Bible Study Week 3
Part 3
The Chosen people
Jacob and Esau
It was through Isaac that God had promised to raise up descendants to Abraham. Isaac's wife, Rebekah, had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Like Cain and Abel, these two sons were quite different. The Lord had said to Rebekah, "Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger" (Genesis 25:23).
Esau, the elder son, was a cunning hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a man of the plains who dwelled in tents.
Esau Sells His Birthright
Jacob, the younger of the two, was making stew on day when Esau came in from the field. Esau was hungry and said, "Feed me, I pray thee with that same red pottage; for I am faint" (Genesis 25:30). Esau appears to have been a man who was concerned with fleshly, physical things. He was guided by his senses. When he was hungry, satisfying his appetite was the most important thing in the world to him.
Jacob, on the other hand, had an appreciation for spiritual things, although he was by no means perfect. In response to Esau's request, Jacob demanded, "Sell me this day thy birthright" (Genesis 25:31).
The birthright was the privilege given to the oldest son. It gave him preferred treatment in the family, including first claim on the inheritance. Esau was so oriented to the present, rather than the future, the he answered, "Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" (Genesis 25:32).
"Swear to me this day," Jacob insisted, and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and stew of lentils. Then Esau arose and went his way, having sold out a most valuable blessing for a temporary, fleshly satisfaction (Genesis 25:33-34).
>>> What does the story of Jacob and Esau tell us about Eternity?
How sad it is that when confronted with a choice of preparing for the future eternity or receiving small measure of satisfaction right now, many will choose the present. Such people are looking at things that are seen and things that are eternal (II Corinthians 4:18).
Jacob Steals the Blessing
The Dramatic scene of Jacob gaining Esau's birthright was not their last encounter over family blessings.
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When Isaac was old and his vision dim so that he could not see, he called Esau, his favorite of the two boys, and asked Esau to go into the field with his bow and arrows for some venison. Isaac enjoyed the meat and wanted to eat some prior to bestowing upon Esau the blessing due to the firstborn.
Rebekah heard Isaacs instructions to Esau, and she instructed Jacob, who was her favorite son, to bring her two kids of goats. She prepared the meat that Isaac liked and disguised Jacob by putting the goat skins on Jacob's hands and neck and giving him Esau's clothing to wear.
Then, pretending to be Esau, Jacob went to his blind father and presented Isaac with the meat. Isaac was surprised that Esau had returned so soon with the meat, and he was a bit skeptical. He called Jacob near in order to touch him and said, "The voice is Jacobs voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (Genesis 27:22). But Isaac was unable to distinguish that it was Jacob, and he gave Jacob Esau's blessing.
Shortly thereafter, just as Jacob had left his father, Esau came in. Isaac was very disturbed that he had been deceived. Esau cried with a bitter cry, but the blessing could not be reversed. Esau hated Jacob and planned to kill him in revenge. Rebekah heard of his plans and urged Jacob to flee to Haran, where her brother, Laban lived.
Jacob's Encounter with God (Genesis 28:10-22)
As Jacob traveled, he came to a place called Luz, where he prepared to stay the night. While he slept, he dreamed of a ladder set up on the earth with its top reaching heaven. The angels of God were going up and down on the ladder. Above the ladder stood the Lord, who said, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 28:13-14).
Jacob awoke and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew not." Being afraid, he continued, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:16-17).
Jacob Remembered the house of the Lord
Early in the morning, Jacob rose and set up a pillar from the stones he had used for pillows. He poured oil on the pillar and called the name of the place Bethel, which means "house of God": and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Genesis 28:20-22).
Thus God renewed with Jacob the covenant that He had made with his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham.
Jacob Wrestles with the Angel of the Lord
Twenty years later, after Jacob had spent time with his uncle Laban and had begun his family, he was on his way back to see his aged father. He heard that Esau was coming to meet him, and fear rose up in his heart as he remembered his brothers pledge to kill him. Sending his family on, Jacob stayed behind. An angel of the Lord wrestled with him until daybreak. When the angel saw that Jacob was not going to release him, he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, permanently shrinking the sinew and causing him to limp. The angel said, "Let me go, for the day breaketh". Jacob answered, "I will not let go, except thou bless me." The angel asked, "What is thy name?" "Jacob", he replied. "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob," said the angel, "but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" (Genesis 32:24-28).
Because of his persistence, Jacob received the blessing that he desired and left that place a different man. His former name, Jacob, meant "supplanter" (liar) and had the connotation of trickery and deceit. His new name, Israel, meant "he who strives with God." There was also a physical difference: every time he took a step, the limp reminded him of his encounter with the angel of the Lord.
Certainly, when we come into the presence of God and determine to receive God's best, a miraculous change takes place. We are never the same!