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.