Know the Word - Week 3 Extra - Jacob - a Deceiver who became God's Own

Jacob - a deceiver who became God's own

When Isaac and Rebekah were married, Isaac was 40 years old. Twenty years later, Rebekah, who had been barren, was finally pregnant. The pregnancy, Moses notes, was God’s response to Isaac’s prayers. All through Scripture, God often prefaces an exceptional work of redemption by providing a supernatural pregnancy for a barren woman. Isaac, Isaac’s sons, Joseph, Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist are all examples of this pattern. The unique thing here about Rebekah is that she is about to have twins. Probably any woman who carried twins has felt during her pregnancy as if she had two nations in her womb, but Rebekah really did. From the outset, God told Rebekah that her younger son, Jacob, would be the one upon whom the blessing of the Lord would stand, even though normally the oldest child would inherit his father’s blessing and estate.

Unconditional election

Here comes the million-dollar question. Why did God choose Jacob over Esau? You may not like the Bible’s answer to that question, but there is an answer in Romans 9:10. “Before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad,” Paul writes, “in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she [Rebekah] was told, ‘The older will serve the younger’ ” (Romans 9:11– 12). The theological term for the doctrine being taught here is unconditional election. This term means that God just chooses to set his love upon people and calls them to salvation just because he wants to, not because of anything in them.

This is exactly what we saw with Abraham and with Noah before that. God set his love on Jacob so that he could display his power, mercy, and love, and so that he could raise up a people for his name. It wasn’t because Jacob was such a good fellow—in fact, Jacob was a rascal. His very name meant “tripper-upper” or “supplanter.” The little glimpse in chapter 25 of how Jacob got Esau to give up his birthright shows us what kind of man Jacob was. And it was a very long time before God changed his character enough to give him a new name. (By the way, when this incident occurred, Jacob and Esau were not foolish teenagers; they were fully grown men.) Esau was not a promising character either. He is the prototype of the people whom Paul describes in the New Testament as those whose “god is their stomach” (Philippians 3:19). He traded his birthright for a bowl of stew—because he was hungry! In another Old Testament passage (Isaiah 41:14), Jacob is called a “worm” (not a very complimentary term either), but, even so, God chose him. Do you remember the story of the blind man whom Jesus healed in John 9? The disciples asked in that instance, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus’ answer was very instructive: “Neither … but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:2–3). A very similar question could be asked (and indeed is asked in Romans 9) concerning Jacob. “God, did you choose him because he was good, or because his parents were good, or because he was going to be good?” The answer is, “None of those things. I chose a worm so that I could show my love, power, and mercy in turning him into Israel, the prince of God.”


A dysfunctional family

Let's became more intimately acquainted with the family of Isaac than you would care to be. A wonderful thought comes to me as I look at this family torn apart by adversarial relationships, greed, and deceit: if God can take a mess like this, if he can transform and work with a man like Jacob, then there is every reason in the world to be optimistic about what he may be able to do with us! Let’s look at our cast of characters. Isaac and Rebekah come first; they played favorites with their twin boys. Isaac loved Esau more because this son was a man’s man, a hunter, an outdoorsman, and he could provide Isaac with the kind of food that he liked to eat. Maybe, too, there was the feeling somewhere deep in Isaac’s heart that, in selecting the younger (by only a few minutes) twin, God had somehow been unfair to Esau, the older son, who now has become the underdog. Isaac wanted Esau to inherit the blessing and was determined to find a way to give it to him. Rebekah loved Jacob more, and you can be sure that for all their lives, in subtle ways, the parents were constantly playing one twin off against another. That is a sure formula for a family disaster, and this family got one! Rebekah also comes off rather poorly as the chief instigator of intrigue and manipulation here. If Jacob is a schemer and a deceiver, it’s not too tough to figure out where he learned his ways—from his mother! Rebekah knows the promise of God, but, not content to wait on God to accomplish his will, she schemes and perpetrates deception on old Isaac, who is himself consciously trying to thwart the revealed will of God. When it’s time to get Jacob out of harm’s way and Isaac’s blessing is needed, Rebekah schemes again. She knows that Isaac will agree to send Jacob back to the household of Laban to find a wife. Isaac knows the importance of not intermarrying with the Canaanite women, and Esau has already done that—twice. So Rebekah uses a proper action (the finding of a non-heathen wife for Jacob) driven by a hidden agenda (getting Jacob out of harm’s way), and she works her will on Isaac. Next, there’s Jacob. If your brother said he was starving, would you feed him only if he signed his inheritance away? Jacob is a scoundrel. I don’t like him at all. His only scruple with regard to the perpetration of the theft of the blessing is, “But Mom, what happens if the old man catches on?” This is Jacob, the father of the faithful? Then there is Esau. As far as we can tell from the biblical account, Esau has no concern for spiritual issues. He doesn’t care much about his birthright; he sells it for a bowl of stew. The idea of marrying only among those who share the worldview and value system of his fathers is just as easily discarded as a piece of clothing. He marries not one but two Hittite women. Having sold his birthright foolishly (but definitively), he still tries to hang on to it. His word is not worth keeping either, especially if it is to his disadvantage. Even Esau’s repentance is very shallow. He is not sorry for his sins; he is sorry about the consequences of his sins. That is not biblical repentance.

There are two bottom-line lessons in this family mess. First, Isaac and Esau learned that you cannot thwart the will of God. They tried, but God had spoken. The older would serve the younger, and Isaac or Esau could do nothing to overthrow the plan of God. (Neither can we.) “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). The second lesson to learn from this family mess is the one that Rebekah and Jacob learned: the end does not justify the means. God had already decreed that the blessing would belong to Jacob. But, unwilling to trust God to bring his promise to pass, Rebekah and Jacob were willing to scheme, lie, and manipulate anyone and everyone to achieve their goal. Because they would not trust God but relied instead on their own cunning, Jacob paid the price of a long and painful exile. If God has promised us anything, then he will bring it to pass; we can trust him for that. But we must never use unrighteous methods to acquire spiritual blessings. That always ends in disaster.

Covenant of Grace - Bethel episode

Jacob’s experience at Bethel is the first turning point of his life. He has not yet decided that the God of Abraham is his God; the vow he makes at Bethel is proof of that. But he is now moving toward the faith of his fathers. Even though Jacob has a long way to go, God’s grace meets him where he is and the covenant promise is extended now to him. Under the circumstances, that must have been immensely significant to Jacob. It was proof to him that, in spite of his sinful behavior and his duplicity, God had not changed his mind or purpose. Isn’t it great to know that, even when you sin, God doesn’t change his mind about you? The dream at Bethel is a significant event not only for Jacob himself, but also for all of revelation history. This is the first time that Jacob has received direct communication from God, and he now learns in a personal way that the God of heaven actually speaks to his people. God wants to communicate his presence, his love, and his plan to people. God’s last word to Jacob at Bethel is an oft-repeated promise throughout Scripture: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. … I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28:15). Jacob needed to know that the Lord was God even outside the Promised Land. He needed to learn about the omnipresence of God—that God is present everywhere, no matter where we are. He needed to learn that God always keeps his word. We need to learn that too.

A chisel - Laban

All of us are, like jewels, diamonds in the rough. Jacob certainly was rough. God is the gem master who alone has the skill to cut the rough diamond and make it into a polished gem. Other people are the tools, the hammers and chisels that he uses to produce the necessary cuts. But what if we resist his work in our lives? What if we break the hammers and chisels when he starts to use them on us? God doesn’t give up on us; he just goes out and gets a bigger hammer and a sharper chisel. He keeps on doing that until we finally learn what he is trying to teach us. Laban was one of God’s chisels in Jacob’s life. Jacob should have learned to trust God as a child in a household of faith, but he didn’t. Now he is well into middle age and still he hasn’t gotten it, but God hasn’t given up on Jacob and he’s not about to.

"God of Jacob" - Seriously? You've gotta be kiddin' me. 

Over and over again, Scripture refers to God as “the God of Jacob.” In fact, that’s one of the Old Testament’s favorite names for God. Sometimes he is called “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” but at other times just “the God of Jacob.” (Mark this name down in your list, even though we haven’t actually seen it yet.) Now, I understand Scripture speaking of “the God of Abraham.” Abraham was the friend of God, and for all his lapses, Abraham was a stellar character. I can understand God being called “the God of David,” since, although David made some big mistakes, his heart was truly after God. I understand God being called “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”; that certainly seems appropriate to me. But “the God of Jacob”? Why would God want to call himself that?

As we meet Jacob at the conclusion of his time with Laban, there are a couple of important things for us to notice. First, it is evident that Jacob has learned some of what God has been trying to teach him. He is now able to clearly recognize the providence of God in his life, that is, the hand of God directing his life, protecting him, and caring for his interests. Laban’s attitude toward Jacob, though, is hardening, because he can’t seem to get the better of him no matter what he does, and Jacob says to his wives, “It's because the God of my fathers” (Jacob still can’t say “my God”) “has been with me. God hasn’t let Laban cheat me.” Jacob no longer credits his superior breeding and animal husbandry skills; he just says, “God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me!” God did it! Jacob still isn’t ready to completely trust God; when he leaves, he sneaks away because he’s afraid. God is still “my father's God” to Jacob—but he is ready to take the next step toward God. Jacob has learned that all that he has achieved thus far is because God has been gracious, not because he has been smart. He’s ready now for the next step. God’s infinite patience with us is so astounding. If you plateau in your Christian growth and stay at the same level for 20 years, God doesn’t go away. He’s always there. He keeps working—bringing in bigger hammers and chisels. But when you learn what’s needed at that level, he’ll show you the next step. So after a couple of decades at level 1, Jacob has learned some things, and God speaks to him again: “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” Even though going home means meeting Esau, Jacob is ready to obey. He’s still Jacob, the deceiver, so he doesn’t tell Laban he’s going; he deceives Laban and flees, running away with all that he has.

The strange and wonderful experience - Peniel

Esau, alerted to Jacob’s imminent appearing, was riding out to meet him with 400 men. That was probably not a good sign. That fact alone would have filled Jacob with fear. Still not willing or able to trust God alone, Jacob had devised a careful plan for meeting Esau and bribing him by the present of a huge number of flocks and herds so that he would treat Jacob with gentleness. Jacob sent an enormous gift of cattle and livestock ahead of him. He divided his household into two groups for additional safety and, just to be sure, he prayed and asked God for protection. Late that night alone by the brook Jabbok, Jacob met an angel who wrestled with him in an apparent attempt to prevent him from crossing back into the land of promise. We are not told when Jacob realizes the nature of his adversary, but at some point in the night, he begins to see that his struggle is spiritual rather than physical. Then, a strange role reversal takes place. At the beginning of the struggle, Jacob is struggling to get free, believing that the mysterious opponent was keeping him from entering the Promised Land. But by the end of the night, the angel is trying to disengage from Jacob. Jacob is hanging on tenaciously, not willing, in spite of an injury, to let go until he secures from the angel the divine blessing. It was here, before the “face of God” (that’s what Peniel, the name Jacob gave to that place, means), that Jacob finally learned that he could not possess the promises of God until he stopped trusting his own schemes and wit and learned to rest entirely on the Lord. On that night the God of Abraham became the God of Jacob. That night Jacob the deceiver became Israel, the prince of God. Scripture tells us that Jacob spent the rest of his life walking with a limp, marked by his encounter with God and unable, because of that limp, to ever forget it. Perhaps it was very much the same kind of affliction that God gave the apostle Paul, saying that he would not remove that affliction because he wanted Paul to remember the great lesson, “My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For whatever reason, Jacob walked for the rest of his life with a limp that reminded him of the night when he met God at Peniel. Please remember, as you face your battles, that the big question is this: Who do you trust—horses, chariots, or the Lord? “May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!” (Psalm 20:1).

But, is he finally a new man?

Even though Jacob was a changed man after Peniel; even though God changed his name from “supplanter” (that’s what Jacob means) to “Prince of God” (that’s what Israel means); even though he was finally able to recognize his utter dependence upon God for everything—in spite of all these very definite changes, there was still a lot of the old man left in Jacob. Several places in these chapters make that quite apparent, beginning with the encounter with Esau. God has been wonderfully faithful to his promises to Jacob. He has promised him protection, even before Jacob’s crisis experience by the Brook Jabbok, and he gave it! When Laban chases Jacob, intent at the very least on mischief, God stops him. Now Esau (who had sworn vengeance against his brother, and who was now riding to meet Jacob with 400 armed men, apparently intending to make good those threats) has arrived, but instead of rage and vengeance, forgiveness and love are expressed. I wonder if Esau’s change of heart occurred at the same time that Jacob wrestled a blessing out of the angel. In any case, the scripture that says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7), has found fulfillment in Jacob’s life. But even with all this, Israel has plenty of Jacob left in him. Did you notice it? Esau wants Jacob to come and stay with him at Seir, which was southeast of the brothers’ meeting place. Jacob says, “You go on ahead; I’ll follow. The young children and the flocks just can’t keep pace with you.” So Esau leaves, but instead of traveling southeast to Seir, Jacob goes northwest to Succoth. He apparently never had any intention of dwelling near Esau. After a few days, Esau was probably shaking his head, saying, “Jacob? He'll never change.”

The second indicator that the old Jacob is still hanging around in the new man Israel is that rather than proceeding directly to Bethel—the place where the call of God had summoned him—Jacob settled instead in Shechem. That was definitely not a great decision, but Jacob was not yet ready to trust God without reservations.

The third indicator is Jacob’s response to the vengeful massacre perpetrated upon Shechem by Simeon and Levi, the sons of Leah. That story, recounted in chapter 34, is another of the low points in the book of Genesis. Jacob’s reaction to his sons’ rash and unjustified revenge is less than admirable. Jacob is angry with them because they have spoiled his reputation and endangered the safety and security of his household. This is all that Genesis tells us. There is no sign that he grieved for the evil perpetrated upon his daughter, no indication of remorse about the extermination of a whole town, no rebuke for the savagery of the act or for the greed displayed when they pillaged the community, and no sense of concern for God’s honor. There is only an overriding concern for the safety of his house, just like the old Jacob who always could be counted upon to look after number one at the expense of everything else.

 Here’s the point. Jacob had a real life-changing experience at Peniel; we have God’s word on that. But even after Peniel, he is more than capable of acting quite shabbily. He lies to Esau; his obedience to God is less than complete; and when push comes to shove, personal peace and security are still his leading concern. Mark this: real crisis experiences with God (conversion or post-conversion crises of sanctification) do not inoculate us against sin in our lives, and they do not instill in us a degree of maturity and holiness that puts us forever above the muck and mire of life. In fact, often in Scripture, great spiritual triumphs in crisis situations are followed by the worst failures of faith and obedience. Maybe that’s because pride goes before a fall. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Perhaps, after Peniel, Jacob thought that spiritually he had arrived. He hadn’t! Don’t fall into that same pit. Even though our walk with God may have its own Peniel experiences (moments of crisis when we take a great leap forward in our relationship with Christ), do not ever fall victim to the notion that you have somehow now arrived. You haven’t. The greatest challenges to your newfound life will often lie just ahead. Watch out for them.

'God of Jacob' is 'God of addyournamehere'

Read Psalms 20, 46, 75, and 76 when you can. I asked you to read this somewhat eclectic collection of Psalms because each of these songs of Israel calls upon “the God of Jacob.” Quite a few other psalms share this characteristic, but these four are sufficient to demonstrate that God is often called “the God of Jacob” in Scripture. Perhaps the primary reason why we read so much about “the God of Jacob” as opposed to “the God of Abraham” or “the God of Joseph” is that Jacob was renamed Israel and fathered the twelve tribal chieftains who became the nation known as Israel. “Jacob,” then, is a kind of synonym for Israel. You can see an example of that in Psalm 14:7: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!” Since Jacob equals Israel, hence the God of Israel is “the God of Jacob.”