FFWPU Seminar December 21 2011

We're looking at the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and making the foundation of substance. We looked at the story last week of how Jacob not only got his own blessing from Esau and Isaac but also took Esau's blessing. Esau was really upset and angry about this and wanted to kill him. Because of this, Rebecca said to Jacob, "You better go pack your bags and stay with your uncle, my brother Laban, and when Esau cools down, you can come home again." So Jacob set off to stay with his uncle, and on the way, he had this amazing dream where God spoke to him, saying, "I am the Lord. I will give you and your descendants a land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." He then went to Laban in Haran, and when he arrived, he was thirsty and went to the well for water. A beautiful young lady came along and offered to draw some water for him and his camels. He asked who she was, and she said, "I'm Rachel, Laban's daughter." He realized she was his cousin and asked if he could stay with her family.

Jacob then went back home with Rachel, and he asked Laban, Rachel's dad, if he could marry Rachel. Laban agreed but said he needed to work for him for seven years first. Jacob thought about it and, because he loved Rachel so much, he agreed. The seven years passed like seven weeks. After working for seven years, it was time for the wedding. In the Middle East, brides are covered with veils, so Jacob couldn't see who he was marrying. Laban presented his daughter to Jacob, and after the wedding, when Jacob woke up the next morning, he found that instead of Rachel, he had married her older sister Leah, who had weak eyes. Jacob felt betrayed because he had worked for seven years to marry Rachel. He went to Laban and asked why he had been deceived. Laban explained that it was part of their tradition not to marry off the younger daughter before the older one. He then told Jacob to work for another seven years, and he could marry Rachel as well.

Jacob then began to understand why Esau was so upset and angry with him. He felt deceived and realized what it was like to be tricked. He must have thought that no wonder Esau felt so bad about what he did to him. Jacob had a choice: he could either go and kill Laban or forgive him. He chose to forgive Laban for what he had done. Despite the suffering he went through in his relationship with Laban, who tricked him repeatedly, Jacob did not become bitter or resentful. Instead, he digested the experience and became a person of deep character. Through this suffering, he restored the three blessings and became a person of great wisdom and depth of heart. He married and established a family with 11 children, and later on, he had another two, making a total of 12 boys and one girl.

After 14 years, Jacob told Laban that he wanted to go home. Laban asked him to work for another seven years, promising to reward him richly. Jacob agreed, and they struck a deal where Jacob would look after the sheep. Laban's sons, however, took all the sheep that had been promised to Jacob and moved them to another valley. Over the next seven years, Jacob engaged in breeding the sheep to ensure they turned into the kind he had been promised. During this time, Laban tricked Jacob out of his wages ten times. Jacob never complained; he absorbed the deceit and continued to grow in character. After 21 years, Jacob had a dream where God told him to go home to see his father Isaac. He packed his bags, took his wives, children, and wealth, and set off to return home. He felt he had to make amends with Esau, so he sent messengers to him.

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He was shocked and feared there might be a fight or that he might be killed. He thought that Esau had not forgiven him for what he did 21 years ago and had been bearing a grudge all this time. Jacob faced a choice: he could confront Esau or avoid him altogether. He decided to go and meet his brother because he felt he had unfinished business. He realized he needed to make amends with Esau and confront the situation. It took a lot of courage to do this, especially at the risk of his life. To prepare, he devised a cunning plan to send gifts to Esau, dividing his possessions into two and sending half as presents to appease him.

Jacob sent a shepherd with the message that the gifts belonged to his servant Jacob and were a present for his lord Esau. When Esau saw the sheep coming towards him, he might have started to change his impression of Jacob. Jacob had to change Esau's concept of him, as Esau remembered Jacob as the tricky younger brother who had stolen his birthright and blessing. Jacob wanted to show that he had changed and was no longer the same person. He hoped that by sending gifts, he could start to make amends. That night, Jacob went to bed by the ford of Jabbok, where he struggled with an angel until dawn. He refused to let go until he received a blessing. The angel told him that his name would no longer be Jacob but Israel, for he had striven with God and men and prevailed. This struggle symbolized Jacob wrestling with his fears and the consequences of his past actions.