Jacob; Before and After

 

Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of the Canaan. Arise and go to Padan-aram, to the house of Beheul, thy mother's father; and take a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. (Genesis 28: 1-2)

Isacc then reiterated the blessing of Abraham for his son: God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people; And give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your see with you; that you may inherit the land wherein you are a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. (Genesis 28: 3-4)

One might suppose that Jacob was made perfect in the moment.  That was not the case.  He was blessed to know his potential, but it was up to him to make choices leading toward that potential. So can it be said of all of us.

When I was teaching the stories of Jacob in my Bible studies group, I became aware of the difference between young Jacob traveling to Pad-aram and the more mature and humbled Jacob, returning to his home with his wives and children. Let me go to the Bible to compare and contrast young Jacob and older Jacob:

Going to his uncle's land:

And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham they father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon you lie, to thee will I give it, and to your seed   And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth . . . and in youu and your see shall all the families of the earth be blesssed. And I am with you and will keep you n all places wherever you go and will bring you again into this land.  (Genesis 28:11-15)

 

Jacob's first reaction was fear. Surely the Lord is in this place . . . how dreadful is this place, and this is the gate of heaven. (verses 16-17)

Before he left the place, he vowed to God the following:

• If God will be with me,
• And keep me in the way I go,
• And will give me bread to eat,
• And raiment to put on
• So that I come again to my father's house in peace

Then shall the Lord be my God. (See Genesis 28: 20-21)

He set a stone for a pillar and called it God's house and promised to pay his tithes. (verses 21-22)  

While he did honor God in some ways, he gave God a list of things that God must do first and then he would be Isaac's God.

Fast forward fourteen years.  Jacob has had a tough life.  His uncle tries to cheat him, he is looked down upon in the community, until finally, it is no longer safe for him to stay. (See Chapters 29 and 30 of Genesis.)  

God commanded him (see Genesis 31: 13) to return home and he sneaked away at night with his wives and his children. (eleven sons and at least one daughter) 

Jacob was humbled.  He was leaving a father-in-law who wanted to kill him and heading toward a brother who at one time had wanted to kill him. 

 

That would get my attention!

Jacob prayed: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which said to me "Return to your country and I will deal well with you.

I am not worth of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which you have shown to thy servant for with my staff I passed over Jordon, and am now between two bands. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, for the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite me and the mother of my children (Genesis 32: 9-11)

This is a very different Jacob. He placed no conditions on God but pleads, not for himself, but for his family and his children.

Esau's heart had also been softened and the brothers reconciled and reunited their large family. Having the birthright and the Covenant do not automatically deliver Jacob.  Jacob's own choices determine his fate.  How gracious, patient, and forgiving is the Lord toward Jacob.