JACOB BECOMES ISRAEL

JACOB BECOMES ISRAEL

Susie: Of course, when Esau found out that Jacob had received their father’s blessing, he was furious! He plotted to wait until their father died and then murder his younger brother. However, word got around to Rebekah about Esau’s wrath and his plan. She warned Jacob and told him to hide out at her brother’s place until Esau cooled down. Then she went to Isaac to make sure Jacob would be sent away:

Genesis 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Susie: Knowing Isaac would do anything to please her, Rebekah urged him to forbid Jacob from marrying any of the women in the region where they were staying. She told him if that happened it would ruin her life completely. I had never noticed before that Rebekah had planted this idea in Isaac’s head. I had just assumed that he was following his own father’s advice not to marry a Canaanite.

Genesis 28:1-2 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

Susan: Since Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, he now gives him his assignment as heir to the Abrahamic covenant. He was doing this as a result of Rebekah’s conversations with him, but in order to fulfill his purpose according to the covenant, Jacob could not marry one of the idol worshippers of Canaan.

Susie: Rebekah’s motives may have been to save Jacob’s life from Esau’s murderous anger, but the Lord was using her to insure the purity of His people. Therefore, Isaac gave Jacob the same instructions he had received from his father, Abraham. He was to go to their extended family, specifically his Uncle Laban’s branch, to find a suitable, God-fearing wife.

Genesis 28:3-4 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

Susan: Isaac again rehearsed the promises of God’s covenant with Abraham which were now to be given to Jacob. Isaac passed the torch to his younger son, Jacob, in fulfillment of God’s prophecy made to Rebekah when she carried the twins in her womb.

Susie: Jacob would have many descendants, he and his descendants would enjoy God’s blessings, and they would eventually own the land of Canaan where they were currently nomads.

Genesis 28:5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Susan: Jacob, in obedience to his father, began the journey to find a wife among his mother’s relatives.

Genesis 28:6-9 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Susan: Esau saw that his father would not be pleased if he married a Canaanite woman. However, he chose to go the black sheep side of the family, and marry a descendant of Ishmael, Abraham’s other son. Perhaps he felt like a black sheep because he had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew and had not received his father’s blessing. Either that or he just wasn’t bright enough to realize this was not a wise choice. We know he wasn’t too sharp since he so easily gave up his birthright.

Genesis 28:10-11 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

Susie: On the way to visit Laban, Jacob camped for the night using stones for pillows.

Susan: Oh! That’s a big ouch! Laying your head on a rock is better than putting your face in the dirt. 

Genesis 28:12-14 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Susie: Angels traveling up and down a ladder or staircase from Heaven to earth could be symbolic of God’s continual involvement in the affairs of men. This vision, coupled with God’s promises to him, would assure Jacob of his safety on his quest to find a wife.

Susan: God identified Himself as the God of Jacob’s grandfather and father. God promised to give Jacob the land where he slept that night and the surrounding area in all directions as a permanent possession. God told Jacob He would exponentially increase his family for generations and that through Jacob’s family, all the other families of the world would be blessed. This was a confirmation directly from God that the Abrahamic covenant would now apply to Jacob and his descendants.

Genesis 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Susan: God says, in essence, “I got your back, Jacob. No need to fear.”

Susie: Yes, indeed. God promised to keep Jacob safe and bring him back to the Promised Land. Little did Jacob know that he would be gone from the land for over fourteen years! We are not going to go over the familiar story of Jacob working seven years to marry Rachel just to be tricked into marrying her sister Leah and then working another seven years for Rachel. Let’s just say that his love for Rachel was intense!

Genesis 28:16-17 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Susan: Jacob awoke from almost a dead sleep and realized he had been in the presence of the Lord.

Susie: He was appropriately awestruck and fearful.

Genesis 28:18-19 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Susan: Jacob used the same stone upon which he dreamed and had the vision to erect an altar of remembrance. He named the place Bethel which means “house of God” or “place where God is worshipped.” It was previously called “Luz” which may have referred to a tree, perhaps an almond tree growing there.

Genesis 28:20-22And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Susan: John MacArthur explains this verse well:

The MacArthur Study Bible note:

28:22 a tenth. Tithing, though not commanded by God, was obviously already known and voluntarily practiced, and served to acknowledge God’s providential beneficence in the donor’s life (see note on 14:20). Jacob may have been bargaining with God, as if to buy His favor rather than purely worshiping God with his gift, but it is best to translate the “if” (v. 20) as “since” and see Jacob’s vow and offering as genuine worship based on confidence in God’s promise (vv. 13–15).

Susie: Fast forward several years. Jacob has worked fourteen years tending Uncle Laban’s animals in order to pay the bride price for Leah whom he was deceived into marrying and her sister Rachel whom he loved. He and his family (his wives had begun having children by this time) were now traveling back to Canaan. Jacob was nervous about the reception they might receive from Esau. He sent his wives and children across a brook and was completely alone.

Genesis 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

Susie: Who was this mysterious man who initiated a wrestling match with Jacob?

Susan: Jacob experienced a theophany, an encounter with the pre-incarnate Jesus in human form.

Genesis 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

Susie: The Lord obviously did not engage His full power in this wrestling match and allowed Jacob to have the upper hand for a time.

Susan: The pre-incarnate Jesus gave Jacob a divine dislocation of the hip. This would a permanent thorn in his flesh reminding him of this encounter and from where his strength came. He would constantly be reminded that he depended on God’s grace rather than his own abilities.

Genesis 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Susie: Jacob apparently knew he was wrestling more than a mere man because he refused to let go until the Lord blessed him.

Genesis 32:27-28 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

Susan: In giving the Lord his name, Jacob is admitting his sin of being a supplanter. God blessed him with the new name Israel which means “God will prevail.”

Susie: An interesting idea just hit me . . . the nations who occupied Canaan would see the Israelites as “supplanters” because they would see them as stealing their land. However, God would prevail by replacing the idol worshippers with His own people. Therefore, the Bible accurately calls God’s people both the “sons of Jacob” and the “Israelites.”

Psalm 105:6 (NASB) O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!

2 Corinthians 11:22 (NASB) Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

QUESTIONS

1.         Why did Isaac send Jacob to Rebekah’s family to find a bride?

2.         Isaac made it clear that Jacob would inherit the promises of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham. What were those promises?

3.         What did Jacob see in his dream?

4.         What did God confirm in this dream?

5.         What did Jacob name the place where he dreamed?

6.         Since Jacob believed God’s promise of protection and provision, what did he vow to give back to God?

7.         Who was the man who wrestled with Jacob?

8.         How did the man overcome Jacob?

9.         What new name did the Lord give Jacob and what does it mean?