)

Benjamin – ravenous wolf; Both Saul’s are from this tribe – the first King of Israel & Paul. (mother – Rachel)

Israel dies at 147 after these blessings and is embalmed in Egypt and carried to the land of Canaan to be buried by his sons with his fathers as he had requested.