Tag Archives: JACOB

LIFE LESSONS FROM JACOB

Christian Life, ,

Just as Abraham had learned life lessons from his walk with God, so Jacob, too, learned valuable lessons from his failures and God’s faithfulness that helped him to be a good finisher.

Despite God’s promises to him in his dream at Bethel, Jacob spent many years trying to make things happen by manipulation, trickery, and deception. Only when he was in a jam so tight that there was no way of escape, did he surrender himself to God at Peniel.

How like Jacob we are! Instead of trusting God and allowing Him to work out His will in us we, like Frank Sinatra, say, “I did it my way!” Our way often leads us on detours that waste the weeks, months, or even years we could have been doing God’s will.

Yet, as Jacob learned, God’s patience never runs out. He will wait until we come to the end of ourselves and find out that His way is always best.

As his life drew to a close, Jacob was fully committed to the destiny of his descendants. He was in line with those whom God had chosen to be the builders of His nation. Jacob blessed his grandson, Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son, ahead of Manasseh despite Joseph’s protest. Did he have prophetic insight into the
destiny of Ephraim, as he did when he blessed each of his own sons on his deathbed?

His faith in God’s promises inspired him to request burial in Canaan in the cave his grandfather had bought for the burial of Rebekah and other family members. So, Jacob had learned to trust God’s promises implicitly as did Abraham and Isaac before him.

We would do well to take a leaf from Jacob’s book. God’s promises are His insurance policy for our past, present, and future. Without His promises, we have no guarantee that our destiny in Him is secure. Earthly insurance policies promise to step in when disaster strikes. God’s insurance policy guarantees a past forgiven and blotted out, a present filled with His presence, intervention, favour and blessing, and a future beyond our wildest imagination.

‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭NLT‬
[9] “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

We must be thankful that God has preserved the record of the lives of these Old Testament saints. Their stories are full of both warnings and encouragement for us to follow as we traverse the road they have already travelled.

JACOB – DECEIVER TURNED DEPENDENT – 3

Bible Study, ,

Jacob’s trickery forced him to flee his brother’s wrath and put many miles between himself and Esau. Once again, Rebekah used a devious excuse to cool the situation.

‭Genesis‬ ‭27:41‭-‬46‬ ‭NLT‬
[41] “From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” [42] But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. [43] So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. [44] Stay there with him until your brother cools off. [45] When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?” [46] Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.”

‭Genesis‬ ‭28:1‭-‬5‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] “So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. [2] Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. [3] May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! [4] May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” [5] So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.”

Jacob set off, knowing nothing of the tortuous road ahead of him. Instead of condemning him for his wickedness, God had an encounter with Jacob on his first night away from home that changed the direction of his life, adding the dimension of God to his thinking that seems to have been missing up to this time.

‭Genesis‬ ‭28:10‭-‬15‬ ‭NIV‬
[10] “Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. [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. [12] 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.”

One wonders how much Isaac taught his sons about their grandfather, Abraham’s faith in the God who had made such awesome promises to him and his descendants. Was Abraham active in his grandson’s lives? Although he died at the age of 175, there is no mention of Isaac’s children until after Abraham’s death.

So, in Jacob’s first encounter with God in a dream, God includes him in the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac. From then on, Jacob, despite his dismal track record, becomes the third revered patriarch of the nation of Israel yet to be born.

Such is the nature of God and His promises that He is never hindered by the failures of those to whom His promises are given.

So said the Apostle Paul,

‭Romans‬ ‭2:4‬ ‭NLT‬
[4] “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”

‭Genesis‬ ‭28:16‭-‬22‬ ‭NIV‬
[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.”

Armed with the memory of his dream and the promises of favour and blessing on his life, Jacob continued his journey to Haran where he, like his grandfather’s servant, Eliezer, was divinely led to meet his father’s family and his future wives, Leah and Rachel. In the household of Laban, his mother’s brother, he would deceive and be deceived until his life became intolerable in the atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust.

To be continued…

JACOB – DECEIVER TURNED DEPENDENT – 2

Bible Study, ,

Unlike his son, Joseph, Jacob seems to have had no moral compass. He was an opportunist. His mother must have coached him to believe in his future (being above his brother) without instilling in him a trust in God that would allow God to work out His plans in his life.

So, when the opportunity presented, Jacob exploited his brother’s weak moment to get what he wanted, his brother’s birthright. Hunger gnawing in his belly, Esau agreed without giving it another thought.

Esau’s foolishness is a good example of a person who lives FOR the moment rather than IN the moment. To live for the moment implies that the foolish person does not consider what impact a present decision will have on his/her future, for example, a young girl gets pregnant after a one-night stand.

To live in the moment means to live fully in the present with an eye on the future.

So, our Jacob has set himself up for trouble in the future. No only has he jumped the gun on God’s plans but he has also sown the seeds of discord in his family. Jesus said that a family divided against itself will not stand. How tru that was for Jacob. No only was his own family divided but also the family into which he married in Haran.

The scene is set for phase two of his plan to defraud his brother. Aided by his mother, he jumps at the opportunity to steal his father’s blessing, the second half of the birthright of the eldest son.

‭Genesis‬ ‭27:1‭-‬10‬ ‭NLT‬
[1] One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. [2] “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. [3] Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. [4] Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.” [5] But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, [6] she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, [7] ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ [8] Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. [9] Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. [10] Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”

The plan, cleared of obstacles by Rebekah’s ingenuity, falls into place and Jacob, once again, gets what he wants by manipulation, lies, and trickery.

True to God’s warning, and in keeping with the deceptive behaviour of both Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, continues a life of deception into the third generation.

‭Exodus‬ ‭34:7‬ ‭NLT‬
[7] “I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”

To be continued…

JACOB, DECEIVER TURNED DEPENDENT – 1

Bible Study, ,

Although Isaac was one of the patriarchs, his story is relatively uneventful. He seems to be the bridge between his father, Abraham, and his son, Jacob.

He was the miracle son of Abraham, the object of Abraham’s faith. His birth in his parents’ old age confirmed the start of a string of promises that stretched unendingly into their future.

For Jacob, his son, Isaac was the victim of trickery and deceit, disrespect and dishonour, possibly fuelled by the favouritism Isaac showed his brother, Esau, for purely selfish reasons.

‭Genesis‬ ‭25:28‬ ‭NLT‬
[28] “Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

So, we come to Jacob, younger son of twins born to Isaac and Rebekah in answer to Isaac’s prayer. From before their birth, these two boys were in conflict. Rebekah asked the Lord why they struggled in her womb and, once again as in many other times, God revealed that He had chosen the younger brother over the elder to fulfill His purposes. How often God bypassed the older son in favour of the younger to be the vehicle of His purposes.

‭Genesis‬ ‭25:21‭-‬23‬ ‭NLT‬
[21] “Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. [22] But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. [23] And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

Scripture does not reveal how God would carry out His plan to build His nation through Jacob rather than Esau. Perhaps He was revealing to Rebekah what would happen through human conniving rather than how it would happen according to His will.

Like her grandparents-in-law, Abraham and Sarah (in the birth of Ishmael), Rebekah tried to help God in this process, only to sour relationships between the brothers and cause unnessary conflict in her family. Since Jacob was her favourite son, Jacob was to be God’s favoured one, and she would make sure it happened!

To be continued…