The Blessing of Jacob

Jacob is an interesting Bible character. I don’t recommend that we imitate his behavior, but we can learn from his life. Even before he was born, his mother, Rebekah, felt the struggle he was having with his brother. God told her she was carrying twins who would become great nations, but that there would be friction between them. From the moment of his birth, Jacob was marked as a manipulator. His very name hints at his eventual behavior. He was the second twin to be delivered, his brother Esau going first, but Jacob came out of the womb grabbing onto Esau’s heel. Hence his name which means, “supplanter,” which is often interpreted as someone who seizes, circumvents, or usurps.

The first evidence of his living up to his name comes quickly in the narrative. When his older brother comes to him to ask for a meal, Jacob connives to get the birthright belonging to the older son. Esau rashly agrees to trade his rights for a bowl of gruel. Jacob follows this with his most egregious act of deception and manipulation when he tricks his father into giving him the blessing owed the firstborn, Esau. Admittedly, Rebekah initiates the ruse, but Jacob goes along willingly. When Esau comes in later to secure the blessing due him, Jacob’s subterfuge is discovered. This leads to the first indication that Jacob may have to pay for his deceptive behavior.

Quite understandingly, Esau is angry with his brother. Fearing for his safety, Jacob travels to his mother’s relatives in Haran. Having run away from home with little to call his own, Jacob throws himself on his Uncle Laban’s mercy. Rebekah had suggested Haran as a safe place with an ulterior motive: Jacob needed a wife, and the women of Canaan were off limits. The beautiful, young Rachel shows up at the well when Jacob arrives. He is smitten with her, and immediately asks her father, Laban, to allow him to take her as his wife. Since Jacob is virtually penniless, they negotiate a seven-year labor agreement to fulfill the bride price.

At the end of seven years, Jacob discovers what it feels like to be deceived: his uncle substitutes Rachel’s older sister, Leah, on their wedding night because it was customary to wed the oldest daughter first. Laban offers to let Jacob keep Rachel if he will work another seven years for Laban. Having served Laban for over fourteen years, Jacob becomes homesick. However, he has no possessions to speak of because he has been Laban’s servant. The two men negotiate again, making arrangements for Jacob to earn flocks of his own. Once again, Jacob’s conniving heart leads him to manipulate the breeding of the sheep and goats so that his flocks prosper while Laban’s languish.

Jacob finally sneaks away from Laban. Unbeknownst to him, Rachel stole her father’s household gods, perhaps having taken a page from Jacob’s SOP. When Laban finds them gone, he chases after them and demands his possessions be returned. Jacob innocently turns Laban loose to find his things. Rachel uses her feminine wiles (and the time of month) to dissuade Laban from locating his treasures.

On the way back to Canaan, Jacob receives a night visit by what is first called a man, but who is later identified as Yahweh Himself. No reason is given for the wrestling match, and it is curious that the supernatural figure, whoever he is, fights to a draw when his victory would seem to be inevitable. In order to break the stalemate, the man dislocates Jacob’s hip, and a discussion ensues. They exchange names, a typical ancient custom, before Jacob lets the man go. The result is a life-long limp and a name change for Jacob, the new name being Israel.

The final consequence for Jacob’s behavior happens when his sons get tired of their little brother, Joseph’s, arrogance and sell him into slavery. We know that turned out well, but for many years, Jacob suffered with the belief that his beloved son, one of only two borne by Rachel, had been torn apart by wild beasts. The brothers kept that secret for almost twenty years before they were caught in another trap set this time by Joseph, though it was manufactured out of love instead of hate.

It seems natural to ask why God continued to bless Jacob throughout his life of deception and manipulation. Long story; short moral: we are not blessed because of what we do; we are blessed because of who we are. Jacob was Abraham’s blessed seed. The nation named for him, Israel, would, like Jacob, go through many years of trials and tribulations before ultimately serving God’s purpose: the offering of Messiah. Likewise, Christians are blessed because they are adopted into the family of Christ, the ultimate Seed of Abraham.

This wonderful news is not license to live as we please. Paul makes that abundantly clear in Romans 6:1-2: “What therefore shall we say? Shall we continue in sin, in order that grace may increase? May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Through baptism, we are identified with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. We live the resurrected life through the power of the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. That power helps us to live properly. When we fail like Jacob, we don’t lose the blessing, but we may have to pay the consequences. So, I’ll take the blessing of Jacob, and I will try my best to avoid behaviors that might earn me Jacob’s consequences. You too?

Related posts: Understanding Salvation; Lies We Have Been Told