Warring Wives and Jacob’s Children

Genesis 29:31-30:24

The story of Jacob’s marriage and family life reads much like a modern-day soap opera. Last time we saw how Jacob was tricked by his father-in-law Laban into marrying two of his daughters instead of just the one he loved. This week’s story is one of competition between these two sisters and their maids, which results in Jacob being shuttled from bedroom to bedroom, tent to tent. Jacob seems to be controlled by the women in his life, much like he had been with his mother Rebekah. In this passage we see both joy and pain. There is the joy of bearing children. There is the pain of infertility. There is praise for having children. And there is envy and sin in the absence of children. There is the joy of being loved and the pain of being unloved.

Jacob’s family is a mess. Both sisters want what the other sister has. Leah wants the love of Jacob. And Rachel wants children. Neither of them seems content with what they have. So, they envy each other and struggle to gain position over each other. Leah fights to gain Jacob’s love by bearing children. And Rachel fights to gain children at any cost.

Remember that Jacob is living outside the land of promise. While he has met God at Bethel (Gen. 28) and the Lord has promised His presence, protection, and provision, that doesn’t mean things will be easy-going for Jacob. As we saw last time, God is at work in Jacob’s life to purge out many of the sinful patterns that have characterized him in the past. Jacob reaps what he has sowed. The deceiver gets deceived. The manipulator gets manipulated. God disciplines those He loves.

But this story also shows us that behind all this intrigue, and frankly, behind the discipline that the Lord has planned for Jacob, God still has in view a plan for His people, a plan for His nation. He’s going to build a great nation in spite of the sins and the shortcomings of the individuals involved[1]. While Rachel and Leah are battling with each other over Jacob’s affection, God gives birth to a nation: the tribes of Israel. This passage constitutes the center of the Jacob narrative, and it emphasizes birth of the nation of Israel.

Last week we saw that God provided wives for Jacob in the midst of sin. Next week we’ll see God providing wealth for Jacob in the midst of sin. This week God provides children for Jacob. In the midst of sinful strife, God provides. We read these verses like someone watching a tennis match, we look first at the one contestant, then at the other, back and forth. We begin with Leah:

1. Leah gives birth to four sons (Gen. 29:31-35)

³¹ When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. ³⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing. (Gen. 29:31-35)

Leah was Jacob’s first wife, the one he was tricked into marrying. Genesis 29:30 gave us a clue to their relationship, saying that Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah.” So by comparison, “Leah was unloved” (Gen. 29:31). The KJV translates it,  “Leah was hated.” It’s a very strong word, the same word is used in Genesis 37:4 in describing Joseph whom “their father loved … more than all his brethren,” so “they hated him.” Leah was unloved by Jacob.

But the LORD loved her. So the LORD acts on her behalf, “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren” (Gen. 29:31).  God’s loving intervention in her life is evident to her, and she gratefully acknowledges it. God lovingly reached out to Leah by giving her a son, Reuben. Reuben means something like “see, a son” because, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction.” And her hope is that “Now therefore, my husband will love me” (Gen. 29:32). Her hopes obviously went unfulfilled because after she gives birth to her second son Simeon (whose name means “he hears”), “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also” (Gen. 29:33). And again after the third son Levi (whose name means attached), she says, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Gen. 29:34). How can Jacob not feel more attached to her because of these sons she has given him?

While three sons did little to change Jacob’s affections, the birth of Leah’s fourth son brought her most devout expression of praise and thanksgiving toward the LORD Who had heard her prayers. She names him Judah meaning praise, saying, “Now I will praise the LORD” (Gen. 29:35). Leah then stopped bearing. This seems to be the high point of Leah’s spiritual life. While Jacob’s affection was still something she greatly desired, she was content with the love of God. So, she praised the LORD.

The end of Genesis 29 tells us “Then she stopped bearing” (Gen. 29:35). We don’t know whether that was because Rachel no longer allowed her access to Jacob, or that she was temporarily infertile. What we do notice throughout this account is that ultimately it is the LORD who opens wombs and closes them. While, on the surface, it may seem that the children of Jacob are the result of struggles, strategies, and negotiations, the text is consistently clear that they are a result of the Lord’s blessing.

Next we see,

2. Rachel obtains two sons through Bilhah (Gen. 30:1-8)

Praising God was easy for Leah with four sons; however, seeing her sister’s blessing only aroused envy in Rachel: “¹ Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” ² And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?””

Rather than recognize her barrenness as coming from the hand of God, she sought to shift the blame to Jacob. Jacob, in so many words, tells Rachel that he isn’t God. Like Rachel, Rebekah had been barren, but Isaac’s response was quite different from Jacob’s. He prayed on behalf of Rebekah, and God answered by giving his wife children (Gen. 25:21). No such prayers are mentioned here. At this point in his life, Jacob does not appear to be a man of prayer.

Rachel fears not having children, so she makes a desperate proposal: “So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”” There are definite similarities between this proposal and that of Sarai offering Hagar in Genesis 16. Remember, that did not turn out so well for the family. But Rachel is envious and desperate and will do anything to compete with her sister. And it works:

⁴ Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. ⁷ And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

Her words at the birth of Dan and Naphtali sound most spiritual. She claimed that God had judged the matter of her dispute with her sister Leah and had sided with her. So, she named the first boy Dan, meaning judge. The name of the second boy, Naphtali (meaning struggle) reveals her true heart. Rachel is preoccupied with the struggle between herself and Leah, and she claims to have won through these two adopted sons.

Now, back to Leah:

3. Leah obtains two sons through Zilpah (Gen. 30:9-13)

Not to be outdone by her sister, Leah counters by giving Jacob her own maid:

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. ¹⁰ And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. ¹² And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

Unlike earlier in Leah’s life, she does not mention the LORD here. She who previously had viewed her children as a gift from a gracious and caring God now sees these sons as merely good fortune—“How lucky I am,” (Gad can mean a troop or fortunate) and “How happy am I.”

“For anyone keeping score, Leah was ahead of Rachel 4 to 2, but that was not enough. Now she has added two more points to the scoreboard. However, in the process of gaining ground on her sister, she has forfeited the godliness she once demonstrated. The focus of her thinking has shifted from God’s estimation of her actions to the praise she would be given by other women.”[2] (Gen. 29:13).

That brings us to the strange story of the mandrakes which provides the occasion for another confrontation between Jacob’s wives:

4. Leah has two more sons and a daughter (Gen. 30:14-21)

¹⁴ Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁵ But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. (Gen. 30:14-17).

Mandrakes (also called “love apples”) were plants found in that part of the world which were thought to stimulate the desire for “love-making” and also to enhance the chances of conception. Leah, I suppose, was more interested in the mandrakes for the former quality, Rachel for the latter. When Rachel asks Leah for some, Leah’s resentment is on full display. She says, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?” In her mind, she is Jacob’s proper wife, being the first, even though her status was obtained through deceit.

Now Rachel proposes a deal: the mandrakes in exchange for allowing Leah to sleep with Jacob for a night. What a sad state Jacob’s marriage had come to. His wife Leah had to resort to purchasing his services as her husband. And Rachel was so lacking in faith that she put her trust in a magic potion rather than in God. Then we read,

¹⁷ And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

It was not because of mandrakes but because God had compassion on Leah that she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. It must be in spite of her bargaining with Rachel and not because of it that God blessed Leah. Leah, I think wrongly, attributes the birth of this son to God rewarding her for giving Zilpah to Jacob (Gen. 30:18). Rather than her wages, the text makes clear that Issachar was a gift of God’s grace.

Leah does not return to that high level of praise which we witnessed in Genesis 29:35, but she certainly has recovered some grasp of the grace of God as seen in the gift of the sixth son, Zebulun, meaning “gift” or “dwell with me.” Jacob had several daughters (Gen. 46:15) but only Dinah is introduced to prepare for the tragic events of Genesis 34.

Lastly, we return to Rachel,

5. Rachel finally gives birth to a son (Gen. 30:22-24)

Rachel had pleaded with her husband, resorted to surrogate maternity and employed mandrakes in the quest for children, but only God can open Rachel’s womb, and He does so, it seems, in his own sweet time. After all of Rachel’s devices and schemes have been exhausted, yet without any children from her own womb, God grants her the desire of her heart:

²² Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” ²⁴ So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”

Significant is the way that God responded to Rachel: “God remembered” and “God listened to her.” Prayer did not immediately occur to Rachel as the solution to her barrenness, but it does seem to be her last resort. I never cease to be amazed at myself and others who leave prayer in the category of “if all else fails, pray.”  The name “Joseph” is significant in two ways. The Hebrew word ’asap, “has taken away,” refers God “taking away” the reproach of her barrenness. A similar-sounding word, yosep, meaning “may … add,” expresses Rachel’s hope that “The Lord shall add to me another son.” She finally acknowledges that only God can open a womb.

In this messy story, God gives birth to his people: the nation of Israel.

While it’s a bleak picture, the theme of God’s grace runs through it as a strong undercurrent. Jacob wasn’t living in submission to the Lord at this time. His wives were thoroughly self‑centered. And yet God blessed Jacob with eleven sons and one daughter (the twelfth son is born later), forming the basis for the nation which numbered over two million in Moses’ day. Perhaps Moses included this story to humble the nation by showing them that God’s blessing on them was totally due to His grace, not to anything in them or their forefathers.[3]

Despite all the deception, competition, and manipulation, God is about to do something with Jacob’s sons that no one could have imagined! God will fulfill His promise to make Jacob a great nation in spite of the sin and dysfunction in his family. God is working out His perfect plan of redemption in this messy, sinful family.

The pinnacle of this story comes with the birth of Joseph. Moses is pointing us forward to the story of Joseph, teaching us that God will provide a son who will save his people. Through this son, given by God, the nation will be saved from famine.

There is a spiritual application for us in this. While we sin and deserve God’s judgment, God eventually provided a Son, the Savior who would redeem us from our sin. Our passage this morning fits into the bigger story of redemption that reaches even us.

We are all sinners deserving of God’s judgment. But from before the foundation of the earth, God had a plan to save a people for Himself. In Genesis 3:15 God has promised a Savior, the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head. And we have traced this seed from Adam and Eve through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From Jacob came a son meaning praise, Judah. From Judah would come David, the king. And from David would eventually come God’s Son, Jesus Christ who would die for our sins and be raised from the dead.

This is God’s eternal purpose—a plan that will not fail. And all who repent of sin and place their trust in Jesus, are a part of that plan. If you are in Christ, you are a child of God. He loves you! So when you face trials and temptations of many kinds, when you are tempted to trust in your own self-sufficiency or to trust in idols, remember that God is trustworthy. His promises are sure. In the midst of the mess of this life, you can trust Him. God is working all things according to His will for His glory. The Lord sees and hears and remembers and is worthy to be praised.

[1] Ligon Duncan, The Sons of Jacob, https://ligonduncan.com/the-sons-of-jacob-998/

[2] Bob Deffinbaugh, The Battle of the Brides, https://bible.org/seriespage/31-battle-brides-genesis-2931-3024

[3] Steven Cole, A Family at War, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-55-family-war-genesis-2931-3024

Jacob Meets His Match

Genesis 29:1-30

¹ So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. ² And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. ³ Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth. ⁴ And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” ⁶ So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.” ⁷ Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”

⁹ Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father. ¹³ Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?|” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. ¹⁸ Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.” ¹⁹ And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. ²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” ²² And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. ²³ Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. ²⁵ So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” ²⁶ And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” ²⁸ Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. ²⁹ And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. ³⁰ Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

In our study of Genesis we have been following the story of Jacob over the last few weeks. We have seen Jacob obtain both the birthright from his brother Esau and the blessing from his father Isaac through cunning, trickery and deceit. Isaac later confirmed God’s blessing on Jacob and sent him away to find a wife from his relatives in Haran. In Genesis 28, we saw the Lord broke into Jacob’s life, promised to bless him, conferred to him all of the covenant promises God made to Abraham and Isaac, and assured Jacob that He would be with him wherever he went (Gen. 28:13‑ 15).

Genesis 29:1 begins, “So Jacob went on his journey”—literally, “And Jacob lifted up his feet.” Steven Cole comments, “he had a new bounce in his steps as he continued his journey.”[1] Jacob now had a relationship with the LORD and a God-given destiny to fulfill. Jacob “came to the land of the people of the East,” (Gen. 29:1) but he still has a long way to go in his spiritual maturity. His years in Haran will be years of spiritual formation for Jacob. “In Haran, the Lord holds up a mirror so that Jacob might see himself. What Jacob has done to others is now done to him; he reaps what he has sowed.”[2]

The for today’s sermon is, “Jacob Meets His Match.” Jacob meets his match in two ways in this chapter. On the one hand this story is about how Jacob meets his “match”, that is to say, his wife, Rachael. But on the other hand this story is also about how Jacob meets his “match”, that is to say, Laban, who proved to be just as crafty and deceptive as Jacob.[3] This story is going to illustrate again the theme we have seen throughout Genesis: In spite of sin and its consequences, God’s promises continue.

This narrative divides into three sections: 1) Jacob meets Rachel (Gen. 29:1-12); Jacob meets Laban and makes a deal with him (Gen. 29:13-20); finally Laban tricks Jacob into marrying the wrong woman and serving longer (Gen. 29:21-30).

1. Jacob meets Rachel (Gen. 29:1-12)

This is the second “woman at the well” story that we have in Genesis. Remember in Genesis 24 Abraham’s servant met Rebekah at a well in Haran and she would become the wife of Isaac. Here, Jacob meets Rachel at a well in Haran and she will become his wife. Even a surface reading of Genesis 29 will remind you of the similarities with Genesis 24. In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac from among his relatives in Haran (Gen. 24:4). In Genesis 29, Isaac has sent Jacob to Haran to find a wife who is a daughter of his mothers’ brother Laban (Gen. 29:1; cf. 28:1-2). When Abraham’s servant arrived in Haran, he came to a well (Gen. 24:11). Jacob too comes to a well (Gen. 29:2). When Abraham’s servant was at the well, he saw Rebekah come to the well (Gen. 24:15). Jacob also sees Rachel come to the well (Gen. 29:6, 9). After Abraham’s servant met Rebekah, she waters his camels (Gen. 24:19). After Jacob meets Rachel, he waters her sheep (Gen. 29:10). After the livestock are watered in both passages, the prospective bride runs to her father to tell what happened (Gen. 24:28; 29:12). Then, in both stories the traveler is invited to the house (Gen. 24:31-32; 29:14). And in both stories, eventually the marriages take place (Gen. 24:67; 29:23, 30).

These similarities serve to highlight the differences in the two accounts and Jacob’s spiritual immaturity. One of the most obvious differences is that Abraham’s servant prayed to the Lord. He prayed, “O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham” (Gen. 24:12). Then after Rebekah came to the well and it became clear that she is the one God has provided in answer to his prayer, Abraham’s servant bowed his head and worshiped the LORD (Gen. 24:26) and blessed the LORD who led him (Gen. 24:27, 48). So the servant had prayed a prayer of petition for God’s direction and then prayed a of praise, acknowledging the LORD’s providence.[4]

But what do we find in Jacob’s story at the well? There is no prayer. In fact, there is no acknowledgment of God whatsoever; no petition, no praise. God is not even mentioned in Genesis 29 until Genesis 29:31 when the Lord begins to give Jacob children. In Genesis 28, Jacob met the LORD and God promised He would be with Jacob. And we know that God is with Jacob behind the scenes. Instead of prayer and dependence on the God who is with him, Jacob trusted in his own wits and strength. When he saw Rachel coming (who we know from Genesis 29:17 is quite beautiful in form and appearance), Jacob starts to show off his muscles.

The well has a large stone over its mouth (Gen. 29:2) and there are three shepherds with their sheep by the well. But as Genesis 29:7 indicates, they can’t roll away the stone to water their flock until all the shepherds show up at the well. But when Rachel arrives with her father’s sheep, Jacob turns into he-man. Genesis 29:10, “And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.” Jacob seems to be operating from the flesh rather than by the spirit. He’s relaying on his own strength to secure a wife. He’s muscling his way through.

In Genesis 24 Abraham’s servant thoroughly investigated Rebekah’s character. He was able to see Rebekah’s heart through her actions. But here, Jacob springs into action before Rachel’s character emerges. Jacob wants to impress the woman, not find out more about her. Whereas Rebekah was impressive in Genesis 24, watering the camels, Jacob, with his mighty feat, takes center stage now.

Did you notice the threefold repetition of the phrase “Laban his mother’s brother” (Gen. 29:10)? Moses invites us to look backward and forward in the story and compare Jacob’s actions with the servant’s actions. It also reminds us that although God is not mentioned, we see God at work here just as much as in Genesis 24. Even though Jacob seems to ignore God, God still has His hand on Jacob.

That bring us to the second part of the story,

2. Jacob makes a deal with Laban (Gen. 29:13-20)

Jacob’s dealings with Laban also invite us to compare Jacob with Laban. This comparison is seen through deep irony. Jacob will meet his match in Laban. Remember in Genesis 24, when Abraham’s servant came for Rebekah? That was our first encounter with Laban. What did we notice about Laban there? He was impressed by the wealth of Abraham. In fact, Laban wanted Abraham’s servant to stay longer, probably hoping for a bigger dowry. Laban is greedy.

But Jacob has come to Haran empty handed. He doesn’t have a train of camels loaded with treasure to provide a dowry for Rachel. But he has wits and muscles. And so, Laban wants Jacob to stay as well. He knows Jacob’s wits and muscles will come in handy in his livestock business. Laban treats his own daughters like livestock (Gen. 29:27) and he makes a deal to sell them to Jacob. In return for his wife, Jacob sells himself to Laban for seven years.

Jacob will end up working for 20 years for Laban and his wages are changed all the time because Laban is constantly trying to manipulate the relationship to his own benefit. But here’s the irony. This is exactly what Jacob did to Esau. He too was greedy. He wanted Esau’s birthright and so he manipulated Esau to get it.

And this is where the irony deepens. Remember, before Jacob was born, God promised that Esau would “serve” Jacob; the older would “serve” the younger. But because Jacob tricked his brother and manipulated him, he had to run from his brother—who’s supposed to “serve” him. Now Jacob is “serving” Laban. The greedy Jacob is serving the greedy Laban. Jacob and Laban are cut from the same cloth. That’s probably what the author wants us to see in Genesis 29:14 when Laban says, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.”[5]

God will keep his promise to bless Jacob, but He’s doing this while He’s simultaneously disciplining Jacob by giving him a taste of his own medicine.

This is even more evident when,

3. Jacob deceived by Laban (Gen. 29:21-30)

The irony just keeps coming in this story. Jacob, the trickster gets tricked. The deceiver gets deceived. Laban pulls the old switch-a-roo on Jacob. After working for seven years for Rachel, years that seemed like “only a few days to him because of the love he had for her” (Gen. 29:20), Jacob gets Leah whose “eyes were delicate” (Gen. 29:17). Whatever that phrase means it is intended to communicate that Jacob desired Rachel who was “beautiful of form and appearance” rather than Leah. Look at Genesis 29:23 and 25. “Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. … So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah.”

Doesn’t your heart break for Jacob…and for Rachel…and maybe especially for Leah who is unloved. But it is obvious to any reader that this is a classic case of “what goes around comes around.” As Paul says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The tables are now turned on Jacob.

Jacob had deceived his blind father and got the blessing instead of Esau; the younger instead of the older. Now Laban deceives Jacob at night when he’s effectively blind, giving his veiled daughter Leah to Jacob; the older instead of the younger. This is poetic justice at its finest. Jacob—which means “he deceives”—has been deceived. Jacob has been Jacobed. He has met his match.

“As the story comes to a close, we find Jacob married to two women, Leah and Rachel. Two knots tied. And they are tangled knots. This is the result of Jacob and Laban’s sin. And it results in lots of problems and pain for Jacob, Leah, and Rachel as the story unfolds in chapter 30.”[6] But in spite of sin and its consequences, God’s promises continue. God graciously uses circumstances, mistakes, consequences, and difficult people to shape his people over time. God’s grace shines through in these events in Jacob’s life.

Steven Cole writes, “… in spite of Jacob’s spiritual immaturity and self‑directed life, God graciously gave him the woman he loved, blessed him with 12 sons and some daughters (Gen. 46:7), blessed him financially in spite of Laban’s tricks, and returned him safely to the land of Canaan, where his brother received him without a trace of revenge. That’s God’s grace!”[7]

Grace would ultimately spread to all the families of the earth through this family. Rachel will give birth to Joseph who will save his whole family from starvation. Even though Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, Leah will become the mother of Judah. And through Judah will come King David. And through David will come Jesus of Nazareth, the One whom another woman at the well confesses “is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42). He is the Son of God whose death and resurrection have purchased redemption for us, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Thank God for His grace!

[1] Steven Cole, God’s Boot Camp, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-54-god-s-boot-camp-genesis-291-30

[2] Scott Grant, Boy Meets Girl, https://cdn.pbc.org/Main_Service/2004/06/20/4870.html

[3] Title borrowed from Joe Anady, Jacob Meets His Match, https://emmausrbc.org/2019/10/27/sermon-genesis-291-3024-jacob-meets-his-match/

[4] Josh Black, The Knots Tied, https://www.firstfreewichita.org/download/1168

[5] ibid

[6] Ibid (italics his)

[7] Cole, God’s Boot Camp, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-54-god-s-boot-camp-genesis-291-30

Jacob’s Ladder

Genesis 28:1-22

Where were you when you met the Lord? How did it happen? Perhaps some of you, like me, grew up going to church. My mother was a true believer in Christ and my father always went to church too and I believe he also later came to a personal faith in Christ.

I remember going to Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and church camp. I attended confirmation class and professed to have believed in Jesus Christ. I remember praying with my mom for Jesus to come into my heart at a young age. Was I saved then? Probably not, but these things laid the foundation for faith that would become real and personal for me in my college years. My later years of high school and beginning of college were proof enough that my profession of faith was not real. My hidden sin and depraved heart became more open and unrestrained.

In my second year at the Air Force Academy a fellow cadet invited me to Bible Study at the Baptist Student Union in Colorado Springs. There I met some young people who seemed to be really living out their faith in Jesus Christ, like my mother had. They seemed to have the real thing, something I was sorely lacking. My sin became even more evident to me in that light. One night after hearing the BSU director, Don Gurney share the gospel message, my friend told me about how he had trusted Christ. That night, realizing my sin and my need for a Savior, I met the Lord Jesus Christ for real as I repented of sin and believed in the Lord. And my life was changed forever.

Your story of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ may not sound exactly like mine, but wasn’t there a point in your life when you can truly say that the Lord called you to believe in Him and you responded in faith? Our journeys of faith are as varied as there are people here. But one thing is sure—coming to know the Lord changes you. At that point you may not yet be all that God will transform you into, but you are also not the same as you were before either.

In Genesis 28 Jacob has an encounter with the Lord God. Those of you who have been with us in our study of the book of Genesis know that Jacob comes from a heritage of faith. His grandfather Abraham was called by God and blessed to receive a covenant from the Lord. God promised to bless Abraham, to make of him a great nation, and to give his descendants the land of Canaan. Through his promised seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Abraham believed the Lord and was accounted righteous by faith. Abraham passed on the covenant to his son Isaac. The Lord was with Isaac, blessed him, and gave to him the same covenant promises. Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Before they were born, the Lord chose Jacob over Esau. God will continue His covenant with Abraham’s descendants through Jacob.

But prior to Genesis 28, I don’t see much evidence in Jacob of a life of faith in God. Yes, unlike Esau who despised his birthright, Jacob desired it. He even went to the extreme measure of deceiving his aging father to receive his blessing. But his coveting and lying revealed a selfish motivation. In Genesis 27:20 Jacob referred to the God of Abraham and Isaac as “the LORD your God,” not his own God that he knows and trusts. That will change in this chapter.

Genesis 28:1-9 sets the stage for Jacob’s encounter with the Lord. Here we see,

 1. Jacob’s Farewell & Esau’s Folly (28:1-9)

Remember from Genesis 27 that Esau was deeply resentful after Jacob stole the blessing from their father and planned to kill his brother. In Genesis 27:41-46 Rebekah formulates a plan for Jacob to escape the hateful intentions of Esau. She would arrange for him to spend time with her brother Laban in Haran (Gen. 27:43). The Genesis 27:46 describes the skillful manipulation of Isaac by Rebekah, leading him to the inevitable conclusion that Jacob should be sent away to Haran, the city of her brother Laban: And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” She never told Isaac what to do; she just spelled things out in such a way that Isaac could reasonably do nothing else. It’s little wonder then that Isaac did what is recorded in Genesis 28:1-2,

¹ Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. ² Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

Then in Genesis 28:3-4 Isaac pronounced a blessing upon Jacob before he leaves for the region of Padan Aram. There Isaac speaks to Jacob, saying,

³ “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; ⁴ And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.” (Gen. 28:3–4)

Isaac was no longer determined to give the blessing to Esau, but intentionally passed on the covenant blessings of Abraham to his younger son, Jacob. Isaac’s gave his first blessing to Jacob not willingly and knowingly, but by deception. It is not as if that first blessing didn’t count. Isaac clearly thought that it counted. But Jacob may have wondered if he was really blessed of the Lord, given the way that he got the blessing. 

Isaac prayed for three promises upon Jacob in this blessing. First was the blessing of many descendants. Second that God would give him the blessing of Abraham. And third, that his descendants would inherit the land of promise—the land in which Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob, were strangers. These are the same promises God made to Abraham and to Isaac—now passed on to Jacob.

Now in Genesis 28:5 Isaac sent Jacob away: “⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.”

The mention of Esau at the end of Genesis 28:5 introduces a final contrast between Jacob and Esau:

⁶ Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. ⁸ Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. (Gen. 28:6-9).

Esau finally figured out that his Canaanite wives were a grief to Isaac and Rebekah (a fact we have been aware of sin the end of Genesis 26). So he married a daughter of his uncle Ishmael. Esau seems unaware that Ishmael did not represent the spiritual line of promise. Again he is shown to be spiritually clueless, while Jacob is said to be obedient to his father.

That brings us to,

2. God’s Revelation to Jacob (28:10-15)

Genesis 28:10-11 set the stage for Jacob’s encounter with God:

¹⁰ Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ 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.

Let’s step into Jacob’s sandals for a moment. He had just lied to his blind, old father to cheat his brother. Esau is angry enough to kill. Jacob had gotten what he always wanted, the birthright and the blessing, but now he has to leave it all behind to run for his life. Wouldn’t you be feeling guilty over your past, confused about the present, and anxious about the future?

It’s significant that God reveals Himself to Jacob at this point in his life. This is the first time the Lord got Jacob’s attention. It happened at the point when Jacob was surely aware of his great need. One way or another, God brings each of us to that point before He breaks through in our lives. Often, as was the case with Jacob, it’s when we first leave the shelter of home. Listen, if you have been raised in a Christian home, there has to come a point in your life when you must believe in Jesus Christ yourself. No one gets to heaven riding on the faith of their parents or grandparents.

Here is where we see God break through in Jacob’s life:

 ¹² 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.

At Jacob’s point of need, God gave him a strange dream. In the dream, a ladder, or stairway, went from earth to heaven, with angels going up and down on it. The Lord spoke to Jacob from above. How should we understand this? I think it is best understood by considering three things (Deffinbaugh): (a) the words of God to Jacob; (b) the words spoken by Jacob; and (c) the words of our Lord in John 1:51.

Jacob saw and heard the LORD, who revealed himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac. It does not appear that Jacob was pursuing the Lord, but the Lord pursued him and spoke to him. The words spoken by God are very similar to previous promises God made to Abraham and to Isaac. Isaac’s pronouncement that passed on the blessing of Abraham to Jacob (Gen. 28:4) was now confirmed by God Himself.

¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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.” (Gen. 28:13-15).

The LORD promised to always be with Jacob: “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” The LORD was seen in heaven, but the ladder signified the LORD’s presence and activity upon the earth. Abraham and Isaac had enjoyed the presence of the LORD with them, now Jacob will have that assurance as well.  

The LORD also reassured Jacob of His special plan for the land of Canaan, which he was about to leave. God said to Jacob, “the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants” (Gen. 28:13) and “I … will bring you back to this land” (Gen 28:15). The ladder had it’s top in heaven, but it’s base was set down in Canaan, indicating that that place was a special place. God’s would do a special work there in the years to come. The LORD would bring Jacob back to the land.

The LORD also reassured Jacob of His special plan for His 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.” As Moses writes Genesis the initial fulfillment of this promise through the birth of the nation of Israel, is coming to pass. Israel needs to know their destiny to possess the land and to bless the nations. Of course, we know that this promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who would come into the world through the nation of Israel. God sent His Son through Israel as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). It is by faith in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” There is no greater blessing than to have your sins for given and to be reconciled to God. Christ came to give that blessing, not only to Jacob’s descendants, but to all the nations of the earth.

Finally we see,

 3. Jacob’s Response to God (28:16-22)

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ 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!”

Immediately Jacob was aware of God’s presence. He did not doubt it or question it. Having awaken from his sleep he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it” (Gen. 28:16). He knew God had been with Isaac and Abraham, but now he knows the Lord is with him, even in this place that is miles away from his father. Jacob had not known this about God before. He knew it now.

Jacob’s response to the presence of God was fear: 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!” (Gen. 28:17). This is the response of men when then behold the glory of the LORD. They often tremble with fear and fall down before the LORD as if dead (Isaiah 6:5; Matt. 17:6; Revelation 1:17). We are to worship the Lord our God with a godly fear, a holy reverence for His majesty. Moses said to the Israelites before they came into the promised land, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” (Deut. 10:12). The New Testament writer of Hebrews exhorts us, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” (Heb. 12:28).

What does Jacob do because he fears God and knows he has been in the presence of God?  First, Jacob set up a pillar:

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.  (Genesis 28:18-19).

The pillar was to serve as a memorial. It marked a place to which he would return to build an altar and worship God. When Jacob poured out the oil upon the rock it was an act of worship. He renamed the place Bethel, meaning house of God.

Next Jacob made a profession of faith:

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.” (Gen. 28:20-21).

Some commentators thought that when Jacob says “if” here that it is like Jacob is trying to strike a deal with God. While Jacob’s faith is certainly immature at this point, I am inclined to view the “ifs” more in the sense of “since.” God had just assured Jacob of his presence with him, so Jacob responds, “If that’s so …  then the LORD shall be my God” I think the idea is that Jacob says, “If God has promised this to me … then the LORD shall be my God.” Jacob was professing faith in the promises of God.

Third, Jacob made a promise:

²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (Gen. 28:22).

Jacob planned to return, believing the word of God spoken to him. At that time he would build an altar and give a tithe to God. Jacob had a long way to go in his walk with God and many painful lessons to learn. But here was his start with God.

For our New Testament scripture reading we heard John 1:43-51. I chose this passage because there we find Christ’s interpretation of the vision that was shown to Jacob of the ladder to heaven and the angels ascending an descending upon it. In asking the question, “What does this vision mean?” we would be wise to pay careful attention the words of Jesus. Remember that in John 1 a man named Nathaniel was amazed because Jesus knew that he was sitting under a fig tree when Philip had approached him. Nathaniel responded to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Listen again to Jesus’ response to him. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you, “I saw you under the fig tree,” do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’” (John 1:50–51).

Jesus was clearly referring to Genesis 28 when He spoke of heaven being opened and of angels ascending and descending. But strangely, there is no mention of the ladder. And why is that? It is because Jesus claimed to be the ladder Himself! To Nathaniel he said, “you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man”! The “Son of Man” was often Jesus’ way of referring to Himself. It reveals Him to be both human and divine (see. Dan. 7:13).

The ladder shown to Jacob in the dream signified Christ. It revealed to Jacob that God would provide a way for man to be reconciled to Him. God would provide a mediator—a Savior who would bridge the chasm of sin that separated God and man. Jesus Christ is that ladder, His is the door; He is the way; He is the narrow gate. He is the One who connects heaven and earth, Paul writes about Him, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:5–6).

Let me ask you today, “Have you come to Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life?” He said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). God is making His appeal to you today through His word. Turn from your sin, believe in Jesus—that He died for your sins on the cross and was raised from the dead. Trust in Him alone for salvation.

As we come to the Lord’s table today know this, Jesus Christ is in this place. Fear the LORD your God, worship Him, profess your faith in Him, confess your sins before Him, and come, receive the bread and the cup giving thanks for the once for all sacrifice for sins paid by Christ on the cross for you.  

The Stolen Blessing

Genesis 27

We have been studying the book of Genesis for about a year now, and yes we are more than half way through. Remember that Genesis is a book of beginnings. Genesis is the beginning of the Bible, the beginning of the universe, the beginning of life, and the beginning of history.  We have learned how God created the heavens and the earth and all things. We saw how God made mankind in His image to rule over the earth. We read about Adam and Eve, and how sin and death entered the world. We discovered God’s grace in His promise of a savior, the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. We saw God drowned the earth in a flood, because of wickedness and how by grace God saved one family and repopulated the world through Noah. But mankind was still plagued by sin. Then God chose and called one man, Abraham, and through him God’s plan to save and to bless the world was set into motion.

Beginning with Abraham, a unique birthright was given by God. Birthrights, inheritances, and legacies already existed in the time of Abraham, but Abraham’s legacy was distinct. While other inheritances were temporal and worldly, Abraham’s blessing was not only physical but spiritual. The blessing that Abraham passed down included God’s covenant blessings. As we saw in Genesis 26, the covenant passed down to the one whom God had chosen, Isaac, who now had the responsibility to hand it down to the next generation.

Remember from Genesis 25 that Isaac had two sons, and although they were twins, they were as different as they could be. The older was Esau, his father’s favorite. The younger was Jacob, his mother Rebekah’s favorite. Before they were born God had indicated that these boys would be separated and that the older would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). Then we saw how Jacob had snatched the birthright from Esau, purchasing it from his worldly-minded brother for a bowl of stew.

What we have in Genesis 27 is a wretched story of a dysfunctional and divided family. The family through whom all the world will be blessed is a mess—full of secrecy, deception, mistrust, and selfishness. Kent Hughes writes, “Everyone in the family sought the blessings of God without bending the knee to God. This little family was fraught with ambition, jealousy, envy, lying, deceit, coveting, malice, manipulation, stubbornness, and stupidity” (Genesis: Beginning and Blessing, Crossway, p.354).

Isaac tries to thwart the purpose of God to fulfill His covenant through Jacob. Rebekah and Jacob are going to sully God’s word with their scheming and lying. Esau tries to take back what he had already sold to his brother Jacob. Yet in spite of the sinful maneuvering of men, God will accomplish His sovereign purpose. Ligon Duncan comments, “Everybody, every single major player in this story comes out looking bad—Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob. Their sins are found out, as God reveals this whole incident in His word. But He uses even this to magnify His sovereignty and His grace.”

Genesis 27 is a drama with four characters. First (Gen. 27:1-4), Isaac comes on the stage with his selfish desire, based on his appetite, to give the blessing to Esau, who goes off to comply with Isaac’s secret plan. In scene two (Gen. 27:5-17), Rebekah hatches her own plot to deceive Isaac and get the blessing for Jacob. In the third scene (Gen. 27:18-29), Jacob successfully deceived his father and gets the blessing. In the fourth scene (Gen. 27:30-40), Isaac and Esau discover they have been deceived and Esau is left with the lesser blessing. Finally (Gen. 27:41-46), we see the consequences: Esau plans to kill Jacob, while Rebekah plots how to divert that crisis. (Steven Cole).

1. Isaac acts on his preferences (Gen. 27:1-4)

¹ Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” ² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. ³ Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” 

This episode in Isaac’s family is disappointing and a little surprising considering the hype about the birth of Isaac and the promises God made to him. Isaac was the chosen one, the son of promise. God had said to Abraham, “in Isaac your seed shall be called” (Gen. 21:12). As we saw in Genesis 26, the LORD was with Isaac.

Yet what we see here is a premeditated plot on Isaac’s part to overthrow the revealed purpose of God. Bob Deffinbaugh points out several undercurrents that are introduced in these first four verses that run through the whole chapter. One is urgency. Isaac is old, blind and is in a hurry to bless Esau before it’s too late. Everything has to be done in haste “before I die”. The truth is, Isaac is far from death’s door. He will live another 43 years.

Another undercurrent is secrecy. Normally the blessing would have been given before the entire family because it was, in reality, an oral will. Distribution of family wealth and headship would best be carried out in the presence of all who were concerned. Later in Genesis Jacob will give his blessings in the presence of all his sons (Genesis 49). But here, neither Jacob nor Rebekah were present, and this was hardly an oversight. Isaac planned a “clandestine feast to convey his blessings upon Esau to the exclusion of Jacob altogether. This is why Isaac had no blessing left to convey upon Esau (Gen. 27:37-38)” (Deffinbaugh).

A third undercurrent in this story is mistrust (Cole). Isaac didn’t trust Rebekah or Jacob or he wouldn’t have excluded them in the plan to give his blessing. It was a family riddled with mistrust because it operated on the basis of deception and secrecy instead of honesty and openness.

Isaac surely was aware of the prophecy about Jacob becoming greater than his older brother. Yet Isaac sought to overrule the verdict of God that the elder serve the younger. Nor is it likely that Isaac was ignorant Esau callously selling his birthright to Jacob. Yet Isaac secretly intends to give it back to Esau.

Besides this, Esau had already demonstrated his lack of spiritual headship by marrying two Hittite wives:

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. (Gen. 26:34-35).

Abraham had been emphatic that his son Isaac should not take a wife from the Canaanites (Gen. 24:3-9). He knew that those pagan women would pollute God’s plan to bless all nations through his descendants. Isaac knew the importance of the heir having a godly wife. In Genesis 28:1 he will charge to Jacob not to take a wife from the Canaanites. Yet he set aside that requirement when he made up his mind to give the blessing to Esau.

Isaac is acting on his preferences. He liked Esau and his game over Jacob. Like Esau with the red stew in Genesis 25, Isaac also seems to be driven by his appetite. No matter that Esau was a godless man, that he had despised his birthright, that he had married Canaanite wives. Isaac liked him, so he planned to give everything to Esau.

2. Rebekah maneuvers by plotting (Gen. 27:5-17)

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. ⁶ So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.” ¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.¹² Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” ¹³ But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” ¹⁴ And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.¹⁷ Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Rebekah did not just happen to overhear the whisperings of Isaac and Esau as they plotted the diversion of divine promises to the elder son. The text tells us that she “was listening.” The Hebrew form of that verb suggests that this was a habit, a pattern of behavior, not a happenstance.

Esau had hardly left the tent before Rebekah had the wheels in motion to overthrow this Isaac’s conspiracy with a bigger one of her own. Rebekah wanted God’s choice (Jacob), but for selfish reasons. He was her favorite. Rebekah was right to want the blessing to fall upon Jacob, but her method in bringing it about was all wrong. Rebekah was deceptive, dishonoring and manipulative towards her husband. She should have honored him, despite his faults and failures, and trusted that the Lord would sort it out in the end.

It was a bold, detailed plan that she concocted. Everything was designed to deceive. And again, everything was done in a hurry. No one questions whether this is the right thing, the moral thing to do. Jacob only objects that he might get caught in the lie and end up being cursed instead of blessed. Situational ethics always seem to boil down to the premise that emergencies overrule ethics. It poses a false dilemma, then tells you that you have no choice except to violate God’s moral absolutes. How desperately wicked such thinking is. There is always a way not to sin.

Rebekah maneuvers to get her way. She schemes and carries out the devious plot down to the last detail. Although she will succeed in getting Jacob the blessing that God intended for him, God was not honored in her attitude and actions. Deffinbaugh comments, “If God is God, then let Him act on His own behalf, particularly in those times when we are unable to act in a way that is consistent with His Word.”

3. Jacob attains through pretense (Gen. 27:18-29)

¹⁸ So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” ²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.” ²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. ²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” ²⁵ He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. ²⁸ Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. ²⁹ Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

Clearly, in this chapter Jacob is not a spiritually-minded man. He does not fear God or His moral law. He wanted the wealth and advantage which went along with the blessing and he would stoop to deceptive extremes to take what he wanted. When his blind old father asks, “Who are you, my son?” Jacob flatly lies, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me” (Gen. 27:18-19). When Isaac questions how he could have returned so quickly, Jacob crassly gives God the credit, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me” (Gen. 27:20). This is the epitome of taking the LORD’s name in vain. Don’t you expect a bolt of lightning to come from heaven with a zap and remove this deceiver at once?

Before we come down too quickly on Jacob, how many of us have done same thing? Jacob excused his sin by invoking the name of God. Have you ever heard yourself or others say, “The Lord led me to …” or “The Lord has blessed us by …” when you might just be doing what you want, rather than what God has directed in His word? Be careful with such statements. Sometimes people conceal their sin with pious words.

The blessing that Isaac gives to Jacob, which he had intended for Esau included the covenant blessings of God:

Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. ²⁹ Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you! (Gen. 27:28-29).

The blessing ends up on the son of God’s choosing, but the narrator by no means justifies Rebekah and Jacob’s actions. God can turn evil into good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for evil. Both Rebekah and Jacob will pay a price.

4. Esau driven by his passions (Ge. 27:30-46)

³⁰ Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.” ³² And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him–and indeed he shall be blessed.” ³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me–me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” ³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me–me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. ³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. ⁴⁰ By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

⁴¹ So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴ And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, ⁴⁵ until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” ⁴⁶ And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

While we may sympathize with poor Esau, he is not innocent either. Granted, he was the older brother, so the birthright and blessing should have been his. But he had made a legal agreement with his brother to sell his birthright. It was not true, as Esau laments, that Jacob took away his birthright (Gen. 27:36). Esau gave it up, he despised his birthright. His tears (Gen. 27:34, 38) may make us feel sorry for him. But remember, Esau wasn’t truly repentant, ready to turn from his self-seeking ways to follow God’s ways. He was just sorry for himself. Esau wasn’t truly repentant toward God; he was just sorry his scheme hadn’t worked.

Esau ended up getting more of a curse than a blessing. The name of God is never mentioned in his blessing. He became the father of the Edomites, who lived to the east of the Dead Sea and were later subjected by several kings of Israel. They finally succeeded in casting off Israel’s rule, even as Isaac prophesied (Gen. 27:40) when they sided with Nebuchadnezzar in his overthrow of Jerusalem (587 B.C.) and were overjoyed at its destruction (Ps. 137:7; Lam. 4:21, 22; Obadiah 10-16).

Isaac had sought to give all to his favorite son Esau at Jacob’s expense. Instead, he gave all to Jacob at Esau’s expense. Isaac set his heart on that which was contrary to the revealed will of God, and because of this his world came crashing down upon him when God’s purposes prevailed. When he found out “Isaac trembled exceedingly.”  Both Isaac and Esau paid the price for going against the revealed will of God.

But so did Rebekah and Jacob. For Rebekah and Jacob the price tag for their success was as costly as that of Isaac and Esau for their defeat. Rebekah loved Jacob more than life itself and, seemingly, more than Isaac. She sought his success by any means, even deception and deceit. The price she paid was separation from her son, which appears to have lasted for the rest of her life.

Jacob paid the inevitable price of sin also. He must have felt an alienation from his father, whom he had deceived. Now his brother hated him and planned to kill him (Gen. 27:41). And worst of all, he had to leave home and the mother he loved. All the material wealth he had gained he had to leave behind to flee for his life.

You have probably noticed several biblical doctrines which are illustrated in this chapter. One is the sovereignty of God. Man cannot override the decrees of God. “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” (Pro. 16:9). “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel–that will stand.” (Pro. 19:21). So often we think that God’s will can’t be fulfilled unless we help Him out. And in this passage we are reminded that God’s will is fulfilled in spite of man’s will, even in spite of man’s sin. Deffinbaugh, “The sins of Isaac and Esau and Rebekah and Jacob did not in any way thwart God’s will from being done. In fact, their sins were employed by God in such a way as to achieve the will of God. God’s sovereignty is never thwarted by man’s sin.”

We also learn about sin. Sin always produces separation. It separates men from men, and men from God (John 15:18ff; 2 Thess. 1:5-10). Sin has terrible consequences.

Finally, we learn something about God’s grace. Surely these four deceptive, conniving sinners deserved God’s wrath. Apart from the grace and mercy of God none of them would have made it to the next chapter. And neither would you or me. Surely, you saw a mirror of yourself in at least one of these characters. None of us is deserving of the blessing of God, only the curse of God because of our sin.

But here is the good news. God worked through this sinful family to bring about a chosen nation through whom would come the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. It is only through Him that you may be blessed. Jesus took the curse for us on the cross to reconcile you to the holy God. Paul writes, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21).

Come to Jesus with your sin. Repent and believe on Him to save you. Confess His name: Jesus Christ is Lord. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13).

God’s Choice Will Stand

Genesis 25:19-26

Genesis 25:19 starts a new section in the book of Genesis: “This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac.” As we have seen, these sections are marked by the Hebrew word תּוֹלְדוֹת (tôlḏôṯ), translated genealogy, generations or history. This is a title for the history that will follow. The three largest sections—the generations of Terah (Gen. 11:27-25:11), the generations of Isaac (Gen. 25:19-35:29) and the generations of Jacob (Gen. 37:2-50:26)—focus on Abraham’s family history and their relation to the promises of God. “Genesis highlights the righteous and chosen line through whom Israel, and ultimately the Christ, would come, and minimizes the non-elect lines. Their family histories are very brief, whereas the family histories of those chosen of God are expanded,” (Joe Anady).

The main human character in each major section is the son. Thus, the generations of Terah (Gen. 11:27) are about his son Abraham; the generations of Isaac (Gen. 25:19) feature the story of his son, Jacob; and the generations of Jacob (Gen. 37:2) are the story of his twelve sons, especially Joseph and Judah.

So even though this section is titled the history of Isaac, we are really looking at the beginning of the story of Isaac’s son, Jacob, which will carry us through Genesis for another ten chapters. The story of Jacob, like the repeated story of the nation of Israel is one of exile and return. Jacob, though he is set to inherit the promise of God to give his descendants the land of Canaan, is forced to leave it for twenty years. He lives in exile and serves his uncle Laban in Padan Aram. At two crucial junctures in his journey God reveals Himself to Jacob, first as he leaves Canaan and then as he returns. The literary structure of these chapters highlights the creation of the tribes of Israel by placing the birth of Jacob’s sons at the center point[1].

The story of Jacob begins with God’s choice of Jacob and ends with God’s choice of Jacob’s descendants, the nation of Israel. This is the point of the narrative that the Holy Spirit highlights through the apostle Paul in Romans 9. It is always important to pay attention when the New Testament gives us an inspired commentary on an Old Testament passage. There Paul indicates that this passage illustrates “that the purpose of God according to election might stand” (Rom. 9:11). God’s purpose according to His choice will stand. This story is about God, His choice, His will, His purposes.

God’s sovereign election has been apparent in Abraham and Isaac’s stories already. It was the LORD God who called Abram from Ur of the Chaldeans and promised to bless him. God chose Sarah, not Hagar to be the mother of the child of promise. God chose Isaac before he was born as the heir of the covenant promises. God’s sovereign providence was clearly active in choosing Rebekah as a wife for Isaac. In today’s passage (Genesis 25:19-26) we again see God’s election in the birth of Esau and Jacob:

¹⁹ This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. ²¹ Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. ²³ And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” ²⁴ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. ²⁷ So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. ²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Our text divides into three parts: Isaac prays for his family and the Lord answers (Gen. 25:19-21); Rebekah inquires of the Lord and the His answer (Gen. 25:22-23); The boys’ birth and characters (Gen. 25:24-28).

1. Isaac prays for his family and the Lord answers (Gen. 25:19-21)

“It is remarkable, indeed, that for a second time the wife of one who perpetuates the line of promise should be barren” (Leupold). God had promised Isaac numerous descendants just like his father Abraham (Gen. 17:19; 26:4). If God has promised, why is it postponed? Genesis 25:21 says, “Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren.” Why the barrenness? Why the waiting? Why did God ordain that the patriarchs wives would be unable to bear to children? Certainly, the LORD could have had them marry women with fruitful wombs. And couldn’t the LORD have overturned their barren condition much sooner than He did? God waited until Sarah was 90 years old before she gave birth to Isaac. Moses reminds us that “Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife” (Gen. 25:20). Genesis 25:26 will say that “Isaac was sixty years old” when Rebekah finally gave birth to her twins. That’s twenty years of barrenness—twenty years of waiting and hoping, twenty years of disappointment and shame. Why?

The answer from Genesis is that these women were barren so that their barrenness could be overcome by God. They were barren so that the power of God might be put on display as the He overcame their weakness. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac after being barren till the age of 90, it was abundantly clear that it was the LORD who did it. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for her to conceive. And yet the LORD visited her and enabled her to conceive so that His promises might be fulfilled in God’s perfect timing. The same was true of Rebekah. After 20 years barrenness, “Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived” (Gen. 25:21).

Rebekah’s barrenness seemed to be an obstacle to God’s promise of descendants to Abraham and the extension of God’s blessing to the world through those descendants (Genesis 12:1-3, 17:4, 22:17). Isaac, who was born to parents beyond the age of childbearing, believes two things: God has promised descendants to him, and God can provide. Isaac believed that the fulfillment of the promise was in the Lord’s hands. So he prayed. That’s a good reason to pray by the way. Someone might ask “why pray if God is sovereign and does according to His will?” But listen, that’s exactly why we pray, because everything depends on Him. Didn’t Jesus teach us to pray, “Thy will be done”? (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2).  

The waiting, the prayer, the answer was all to show that it was indeed the work of the LORD. The barrenness was for a purpose. Rebekah and Isaac were tested and strengthened in the waiting through prayer. And the power of God was put on display, as He demonstrated that He is able to bring life from death, something out of nothing. Through the waiting and through their prayers God was working out His purposes according to His will and His timing. God’s purposes according to His choice will stand.

Next we see …

2. Rebekah inquires of the Lord and His answer (Gen. 25:22-23)

A second problem arises with Rebekah after she conceives. Genesis 25:22, “But the children struggled together within her.” The word struggled is a strong word. It means to break, crush, or oppress. This was no small problem. It was a painful one. It felt as if there was a war raging within her womb. The verse continues, “and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?”” If God has promised and God has answered our prayer, why am I in such pain? What is happening to me?

Like her husband Isaac, Rebekah seeks the answer from the Lord, “So she went to inquire of the LORD” (Gen. 25:22). Moses doesn’t give us the details here. Because it says “she went to inquire” it may be that she sought out a man of God or a prophet. 1 Samuel 9:9 informs us: “Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.” God called Abraham a prophet in Genesis 20:7. Even though Moses has already told us about Abraham’s death and burial, this event actually takes place fifteen years before he died.

The important thing here is the answer that she receives from the Lord. Genesis 25:23, “And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”” The first message is that Rebekah is to be a mother of twins who will be the ancestors of two nations. The second part includes the fact that these two peoples will be separated from one another. The word “separated” carries the emphasis that these two nations shall have nothing in common. They shall “separate” because they are so radically different and shall remain apart for ever. The third part of the message is that one of the two shall exceed the other in strength: one strong nation, one weaker nation. And the last part indicates a reversal “the older shall serve the younger.” Ordinarily pre-eminence would seem to be associated with the first-born. Here we are clearly told that this rule is to be reversed.

These two peoples, together in their mother’s womb, would be separated from her body, and their conflict would separate them from each other. First, Jacob will flee from Esau; then the peoples that would proceed from them, the nations of Israel and Edom, would live apart from each other and in tension. Jacob, and the nation proceeding from him, would occupy a place of superiority over the older son, Esau, and the nation proceeding from him. Israel would rule over Edom (Genesis 27:29).

Notice that this was determined before the children were even born. In Romans 9 the Apostle Paul referred to this incident as an illustration of the principle of election:

¹⁰ And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac ¹¹ (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), ¹² it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” (Romans 9:10-12).

While we must acknowledge that God in His omniscience knew all of the deeds of both these sons from eternity past, Paul says that the choice of Jacob over Esau had nothing to do with their works. Jacob was chosen in the womb and without regard to the works he would do in the future. In other words, God’s election was not based upon “foreknowledge” as it is sometimes taught. God’s choice was determined by His will, not by man’s works. (Deffinbaugh).

Contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t choose people for salvation based on His knowledge of who will choose Him. Many say that God, in His foreknowledge, looks down through history, sees who will decide for Him, and puts them on His list. But that contradicts what Paul states in Romans 9:11, that God determined that Esau would serve Jacob while they were still in the womb, before they did anything good or bad, so that “the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls.”

Steven Cole writes about how this bothers a lot of people “because it humbles our pride and strips us of all glory, but it’s one of the most rewarding concepts in the Bible to lay hold of. It means that your salvation does not depend on you and your feeble hold on God, but on God and His firm grip on you. It means that you don’t have to perform or measure up to be accepted by God. It casts you totally on God and His sovereign grace, which is a good place to be. It floods you with gratitude as you consider His mercy in choosing you in spite of your sin.”

God’s purpose according to His choice will stand.

Finally we see …

3. The boys’ birth and natures (Gen. 25:24-28)

The Lord fulfilled his promises to Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 25:24, “So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.”

The first child is born red and “like a hairy garment all over” (Gen. 25:25). The color, true to the history of Esau and the nation of Edom, indicates a bloody passion (Genesis 27:41). Herod, who ordered the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, was a descendant of Esau (Matthew 2:16-18). The name Edom, is a play on the word “red” (’adom). Edom’s territory, Seir, is a play on the word “hairy” (se‘ir). The narrator will use his description of Esau as being like a “hairy garment ” later in the episode of Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27:11, 15).

The second child is born grasping onto the heel of his brother, and the name given to him indicates his posture. The name Jacob is a play on the word “heel” (‘aqeb). Esau breaks from the gate first, but Jacob isn’t far behind, and in the years to come he will catapult himself to the lead as he grasps for position by cunning and deceit.

Jacob was not the traditional choice. Esau was the first-born. Tradition would make him the greater and the one through whom the blessing of inheritance would be passed. Jacob was not the traditional choice, he was God’s choice.

Jacob was also not the logical choice. Isaac favored Esau. Look at their natures in Genesis 25:27, “So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.” From that description it appears logically that Esau would be the stronger and more capable man. Jacob was not the logical choice, he was God’s choice.

And Jacob was not the favorite of his father. Genesis 25:28 says, “And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” The war between the twins in Rebekah’s womb spills over into the favoritism of their mother and father, who each pick their favorite in opposition to each other. Jacob was not his father’s choice, he was God’s choice.

Why? Because God’s purposes according to God’s choice will stand. The book of Genesis describes to us the beginnings of our redemption in Christ Jesus. And one thing is very clear. It is all according to the choice of God’s will. It is all by God’s grace. God showed unmerited favor to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He worked in a through them in such a way so as to prove that it was He who was at work. The Lord brought life from barren wombs, determined the destinies of men and nations, and chose that which was weak according to the world to shame the strong.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians,

²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption– ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Cor. 1:27-31).

As we come to the Lord’s table today, put your hope in Christ Jesus. Only the Lord Jesus Christ has become for us “wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Without Christ we are lost, condemned and under the just wrath of the Holy God. Our sins have convicted us. Eternal death is the sentence. But in His grace God sent His sinless Son to take our place and die for our sins upon the cross. He finished the work of redemption and His righteousness is accounted to all whom God will call, to all who will believe on the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have believed on Jesus Christ to save you from sin, if you have trusted in Him as Lord and master, we invite you to give thanks and remember His sacrifice for you at His table today.

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[1] Grant shows the chiastic structure of the Jacob narrative as:

A Births / Jacob and nation chosen (25:19-24)

B Digression: Isaac (and Rebekah) vs. the Philistines (26:1-33)

C Jacob steals Esau’s blessing (26:34-28:9)

D Encounter with angels at Bethel (28:10-22)

E Arrival at Haran / Conflict with Laban (29:1-30)

X Rachel vs. Leah: Birth of sons (29:31-30:24)

E’ Defeat of Laban / Departure from Haran (30:25-31:55)

D’ Encounter with angels at Mahanaim and Peniel (32:1-32)

C’ Jacob reconciles with Esau (33:1-17)

B’ Digression: Dinah (and Jacob) vs. Hivites (33:18-34:31)

A’ Births and deaths / Establishment of chosen nation (35:1-29)