THE ORIGIN OF THE SERVANT NATION – (2)
JACOB/ISRAEL:FATHER OF THE TWELVE TRIBES
JACOB was a remarkable person in many ways. He was born twin brother to Esau who, even though he was the elder, lost his birthright to Jacob, the younger: All this was according to God’s will. Esau was the father of the Edomites who were later to become bitter enemies of the Israelites – the descendants of Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac who was a symbol of Christ. He was the grandson of Abraham, who was the friend of The Almighty God.
We pick up the story of Jacob in the 25th Chapter of Genesis. Rebekah, the mother of Jacob, had been barren and Isaac, his father had gone to God to ask that he and Rebekah be given children. God’s answer came when Rebekah conceived and found herself with twins and in great turmoil. She then went to God to inquire as to the cause of her state. God announced that the two who were within her womb would originate two completely different people and that the elder would serve the younger. This indicates it was fore-ordained that Jacob, the younger, should receive the birthright.
Later on in the chapter we find Esau despising his birthright to the point where he sold it for a mess of pottage. Now, it may not be a literal bowl of soup or stew, but what the Scriptures illustrate is how lightly he held his birthright. But the real reason for his losing the birthright appears near the and of Genesis Chapter 26, where it states that Esau married two Hittite women, apart from the Adamic race. This was the beginning of mongrelisation which was strictly forbidden. Abraham had lived among the people of the land but would not take a wife for Isaac from their ranks. More proof of how serious was Esau’s sin appears at the end of Chapter 27. The daughters of Heth mentioned, were Canaanites because they were of Heth; who was a son of the
accursed Canaan. Furthermore, in the first verse of Chapter 28, Isaac charges Jacob not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Considering all this, it is not difficult to understand the account of Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing.
Evidently, the birthright and the blessing were two different things. No doubt, Rebekah understood the prophecy that Esau would lose the birthright to Jacob; but perhaps it was not clear to Isaac. In keeping with Hebrew tradition, the father must give a special blessing to the son who was to receive the birthright. As a rule the birthright went to the eldest son, but there had been some notable exceptions. Isaac, himself, received the birthright over his elder brother, Ishmael. Jacob, in turn, took the birthright from his eldest son, Reuben, and gave it to Joseph, a younger son. Now, since Jacob already had the birthright, it was necessary that he have the blessing also; hence the deception, described so vividly in Genesis, Chapter 27.
Actually, Jacob’s flight to the home of his Uncle Laban was the result of obeying his father Isaac’s command (that he take a wife from among his own people) as much as it was to escape the wrath of his brother, Esau. This is emphasised later in Chapter 28 when Esau tries to appease his father by taking a third wife from among the daughters of Ishmael, who was Abraham’s son.
An important thing happened to Jacob on that journey to Haran when, at a certain place, as he slept, he seemed to see angels of God ascending and descending a ladder that seemed to reach the heavens. It was here that The Almighty reaffirmed the promises made to Abraham and to Isaac, that his family would become a great multitude in the Earth and be a great blessing to all the families of the Earth. Jacob was so awed by the vision that he took the stone he had used for a pillow and set it
up as a monument, poured oil on it and called that place, “Beth-el,” which means, “house of God.” Another very important thing happened at that time and place, when Jacob vowed that if Yahveh would be with him and keep him wherever he went, that he would pay the tenth of all he received. In doing this Jacob was following in the footsteps of his grandfather Abraham, when he paid the tithe to Melchizedek, priest of the most high Yahveh. Jacob swore this oath by the stone that he had set up and anointed, therefore that stone is frequently referred to as, “The Stone of Destiny.”
When Jacob reached Haran (the land of his uncle Laban) the first person he met was Rachel, Laban’s daughter. He was heartily received by his uncle and all the family and welcomed to stay. Laban did not think it was quite right for Jacob to work for him for nothing so he asked Jacob to name his wages. Since the first meeting with Rachel, Jacob felt a strong attraction to her and knew he wanted her for his wife; he promised his uncle Laban to work for him for seven years in exchange for Rachel. Laban agreed. But it seems Laban had two daughters, the elder being Leah (whom the Bible describes as “tender eyed” GENESIS 29:17). Now, Jacob did not love Leah, he loved Rachel who was beautiful and well favoured. At the end of the seven years Jacob demanded his due and a marriage feast was arranged. The next morning Jacob discovered that instead of being married to Rachel he was really married to Leah; Laban had substituted Leah for Rachel. When Jacob asked Laban why he had tricked him, Laban said it was the custom in his land that the elder daughter should be married first. So, it was
decided that Jacob should have Rachel also, but he would have to work another seven years for her. It seems that uncle Laban was rather shifty.
The Bible states that God took pity on Leah because she was not loved, and so He gave her children. Rachel, on the other hand, was barren for a long time. Leah bore four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Rachel realised she was not likely to be fruitful and decided to give her maid Bilhah to Jacob to conceive the children who would be legally her children. Evidently that was another Hebrew custom. Bilhah had two sons: Dan and Naphtali. Then Leah, realising she had stopped bearing for awhile, gave her handmaiden, Zilpah, to Jacob so that any resulting offspring would be hers. She did this in the mistaken idea that if she gave Jacob more children than did Rachel, he would love her more than Rachel. This did not happen. Zilpah bore Jacob two sons, Gad and Asher.
After this, Genesis Chapter 30 gives an interesting account of how Leah hired the affections of Jacob. It seems that Leah’s son Reuben, went out into the fields and gathered some mandrakes. Rachel wanted the mandrakes so much that she told Leah that in exchange for the mandrakes Jacob would lie with her that night, which he did. Rachel’s behaviour seems ridiculous until you understand that the mandrake plant was used for medicinal purposes and in Bible times was reputed to be a cure for sterility. Rachel was so desperate for a child that she was willing to try anything. As it turned out Rachel did not benefit from the mandrake incident but Leah did; she had another son, who was named lssachar. After that, she bore another son and named him Zebulun. Last of all, she had a daughter, whom she named Dinah This brought the total of Leah’s children to six sons and one daughter.
At long last Yahveh God remembered poor Rachel and gave her a son and what a son; the great “Joseph.” Right after the birth of Joseph Jacob asked his uncle Laban to let him take his wives and children and return to his own country. Now, Laban did not want to see Jacob leave his employ because he knew the Almighty was blessing him for Jacob’s sake and that he had gained much more than he had before Jacob came. Laban asked Jacob to name his price for staying. Jacob did not want money but said he would take all the speckled and spotted animals from among Laban’s stock and that would be his hire. Laban agreed to Jacob’s request. The story of the next six years and how the cattle and property of Jacob increased is too lengthy to relate but it makes interesting reading in Genesis Chapter 30.
When Jacob realised how bitterly Laban resented him he took his family, herds and goods and fled without Laban knowing anything of his plans (GENESIS 31). When Laban learned Jacob had gone he took off and chased him for a week before he caught him. Possibly, Laban would have harmed Jacob if Yahveh had not warned him against such action. Instead, they formed a covenant not to trespass against one another. After spending the night celebrating with the family, Laban returned to his home.
To be continued
