-Grace Institute: Genesis: Genesis 27-33: Jacob

Jacob Genesis 27-33, 36 March 2, 2008

Jacob & Esau's Birth

Like Sarah, Rebekah is barren and she only becomes pregnant after Isaac's prayer to God. Rebekah conceives twins, and a pregnant woman who struggled with infertility, she becomes anxious when her twins fighting within womb. So she prays to God about her pregnancy. The Lord's reply not only explains why her pregnancy is going the way it is, but also, in keeping with the running theme of Genesis, foretells that the older child will serve the younger (25:23). God is establishing from before their birth that the blessing and seed of the covenant will pass through the younger child.

As Rebekah's children are born, the first is named Esau, which means hairy. The second child is named Jacob, which means to take hold of by the heel, or to follow with the intent to supplant; or more broadly, “deceiver.” [1] This turns out to be an appropriate name, for most of his life Jacob is involved in deceitful schemes as he tries to make a name for himself.

Jacob the Deceiver

Before his birth, God had affirmed that the blessing would pass through Jacob. But Rebekah and Jacob didn't trust that God could arrange this, so they worked to make it happen through their own efforts. Throughout his life Jacob plots deceitful schemes, working every angle, so that he can obtain the blessing. But he was working the angles to gain what God had already promised.

Jacob comes from a scheming family. His own mother, Rebekah modeled this in her deception of Isaac. His uncle Laban is shown to be a deceitful man as well. This character trait is in his genes. But Jacob will come to the point where he is unable to use his cunning and his deceit to avoid trouble, and must at that point give up on his own abilities and begin trusting God.

Jacob's Deception of Esau (25:27-34)

Esau returns from a hunting trip and is hungry. Jacob has cooked a stew, and offers it to Esau, but only if Esau will relinquish his birthright. Esau willingly gives up his birthright, using the rationale that if he dies of hunger, his birthright will be no good to him anyway. Jacob has become the usurper his name suggests he will be. This narrative establishes that Esau despised his birthright. It was not taken from him by God. He never wanted it in the first place.

Rebekah's Deception of Isaac (27:1-46)

Having obtained the birthright, Jacob now receives his mother's help in gaining the blessing. The blessing had already been promised to Jacob. Rebekah heard this from God before his birth. But just as Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to help God keep his promises, so Rebekah would now work to ensure that God's promise would be fulfilled. She and Jacob deceive Isaac into believing that he is Esau, and Isaac mistakenly blesses the younger son. This incident demonstrates the unconditional nature of the blessing. Once given by Isaac, he can not take it back, even if it was obtained through deceit. There would be no blessing for Esau.

Jacob Sent to Haran

Esau had married a Hittite woman, and this brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah (26:34). Rebekah sends Jacob back to Haran to find a wife because she is so fed up with Esau's wife (27:46) and doesn't want Jacob to marry outside the family. So Jacob is sent to Haran to find a wife, but also to seek protection from the wrath of Esau.

Clearly Esau is out of favor now with his parents. In an attempt to appease them, he marries again, but this time from “within the family” as he now marries a daughter of Ishmael (27:6). This reiterates Moses theme of trouble coming from marrying outside the family, emphasizing for his readers the importance of marrying within the nation of Israel .

Laban's Deception of Jacob (28:1-22)

Jacob arrives in Haran and stays with his uncle Laban. Jacob falls in love with Laban's younger daughter Rachel and negotiates with him to work seven years to obtain her hand in marriage. After seven years, Jacob receives his bride, only to find out the morning after his wedding night, that he has married the older daughter Leah. He must now work seven more years to gain the hand of Rachel.

Jacob has been deceived by Laban. This man, whose whole life is characterized by schemes and deceit has now received his just reward and has been the victim of deceit himself.

Laban has tricked Jacob into marrying both his daughters, and has obtained Jacob's services for another seven years. Laban recognizes that Jacob is blessed by God with prosperity, and in fulfillment of the covenant, those who are around Jacob will also be blessed.

Jacob's Deception of Laban (Chapters 30-31)

Jacob continues to manage Laban's flocks. But he makes an arrangement with Laban that any speckled animals will become his. Jacob puts out rods by the flocks, it appears, in order to influence their mating. Can rods influence the change the color of new born sheep? Is this instead just a genetic thing that they didn't understand? It is not clear from the passage. What is clear is that Laban did all he could to prevent Jacob from prospering (30:35-36), making it clear that Jacob's prosperity did not come from Laban but from God.

Nonetheless, Jacob believes it is okay to have schemed to take the flocks from Laban because 1) Laban had cheated him (31:7) and 2) God told Jacob that he would prosper by taking the spotted animals (31:9-12).

Jacob and his family deceive Laban by stealing away without telling Laban (31:20). Furthermore, unbeknown to Jacob, Rachel has stolen the household idols. The household idols represented the protection of the household gods, and Rachel may have taken them out of spite for her father, since he had “disinherited” them (31:15-16). However, in ancient Sumerian culture, possession of the household idols signified the a right to the inheritance. [2] By taking the idols Rachel was making a legal claim to inherit Laban's wealth. There is a strong parallel in this incident between the younger sister Rachel stealing the birthright and the younger brother Jacob's stealing the birthright. It also suggests that Laban's family, and likely Rachel herself, still worshipped the idols as well (35:2).

Laban, of course, chases after the fleeing Jacob, primarily to recover the idols. Jacob, for once honestly answers that he did not take the idols. After an exhaustive search, the idols have not been found. So, to protect the integrity of Laban's inheritance, he enters a covenant with Jacob where Jacob agrees to never come back and try to make a claim on Laban's inheritance (31:52).

Jacob the Believer

“The God of my Father”

In this negotiation of this covenant, Jacob appeals to the Lord as the one who has protected and provided for him. But interestingly, he refers to the Lord as “the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac”(31:42). What is striking is the absence of a personal connection to this God. Throughout the Jacob narrative, we see him refer to God in this fashion (27:20). To this point in the narrative, Jacob's relationship with the God of his fathers has not been characterized by his faith, but the faith of his fathers. Just as Jacob has schemed Esau, Isaac and Laban, so also his relationship with God has been one of scheming.

Jacob's Ladder in Bethel

We first see this scheming with God as he was fleeing to Haran . As he flees he stops and sleeps with the rock pillow. In a dream where he sees a ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending, God reaffirms to him that he is the blessings of the covenant will pass through him (28:13-14). Furthermore God promises to return him to this land (28:15).

But Jacob does not respond with faith in God's assurances. Instead, Jacob tries to make a deal with God. He tells God if He will bring him back and cause him to prosper, He'll cut you in for 10% of the take. Jacob didn't understand the unconditional nature of the covenant. He thought he had to bargain with God to receive the blessing of the covenant.

Besides the tithe he promises God, he tells him that if he returns him to his father's house safely, “then the Lord will be my God.” (28:21). In Jacob's mind, God has to prove himself first before he will accept him as his God.

Any reference to God by Jacob is sadly silent through his stay in Haran . It is only when we see him flee Laban and return to meet Esau that he again calls on the Lord.

Jacob's Conversion

Preparation for Meeting Esau

After fleeing from Laban, Jacob is approaching home and an encounter with his brother Esau. He is very afraid of the revenge of Esau. Jacob makes great preparation for the meeting, using all his human cunning to protect his family. He divides his family and his possessions (32:8). He sends gifts to Esau (32:13). But even with all his preparation, he is still vulnerable to Esau and his 400 men. Jacob could do nothing else to prevent Esau from destroying him and his family.

Out of this fear, Jacob turns to God. Again appealing to the God of his fathers (32:9), he reminds God of the promise He made to Jacob. He would protect and prosper him. He reminded God that he was the inheritor of the Abrahamic covenant (32:12). He also appeals to God's lovingkindness and faithfulness (32:10). Now he appealed to God to deliver him from Esau (32:11).

Jacob has found himself in a place where he can no longer scheme his way out of the situation. He is backed into a corner, and must now rely on God for help. Up to know he has been able to survive on his own cunning, but with Esau before him, suddenly the God of his fathers becomes the God of lovingkindness, faithfulness and the God of the unconditional covenant.

Jacob Wrestles with God

That night Jacob wrestled with a man who we later see in the narrative see was an incarnation of God (32:30). This event is a vivid illustration of Jacob's whole relationship with God to this point. He has been wrestling with God and negotiating with him, in order to gain God's blessing—a blessing which God had promised him already from before his birth.

The wrestling with God becomes the turning point in Jacob's life. First, God cripples Jacob. Secondly, God gives Jacob a new name: Israel . The new name represents a new chapter in Jacob's life, and a new form of relationship between Jacob and God.

This story also forms two significant points of interest for Moses' readership. First, it explains the name of the place Penuel. Secondly, it explains the tradition of not eating the sinew of the hip, a practice which is not codified in the Mosaic law, but which is still practiced by Orthodox Jews today [3].

The God of Israel

The Altar at Shechem

Jacob and Esau meet the next day. Jacob humbly shows respect to Esau, and Esau responds favorably. The old wound had been healed, and Jacob and Esau appear to have good relations for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless Jacob wisely declines to remain with Esau or accept his offer of protection.

Jacob then moves his family to Shechem and buys land on which to settle. He then builds an altar, and calls it El-Elohe-Israel, or literally, God, the God of Israel (32:20). For the first time Jacob, now Israel, has referred to the Lord, not as the God of Abraham or the God of Isaac, but as his God, the God of Israel .

The Altar at Bethel

After the incident at Shechem (to be discussed later), God instructs Israel to move to Bethel , the place of his first encounter with God. But before he moves, Jacob instructs his household to get rid of their foreign gods and he buries them under the oak tree. This God is no longer just another household god. Now Israel sees him as God Almighty, the one true God.

When they move to Bethel , God reiterates the name change and He reiterates the covenant. Israel will inherit the seed (“ a nation… shall come from you… kings shall come forth from you”) and the land (“I will give the land to your descendents after you.”).

Jacob's experience with God is typical of many people's spiritual journey. We often like having God around as someone who will bless us and protect us from afar. We see God as an important part of our familial heritage. He is someone we pray to for general protection and blessing. But we don't really have to rely on him on a day-to-day basis. Then a crisis hits: an illness, death in the family, or economic catastrophe. Suddenly we find ourselves wrestling with God. We are negotiating with him demanding that he protect and provide for us. Often, this contentious relationship with God is the time which draws us most closely and most honestly to God.

Finally through this process, God wounds us, humbles us, and breaks our pride and self-sufficient attitude. Then, after this humbling by God, He builds us back up. He renames us, gives us a new life, and makes us a new creature. And only then does God become our God. Only then do we find redemption and salvation.

Notes

1. “James Orr, ed. “Jacob.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia . Electronic Edition, E-Sword software. .
2. Allen P. Ross. “Genesis.” Bible Knowledge Commentary . Electronic Edition, STEP files.
3. Ross.