Genesis Lesson 15
THE GOD OF JACOB
Genesis 25:23-34, 28:6-31:55
Key Verse 28:13
“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.”
Jacob is a unique person in the Bible. Not only was he one of the first three patriarchs, together with Abraham and Isaac, but he laid the foundation for the nation of Israel. From him came twelve sons who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. Although he was born as the second son of Isaac, his character was totally different from those of his father and his brother Esau. He was a man of struggle. He started to struggle within his mother’s womb and his whole life was a series of struggles. He never gave up in any situation. His spirit was indomitable. He was also a sincere person. He was faithful to Rachael and to his work. He was humanistic and at the same time he was spiritual. Most of all, he had a strong character and it was very hard for him to change. Because of his strong character he suffered greatly, and God had to struggle greatly to change him. Today’s passage discusses the first part of Jacob’s life. We want to learn what Jacob tried to achieve in his life and who the God is who shepherded Jacob.
Jacob and Esau (25:23-34; chapter 27)
Jacob’s life started in his mother’s womb, where he struggled with his brother Esau. The struggle between them continued throughout their lives and even afterwards, in the lives of their descendants. Rebekah was barren for a long time. When she became pregnant with twins, the two babies jostled each other within her; she said, “Why is this happening to me?” and went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." Through her prayer, Rebekah realized that God had a plan for her second son, Jacob. Then Esau and Jacob were born. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob (25,26). Esau’s name was given according to a quality of his body, but Jacob’s name was given according to his character.
Here, the important thing is that God had a plan for Jacob while he was still in his mother’s womb. Before he was born or had done anything good or bad, God had already chosen him for his redemptive work. Here there is only God’s sovereign choice, without any involvement of man’s will or works. We may feel like complaining about God’s sovereign choice: why didn’t God give any chance to Esau and choose Jacob? Is not God unfair? Apostle Paul explains this in Romans 9:11,12: “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad -- in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls -- she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’” God pursues his redemptive work apart from man’s works. God’s choices of Abraham, of Isaac over Ishmael and of Jacob over Esau show that God leads his redemptive work according to his will. In this there is no room for any man’s willful choice, good works or tradition. If there is any involvement of men, the foundation of God’s redemptive work is not based on grace but based on works. Then faith has no value and God’s promise is worthless (Ro 4:14). If God’s redemptive work is based on man’s works it cannot be fulfilled because man is totally depraved. Therefore God’s pursuit of his redemptive work according to his sovereignty is the most fair, sure and graceful method.
Esau and Jacob grew together but their appearance and character were totally different. Esau was a hairy man and a skillful hunter. He was a man of the open country and had physical beauty. He pleased his father with the delicious food from animals he hunted. He was physically strong and well-built, so we may assume that he was popular with women. On the other hand, Jacob was smooth (27:16) and introverted. He mainly stayed in the tent and helped his mother, probably with washing dishes, running errands and cooking foods such as lentil soup. He was very bonded to his mother. Humanly speaking, Esau was more attractive than Jacob, but we should not judge men by their outward appearance.
One day, while he was cooking lentil soup, Jacob was wondering how he could obtain the birthright from Esau. Then Esau came back from hunting. He was hungry, and when he saw the soup he could not bear his hunger. He ordered Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” If Jacob had been an ordinary man, he would have given him a cup of soup, saying, “You must be hungry!” But Jacob said to him, just as if he had been waiting for the opportunity, “First sell me your birthright." This shows that Jacob was always seeking the birthright that he had lost by being born second. He had struggled hard to emerge first from his mother’s womb. When he was defeated and came out second, he still did not give up. He held onto the heel of his brother Esau when he came out. In a split second he had lost the birthright he considered his. But he did not give up. There was no word for “give up” in his vocabulary. Jacob thought day and night about how to overcome his defeat. Then he caught the opportunity when his brother was hungry, and he tried to buy the birthright. This attempt seems to be grasping at straws, but it shows his zeal and his value system. He knew what was valuable. In those days the ascendancy of the first son was enormous. The first son had right to rule the household (Ge 27:29). He received a double share of inheritance compared to all other sons (Dt 21:17). Most of all, the first son had the spiritual privilege and the responsibility to deliver God’s will through his words, to build a family altar and work as a priest for his household before God (Ge 18:19; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1). Furthermore, the first son of Isaac would inherit the promise that God had given to Abraham. Thus, to have the birthright was very important because it meant to be used as a major figure in God’s redemptive history. In those days, “the birthright” was regarded as a value great enough to be considered an “honor” and “holy.” Jacob valued “honor” more than anything else in the world. Even if the birthright had had no practical benefit, he treasured it. He valued spiritual things over material things. He desired spiritual blessings rather than practical blessings. He pursued spiritual things rather than material things, eternal things rather than temporary things. He knew what the most important thing in life was. He had a clear sense of value. Jacob was called a “quiet” person; however, the Hebrew word for “quiet” tam (םתָּ) that is used in the Bible has the meaning of “complete”, “perfect”, “sound”, “wholesome”, “even-tempered”, “morally innocent, having integrity”, and “one who is morally ethically pure.” When Job was called “blameless,” the same Hebrew word, tam (םתָּ), was used (Job 1:8). Spiritually speaking, Jacob was a godly, pure and innocent person who valued God’s promise highly.
What about Esau? Esau sold his birthright for one bowl of soup, even though it is hard to imagine that anyone would do such a thing. He might have thought, “I cannot eat a birthright.” His philosophy was, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (Isa 22:13b). Esau was ruled by his physical desires because he valued one meal more than his birthright. So he said to Jacob, “Look, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?" He had no spiritual desire, nor did he he value spiritual things. To him, what he needed at the present moment was more important. He thought only about present and practical benefits, not about eternal blessings. He was a practical, pragmatic person seeking present, practical benefits. He did not have a clear value system based on truth. He chose to do what would benefit him in each situation. So Esau sold his birthright by swearing before Jacob. The Bible does not condemn Jacob, but it condemns Esau: “So Esau despised his birthright” (Ge 25:34b). The author of Hebrews also judged Esau, saying that he was godless and sexually immoral (Heb 12:16). Such a person is not worthy of inheriting God’s blessings. Esau did not have the inner character to inherit God’s blessings and hand them down to his descendants. He would only have suffered more if God’s blessing had been given to him.
The thing that most vividly reveals the difference in value systems between Esau and Jacob was their marriages. If we look at 26:34,35, we see that, at the age of 40, Esau took two wives from among the Hittites. Hittite women were idol worshipers and objects of God’s judgment, so the two wives of Esau were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Then, when he saw that his parents were not pleased with his Hittite wives, Esau took as a wife a daughter of Ishmael (28:6-9). Esau was an emotional and physical person. He did not have a spiritual value system; but Jacob had the desire to marry by faith, according to his parents’ guidance. He had a clear spiritual value system.
From here we learn that we should value “honor” so that God may use us as he did Jacob. Our generation values practical benefits over honor and principle. Our generation is ruled by Esau’s philosophy because it is physical and practical. Many people give up their faith in order to earn more money. They give up the gospel faith in exchange for worldly power and glory. They are modern Esaus, who sell their identity as Christians for practical benefits. We have identities as Christians, shepherds, missionaries and bible teachers. But those titles and identities do not give us practical benefits in the world and people do not recognize us. Some people may even ask, “What is it worth to be a ‘shepherd’? Does it give you money?” Believers are often ignored and despised by worldly people because of their Christian identity. Thus we may be tempted to act like Esau, who pursued practical benefits rather than honor. But when we act like Esau, God cannot use us. The Lord uses a person like Jacob, who values “honor.”
In chapter 27 Jacob received blessings from God with the help of his mother. In order to inherit blessings from God, he had to overcome his fear and deceive his father. Here we see two dilemmas: whether Jacob should have told a lie in order to receive God’s blessing and whether Rebekah should have helped Jacob to deceive her husband. The issue is whether we can justify using such means to our ends, even if faith is more important than morality. However, we should remember that the sins of Esau and Isaac were greater than those of Rebekah and Jacob. Rebekah and Jacob knew that God did not accept lies, because they were spiritual people. They nevertheless lied because they wanted to prevent a greater sin, that of allowing God’s blessings to go to a person whom God did not wish to receive them. Esau was not worthy of God’s blessings. The expression that “Isaac’s eyes were weak” shows that both his physical and spiritual eyes had become weak (Ge 27:1).
It is very rare in the Bible to find a justification for lying. When we look at Exodus 1:15-20, we see that the Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh and God gave them his grace. Rahab also lied to her king, saying that there were no spies in her house, whereas she had hidden them. Because of her protection of the spies, she and her household were saved and she became one of the ancestors of the faith of Jesus Christ (Jos 2:3-6; 6:26; Mt 1:5). When the Lord asked Samuel to anoint David, Samuel said to the Lord that Saul would kill him. Then the Lord instructed Samuel to say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord” and to invite Jesse to the sacrifice. These examples are very rare cases; so lies can be justified in very special circumstances, when they are used in order to fulfill the will of God rather than to obtain personal benefits. Therefore, we should not generalize from what Rebekah and Jacob did, and we should not say that it is justified to tell a lie. At the same time, we should not judge what the Bible says according to our own moral standards. We just need to try to understand the Bible as it is.
Genesis 27:33 says that “Isaac trembled violently.” Probably this was because of his anger towards Jacob, his compassion for Esau and the frustration of his plans. Most of all, he may have trembled violently to see that he had almost acted against the will of God. Isaac must have known that God’s will was in Jacob’s favor, and that Esau did not have the inner character to receive God’s blessings; nevertheless, Isaac had almost blessed Esau because of his personal preference for him and because of his love for wild game. Therefore, Isaac did not rebuke Jacob for his behavior in this case, and later he blessed Jacob, sending him to Paddan Aram to find a wife (28:1-5). Jacob had been deceitful, but he was filled with the spiritual desire to gain God’s blessings at any cost. He gained the birthright and God’s blessings, overcoming the fate of a second son. Jacob’s sin was that he tried to take God’s blessings himself instead of waiting patiently for God to give them.
The God of Bethel (28:10-22)
First, God gave a vision and a promise to Jacob (28:10-15). When Jacob took Esau’s blessings by deception, Esau became angry and after his father had died, he wanted to kill Jacob. Rebekah knew it and wanted to send Jacob to her father’s house. Isaac blessed Jacob when he sent him to Paddam Aram to find a wife (28:1-4). Jacob received all the blessings from God and left for Haran. Jacob did not have a camel to carry his luggage or a tent to live in or any servants to protect him from wild animals or bandits. He was not a skillful hunter or man of the open country as Esau was. He had escaped Esau’s hand and was running away, so he probably had not had time to prepare well for his trip. He became a fugitive and passed through strange places. He was always in danger of going hungry or of being torn apart by wild animals. He could have fallen prey to wicked people. He might have lost his way and wandered in the desert until he died. His journey in the desert was horrible and painful, but it was also an opportunity to meet God personally.
When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. This place was called “Luz” and was about 56 miles from Beersheba. Normally a man walks about 25 miles in a day, but Jacob traveled 56 miles in one day. This shows that he was almost running in order to avoid Esau. Now he had to sleep on a stone pillow. What did Jacob feel at the time? He was probably filled with sorrow at leaving his parents, loneliness, anxiety for his future, fear of his brother and many other feelings. So sleep must not have come easily to him. But when he did finally fall asleep he saw an amazing thing. Verse 12 tells us that “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.” “The angels of God were ascending and descending on a stairway” shows that they were doing so in order to carry out the will of God and that they were communicating that will between heaven and earth (Dan 9:21-29;10:10-13). Later Jesus came and proclaimed that he was Jacob’s stairway. This means that he is the only way to climb into heaven and that he is the only mediator between God and man (Jn 1:51; 3:13; 14:6). Jacob was living alone as a stranger in this world. What he needed most was comfort and vision, and this was when the Lord God appeared to him and gave him comfort and vision. When a man has a vision he can overcome any troubles. The vision God showed Jacob was a vision of the kingdom of God, where God ruled. The stairway reaching from earth to heaven showed that Jacob could have fellowship with God by climbing the stairway. The stairway prefigures Jesus Christ, who is the mediator. God planted a vision in Jacob’s heart and encouraged him to live by faith during the time that he was living as a stranger.
God gave Jacob not only vision but also his word of promise. See verses 13 and 14: “There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’” God was the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac. Now he wanted to become the God of Jacob, and visited him personally. God is the God of history and the God of each person. God is the almighty God who is living and active. God gave the same promise to Jacob that he had given to Abraham and to Isaac. God was pursuing his redemptive work by visiting Jacob. God promised Jacob that he would be with him wherever he went and that he would bring him back to the Promised Land. Indeed, the God of Jacob was the God of grace. When Jacob was in great anxiety, not knowing what would happen to him, and when he was only fearful about his future, God visited him personally and comforted him and gave him a vision and established a personal relationship with him. God gave him his word of promise, which Jacob could hold onto. Jacob did not know anything but that God had a great plan for him and that God walked with him.
Second, Jacob made a vow at Bethel (28:16-22). Jacob woke up after meeting the Lord in his dream. He was afraid and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." While he was in his father’s house he had knowledge about the Lord, but he had not known him personally. Now he realized that the Lord could be in any place and any time, and he began to fear God. In order to remember the place where God had met him, he took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, which means “the house of God.”
Now, in verses 20-22, we see that Jacob took a vow: “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 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God 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.’" His vow had a condition, a condition that may seem very self centered and practical to us now, but it was the most critical matter to Jacob at the time. He might meet wild animals or bandits on his way and be harmed. His future was vague, because he did not know whether he could find place to stay and eat and drink and whether he could return to his father’s house. So he prayed to God with the earnest desire to solve the most critical problems of his life. He promised the Lord that he would do three things if the Lord solved his desperate life problems: first, the Lord would be his God. This means more than that he would accept the Lord personally; it means that he would serve and worship the Lord as the only true God, whereas his generation was full of idol worship. Second, the stone he had set up would be God’s house. This means that he would build a house of God in lands where idol worship was prominent, a place where people could call on the name of the Lord. Third, he vowed to donate one tenth of all God gave him. Jacob made these promises to God as an expression of his thanks rather than out of any sort of legal obligation or as a means to obtain God’s blessings. Since God’s promise was not based on any condition, Jacob did not have to offer his one tenth. Jacob’s vow was his own decision, to live a certain kind of life before God. The Lord appeared to Jacob and gave him comfort and vision and the promise of blessings; in return, Jacob offered his loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord. Through this vow, the relationship between the Lord and Jacob was established.
Jacob’s vow has an important meaning in his life because it represents the beginning of Jacob’s new life before the Lord. Just as Abraham started his new life by holding onto the promise of God, so did Jacob begin his by holding onto God’s promise to be with him. When we hold onto the promise of God and start a new life, we begin to live a meaningful life before God. This vow became the basis for the Lord to work for Jacob. Although it was a poor vow, the Lord accepted it and began to personally direct Jacob’s life. Jacob forgot his vow after he made it, but the Lord never forgot. The Lord reminded Jacob of his vow and helped him to keep it. God met Jacob at Bethel and became the God of Bethel (31:13; 35:1;14,15).
Here we learn the importance of a vow. To take a vow is to make a decision to live a certain kind of life before God. People love to be blessed by God, but they do not like making vows to God, because they think that they will be bound by their vow. They want to live as freely as they wish. But it is not good not to be bound by God. If one is not bound by God, one will be bound by Satan. When a man is bound by God, God is responsible for his life. Some people may think that they should not make a vow because they will not be able to keep it. But if we make a vow, God helps us, even helps us to keep that vow. Life without a vow to God is a life without any foundation or determination. It is a life without any relationship with God. When, with fear and a trembling heart, we make a vow based on the word of God, the Lord will accept it and will take responsibility for our lives.
The God of Paddan Aram (29:1-31:55)
Jacob was strengthened after he met God at Bethel and finally reached Haran. There he met shepherds who were watering their flock. After asking for news about Laban, he told them to water their sheep and take them back to pasture. His word shows his businesslike mind. Verse 10 shows that he watered all the flock that Rachel had brought and then he kissed her. He was a man who could control himself and do what he had to do first. When Jacob saw beautiful Rachel, his heart must have been greatly moved. In order to show off what he could do, he lifted the stone by himself and watered his uncle’s entire flock, which Rachel had brought. After watering the flock, he went to Rachel and kissed her, forgetting to introduce himself. Rachel must have been surprised, because this kiss was not a romantic kiss between a man and a woman but rather a kiss such as relatives and close friends exchange. She must have been embarrassed when Jacob kissed her and began to weep aloud. Then Jacob controlled himself and told her that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. Rachel was surprised and ran to her father’s house to tell the news.
Jacob worked for Laban for a month free of charge. Since Jacob had no place to go and he loved Rachel, he worked hard to be useful to Laban. Laban realized that Jacob was a very good worker and asked how much he should pay him. If Jacob had been an ordinary person he would have asked for money to start his own business or money for his marriage. But Jacob’s entire focus was on getting Rachel’s attention. So he suggested that he would work for Laban for seven years if he could then marry Rachel. Laban accepted the offer willingly, realizing that it would be very beneficial for him if Jacob became his son-in-law. People usually want to earn money first, thinking that if they have money, then they can get other things. However, Jacob thought differently. He valued love more than money and honor more than love. His value system was that honor came first and then love and then money. Jacob wanted to marry a believing wife, according to his father Isaac’s request. In verses 29:20 we see that “Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” People feel that time flies when there is work that they like and when they are enthusiastic. Jacob loved Rachel so much that for him seven years passed like a few days. His love was not just emotional, romantic or physical. If his love had been physical love he could not have tolerated even one year. His love was pure and genuine and noble. His love was a faithful one. Throughout his life he loved only Rachel.
Laban was preoccupied with the idea that he should help his oldest daughter, Leah, to marry before Rachel did. Laban could have told Jacob about this issue when he first made the contract with him. But he did not do so because he did not want to risk losing Jacob. Leah covered her face with a veil and went to Jacob. Perhaps since Rachel and Leah were similar in size and voice, Jacob was easily deceived. Jacob realized that he had married Leah rather than Rachel after his first night with his wife. At first Jacob must have been bitter, but then he may have remembered that Laban’s deception was similar to the one he had perpetrated upon his father and Esau. Jacob had believed that the end justified the means and now he had been treated the same way. God had put Jacob in the hands of Laban, who was shrewder. Jacob had to work for another seven years to get Rachel. In all, he worked for fourteen years in order to marry Rachel. This shows Jacob’s persistent character. His fourteen-year investment was not in vain, because he ended up with four wives who gave him twelve sons and a daughter.
29:31-30:24 show the competition between Leah and Rachel for children in order to secure the love of Jacob. Jacob’s house was not a peaceful place. Because of jealousy and competition between Rachel and Leah it was like a battleground. Leah suffered from the lack of her husband’s love even though she had borne him many children. Rachel received her husband’s love, but did not have many children. They suffered from different things. Rachel did everything she could to bear children, even to the point of eating mandrake (a fruit that strengthens a woman’s reproductive function, a little like strawberry with an orange color), but it did not work for her. While the two competed, between them they gave birth to twelve sons.
Meanwhile, the Lord God did two things. First, he disciplined Jacob, who had a strong character. Jacob lived in the house of his father-in-law and suffered greatly. He received discipline at the hands of his four wives: he had no input at all into the naming of his children. The Lord disciplined Jacob with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men (2Sa 7:14), and molded him into a father of many nations. At the same time, God was laying the foundation for the twelve tribes of Israel. God was using the jealousy and competition of the two women to this end, although Jacob did not know that at the time.
Now Jacob had many wives and children, but he did not have any possessions of his own. After he had worked so hard for so many years he became homesick and wanted to return home. Laban knew that Jacob was the source of his wealth and was not willing to let him go. He suggested another contract with him, after telling him that the Lord had blessed him because of Jacob. Jacob believed that God would provide for his needs, so he did not want to be in any kind of debt to Laban. Thus he would tend Laban’s flock but would not take any animals from Laban. He suggested that his wages be only the speckled or spotted sheep, the dark-colored lambs and the spotted or speckled goats. This contract shows that Jacob’s wealth would depend completely on the Lord. Laban took every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat and put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Now Jacob was in unfavorable situation. But as he had done in the past, he did not despair but challenged the situation. He did not give up, although it seemed impossible to overcome the difficulties of his situation. Genetically it is impossible for a white sheep to produce a streaked one, but Jacob had ignored natural law: he “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. 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, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted” (29:37-39). The Lord blessed Jacob with great wealth (30:43). The wisdom of placing the peeled branches had also come from God (31:8-12). Jacob gained great wealth not by illegal means but legally, by virtue of his diligence and God’s presence with him. The Lord was with Jacob as he had promised, and blessed him abundantly.
Jacob worked for fourteen years out of love for Rachel and another six for his wealth; in all, he worked twenty years under Laban. In what manner did he work for Laban over those twenty years? 31:38-42 are Jacob’s testimony. He did not work less because he was working under someone else; even when Laban changed his wages ten times, he did not complain but continued working hard (31:6). He was faithful to his work. He suffered from the heat of day and from the cold at night, but he worked faithfully and diligently. As a servant of God, he was faithful in his work, working with his whole heart and mind. Indeed, Jacob was a great man in his humanity.
When Jacob became rich, Laban’s sons began to complain against him, and Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been. Jacob was in an awkward situation, and the Lord appeared to him and directed him to go back to his home town. As the Lord had promised Jacob, he took care of him despite the many challenges, and Jacob was prosperous under God. Jacob called Rachel and Leah; they had a family meeting and ran away from Laban with all they had. After three days, Laban noticed that Jacob had run away and took chase. Now Jacob was in danger of losing all of his wealth and becoming a lifelong slave of Laban, but God appeared to Laban in his dream and told him not to say anything, either good or bad; Jacob made a treaty with Laban at Mizpah that ended his twenty years of life in Paddan Aram. God kept his promise and helped Jacob to return home safely.
In conclusion, who is the Lord who helped Jacob? God chose Jacob in his mother’s womb. God appeared to Jacob when Jacob became a fugitive and gave him the promise that he had given to Abraham and Isaac. God was with Jacob and provided him with all he needed. When Jacob needed love, he gave him love and when he needed wealth, he gave him wealth. The Lord God provided abundantly for all of Jacob’s needs. Jacob had a clear sense of spiritual value and was a sincere and faithful man. He was like a giant tree who could be father to twelve tribes. At the same time, his human character was so strong that he could not be easily changed. But God was patient with him in order to change him. With patience God bore him and helped him to grow and to be changed. Indeed the God of Jacob is the God of grace.