Israel

    Jacob is getting old, his sons are starting to act in over-zealous and wicked ways, but he has no power to stop them. An entire city tricked and then massacred by two of his sons, after the prince of said town had defiled his daughter. Surrounded by angry and violent pagans ready to kill Jacob and his family, thus extinguishing God's people on the earth, Jacob makes the right choice. He turns to the God who has sustained him before Laban and Esau, Yahwah, the Lord God of Abraham and Isaac.

Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone."

    Arriving in Bethel, the Lord renews His promise and blessing to Jacob and names Jacob Israel. 

    Recently I read an article that claimed that the bible was full of "paradoxs" (in a good way!). While seeing exactly where the writer was coming from, I disagree. From our limited viewpoint God's purposes and works can seem to conflict with the people and nations he acts towards, however it is, in a manner of speaking, the most perfect and "logical" solution possible.  This is the  situation we see in Israel's life- he acts in devious and deceptive ways, he acts in stupid and lustous ways  around Rachel, and often speaks doubtfully about the future. However he also shows great faith and trust in the Lord, he delivers blessings to many people and his journey is  an example to many. This  seeming "paradox" empitimises the battle occuring in every believer- the old man of sin, vs the new man of grace. The Lord tries Israel and purifies him through adversity. He does the same with Israel's children: foolish, wicked and murderous; proud, boastful and lazy, they are hardly the desired stock with which to begin a great nation! Jacob's favouritism toward Joseph causes bitterness and murderous intent, the family is split in half. But, the Lord uses this for good, he moulds them all and brings them to be the leaders of His nation.
     The last 17 years of Israel's life are spent at Goshen, in Eygpt. The patriach is described as "blessing" the Pharoah- quite a job for the lonely fugitive fleeing from his brother, whom we saw earlier! However, Israel instructs Jospeh, upon his death, to return his body to the land that the Lord has promised his descendants- a testimony to Israel's trust in God's Promise. (This promise of a Land and City to dwell in continues to us today! There is a place of peace and joy, the one that each believer longs for.)
      Before he dies and goes to be with his God, Israel blessed his sons and his grandchildren- interestingly he placed the younger, Ephraim, higher than the elder, Manesseh. In the final blessing Israel gives a beautiful testimony to the God that died for his sins and who led him through all his troubles:

 "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
   the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
  the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
   and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
   and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

Purification

    Against the backdrop of Laban repeatedly changing his agreement with Jacob- management of his flocks in return for a flock of his own- Jacob is told to leave Laban and return to Canaan, by the Lord.
   Jacob has been shown the folly  of deceitfullness and idolitary, but the Lord still has another lesson for him- that of total trust in Him. In the making of Israel*,  Jacob must come to rely on God entirely and his field trip for this lesson involved both the leaving of Laban and the returning to his murderous brother, Esau.
    When Jacob tells both Rachel and Leah of his plans to leave, both support him fully. In this, we see some of the Lords work in them both. However Rachel decides to steal some of her father's idols, therefore giving him a reason to pursue them all. Why she did this, I dont know. Maybe she truly believed they were 'Gods' or maybe she just wanted some comfort from memories of her past. Whatever the reason, she acted against her husband, and the one true God. Perhaps it was due to these spiritual differences between Leah and Rachel, both in humility and love of God, that meant that the Messiah came  from Leah's line, and not that of Rachel.
    So, with Laban in hot pursuit, they flee South. However the God who had promised never to leave Jacob kept him secure. He visited Laban and warned him not to touch Jacob or Jacob's family.

'"God saw my affliction and the labour of my hands and rebuked  you last night."'

'Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daugheters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned  home.'

    Having trusted in the Lords protection and promises to  overcome Laban, Jacob then approaches a much bigger issue-  that of Esau. Jacob's messengers, sent to promote peace between them, returned and told of a four hundred man army heading right toward them! Jacob, who had obviously grown in spiritual maturity since his days with Esau and his parents, immediately turns to his God and prays a prayer of confession and supplication. We are starting to see a man transformed and shaped by God.

'"O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"'

     You know  what.....the Lord answers that prayer most magnificently! But first, we have one of the most amazing and curious stories  in the whole Bible. I dont think I can begin to explain it  or tell it to you, so Im just gunna show you:

     'And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven 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 there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.'

     I dont doubt for a single moment that this incident happened exactly as the Bible tells  us  it did. But it is also symbolic of Jacob's, and our own, stuggle in prayer, Jacob is commended for "striving". It may appear to us that the Lord is not answering our prayers, but our  God is not constrained by time. For him one day is like a year, and a year is like a day. He is patient and shall answer our prayers, not neccasarily for our sake, but for His own Glory. Jacob is named  'Israel' (meaning, 'He strives with God'). Obviously Jacob is now trusting in His Lord and God and seeking His blessing. The Lord now can answer His prayer about Esau, and He does so with a touch of humour and a dash of Wonder. Jacob is seen approaching with four hundred men:

'But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.'

      What follows is one of those horrible akward moments: Jacob has given Esau gifts, Esau tries to give them back, Jacob tells him to keep them, Esau insists  but Jacob insists more. How amazing that God made what should, by rights, have been a war turn into a gift-giving match!!
      Jacob erects an alter to his God and he names it El-Elohe-Israel (meaning "God-the God of Israel"), this is Jacob's  own God! His God! This is a great testimony to the Lord's help and guidance throughtout his life!
     This is a tale of Jacob's 'purification' and 'sanctification' (long words), gradually Jacob was being made to  be more and more like his saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. It certainly wasnt easy, he experienced marital disharmony, the threat of war and murder, financial misdealings and rebellion amongst his own children, but the Lord  led and moulded him. If we truly wish to be "like Jesus" we must trust God to lead us through these trials and journeys. There is a danger of viewing our "cross" as being simply a spiritual matter, or as being easy. However, like Jacob,  we will experience material problems, lonliness and fear. Lets pray that, like Jacob, we will seek our God's help and support.


     We now reach Jacob's elder days, and there is  still much to be learnt about trusting in the Lord God. What a story this is turning out to be!!

* By 'Israel' I mean both the nation and also Jacob himself- the name 'Israel' eventually  came  to replace 'Jacob'

the deceiver deceived

   The hopeless romantic, head over heels in lurrrveee- perhaps this isnt the picture we have of Jacob at this point in our story. However you would struggle to find someone more love-struck than Jacob was with Rachel.
    The Lord has led Jacob, in flight from his brother, across Canaan and he has arrived at the very pasturing grounds of his distant family. Arriving there he is utterly captivated by Rachel, his cousin, who was "beautiful  in form and appearance." Unfotunately, Jacob appears to place Rachel on a very high pedestal, one bordering on idolitatry. He allows himself to be used by his uncle Laban, who procures seven, and eventually 14, years labour out of him, in return for  Rachel's hand in marraige.
     In the background, throughout the courtship, we see someone else- Rachel's older sister, Leah. Leah, of the "weak eyes" as the bible describes her. Leah suffered many years as her younger sister recieved all the attention and while she was ignored and not even regarded for marraige. Finally she sees a handsome man come from across the land, and wisk Rachel off of her feet! One can feel sympathy for her plight.
     However, Laban's deceitful ways, mixed with Leah's sadness and Jacob's apparent "love blindness" leads to a dreadful situation. Jacob marrys Leah, thinking her to be Rachel, and great unhappiness comes from this. Presumably Leah must have been "in" on the whole shabby deception and Rachel must have been restrained somewhere during the so-called "wedding".
    The first years of the marraige, approximately 7, are full of bitterness and fighting, in such quantities and ways that even today's soap operas might quibble about airing it! The sisters are prepared to bargain over sleeping with Jacob, in return for ancient forms  of "aphrodisac" and think nothing of letting him lie with their maids rather than the other. Even Jacob seems to be perfectly content with  the situation, which allowed him sexual variety whichout any bother. Perhaps  the only thing to be taken from this entire sad tale is the dealings of the Lord towards Leah, who apparently comes to know the God of her grandfather, Abraham, by His special personal name.

"When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren."

     Although Leah seems to place any hope of  gaining love from her husband solely  on her children, she eventually comes to be content with what the Lord has granted her.

"And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the Lord" Therefore she called his name Judah*. Then she ceased bearing".

*Judah meaning 'Praise'

     I think that this passage reminds us to watch our 'romantic natures' and to ensure that the partner is not idolized. No relationship will be truly compelete and fruitful unless the Lord  is over all.   One also wonders if Jacob's dealings with Laban in this way were not some form of chastisement for his own deception- but that is pure speculation.
     After this rather sorry account, the story of Jacob take a drastic swing as he leaves Laban's company much wealthier and maturer than when he arrived, and we see how God had been with him and had blessed him, but thats another story.

Blessings, blessings and more blessings

   So, smashing onwards with Jacob, we reach the infamous "blessing deception". In this short period in his life, only a few days, Jacob receives three great blessings:

     Blessing #1- Isaac blesses Jacob, masquerading as Esau. The deception passes between brother and brother, father and son, and between husband and wife. Esau is "robbed" of his blessing. However there was no magic power in Isaac and words are only words, God had promised Jacob the inheritance and Jacob got the inheritance.
Saying that, God certainly did not condone what Jacob had done and he had to flee his family, and even suffered a similar twist when Leah masqueraded as Rachel on their wedding night.

"May God give you the dew of Heaven, and of the fatness of the earth.
and plenty of grain and wine.
Lets people's serve you, and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mothers sons bow down to you,
and blessed be everyone that blesses you."

      Blessing #2- After all the events become clear Isaac appears to realise that he has been fighting against God's will and he finally passes on the wonderful blessing the Lord had given to Abraham and himself.

"God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!"

      Blessing #3- Jacob leaves home in a frantic rush and arrives at Bethel- it is here that he has the dream of a great ladder between heaven and earth, constantly in use by the Angels. It is during this dream that he receives the greatest blessing he could ever hope or long for.

"I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 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 promised you."

     I love the story of Jacob and its here that it all meets up and works together! This is the crux of the matter! The Lord tells Jacob, "in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed." and I think that Jacob himself is blessed through his offspring. Hundreds of years later the Lord Jesus Christ would be born as a man and would die on a cross for the sins of His people, Jacob included.
     Jacob, the deciever, who robbed Esau of his birthright and his blessing; Jacob, the plotter; Jacob..... whom the Bible attributes absaloutley  no blaim to at all.....why?! Because he had none. Jesus took his blame and paid the price, took the punishment. Through Jesus (the very offspring talked of in Jacob's blessing) Jacob was blessed himself! Did Jacob deserve that grace? No! Not at all. But Jacob was loved of God, and the Lord blessed him with forgiveness. That is why I love the story of Jacob so much, he was made a Trophy of God's Grace.

Jacob awoke from his dream and rejoiced:

"Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.... How awesome is this place!"

Birthright for Broth

     After reading through the account of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob, I am left confused, my notes are equally baffling, I have attempted to type up my thoughts and they leave me seeing little tinsywinsy circles in the corner of my vision. Perhaps I am trying to read in too deeply. In trying to see what is going on in the minds of Esau and Jacob, I have missed the obvious.
       Jacob's motives in procuring the blessings of his father (and those of the Lord) are up for discussion; especially as he had already been promised those very blessings from before his birth! He has widely been critisised for his "devious" ways, however the Bible never judges Jacob as being in the wrong here, Esau is always named as the uncaring one.

"Thus Esau despised his birthright."

"....or  unholy, like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal."

      Its clear that Esau cared little for the spiritual blessings of the Lord, although he later came to regret the loss of material gains. Reading on in the next chapter, I see that Esau married two women, neither believers, and this caused great bitterness amongst his family. It would seem that Esau repeatedly cared more for the world he found himself in than the God of his father and grandfather. Esau was reknown for his great hunting skills, his hairy chest and his masculinity, all things that the world approve of. However these things mean little to God, rather He chooses the weak and feable of this world to be His "Trophies of Grace", Jacob was one of these.
     It should also be noted that in the next chapter, Isaac is seen to be influenced by his neighbours, the Phillistines. His fear of them and lack of trust in God, led to him lieing to them about his wife, and eventually led to his discovery and great loss of respect. Christians are never to be ensnared by the world, but rather to be a blessing to it, this was mentioned only just before in the passage, as part of the Lord's blessing to Isaac and Jacob:

"I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."

      As Christians, and spiritual heirs of Israel, we have an amazing commission to bring the blessing of Jesus' Salvation to the nations! As Isaac did, we desperately need Gods help and guidance in this task, and His protection from the "darts" of the world. The Lord has given us our "armour" and the Holy Spirit for these very jobs!
     We need to learn from Jacob and Esau and need to firmly hold on to the blessings God has given us, constantly reminding ourselves of God's goodness to us, namely His death upon the cross for our sins.

Wonders........?

  After a recent re-read of many of my old notes- then written in the ancient form of "handwriting", a now little used art- I was excited to find my studies of Solomon, Paul's Friends, the Armour of God and other fascinating topics! I will be trying to post some of my old thoughts and ideas as the days pass, however I am currently studying Jacob, what a guy! I began my study into Jacob with a lot of zeal, people's opinons of him are very varied, stretching from disdain at his 'devious' ways right to uttmost respect for his life and heritage.   
     In Jacob we see an outsider running from his dad and brother to long-lost relatives in far lands, there he loses his heart to a beautiful girl. However he ends up married to someone he doesnt love, finally joining with his first-love, we see the sorry story of his first wife, her grief and sadness but final contentment. The family returns and amidst great tension and fear, our "hero" faces his elder brother once again.  Finally we follow the actions and lusts of the divided and devious sons of Jacob.
    This is a story in a story, Jacob's tale is an epic one, we follow him from his birth to his death. However it is but a second in the greatest story of all, the epic of the Bible. Reaching from the very creation of the worlds to the future, the Bible spans centuries, written by Kings, Farmers, Poets, Lovers, Shepards, Fisherman, Manufacturers and Musicians, revealing things which Angels strained to know, wonders that leave us open mouthed, telling the story of God's world and His people, the rebellion of the first man and the devestation that followed. And most of all, it tells us of God's great plan to end the rebellion for ever.
   Eve, the first woman, was told that one of her descendants would free man from the grip of sin, this promise continued down through Abraham and Isaac, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were told that it would continue through their youngest son, you've guessed it.... Jacob. Why Jacob and not his older brother Esau? We arent to know, who are we to question God?

"Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger."

   Jacob, emerged clutching at his brother's heel, desperate to be first! Sadly we quickly see a pattern of favouritism emerge from his parents: his father prefering Esau, due to his great skills at hunting and presumably his implied masculinity. Rebekah, however, prefered Jacob, who was known as a "quiet man, dwelling in tents". Hardly the smoothest family life, one would think! But we shall have to wait and see what happens to Jacob and his colourful brother, Esau......