Jacob

1. Jacob

2. Story Line • Twin sons, Esau and Jacob, were born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, the firstborn, sold his birthright to Jacob(Genesis 25). • Residing in Gerar, Isaac felt threatened and deceived Abimelech saying Rebekah was his sister(26). • Later Jacob and Rebekah deceived Isaac and stole the family blessing from Esau(27). • Jacob fled from his brother(28)and lived for anextended period of time with his uncle Laban in Haran. • Jacob eventually married Rachel and Leah, the daughters of Laban, and had many children(29-31).

3. Story Line • Rachel became the dominant wife. Laban grew jealous of Jacob because his flocks increased at Laban's expense. • So Jacob felt compelled to leave Paddan-aram with his family and considerable belongings. Returning to Palestine he wrestled with God (32), then he met up with Esau(33). • He and his family settled in Palestine, but tried to remain separate and distinct from the Canaanites who lived in the land, as the story of Shechem illustrates(34). • Jacob journeyed to Bethel and settled there(35).

4. Jacob • Supplanter, or the one who supplants: • One who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another • Heel

5. Esau and Jacob • 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.Genesis 25:23 • Esau: the firstborn • Jacob: • Purchases the Birthright from Esau • Esau was willing to sell for a cheap price • Obtains Isaacs's blessing through deceit

7. Israel & Edom • Israel and Edom. Jacob and Esau are respectively the eponymous ancestors of Israel and Edom. • Throughout their history Israel and Edom were bitter rivals. • The Edomites refused the Israelites passage during the wilderness sojourn (Numbers 20:14-21). • David defeated the Edomites (2 Samuel 8:13-14) in the process of establishing his kingdom. • On many occasions Israel's prophets condemned the Edomites. The Jacob-Esau conflict is, among other things, a story of the origin of Israelite-Edomite animosity. • The birth account and the birthright episode relate Esau to Edom. Esau's red and hairy appearance provide opportunity to pun on the place names Edom (from the word red) and Seir (sounds like hairy). The land of Seir was the homeland of the Edomites.

8. Esau

9. Isaac & Abimelech • Sandwiched between Jacob buying the birthright and stealing the blessing is the tale of Isaac and Rebekah's sojourn in Philistia where they found themselves in danger (26:1-11). • Isaac deceived the local population into thinking Rebekah was his sister so that he would not be killed for her. • This incident recalls similar situations with Abraham and Sarah (12:10-20 with Pharaoh in Egypt and 20:1-18 with an Abimelech in Gerar). • Later, as Isaac's holdings increased, he came into conflict with the Philistines over water rights and wells. • The conflict was settled friendly when both parties agreed to a non-aggression treaty.

10. Jacob deceives his Father

11. Jacob Encounters with God • Genesis 28:10-22 is one of two passages in the Jacob story where the patriarch has a direct encounter with God. • The two places are marked by complementary names. In this passage the place comes to be called Bethel; the other place was Penuel.

12. Genesis 28:10-17 • 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. 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. 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.

13. Genesis 28:10-17 • 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." 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!" .

14. Bethel • Jacob set up his stone pillow as a pillar. • Jacob named this place Bethel, literally "house of El/God." It certainly became a major worship center in Israel's history. • It housed the Ark of the Covenant at the time of the judges. • After the breakaway of Israel, Jeroboam chose Bethel as one of two national sanctuary cities. • When Jacob returned to Bethel after his journey he erected an altar and God appeared to him again (35:1-15).

15. Jacob versus Laban:Building a Family (29-31) • His deception was paid back to him • Leah instead of Rachel • Change of wage • Jacob begat a big family • Became so wealthy • Decided to go back

16. Esau Jacob The Patriarchs Abraham (Hagar) (Sarah) Ishmael Isaac (Rebekah) (Zilpah) (Leah) (Rachel) (Bilhah) Gad Asher Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Joseph Dan Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin Issachar Zebulun

17. The 12 Tribes The Patriarchs Abraham (Hagar) (Sarah) Ishmael Isaac (Rebecca) Esau Jacob (Zilpah) (Leah) (Rachel) (Bilhah) Gad Asher Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Joseph Dan Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin Issachar Zebulun

18. Jacob Going Back • The final sequence of Jacob story finds Jacob returning to Canaan. • 1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp." And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.“Literally Double Camp” (32:1-2) • Jacob is worried to confront Esau, he sent a lot of gifts to soften his anger • However, a more tiring confrontation would come before he had the chance to meet his brother. • All alone and completely vulnerable he met a fighting deity face to face.

19. Wrestling with God !! • 22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

20. Wrestling with God !! • 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." 28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

21. Wrestling with God !! • 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." 31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.

22. Wrestling with God !! • Unlike his previous actions, Jacob asked only for a blessing (verse 26). • Finally Jacob had come to realize that the only important thing in life is to be blessed of God. • Esau could neither provide nor prevent the blessing of God. • It was not Esau that stood in the way of Jacob’s blessing in the land of Canaan. On the one hand, it was God Who opposed him. On the other, it was Jacob himself, who by means of his trickery and deceit attempted to produce spiritual blessings through carnal means. • The blessing of God must be obtained from God himself, and clinging to Him in helpless dependence, not by trying to manipulate Him, must do this.

23. Wrestling with God !! A realization of this fact brought about a dramatic change in the character and conduct of Jacob, and thus his name was changed to reflect this transformation. Jacob’s name changed from Supplanter to Israel “wrestled with God”

24. An Incident at ShechemGenesis 34 • The influence of the Canaanites • Dinah

25. Succession? • Reuben, • natural heir, disavowed because of illicit relation with father’s concubine (35:22) • Simeon and Levi • because of their crime at Shechem • Judah next in line • Joseph • favored as firstborn from Rachel, Jacob’s favorite

26. Election • 6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." 8That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9For this is the word of promise: "At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son." • 10And 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), 12it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."

27. Election • 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." 16So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. • 17For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." 18Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. • 19You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" 20But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" 21Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

28. Election Rules • God is free to choose and man is also free • God in his foreknowledge knows wo is going to be with Him • You cannot question God, He is the Creator • God is Merciful and He cannot contradict His nature • Example Pharaoh hardening

29. An Incident in SchechemGenesis 34 • The influence of the Canaanites • Dinah

30. Symmetry in Jacob Story • A--Birth of Jacob and Esau: Jacob gets the birthright (25)  B--Isaac and Abimelech: conflict over land (26)C--Jacob flees from Esau with the blessing (27)  D--Jacob at Bethel: "house of God" (28)       E--Jacob stays with Laban (29-31)  D'--Jacob at Penuel: "face of God" (32)     C'--Jacob and Esau reconciled (33)   B'--Jacob and Shechem: conflict over marriage (34)A'--Return to Canaan and death of Isaac (35)

31. The Career of JosephGenesis 37-50 • Joseph, favored: Firstborn of Rachel, • Coat “of many colors” • Dreams of ascendancy • Sun, Moon, Stars • Sold into slavery by his brothers • Imprisoned by Potiphar • Interprets dreams • Butler • Baker

32. Judah & TamarGenesis 38 • Israelite law of levirate marriage • Once Tamar realized that Judah would not provide her with a husband surrogate, she devised her own plan • We see the contrast between Judah and Joseph. Judah failed in his responsibility to his son and was exposed because of his sexual desire. Joseph upheld his responsibility to his master, Potiphar, by refusing to give in to the sexual advances of Potiphar's wife.

33. The Ascendancy of Joseph • Pharaoh’s Dreams • 7 Fat Cows, 7 Lean Cows • 7 Plump Heads of Grain, 7 Thin Heads • Joseph called to interpret • Joseph appointed Prime Minister of Egypt • Famine brings his brothers to beg for food • Keeps Simeon as a hostage for Benjamin • 2nd Visit: Benjamin with them • Jacob and the family migrate to Egypt

34. The 12 Tribes The Patriarchs Abraham (Hagar) (Sarah) Ishmael Isaac (Rebecca) Esau Jacob (Zilpah) (Leah) (Rachel) (Bilhah) Gad Asher Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Joseph Dan Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin Issachar Zebulun

35. (Keturah) Zimran Jokshan Medan Midian Ishbak Shuah Sheba Dedan Ephah Epher Hanoch Abidah Eldaah The Descendants of Abraham Abraham (Hagar) (Sarah) Ishmael Isaac (Rebekah) Jacob Esau (Bedouins) (?Saudi Arabia) (Zilpah) (Leah) (Rachel) (Bilhah) Gad Asher Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Joseph Dan Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Benjamin Issachar Zebulun