I've titled this 'Jacob' because later on the story focuses more closely on him, but it begins as the story of Isaac's family. Last time we saw Isaac, he was married to Rebekah. There's no change there, but now we learn that Rebekah appears to be barren. Isaac prays for her, and after twenty years of marriage, she finally falls pregnant. Sound familiar? Isaac had to wait and pray for his children, just as his parents did for him. This is looking like a recurring theme, and it reminds us that all life is a miracle and children are a privilege, not a right.
So, Rebekah finds herself pregnant with twin boys, and God tells her that from them will come two nations, and that the older will serve the younger. The tension between them begins early on as they seem to fight in the womb, then Jacob is born holding onto the heel of his older twin, Esau. It seems they started as they meant to go on. And they continue to grow apart, with Esau growing up to be a hunter, the favourite of his father, while Jacob grows up to be a quiet homely man, the favourite of his mother.
One day, Esau comes home hungry and asks Jacob to give him some of the stew he is cooking. Jacob sees an opportunity and says he will give Esau the food in exchange for his birthright (as the eldest son, Esau's birthright was a double portion of their father's inheritance). It doesn't seem a great deal, but Esau agrees to it. In that moment, he sacrifices his future wealth in order to satiate his immediate need. We too are in danger of throwing away all of the wonderful things God has to offer us if we focus more on earthly things and temporary pleasures than on Him. As an old minister used to say, we must choose between the birthright and the bowl.
In chapter 26, we see just how like his father Isaac is. He tries to pass his wife of as his sister, makes a a treaty with Abimelech and build an altar to God. Just like Abraham. Character is easily passed down from generation to generation, some of it good and some of it not so good. We must be aware of this and be careful about how we are influenced. But perhaps the surest way to make sure our character is well-formed is to learn not from our father, but from our Father.
As Issac grows old and knows he is dying, he calls Esau to him so that he can give him his blessing. Rebekah overhears this and sends Jacob in his place, disguising him as Esau so that he receives the blessing instead. Esau may have given away his birthright, but Jacob steals his blessing. When Isaac and Esau realise what has happened, Isaac is distressed that he has little comfort to offer his eldest and favoured son, and Esau swears that he will kill Jacob once Isaac is dead. Rebekah overhears his plotting and sends Jacob away to his uncle, Laban, promising to call him home when Esau has calmed down. So many lives affected by one act of selfishness. Did Jacob ever stop to imagine what would happen? What about us? Do we think about how our actions will affect others? Or are we too busy thinking about what we can gain?
So, Jacob packs up and heads off to Paddam Aram, the home of Laban. One night while he is travelling, he has a dream in which he sees a ladder reaching into heaven, with angels going up and down it. At the top of the ladder stands God, who repeats the promises He made to Abraham, and vows that He will protect Jacob and never leave him. When Jacob awakes he builds an altar and renames the place Bethel, which means house of God, because he recognises that God is in that place. And then he acknowledge the promises God made him, and swears that the Lord will be his God. Just a chapter before, Jacob had referred to the Lord as Isaac's God - he needed to experience God for himself before he could recognise him as his God. In the same way, we need to seek personal encounters with God if we are to truly call him "my God".
Jacob then continues on his journey until he reaches a well. There he meets and falls in love with Laban's daughter, Rachel. She takes him back to the home of her father, where he is welcomed as a member of the family. After living with them for a month, Laban asks Jacob what he wants in return for working for him. Jacob replies that he wishes to marry Rachel, and it is agreed that he will work for seven years in return for her. After the seven years are up, Jacob goes to Laban to claim his wife, but Laban tricks him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. You might say Jacob got a taste of his own medicine. When he realises what has happened, he demands an explanation. Laban replies that it is not customary to marry off the younger daughter before the elder, but if he works for another seven years, he can marry Rachel too. So Jacob works for another seven years, at the end of which he marries Rachel.
What follows is the best argument for monogamous love marriages I've ever come across, as the two sisters bargain with each other for their husband's affections, and Leah keeps having children in the hope that it will make Jacob love her, while Rachel desperately wishes that she could bear a child at all. I shouldn't imagine it was a particularly peaceful or joyful life, not for the two women. It's Leah I've always felt most sorry for though. Her father got rid of her by tricking someone into marrying her, her husband didn't love her, and her sister envied her. Hers was not a happy lot, but God saw her misery and gave her children to comfort her. It's reassuring to know He loves us, even if no one else seems to.
By the end of chapter 30, Jacob has eleven sons and one daughter by four different women. By Leah he has Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebelum and Dinah; by Rachel he has Joseph; by Leah's maid he has Gad and Asher; and by Rachel's maid he has Dan and Naphtali. He has also greatly increased his wealth by tricking Laban into giving him the best of his flock. His wives may be miserable, and Laban may be poorer, but Jacob seems to have it made. How many times does our happiness come at the cost of someone else's? Do we care? Do we even notice?
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