Who was Jacob in the Bible?
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are among the most significant people in the Old Testament. It is important to realize that this significance is not based on their personal character, 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 would have expected, but instead they were just like us, trying to please God, but often falling short.
Jacob was the third person 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 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. Through his life we are able to see God’s work.
Jacob’s life had four stages, each marked by a personal encounter with God. The first stage is that Jacob lives up to his name, which means “he grasps the heel” (figuratively, “he deceives”). Not only did he grab his brothers heel at birth but by the time he fled from home he had grabbed his brothers birthright and blessing. During his flight, God first appeared to Jacob. Not only did God confirm his blessing, but He awakened in Jacob a personal knowledge of himself. In the second stage, Jacob experience life from the other side, being manipulated and deceived by Laban. But there is a curious change since the Jacob of old would have left Laban, where Jacob of the second stage 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 realized his dependence on 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 the move without God’s approval.
Do you allow God to guide you through your life? Do you know God? Do you know Jesus?
Are you certain that you are going to heaven? If the answer is no or your not really sure and there is something stirring inside you at this very moment to do this, then all you have to do is say a small prayer and you can be assured of your name being added to the Book of Life. Go to the prayer of salvation and pray the words out loud and believe in your heart and you will be saved.
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 and Hebrews 11:9, 20, 21
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