How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 12
Jacob’s Deception to Isaac Comes Back to Bite Him
Jacob came to a well and asked the locals if they knew of his uncle Laban. They answered that they did. Simultaneously, Laban’s daughter Rachel was bringing her father’s flock to water. Jacob stepped up and watered them for her.
For Jacob, it was love at first sight. She returned home and told her father of their meeting, and Laban rushed to meet his nephew and invited him to his house.
Laban had two daughters:
The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachael. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter as my wife.” Gn. 29:16 – 18. NLT
After the seven years elapsed, Laban threw a big wedding feast. Jacob’s wife was veiled when he entered the bedroom. In the morning, after the conjugal deed was done, the veil was removed and the once deceptive Jacob (with his father), receives his own punitive deception from Laban. His bride turned out to be Leah!
Jacob is up in arms and asks his uncle why he did this. Laban tells him that family tradition demands marrying off the older daughter first. He then makes a deal with Jacob that once the ‘bridal week’ was finished, he would give him his daughter Rachel in marriage as well. But Jacob must work another seven years for his uncle. Jacob agrees.
In this new polygamous marriage, a great rivalry began between the two brides, over who could give their husband more children. In the beginning, Rachel was barren. God saw that Leah was unloved, so He increased her fertility.
She rapidly pumped out four sons. Rachel offers her maid as a concubine, who bore him two sons. Leah, who was barren herself now, gave Jacob her maid who bore him two sons as well.
Rachel makes a deal with Leah, who was in possession of mandrakes (a plant thought to promote pregnancy). She bartered with Leah, offering her a conjugal night with Jacob for her plants. Leah bore him two more sons and a daughter.
Finally, God opens Rachel’s womb, and she gives birth to a son. At that point, Jacob approaches Laban:
“Please release me so I can go home to my own country. Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” Gn. 30:25, 26. NLT
Laban responds by acknowledging the increase of his riches due to Jacob’s labor and wants to pay him so that he will stay. Jacob answers:
“Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages.” Gn. 30:31, 32. NLT
Laban agrees, but then he tells his sons to remove those animals that Jacob wanted. Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock, and began breeding some of them to be speckled, spotted, or black. And so, Jacob amassed a fortune by his husbandry.
But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.” And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” Gn. 31:1 – 3. NLT
Jacob gathered his wives, children, servants, and his flocks and hightails it out of town. Both wives were on board with Jacob’s desire to flee from Laban. However, just before they leave, Rachel steals some or her father’s household idols.
Laban assembled some relatives to hunt Jacob down, and they pursued Jacob for seven days, catching up with them. However, God came to Laban in a dream, saying:
“I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” Gn. 31:24 NLT
Laban blusters at Jacob, telling him that he stole his daughters and grandchildren, saying that if he had just been forthcoming, Laban would have thrown a big party. That was a big lie.
Then he said that he had the power to do Jacob harm but is staying his hand because of Jehovah’s threat to Laban. Finally, he accused Jacob of taking his household idols. Jacob, unaware of Rachel’s thievery, tells Laban to search his entire camp.
Rachel was in her tent, sitting on them. When Laban searched her tent, she said she could not rise because she was menstruating. Thus, the idols were not found…
Finally, Jacob and Laban make a truce, and Laban goes home. Jacob starts his journey to Canaan, where he will have to deal with his brother Esau, whom as far as Jacob knows, is still angry with him even after 20 years have elapsed.
Peace between brothers:
As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. Gn. 32:1 NLT
Thus, Jacob is reminded of his covenantal protection. Emboldened, but still frightened, he sent messengers to Esau, to butter him up, if you will. They return saying that Esau is coming with 400 men!
Jacob panics a bit and appeals to Jehovah:
“O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’” Gn. 32:11, 12. NLT
So, Jacob is praying for deliverance from Esau’s wrath and reminding God of His covenantal promise regarding his descendants. He sends his servants to Esau, gifting his brother with 550 livestock.
That night, he sent his retinue across a river while he remained at camp:
So Jacob was left alone, and a Man [came and] wrestled with him until daybreak. When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him. Then He said, “Let Me go, for day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me.” So He asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.” But He said, “Why is it that you ask My name?” And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away.” Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip. Gn. 32:24 – 31. AMP
‘Israel’ is Hebrew for ‘struggle with God’.
How did Jacob see God’s face and still live?[1] From Christianity’s point of view, He didn’t see God’s face. He saw the only visible form of God in the in the universe at that time, the preincarnate Christ…
Jacob saw Esau coming with his 400 men, and he bowed before his brother seven times.
What happened next was totally unexpected by Jacob:
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept. Gn. 33:4 NLT
Esau asks Jacob to travel together back to his home, but Jacob tells him to go on ahead. Because of all that Jacob has in his traveling party, he must proceed slower for the cattle and the children.
Jacob decides that it would be better if he and Esau went their separate ways, and he travels to a different town to lay down roots in Canaan once more.
Jacob personalizes his God:
Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family. Gn. 35:1 – 5. NLT
Jacob is cleaning house – getting his household members to align with his one-God theology. He also made a promise to God when he had the vision of the angels going back and forth from earth to heaven on a heavenly ladder.[2]
There, he promised God that if He brought him back safely to His father’s house, after running from Esau, he would make Jehovah his personal God.[3]
God makes a safe passage for Jacob and his household to Bethel (also called Luz), and there Jacob builds an altar for Him, He appears to Jacob:
God blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.
Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” Gn. 35:9 – 12. NLT
Jacob travels with his retinue towards Ephrath (Bethlehem), and Rachel goes into a very hard labor and dies during childbirth – giving Jacob his final 12th son, Benjamin.
Ruben, Jacob and Leah’s oldest son, had sex with Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, who was also a concubine for Jacob. He did this to taint her so that his father would not try to produce any further offspring. He was trying to make sure that no one would supplant his mother.
Jacob finds out, but he keeps it to himself for now…
Jacob travels to see his father. Isaac is 180 years old. Soon thereafter, he passed and was buried by Jacob and Esau.
Esau moves to Edom. His descendants would be called Edomites…
[1] Ex. 33:20
[2] Gn. 28:12, 13.
[3] Gn. 28:20, 21.
Building Better Americans 129
How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 11
Building the Patriarchs
The Patriarchs consisted of the male lineage that God used to create the nation of Israel – beginning with Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob. Jacob’s lineage gives rise to the ‘second line’ of Patriarchs, which consist of his twelve sons – the Patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Let’s look at the further events after Isaac’s birth that brought that to be…
When Isaac was approximately two years of age, making Ishmael about 16, Abraham threw a big party to celebrate the weaning of Isaac. And that’s when the trouble begins:
…Sarah saw Ishmael – the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my own son, Isaac. I won’t have it!” Gn. 21:9, 10. NLT
Abraham was extremely upset because Ishmael was his son as well. However, God came to Abraham to soothe him, saying:
“Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son too.” Gn. 21:12, 13. NLT
I doubt Abraham was comforted. Yet, he was obedient to God and sent Hagar and Ishmael away.
Hagar and Ishmael are crossing the desert and they run out of water. She places Ishmael in the shade of a nearby bush, and then sits not too far away and begins to cry. Then, the angel of God calls to her from heaven:
“Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” Gn. 21:17, 18. NLT
God provides a water well; they make it across the desert, and God fulfills His promise to Hagar:
And God was with the boy as he grew up…His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt. Gn. 21:20, 21. NLT
Abraham receives his greatest test of faith:
…God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” Gn. 22:1 NLT
That’s Abraham. Ready and willing to answer God’s commands. (Note that it is Abraham who is to be tested, not Isaac.) Jehovah continues:
“Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Gn. 22:2 NLT
Abraham packed up his donkey with firewood, had Isaac carry it, and brought along two servants. When they reached 1/3 of the way, Abraham told the servants to stay with the donkey, and tells them that he and his son were going to worship, and then return to them.
Along the way, Isaac asked his father the whereabouts of the sheep for the burnt offering. Abraham replied:
“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son…” Gn. 22:8 NLT
You might be wondering why Abraham seems so nonchalant about this process. We can take a Christian divergent leap to the New Testament for an explanation:
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. Heb. 11:17 – 19. NLT
And this is born out in this event, but with a very different twist. When Abraham and Isaac arrived where God had directed them, Abraham built an altar, arrayed the wood on top, and tied Isaac onto the top. Isaac doesn’t say anything.
Abraham pulled out a knife to complete the sacrifice, when suddenly the angel of the LORD shouted out from heaven:
“Abraham! Abraham!
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” Gn. 22:11 NLT
“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Gn. 22:12 NLT
Consider what we are reading here. Is God not omniscient? Jehovah arranged this event as a ‘faith lesson’ for all future time…
When Abraham heard the angel, he looked up and spotted a ram with its horns entangled in a nearby undergrowth. He retrieved the ram and released Isaac, to that the ram became the sacrifice provided by God.
Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed – all because you have obeyed me. Gn. 22:15 – 18. NLT
So, in addition to all the blessings of multitudinous descendants, who will be doing God’s work by educating people how to have a great life by revealing Jehovah’s moral imperatives, He will also fortify them to be able to conquer those who would attempt to thwart their mission.
The family plot:
Sarah died when she was 127 years old. Abraham bought a parcel of land with a cave on it, (cave of Machpelah) in Canaan. He purchased it from the Hittites, (one of the peoples that made up the Canaanites). It is of great significance to the Jews because the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and his son Jacob, would be buried there, as well as three matriarchs.
Abraham marries off his son:
It seems that Isaac is a bit slack about finding a bride so that his father’s descendants will perpetuate. So, Abraham, who is getting really old, decides his son needs some help. He calls his servant to him and instructs him to find a wife for Isaac, but not from the Canaanites, but from the region of Mesopotamia:
“Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.” Gn. 24:4 NLT
The servant takes 10 camels and some of Abraham’s treasures and travels to the city of Nahor (named after Abraham’s brother). He settles by a well just outside of the city at a time the women would come to draw water. There, he prays to God, asking Him to send the right girl for Isaac, to grace Abraham, and let his servant know, if, when he asks for a drink of water, will do so, and then will offer to water his camels as well. It would take almost two hours to properly water those camels. So, this would be a great act of kindness and grace from the girl.
After he had just finished praying, a beautiful maiden approached with a water jar. And she does everything Abraham’s servant prayed for. He was assured she was the one. So, he gave her gifts of a gold nose ring and two gold arm bands.
He asked her whose daughter she was. She, Rebecca, informed him that she was the daughter of Abraham’s nephew, making her Isaac’s second cousin. The servant follows by asking Rebecca if he and his camels, (and apparently some servants of his own), could stay for the evening at her father’s house. She invited him to do so.
Once there, the servant relays all of Abraham’s commands to her father and brother, his own prayers, and how all these events manifested with his meeting with Rebecca. And then he asks the family if they would allow him to take her to Isaac to be married. They tried to stall him a bit to wrangle a few more gifts out of him, but Rebecca stepped up and closed the deal.
Isaac then took her as wife.[1]
Abraham is laid to rest:
Abraham died at the age of 175 years and was buried with his wife. Ishmael and Isaac are reunited to complete the deed.
After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac… Gn. 25:11 NLT
(After this Scripture, there is a description of Ishmael’s lineage, and then mention of his death at 137 years of age.)[2]
The battle between the twins:
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca. Unfortunately, she was barren. Isaac prayed that she would conceive, and she did, but 20 years would pass before it was manifested.
The children struggled within her womb. Troubled, she inquired of Jehovah. He answers:
“The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.” Gn. 25:23 NLT
Even at birth, the boys were different (fraternal twins) and contentious:
The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Gn. 25:25, 26. NLT
As they grow up, each parent’s favoritism enforces the contention between the boys:
As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Gn. 25:27, 28. NLT
Esau sells his birthright:
One day, Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in famished from a day in the woods, declaring that he was starving and asked his brother for some of his stew. Jacob saw an opening to try to gain some advantage over Esau by asking him for his birthright (rights given to the firstborn son), in exchange for the stew. Esau responded:
“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” Gn. 25:32 NLT
Esau swore an oath to sell all his rights as the firstborn to Jacob for his stew, and then he ate it, and left. The outcome?
He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. Gn. 25:34 NLT
God blesses Isaac:
Isaac’s home was in the city of Gerar, a Philistine town in modern-day south-central Israel. A famine had hit, and so Isaac was going to go to Egypt (like his father Abraham did when an earlier famine struck), but God told him to stay where he was:
“Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.” Gn. 26 3 – 5. NLT
What God is doing here is passing the Abrahamic covenant onto Isaac.
And blessed Isaac was:
When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. Gn. 26:12, 13. NLT
God comes to Isaac and again reinforces His blessing:
“I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.” Gn. 26:24 NLT
Returning to the twins:
The rebellious heart of Esau begins to manifest:
At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives…But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. Gn. 26:34, 35. NLT
Esau purposely married pagan Canaanite women rather than going to Rebecca’s family region to marry godly ones. God’s plans held no value for him…
Isaac was now getting old, his eyesight was failing, and he wanted to prepare for what might be an imminent death. He would do so by first passing on his birthright blessing onto Esau, (unaware that Esau sold his birthright, and thus forfeiting his ability to receive the associated birthright blessing). (See Heb. 12:16, 17.)
Isaac calls Esau to him, but he can’t see him well enough to accurately distinguish his identity. Yet he trusts him when he identifies himself. Isaac tells him that he is old and unsure of when death will visit him. He asks Esau to go hunt wild game and prepare his favorite dish and bring it to him. Consequently, he tells his firstborn son, that he will pronounce his blessing over him.[3]
Rebecca overhears this conversation and relays it to Jacob. She hatches a plan, not forgetting that God told her the older son would serve the younger.[4] Rebecca tells Jacob to bring her two baby goats from the herd and says that she will prepare a dish for him to serve to his father, to receive the blessing before Isaac dies. Jacob protests that he is not hairy like his brother, and that Isaac will suspect foul play. His mother runs him off to do what she says.
Jacob returns with the goats, she prepares the dish, puts a suit of Esau’s finest clothes onto Jacob (so he would smell like Esau), and then covers his hands and neck with the goat skins, gives him the prepared dish and sends him off to his father.[5]
Jacob enters Isaac’s room, who asks, ‘…which of my sons are you?’ Gn. 27:18 NLT
Jacob replies:
“It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.” Gn. 27:19 NLT
Isaac asks him how he could have found the game so quickly, and Jacob tells him that God put it in his path. Isaac then bids his son to come close to him so that he can discern what son it is. He thinks the voice sounds like Jacob but rubbing his ‘hairy hands’ leads him to mostly believe that it is Esau.
Isaac asks for the meal, and as he does so, he asks Jacob (thinking he’s Esau), for a kiss, whereupon he could smell the scent of Esau on his clothes. So, Isaac pronounces his blessing:
“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.” Gn. 27:28, 29. NLT
Almost immediately after Jacob left the room, Esau returns from his hunt, prepares the wild game, and brings it to his father, asking him to eat it and to bless him. Isaac is terrified when he realizes what he had been tricked into doing and tells Esau what has occurred. Esau is beside himself:
“Oh my father, what about me? Bless me too!” Gn. 27:34 NLT
Isaac replies: “Your Brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.” Gn. 27:35 NLT
Esau moans: “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?” Gn. 27:36 NLT
Isaac replies: “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine – what is left for me to give you my son?” Gn. 27:37 NLT
(Jacob will have no additional brothers; thus, Isaac is stressing the vast sweeping authority he conferred upon him.)
Esau pleads one more time: “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me too!” Then Esau broke down and wept. Gn. 27:38 NLT
Isaac concedes: “You will live away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the heaven above. You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.” Gn. 27:39, 40. NLT
How does this all set with Esau?
From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” Gn. 27:41 NLT
Somehow, Rebecca hears of Esau’s intentions and tells Jacob to prepare to flee to her brother Laban’s house – located in upper Mesopotamia (modern-day southeastern Turkey). And surprisingly, Isaac calls for Jacob and blesses him:
“You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” Gn. 28:1 – 4. NLT
So, Jacob travels towards his uncle Laban’s house and the first night during his journey, he stopped and made camp. He rested for the evening. And then a wondrous thing happened:
As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” Gn. 28:12 – 15. NLT
What is happening here? In Jacob’s night vision, God transfers the Abrahamic covenant upon him! Now, the perpetuation of the Patriarchal line is ensured.
Upon awakening, Jacob understood the significance of his vision; and he says:
“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” Gn. 28:16, 17. NLT
[1] Gn. 24:5 – 67.
[2] Gn. 25:12 – 18.
[3] Gn. 27:1-4
[4] Gn. 25:23
[5] Gn. 27:5 – 17.