Jacob: A Reintroduction
His mother waited for twenty years to have him. When she did, she introduced him to the world as Jacob. He was named Jacob because he was born grasping the heel of his brother. But that is not who he was. God had already named him and as such a reintroduction was inevitable. Israel is his name.
The Script
The script of his birth, his life and his generations was written long before he breathed his first breath. This script was entrusted to his mother Rebekah:
The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be seperated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
Genesis 25:17
☆ The script was written by God, not by man.
☆ The script was revealed by God, not by man.
☆ The script was revealed to the person that would play a pivotal role in bringing it to pass.
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16
God has a script for your life. Ask Him to reveal it to you in His own time and way.
The Blessing:
May God give of you heaven’s dew
and of earth’s richness–
an abundance of grain and new wine.
May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.
Genesis 27:28-29
A blessing given by his father Isaac, reaffirming the Word spoken by God to Rebekah.
The blessing was meant for Esau. When Isaac discovered he had instead blessed Jacob, he reaffirmed the will of God:
Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
Genesis 27:37
☆ The script of God for your life cannot be overwritten by man. It stands.
The Seperation
When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides.
Genesis 27:42-44
☆ The seperation was for his protection.
☆ The seperation was for his processing.
☆ The seperation was required for his rebirth.
The God
He had a dream[…] There above it stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac […] All peoples will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and I 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.” When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place[…] He called that place Bethel […] Then Jacob made a vow saying […] then the LORD will be my God[…]
Genesis 28:12-21
☆ Jacob needed to have a personal encounter with God. The LORD had to be more than the God of Abraham, more than the God of Isaac. He had to become the God of Jacob.
☆ Jacob needed to learn to depend on God, not his mother, for direction.
☆ Jacob needed to willfully surrender to the Author of the script.
☆ God blessed Jacob, meaning he was fully empowered to live out his script.
☆ Seperation should always draw you nearer to God.
The Deception
[…]When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
Genesis 29:25
The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
Genesis 35:23
Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli […]
the son of David,
the son of Jesse […]
the son of Judah,
the son of Jacob […]
Luke 3:23-34
☆ Living out the script means that life does not always go as expected. Even then, God is in control.
☆ Living out the script does not mean we are immune to disappointment. Even then, God is in control.
☆ Living out the script means that God will cause all things to work out for our good.
The Humility
“I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wage ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”
Genesis 31:38-42
☆ […] God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6
☆ The LORD will fight for you; you need only be still.
Exodus 14:14
☆ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 4:23
The Reintroduction
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak[…] Then the man said, “Let me go for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”
The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.
Genesis 32:24-28
God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.
Genesis 35:10
☆ Fight for your destiny.
☆ It is God who names you. Allow Him to do so.
☆ Allow God to reintroduce you in His unique way and time.
Your Turn
Much can be said about the life of Israel. We have barely scraped the surface. Even so, in the journey of your life, you too will face the crossroad. At this crossroad you will realize that you have been unconcsiously living out your script and you will have to choose between consciously submitting to it or writing your own script. And when you do, I pray, that like Jacob, you will choose the former. And if you do, I promise you it will be painful, at times lonely, it will stretch you and humble you. But, it will be worth it…for that is the only way Jacob becomes Israel.
God bless you 😊