Genesis 49:29 - 50:26

Genesis 49:29 - 50:26

²⁹ Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹ There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, ³ taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

Jacob, as Joseph’s father, was also held in high esteem by the Egyptians whom he lived among for seventeen years. This is particularly seen in their prolonged mourning for him. It lasted 70 days. No other burial recorded in Scripture is given such honor or described with such wealth of detail. Whatever his failings were in his earlier days, in later years and particularly in old age, he attains a spiritual maturity and moral dignity which give him a unique place in Bible history.

Note where it says that Jacob breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
He was gathered to Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac and all the others already living in the presence of God. This is clear recognition of the aliveness of those who died in faith.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:31-32 - ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

And John 11:26 – Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me shall never die.” The believer never consciously experiences death, because when he closes his eyes on earth, they open in heaven.

That Jacob was embalmed was kind of interesting. Scripture only mentions two Israelites who were embalmed: Jacob and later Joseph.

Genesis 50: 4-6 ⁴ When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.
¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: ¹³ They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

All of Pharoah’s officials went! This was quite a procession. And you know the Egyptians didn’t like the people of Canaan. Remember they wouldn’t eat at the same table as Joseph’s brothers. They did all this out of respect for Joseph and Jacob, but it’s probably the first time Egyptians went to Canaan for a funeral!

Genesis 50:14-21 ¹⁴ After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial. ¹⁵ But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.

¹⁶ So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us ¹⁷ to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. ¹⁸ Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. ²¹ No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

They doubted his forgiveness. But Joseph said “Am I in place of God?” He was saying judgment for sin belonged to God, not to him. And “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. Because God can use anything for good. Someone recently told me that a lot of Muslims are converting to Christianity because of Isis. That seeing how they act wasn’t their idea of what the Muslim religion was about, so they were leaving it.

A commentator wrote that evil is never allowed near God’s own child without His permission first. If it IS allowed, as in Joseph’s slavery and imprisonment, David’s exile by Saul and particularly Jesus’ death on the cross, it’s because God plans to use it for the good of His child and for the fulfillment of His purpose.
Joseph kept his eyes on God. If God allowed this, He would work it out for good.

What a lesson!

If we can continue to trust God through a suffering, when it’s over we emerge with an experience that proves God is sufficient in every need and with power to help those who need help.

Genesis 50:22 – 26 ²² So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. ²³ He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

²⁴ “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” ²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Even after living all this time in Egypt, Joseph knew he belonged in Canaan because of God’s promise. His faith is shown here. He said, “WHEN God comes to lead you back.”

And one day, four hundred years later, over a million slaves marched out of Egypt, led by God who used a pillar of cloud in the daytime and a fiery pillar at night to direct them. And in their midst was Joseph’s coffin.

Genesis 35 and 36

Genesis 35:1-5 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem.5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

Jacob had stayed in Shechem too long. Remember last time we said it may have been up to 10 years and it could have been because Shechem was a nice comfortable city. But Jacob had vowed to God back in Genesis 28:20 that he would go to Bethel where God had first revealed Himself to him. So now God is telling him he needed to take his family there and bring them all back into a right relationship with God.

You notice they had foreign gods. Remember Rachel had stole some from her father, but it’s likely they had picked up more during their stay. They may have been worshipping them. Today your family may get into new-age religion or a cult or horoscopes or tarot cards.

Other idols we have which we honor more than God, both as regards time and emotion are: money, home, garden, television, position, talents, beauty or pleasure. Anything we put before God.

Jacob realizes he needs to purify his household before they move to Bethel. He tells them to get rid of the gods and change their clothes. (This last is a symbolic cleansing, a new start.)

Remember Bethel means House of God. And there Jacob would offer a sacrifice on the altar. And in the Old Testament all sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice of Christ. They did it for forgiveness. In Hebrews it says “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” They believed God would forgive them when they offered a sacrifice and we believe God HAS forgiven us through His Son’s sacrifice for our sins.

After Jacob and his family repented, the immediate result was security! They set out and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so no one pursued them.

Genesis 35:6-15 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth.
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.

This is the place where he had dedicated his life to God 30 years before. Where he dreamed of the ladder to heaven. He had been alone then and now had a large family. His character had changed and his name had changed.

His family is standing there hearing God’s promises now. This is important – that the whole family knows God. He is responsible to teach them and set the example.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The other thing to note in this passage is when God emphasizes that Jacob’s name is now Israel, the promises to him of land and seed are also to Jacob’s descendents. The nation of Israel.

Genesis 35:16-28 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni] But his father named him Benjamin.
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 36 is just a listing of Edom’s family. It’s included because Isaac had given him a patriarchal blessing. So before continuing with the history of Jacob’s family, particularly Joseph, Edom’s genealogy is given.

Genesis 34

Genesis 34:1-31 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”

5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.”

11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”

13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”

24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?

A comparison of scriptures indicates that Jacob must have stayed in Succoth and Shechem for several years, perhaps as many as 10. Jacob had made a vow back in Genesis 28:20-22 that if God kept him safe he would go back to Bethel. And he’s not doing that. Maybe because Scechem was quite a city at that time and there were many social amenities and comforts. But apparently his children got involved in this world and began to be conformed to the idolatrous customs there and abominable practices.

Jacob as head of the family was responsible to lead his family daily in their right relationship with God. And it seems like he wasn’t doing it.

Scripture doesn’t say why Dinah was going somewhere alone and unprotected. It’s estimated she was between 13 and 16 when this happened.  The Jewish historian Josephus says that she was on her way to a heathen feast of the Shechemites. In any event she should have known that Egyptians and Canaanites regarded unmarried women abroad in the land as their lawful prey and she shouldn’t have gone unattended.

Shechem, the son of Hamor, a tribal prince, found her alone and eventually took her into his house. And she may have gone willingly – the passage says he loved her. But let’s just say that the Israelites had different standards then the pagans.

Shechem wanted to make her his wife and approached Jacob about it, but according to the custom of that day, the father couldn’t act independently without the consent of the brothers of the girl who were considered mainly responsible for safeguarding her rights.

If the two families HAD co-mingled there would be no chosen people.

The brothers took matters into their own hands, probably without telling Jacob their plans. They were going to get revenge not just on the man who had defiled their sister, but against all the people of Shechem. When the men were healing from circumcision the brothers attacked and destroyed them, took their wives and children captive and confiscated their goods.

They behaved like pagans! Jacob was very angry. He strongly rebuked his sons for the trouble they had brought on him and upon their whole family. He also reminded them that compared to the Hivites, his family was few in number.

Simeon and Levi responded in self-defense that’s typical of many people today. Shechem’s sin forced them to do what they did! But we’re not to seek revenge. God says “Vengeance is mine. I will repay.” Even when someone sins against us it must not cause us to sin. The Holy Spirit has given us the Fruits of the Spirit: Peace, love, self-control, goodness, etc.

Jacob’s stern denunciation and God’s judgment regarding Simeon and Levi is only fully revealed on Jacob’s deathbed where Jacob’s verdict is recorded: “Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel!” To the end of his life Jacob would never forget their cruel massacre of the Shechemites. And those 2 tribes suffered God’s judgment. God ordained that neither would have territory which they could call their own. Ultimately, the Simeonites were swallowed up in the tribe of Judah. The Levites also had no inheritance. However later in their history the Levites moved forth in obedience to God. Eventually, God turned their judgment into blessing and they became the tribe of priests. So they still didn’t own real estate, but were honored with priesthood and taken care of.

Genesis 33

Genesis 33:1-3  Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.

Jacob is now humble and has placed his confidence in God. He groups everyone, keeping Rachel and his youngest child in the back and then he goes forward to be first.

Bowing 7 times was a customary homage given to kings of that day. Jacob, by his changed attitude of meekness, humility and willingness to give Esau the respect and honor due him, paves the way for Esau to forgive him and to accept him again as his brother.

Genesis 33:4-7 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down.7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.

And everything is fine!! God answered Jacob’s prayer beyond what he hoped. They were never this close the whole time they were growing up! 20 years ago Esau would never have run to Jacob and hugged him!

And Jacob proudly introduces his family, giving honor to God for His grace and blessing.

Genesis 33:9-11 8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”
“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.

Remember Jacob had sent the animals earlier as a gift. And Esau can’t bring himself to accept so generous a gift. It’s clear that Esau is quite rich himself and doesn’t need the gift. But Jacob pleads with him and Esau may have heard the undercurrent of contrition in Jacob and realized it was a form of an apology – so he accepted it.

Genesis 33:12-17  Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”
“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.
Sukkoth means shelters.

He was in a good place now. On good terms with his brother. Back in his own land. And on his way to see Isaac again. He could rest a bit.

You might expect that Jacob has all good things happen to him from now on. No! Just like when we become Christians we still have some sin and weakness and problems, he does too. In the next few chapters though it’s members of Jacob’s family that sin. One commentator suggests he’s beginning to reap the lack of discipline due to the presence of several wives.

Genesis 34 is rather a sordid tale. But it shows us two things. One is the Bible tells it like it happened. When people say such in such is in the Bible so it must be ok. Well, no. It isn’t saying the sins and many of the life styles and actions are ok. They are just the history. The second thing is lots of time they show you what happens when godly people live to closely with pagans.

And we’ll see that social interaction and intermarriage was leading to the rapid degeneration of Jacob’s family to the amoral and spiritual level of the heathen around them. It’s bad in Genesis 38 also. And both events will reveal the necessity for Jacob’s family to be separated for a time from the surrounding people until they are sufficiently grounded in God’s revelation of Himself to preserve their national and religious independence and most importantly later on to preserve the Old Testament which was committed to them on behalf of the world. And we’ll see they end up in Egypt later to do just that.

In fact Egypt was the perfect place for forced separation because Egyptians would have NOTHING to do with shepherds. They wouldn’t eat with them or even be around them.

Genesis 33:18-20 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.

So after their period of rest they prepared to settle in nearby Shechem in central Canaan, about 50 miles from Hebron. He actually bought property. Only the second piece of land in the Promised Land purchased by one of the Patriarchs. And Jacob dug his well here. Nearly two thousand years later Jesus sat on this same well when he promised the gift of living water to the Samaritan woman.

Genesis 32

Genesis 32: 1-2 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Having spent the previous night feasting before God in the “Mount of Sacrifice,” Laban rose early in the morning and took leave of Jacob’s family. With his blessing.

This starts a new era in Jacob’s life. His 20 years of serving Laban were over. He now stood on the threshold of all God had promised him – he was about to enter Canaan. All he had to do was cross the Jordan.

Remember when Jacob left home 20 years before God revealed Himself in a dream with a ladder between heaven and earth, with angels going up and down? Now, when Jacob and his family in obedience to God’s specific command prepare to reenter Canaan, Jacob is again assured of God’s presence with him by another meeting with the angels of God.

He was probably stressed and a bit worried. He had been chased by his father-in-law. And now he was vulnerable with valuable flocks and herds, his wives and little children. Not many men. They could be ambushed and robbed! And his brother Esau was living somewhere around there and they weren’t on good terms…

So he needed encouragement. And he saw another camp. Of angels. Sent by God to protect him.

There are many places in Scripture where God has sent angels to His chosen ones.

Psalm 34:7 says The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Daniel 6:22  My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.

Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Jacob named the place Mahanaim, which means two camps. This became a city and its ruins are still in existence today under the name of Maneh.

Genesis 32:3-5 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”

Jacob had a guilty conscience regarding Esau. Therefore he was afraid. But notice he didn’t go to God with the problem, he decided what he was going to do himself. Send special messengers to Seir, southeast of the Dead Sea where Esau lived to announce both his return and his wealth and to beg for Esau’s grace.

Genesis 32:6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

This news was kind of ….terrifying! Now Jacob was really scared. No one knew better then he the deep root of Esau’s grudge and determination to take revenge. 

Genesis 32:7-12  In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

Jacob plans an emergency route to escape and also prays to God a very earnest prayer which has all the elements of true intercession.

There are seven points to notice in Jacob’s prayer which should always be present in our prayers of supplication to God:

1. Acknowledgment of God’s person and our relationship with Him. (God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord) 

2. Reminder of God’s specific promise to him.  “You said to me” etc. And he reminds God that he has fulfilled God’s command to return.

3. Confession of unworthiness – By owning his unworthiness, Jacob also indirectly confesses his sin. He knows he doesn’t deserve God’s help. The reason Esau is mad at him is Jacob’s fault! But he’s praying on the ground of God’s grace, not is own merit. He spoke of God’s kindness and faithfulness He has always shown him.

4. Praise and thanksgiving for past mercies – He talks about all God has already done for him. He first crossed the Jordan alone – now he has 2 camps going back.

5. Jacob’s specific request – “Save me…for I am afraid”. He was very clear. Even though God always knows what we want we shouldn’t be vague when we ask. Instead of saying “Please make me a better Christian” say “Please give me more of a servant’s heart or more love for Your Word, or a better ability to share the Gospel. Help me find 30 minutes to study the Bible today! That kind of thing.

6. Jacob’s outpouring of his heart to God – he didn’t repress his emotion of fear. He poured out his true feelings. “I am afraid he will come attack me!”

7. Jacob’s bold claim of God’s promise to him – Jacob reminds God, “But You have said, “I will make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.” This was at the end, reminding him that God’s word, God’s purposes, God’s promises can never fail.

Genesis 32:13-21 13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”

17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

After Jacob prayed you can see his attitude changed. He doesn’t really seem afraid anymore. Now instead of organizing an escape plan he prepares to meet Esau face to face. And the prayer may have changed how he actually felt about Esau. He seems to realize and be admitting that he owes Esau something. The gift he puts together is generous. Even sacrificial. A total of 580 animals.

Genesis 32:22-23 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. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.

The ford of the Jabbok is on the east side of the Jordan River midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. This is where they must reenter the Promised Land. His family is safely across now and he’s done all he can.

Genesis 32:24-32 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.25 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.26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

28 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.”

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

So, suddenly a “man” appears who wrestles with Jacob until daybreak. At the end Jacob realizes this is no mere man, but God. Hosea 12:4-5 describes this man as “the Angel” – God Himself.

To understand the meaning of this passage, we need to review the character and previous history of Jacob. Since meeting with God at Bethel, Jacob seems to have deliberately reoriented his life according to his faith in god’s promises and in obedience to God’s revealed commands. He maintained his integrity as an industrious, faithful and reliable servant throughout all his bitter experiences with Laban. We don’t read that he continues to complain about his hard lot. Instead we read of his “Preoccupation with the goodness of his God” who blessed him in the midst of injustice from others.

However, side by side with these virtues, which are indispensable to the life of a true believer, we have to recognize that the most prominent feature of Jacob’s character was a strong reliance on his own resources, his astute judgment and shrewd calculations by which he seems to presume he will always succeed, even to the winning of God’s inheritance and blessing. Before Bethel he manipulated people all the time. And he didn’t care if he hurt them. He also didn’t question whether he was pleasing God or not so long as it ended the way he wanted.

Following this God chastised Jacob for twenty years through circumstances under Laban. The manipulator was now manipulated. Surely he could see the similarities.

Jacob’s prayer which produced such a change of attitude within him toward Esau must have brought also some convictions that his whole way of life and self-reliance kept him out of step with God. 

So it seems that God prepared Jacob’s heart for a new encounter with Himself after which the whole of Jacob’s character would be changed. No more schemes and lies.

We don’t know how much of this struggle was physical and how much spiritual. In any case it’s highly symbolic. When Jacob is set to enter the Promised Land (promised by God, but for which he schemed and worked) he is opposed by none other then God Himself!

God’s blessings are acts of grace. Meaning they are undeserved. In fact the Bible says that God will choose those who consider themselves weak or foolish in order that no one shall boast of how he obtained God’s blessing by the glory of his own merit.

So Jacob doesn’t recognize God first and struggles with Him, refusing to surrender. He fails to see that God had a purpose and a blessing in this encounter.

Sometimes God has to break people so He can use them. You aren’t surrendering fully to Him if you are trying to do things on your own.

In this passage, at first it looks like God doesn’t want to bless Jacob and Jacob forces Him to do so. That’s not so. God is sovereign: no man forces Him to do anything. However, God is good. He was Jacob’s God and Jacob had responded to Him in faith. Therefore if God came to Jacob, Jacob knew (once he realized who it was) that it was because God intended to bless him. Had he not been so sure of that (by his faith in God’s character) he might have given up when “the angel” told him to let go.

Jacob’s surrender brought true victory. God asked Jacob for his name which was so revealing of his old character and disposition. Jacob means “the supplanter.” He was a schemer. A cheater. God wanted Jacob to say his name so he could see clearly that the name HAD described him. But no more. God gave him a new name. Israel. And he would have power with God through prayer and power with men in daily life. (Commentators don’t agree on the meaning of the name Israel. Some say it means “God prevails” others “God rules”.)

After this Jacob has a permanent sore hip. The perfect example of God’s strength being perfect in Jacob’s weakness. Because every time he felt his hip – which would have been ALL the time – he would be reminded he had surrendered fully to God.

We can apply this to our lives when we feel that we are missing out on some of God’s promises for us. Perhaps we haven’t realized that we are trusting in our own strength, fighting the Lord Himself. 

God’s full blessing is available to us. However, in the New Testament experience, this comes through our identification with Christ’s death. We cling trustingly to Him believing he will bless us with all the glory and fruit fitted with the power of the Holy Spirit. Our old life died on the Cross with Christ. We’ve surrendered to Him and have a new life now. One of power with God in prayer and with men in service.

Genesis 31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” ² And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, ⁷ yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. ⁹ So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.

¹⁰ “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? ¹⁵ Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. ¹⁶ Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, ¹⁸ and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. ²⁰ Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. ²¹ So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁵ Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. ²⁷ Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? ²⁸ You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. ³² But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.

³⁶ Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? ³⁷ Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.

³⁸ “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. ⁴⁰ This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸ Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”

So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.

⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home

In spite of Laban’s unfair treatment Jacob still prospered. Laban’s sons were jealous and Laban was selfish. We saw a little of that when Abraham’s servant came for Rebekah and how he bargained his daughters for free labor. He was used to controlling people.

According to custom Rachel and Leah were supposed to have received the benefits of the dowry Jacob paid Laban (in this case the 14 years of labor). When Laban didn’t give them that they realized they weren’t going to get an inheritance from him either. So they were fine with Jacob’s plan to take the wealth he had gained and leave.

The little gods, or idols, were common in homes back then. They were thought to protect the home and offer advice in time of need. They also had a legal significance in that they could be passed down in the family and the person who had received them could rightfully claim the greatest part of the family inheritance. Which is probably why Laban was so concerned about them.

Genesis 30

Genesis 30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
² Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

¹⁴ During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. ³⁰ The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”

³¹ “What shall I give you?” he asked.

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: ³² Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³ And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” ³⁵ That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. ³⁸ Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. ⁴¹ Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, ⁴² but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. ⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob follows his grandfather Abraham’s example of sleeping with his wife’s servant when his wife (or in his case wives) had trouble having children. We mentioned when Abraham did it it was the custom of the day. And it still was…. For the pagans. Just because something is socially acceptable doesn’t mean it’s right.

Genesis 29

Genesis 29 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. ² There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”

“We’re from Harran,” they replied.

⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

⁶ Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”

“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

⁷ “Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

⁸ “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. ¹² He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. ¹⁴ Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

(Insert – after really thinking about Jacob deceiving Isaac by pretending to be Esau, we kind of look at his a little differently now, don’t we?)

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. ³⁰ Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

It was the custom of the day for a man to give a dowry for his wife. But Jacob had arrived with nothing, so his working for seven years was to take the place of the dowry.

There was another custom however that Jacob didn’t know about and that was that the younger sister couldn’t be married before the older one. Labon tricked him into working another seven years. The deceiver had now become the deceived! The good thing for Jacob though was he didn’t have to wait seven more years to marry Rachel.

Jacob's Ladder

Genesis 28: 10-11 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

Beersheba is situated southwest of the Dead Sea. He was alone and probably very sad; feeling apart from both his parents and God.

Genesis 28: 12-22 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Angels  of God are described in the Bible as being messengers of God and in Jacob’s dream he sees them going up and down the ladder between Jacob on earth and God in Heaven.

Jesus spoke of this in John 1:51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

He Himself would be man’s representative to God and God’s representative to man. According to this Gospel Jesus says He will take the place of the ladder! Because He is the way and the ONLY way to God.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jacob didn’t just see the way open between he and God, he got a verbal promise given to him personally upon which his faith could rest. He got the same fourfold promises given to Abraham and Isaac.

1. The actual physical land where Jacob now was.
2. His seed would multiply
3. That the Messiah would come from his line “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.”
4. That God would personally be with Jacob and that He loved him.

This experience was the turning point in Jacob’s life. It might be compared to our own conversion. He sets up the stone so he could always remember this important place as the holy place where he met God. And he anoints it with oil (always used to symbolize the Holy Spirit and consecration to God in Scriptures.) Bethel means House of God.

Back to our Genesis Chapter 27/28 Study

Back to Jacob – We are given far more details about Jacob’s actions, emotions, and response to God than about most individuals of the Old Testament.

It’s interesting that God’s promise of a seed starts out through one person at a time until after Jacob. Abraham to Isaac to Jacob….and then to Jacob’s 12 sons – each as important as the other in Israel’s history. Scripture records many events in Jacob’s life. We see his sins, his faith and God’s dealings with him in grace, in chastisement, by revelation and by rebuke as he molds Jacob’s character into the dignified man of stature he eventually became. You’ll notice that God allows Jacob to experience from others the same kind of deception and suffering he inflicted upon his father, Isaac – with his taking Esau’s birthright and then Isaac’s blessing.

We’ll get to it shortly, but you’ll remember that Jacob leaves his parents and goes to live with his uncle Laban for twenty years. Laban lied to him about earning his wife and also about his wages many times. In his old age his sons lied to him about what happened to Joseph. Some people would call this Karma, but it’s God disciplining him in a way he can see his own sin.

God disciplines His own and He often does this by circumstances of life.

Isaac’s blessing was also prophecy. It was God promising through Isaac –

1.      That the land which his son would possess would be blessed with heavenly dew, which in Israel is so heavy that even in the dry season it almost takes the place of rain. The land would be fertile, full of grain and wine.

2.      Nations would serve his line. People would bow down. People bowed down to Jacob’s son Joseph in Egypt. And of course we will ALL bow down to Jesus one day.

3.      Isaac also blessed him with headship over his brother. Although he was really blessing Esau with headship over Jacob. (Isaac was trying to annul God’s original declared purpose in regard to the younger ruling over the elder.)

4.      The Abrahamic promise of cursing and blessing. He just reasserted God’s promise to Abraham that he would be so identified in God’s family and with God Himself that God would consider those who cursed him as though they cursed God and those who blessed him as though they blessed God.

Then Jacob left and Esau came in and Isaac realized what had happened. And he trembled violently. Imagine how he felt when he realized that he had tried to manipulate God, but God had stepped in and prevented him! He realized he couldn’t change God’s sanction and told Esau so.

Esau regrets his former action, but regret and remorse are not repentance.

Isaac gave him the portion of temporal blessing and prophecy relating to the future which God knew most fitted the life which Esau had already chosen for himself.

1.      Esau’s land would be rocky and dry (“away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above”). Edom is a mountainous stronghold with a few fertile places, but very little rain.

2.      Esau and his descendants would be known throughout history for their continual violence and conflict, particularly in relation to the more peaceful Israel whom they constantly harassed and even persecuted.

3.      He would serve his brother – for a long time Israel was over Edom.

4.      “You will throw his yoke from off your neck.” The time came when Judah lost Edom.

Eventually Edom disappeared. One commentator wrote that by “refusing to value their spiritual possessions while they had them they ended in being discarded by God from being instruments of blessing to the people around them.”

I couldn’t help but think of America when I read that. (Re-read statement)

Isaac calls Jacob back to give him the full Abrahamic blessing:

Genesis 28:1-9 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ² Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. ⁴ May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. ⁸ Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; ⁹ so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

Esau, who had been indifferent and easy going, turned all his blame and bitterness on Jacob. Rebekah hears him say he is going to kill Jacob, so sends him away to her brother Laban. Remember when she had told Jacob “let the curse be on me”? Well, the first part of that curse was she lost her favorite son. It’s thought they never saw each other again.

So how can we apply this story to our lives? Isaac shows us that it is possible so to live in the light of a past great experience with God that in the present we stagnate, become spiritually lazy and blind and indifferent to God’s call to new decisions and new sacrifices.

From Rebekah we learn that it is possible to know God’s Word, to believe it, to be sound and to recognize when others are not acting according to God’s revealed Word, but yet in personal actions ignore God’s requirements of plain truthfulness, honesty, integrity and righteous conduct. Orthodox belief accompanied by unrighteous conduct will lead to God’s chastisement and sorrow.

From Jacob we learn it is possible to be so convinced that we are in the right, legally, that any conduct seems allowable .We should not be going after our “rights” in ways that don’t please God.

And from Esau we learn not to blame others for the consequence of our own indifference to God and spiritual things.