Jacob
Jacob
he Bible follows the messianic line to Abraham's son, Isaac, and then to
Isaac's son, Jacob who lived around 1900 BC. Jacob was a shrewed and deceitful con
man who tricked his brother Esau and lied to his father so he could steal his
older brothers birthright. Afraid, Jacob fled to Haran, in Mesopotamia, where his
uncle Laban lived, but on the way he met the Lord and saw a vision of a ladder
reaching from earth to heaven with angels on it. Jacob had his first encounter
with God and the Lord revealed to him the promises He had made to Abraham and
how he would be part of those promises, so Jacob began to trust in God and
named that place, Bethel, which means, "house of God".
Gen 28:10-19
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a
certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one
of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that
place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and
its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God
of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will
give to you and your descendants.
"Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread
abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in
your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. "Behold, I am with you
and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I
will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place,
and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" Then
Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his
head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name
of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously."
hen he arrived in Haran, his uncle was more shrewed than he was, con-man meets
super con-man. Laban tricked him into working for him for 14 years in exchange
for a wife. He wanted Rachel, but he got Leah first and then Rachel.
Developing the muscle of trust was a long, slow job for Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons and
great possessions when he finally returned to Canaan not because he was more
shrewd than Laban but because God was with him. God protected Jacob all the way and
also prepared his brother Esau's heart so that he was no longer angry. God
changed Jacob's name to "Israel." Jacob was next in the Messianic line. His 12 sons became the fathers of the
12 tribes of Israel.
The Story of the Bible