Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are among the most significant people in the Old Testament. It is important to realise that this significance is not based upon their personal characters, but upon the character of God.  They were all men who earned the grudging respect and even fear of their peers; they were wealthy and powerful, and yet each was capable of lying, deceit, and selfishness.  They were not the perfect heroes we might have expected; instead, they were just like us, trying to please God, but often falling short.

Jacob was the third link in God’s plan to start a nation from Abraham. The success of that plan was more often in spite of than because of Jacob’s life.  Before Jacob was born, God promised that his plan would be worked out through Jacob and not his twin brother, Esau.  Although Jacob’s methods were not always respectable, his skill, determination, and patience have to be admired.  As we follow him from birth to death, we are able to see God’s work.

Jacob’s life had four stages, each marked by a personal encounter with God. In the first stage, Jacob lived up to his name, which means “he grasps the heel” (figuratively, “he deceives”).  He grabbed Esau’s heel at birth, and by the time he fled from home, he had also grabbed his brother’s birthright and blessing.  During his flight, God first appeared to him.  Not only did God confirm to Jacob his blessing, but he awakened in Jacob a personal knowledge of himself.  In the second stage, Jacob experienced life from the other side, being manipulated and deceived by Laban.  But there is a curious change: the Jacob of stage one would simply have left Laban, whereas the Jacob of stage two, after deciding to leave, waited six years for God’s permission.  In the third stage, Jacob was in a new role as grabber.  This time, by the Jordan River, he grabbed on to God and wouldn’t let go.  He realised his dependence on the God who had continued to bless him.  His relationship to God became essential to his life, and his name was changed to Israel, “he struggles with God”.  Jacob’s last stage of life was to be grabbed – God achieved a firm hold on him.  In responding to Joseph’s invitation to come to Egypt, Jacob was clearly unwilling to make a move without God’s approval.

Can you think of times when God has made himself known to you? Do you allow yourself to meet him as you study his word?  What difference have these experiences made in your life?  Are you more like the young Jacob, forcing God to track you down in the desert of your own plans and mistakes?  Or are you more like the Jacob who placed his desires and plans before God for his approval before taking any action?

Strengths and accomplishments:

• Father of the 12 tribes of Israel
• Third in the Abrahamic line of God’s plan
• Determined, willing to work long and hard for what he wanted
• Good businessman

Weaknesses and mistakes:

• When faced with conflict, relied on his own resources rather than going to God for help
• Tended to accumulate wealth for its own sake

Lessons from his life:

• Security does not lie in the accumulation of goods
• All human intentions and actions – for or evil – are woven by God into his ongoing plan

Vital statistics:

• Where: Canaan
• Occupation: Shepherd, livestock owner
• Relatives: Parents: Isaac and Rebekah. Brother: Esau.  Father-in-law: Laban.  Wives: Rachel and Leah.  Twelve sons and one daughter are mentioned in the Bible

Key verse:  “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28.15).

Jacob’s story is told in Genesis 25-50. He is also mentioned in Hosea 12.2-5; Matthew 1.2; 22.32; Acts 3.13; 7.46; Romans 9.11-13; 11.26; Hebrews 11.9, 20, 21.

History seems to repeat itself here. Twice a town well at Haran was the site of significant events in one family’s story.  It was here that Rebekah met Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, who had come to find a wife for Isaac.  Some 40 years later, Rebekah’s son Jacob returned the favour by serving his cousin Rachel and her sheep from the same well.  The relationship that developed between them not only reminds us that romance is not a modern invention, but also teaches us a few lessons about patience and love.

Jacob’s love for Rachel was both patient and practical. Jacob had the patience to wait seven years for her, but he kept busy in the meantime.  His commitment to Rachel kindled a strong loyalty within her.  In fact, her loyalty to Jacob got out of hand and became self-destructive.  She was frustrated by her barrenness and desperate to compete with her sister for Jacob’s attention.  She was trying to gain from Jacob what he had already given: devoted love.

Rachel’s attempts to earn the unearnable are a picture of a much greater error we can make. Like her, we find ourselves trying somehow to earn love – God’s love.  But apart from his word, we end up with one of two false ideas.  Either we think we’ve been good enough to deserve his love or we recognise we’re not able to earn his love and assume that it cannot be ours.  If the Bible makes no other point, it shouts this one: God loves us!  His love had no beginning and is incredibly patient.  All we need to do is respond, not try to earn what is freely offered.  God has said in many ways, “I love you.  I have demonstrated that love to you by all I’ve done for you.  I have even sacrificed my Son, Jesus, to pay the price for what is unacceptable about you – your sin.  Now, live because of my love.  Respond to me; love me with your whole being; give yourself to me in thanksgiving, not as payment.”  Live life fully, in the freedom of knowing you are loved.

Strengths and accomplishments:

• She showed great loyalty to her family
• She mothered Joseph and Benjamin after being barren for many years

Weaknesses and mistakes:

• Her envy and competitiveness marred her relationship with her sister, Leah

• She was capable of dishonesty when she took her loyalty too far

• She failed to recognise that Jacob’s devotion was not dependent on her ability to have children

Lessons from her life:

• Loyalty must be controlled by what is true and right
• Love is accepted, not earned

Vital statistics:

• Where: Haran

• Occupation: Shepherdess, housewife

• Relatives: Father: Laban. Aunt: Rebekah.  Sister: Leah.  Husband: Jacob.  Sons: Joseph and Benjamin

Key verse:   “So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her” (Genesis 29.20).

Rachel’s story is told in Genesis 29-35.20. She is also mentioned in Ruth 4.11.

Common sense isn’t all that common. In fact, the common thread in many decisions is that they don’t make sense.  Esau’s life was filled with choices he must have regretted bitterly.  He appears to have been a person who found it hard to consider consequences, reacting to the need of the moment without realising what he was giving up to meet that need.  Trading his birthright for a bowl of stew was the clearest example of this weakness.  He also chose wives in direct opposition to his parents’ wishes.  He learned the hard way.

What are you willing to trade for the things you want? Do you find yourself, at times, willing to negotiate anything for what you need now?  Do your family, spouse, integrity, body, or soul get included in these deals?  Do you sometimes feel that the important parts of life escaped while you were grabbing for something else?

If so, your initial response, like Esau’s may be deep anger. In itself that isn’t wrong, as long as you direct the energy of that anger towards a solution and not towards yourself or others as the cause of the problem.  Your greatest need is to find a focal point other than “what I need now”.  The only worthy focal point is God.  A relationship with him will not only give an ultimate purpose to your life; it will also be a daily guideline for living.  Meet him in the pages of the Bible.

Strengths and accomplishments:

• Ancestor of the Edomites
• Known for his archery skill
• Able to forgive after explosive anger

Weaknesses and mistakes:

• When faced with important decisions, tended to choose according to the immediate need rather than the long-range effect
• Angered his parents by poor marriage choices

Lessons from his life:

• God allows certain events in our lives to accomplish his overall purposes, but we are still responsible for our actions
• Consequences are important to consider
• It is possible to have great anger and yet not sin

Vital statistics:

• Where: Canaan
• Occupation: Skilful hunter
• Relatives: Parents: Isaac and Rebekah. Brother: Jacob.  Wives: Judith, Basemath, and Mahalath

Key verses: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.  See to it that no-one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.  See that no-one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.  Afterwards, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected.  He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews 12.14-17).

Esau’s story is told in Genesis 25-36. He is also mentioned in Malachi 1.2, 3; Romans 9.13; Hebrews 12.16, 17.