Jacob

The final patriarch

(For a chosen people)

Jacob was the next patriarch for the birthright and he was actually the final patriarch! This is the story of the last patriarch: Jacob and how his children began the chosen nation of God.

Genesis 28:6-8

“…Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there,… Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.”

So as Jacob was making his way to Harran he chose a place to stay for the night in the desert:

Genesis 28:10-11

“Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.”

But that night, he had a dream and in this dream God confirmed that he was indeed the Birthright heir and re-confirmed the promises and even added onto them:

Genesis 28:12-15

“He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 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.’”

So before Jacob left the Promised Land God re-confirms he did receive the birthright and even adds onto the promises:

he even vows that he will return to Canaan before he dies:

Promises Added:

His children would be a large uncountable number like the stars in the night sky and then possibly even more greatly multiplied than that.

The whole land of Canaan was given to him and to his Children forever to be their land and all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates was given to his Children.

He would become a great nation and his descendants would become many nations until they formed a company of people he would be the ancestor of all of them

Nations would serve/be slaves to his descendants and honor them as their rulers even closely related nations like the nation coming from Esau.

His children would become many kings

God would bless him and his descendants with plenty of natural wealth, minerals, farmland, crops, and food.

He would become famous

He would be a blessing to others and all blessings would go to all other families through him

If anyone cursed him (does him wrong hates him) or blessed him (treats him well and loves him) God would curse or bless them in return.

God would be his personal God and his children’s personal God

His descendants would control the cities of their enemies (would dominate their enemies)

Now he would be the carrier of the Abrahamic promises [Birthright] and give it to his own Children to fulfil the promises to his grandfather.

His descendants would spread all over the world in every direction (to the west, east, north and south)

God will make sure that Jacob goes back to Canaan before he dies

When he woke up, he was amazed at the dream he had and though it was the entrance way to heaven (the staircase coming down) and this was where God was present (his home):

Genesis 28:16-17

“When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’"

He was so amazed he woke up and vowed to God:

Genesis 28:18-22

“Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel,[ Hebrew for “house of God”] though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.’ ”

He said if God would really do all this for him (which he would) then he would let God be Lord over his life and give 10% of everything he had to him.

Genesis 29:1-14

“Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples[Where Harran was: Hebrew relatives and Keturah’s sons]. There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well…Jacob asked the shepherds, ‘My brothers, where are you from?’ ‘We’re from Harran,’ they replied. He said to them, ‘Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?’ ‘Yes, we know him,’ they answered. Then Jacob asked them, ‘Is he well?’ ‘Yes, he is,’ they said, ‘and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.’…While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. Then Laban said to him, ‘You are my own flesh and blood.’ ”

When he returned to the area around Harran he was meet with open arms by his Hebrew cousins and especially his uncle Laban was so overwhelmed to see his nephew from his sister that he had not seen in many years come and see him; he thought of him as his own child. Jacob finally made it!

A month later, he had fallen in love with Rachel and wanted to marry her but Laban, according to custom, wanted him to work for her wedding price for seven years:

Genesis 29:14-19

“After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, Laban said to him, ‘Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.’ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel…Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, ‘I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.’ Laban said, ‘It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.’"

So for seven years he worked for Rachel, though they went by so fast because he was so madly in love with her:

Genesis 29:20-22

“So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love[Have sex] to her.’ So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. “

However Laban pull a very dirty trick on Jacob after all he had done:

Genesis 29:23

“But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to[had sex with] her. And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.”

Soon in the morning Jacob found out he had been tricked:

Genesis 29:25-27

“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?’ Laban replied, ‘It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.’ ”

So Jacob was pretty angry with Laban’s trick and had to work ANOTHER 7 years to get Rachel, the woman he loves:

Genesis 29:28-30

“And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. Jacob made love[had sex] to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.”

After he had worked for both Women he had 2 wives: Leah and Rachel ,which was an acceptable marriage to God back in these times: He then tried to have children with Rachel but God took notice of Leah’s rejection and choose to help her:

Genesis 29:31-35

“When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive[Become pregnant], but Rachel remained childless. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[Hebrew for “see: a son”] for she said, ‘It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.’ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.’ So she named him Simeon.[Hebrew for “one who hears”] Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ So he was named Levi.[ Hebrew for “Attached”] She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘This time I will praise the Lord.’ So she named him Judah.[ Hebrew for “A Praise”] Then she stopped having children.”

So because Leah was Rejected God did not like this, so he blessed her with 5 pregnancies to five sons! Rachel took notice of this and became very upset and jealous because she did not have any children yet:

Genesis 30:1-2

“When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’ Jacob became angry with her and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?’”

So Rachel did what every woman who could not have children back in the ancient Middle East: he gave here slave to have children for her:

Genesis 30:3-8

“Then she said, ‘Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep[Have sex] with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.’ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.’ Because of this she named him Dan.[ Hebrew for “he has vindicated”] Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, ‘I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.’ So she named him Naphtali.[ Hebrew for “My Struggle”]…”

Leah saw what Rachel was doing and decided she could also play the ‘Baby game’ with her servant as well:

Genesis 30:9-13

“When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.Then Leah said, ‘What good fortune!’ So she named him Gad.[ Hebrew for “Fortune/a troop”] Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, ‘How happy I am! The women will call me happy.’ So she named him Asher.[ Hebrew for “Happy”]”

Later after a deal with Rachel, Jacob had sex with Leah again and God blessed here again with another son:

Genesis 30:17-21

“God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, ‘God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.’ So she named him Issachar.[ Hebrew for “reward”] Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, ‘God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.’ So she named him Zebulun.[ Hebrew for “Honor”] Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.”

So Leah alone gave birth to 7 children! But despite her jealousy for her sister she still had never had one child herself So God finally had mercy on her and allowed her to conceive:

Genesis 30:22-24

“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’ She named him Joseph,[ Hebrew for “May he add”] and said, ‘May the Lord add to me another son.’”

So once Rachel gave birth to her first child and Leah 7 and 4 more by their slaves through this ‘baby war’ Jacob was blessed with many children and God blessed him with many descendants already! So after Rachel had Joseph and Jacob finished his 7 years of servitude he was ready to head back to Canaan to confront his brother, but Laban didn’t want him to leave:

Genesis 30:25-28

“After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.’ But Laban said to him, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.’ He added, ‘Name your wages, and I will pay them.’”

So Laban found out that he was being blessed because he had been blessing Jacob! God was fulfilling his promises though the Birthright of blessing those who bless him and he did indeed bless Laban for giving him his daughters and a place to stay. So Jacob made a deal with him:

Genesis 30:29 -34

“Jacob said to him, ‘You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?’ ’What shall I give you?’ he asked. ‘Don’t give me anything,’ Jacob replied. ‘But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.’ ‘Agreed,’ said Laban. ‘Let it be as you have said.’”

So the deal was he would go on working for him and tending his herds and thus he would continue being blessed by for the wage of all the un-white sheep and goats in his flocks. And so Jacob immediately got all the specked Goats and un-white sheep and Laban left the rest to him and put a distance for farmland for Jacob’s new flocks:

Genesis 30:35-43

“That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob,…”

However Jacob and God had others plans besides staying forever tending and blessing Laban’s property; God had seen how Laban had been tricking Jacob for 14 years and how he wanted him to stay even longer just so God would make him wealthier. So one night in a dream during the Goat/sheep breading season, God showed Jacob what he had planned to do with Laban and his deal so he could return to Canaan as God had promised him:

Genesis 31:10-13

“In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”

God was obviously ready for Jacob to return back to Canaan with his mother, father, and brother. But Not before God dealt with Laban: God was going to slowly turn all of Laban’s flock into Speckled and black flocks as the males were going to give that trait, and Jacob was going to “Help”: Laban’s blessing for helping Jacob were soon going to turn into a curse for cheating him and detaining him in Harran that would leave him poor and Jacob rich!

Thus through the Birthright, God was fulfilling his promises to curse who curses him and to bless him.

So during breeding season Jacob got to work:

Genesis 30:37-42

“While Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat[ready to mate] and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. “

So Jacob selectively bred the flocks so he would get most of their descendants because they were not completely a solid color. And under God’s blessing Jacob became extremely wealthy with healthy flocks, slaves, and other riches from Harran and pretty much robbed Laban blind. As God had planned to do:

In this way, God kept his promise and blessed Jacob and blessed and cursed those who blessed and cursed him:

Genesis 30:43

“In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.”

Promises fulfilled:

His children would be a large uncountable number like the stars in the night sky and then possibly even more greatly multiplied than that.

The whole land of Canaan was given to him and to his Children forever to be their land and all the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates was given to his Children.

He would become a great nation and his descendants would become many nations until they formed a company of people he would be the ancestor of all of them

Nations would serve/be slaves to his descendants and honor them as their rulers even closely related nations like the nation coming from Esau.

His children would become many kings

God would bless him and his descendants with plenty of natural wealth, minerals, farmland, crops, and food.

(First fulfilled in Genesis 31:1 when all of Laban's wealth became Jacob's around 1800 B.C.)

He would become famous

He would be a blessing to others and all blessings would go to all other families through him

If anyone cursed him (does him wrong hates him) or blessed him (treats him well and loves him) God would curse or bless them in return.

(First fulfilled in Genesis 30:27 and Genesis 31:1 when Laban was, at first ,blessed because he blessed Jacob then he was cursed with God taking all his wealth because he tricked and detained Jacob)

God would be his personal God and his children’s personal God

His descendants would control the cities of their enemies (would dominate their enemies)

Now he would be the carrier of the Abrahamic promises [Birthright] and give it to his own Children to fulfil the promises to his grandfather.

His descendants would spread all over the world in every direction (to the west, east, north and south)

God will make sure that Jacob goes back to Canaan before he dies

Laban and his other children eventually began to notice the obvious: That they had lost most of their flocks and wealth to Jacob over time and they had become poor as a curse, this made them angry at Jacob:

Genesis 31:1

“Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, ‘Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.’ And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.”

Once God had done cursing Laban and he had become wealthy, God commanded Jacob to leave Harran and go back to Canaan:

Genesis 31:3-21

“Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, ‘I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me[cheat me]. If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.’ Then Rachel and Leah replied, ‘Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.’ Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram,[Harran] to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan...Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.”

So they ran away from Laban without even telling him. After three days, though, Laban eventually found out and decided to run after him in anger for not at least letting him say goodbye to his daughter and grandchildren:

Genesis 31:22-23

“On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.”

So Laban finally caught up with him but just as he was about to give Jacob a piece of his mind God decided to have a little talk with Laban to warn him about what he was about to do to Jacob:

Genesis 31:24

“Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ”

So God warned him before he confronted and possibly harmed Jacob: you better watch what you say and do, or else: you and your whole family are going to pay!

So after the dream Laban confronted Jacob and told him how upset he was:

Genesis 31:25-31

“Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household…’ Jacob answered Laban, ‘I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force… ‘”

And then Jacob got angry at how Laban had treated him for the past 20 years and let him have it as well for all the tricking and hardship he had been going through:

Genesis 31:38-42

“Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. ‘What is my crime?’ he asked Laban. ‘How have I wronged you that you hunt me down?...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 wages 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.’ ”

Seeing both of them were angry Laban tells that he was the one that he robbed everything from to get rich but offered an agreement :

Genesis 31:43-44

“Laban answered Jacob, ‘The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.’"

So they set up a pile of stones to make a boundary line:

Genesis 31:45-46

“So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. He said to his relatives, ‘Gather some stones.’ So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. “

So they agreed to make an agreement to never cross paths again to steal or hurt one another:

Genesis 31:48-53

“Laban said, ‘This heap is a witness between you and me today.…May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.’ Laban also said to Jacob, ‘Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father [Terah], judge between us.’ ”

So they agreed and early the next morning Laban said good-by to all his grand-children and daughters and hopped they would be greatly blessed and went home to Harran while Jacob when back to Canaan to his father, mother, and to confront his brother:

Genesis 31:55

“Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.”

Genesis 32:1

“Jacob also went on his way,…”

When he returned to Canaan he found many things had changed in the past 20 years: his mother Rebekah had died and never told him to come back and his brother, Esau had gained all Isaac’s wealth and dominated Canaan and a place south of there called Seir a mountainous land south of Canaan that he had claimed from the natives calling it ‘The land of Edom’. So not knowing if his brother wanted to still kill him after these 20 years or not Jacob decided to send some messengers to Esau to tell him he had finally returned and that he had become wealthy and to call him ‘Lord’:

Genesis 32:3-5

“Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He instructed them: ‘This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’' ”

Despite he had the birthright, and his descendants were destined to rule over Esau’s descendants, he was still afraid Esau would try to kill him with all his men, so he played humble calling him “his servant” and “my lord” and offered to give him his wealth! But when his servants came back, they had some alarming news:

Genesis 32:6

“When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, ‘We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.’ ”

This was bad: this looked like Esau was going to war with Jacob and coming to kill him!

Genesis 32:7-12

“In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, ‘If Esau comes and attacks one group, the other group that is left may escape.’ Then Jacob prayed, ‘Oh God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

Later that night, he decided to give gifts to Esau in hopes to calm his fury down before he got to him:

Genesis 32:13-21

“He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, ‘Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.’ He instructed the one in the lead: ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: ‘You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ’ For he thought, ‘I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.’ So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.”

However, before Esau came the next day God decided to answer his prayer by doing something very strange that night:

Genesis 32:22-24

“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone,…”

After he sent his family, and the rest of his Good’s away Jacob was alone and then something really strange happened: a man seeming to come out of nowhere began to wrestle him and they fought all night!

Genesis 32:24

“…and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.”

But this man could not get freed from Jacob’s grip when the sun was coming up he did something even odder: He touched his hip and it was broken/out of socket and could not move! What man could do that with just a touch?

Genesis 32:25

“When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’”

But it’s becoming apparent that this is not an ordinary man and Jacob knows it too because he demands this “man” to bless him!

Genesis 32:26-28

“But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless 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,[Hebrew for “One who wrestles with God”] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’”

So, this ‘Man’ reveals who he really is when he changes Jacob’s name and tells him who he was wrestling: This ‘Man’ was God! God must have appeared in the form of a human man and began attacking Jacob and somehow Jacob found out and felt to need to fight with God and demand his blessing. In which God rightfully changes his name to Israel: because he wrestled with humans and then with God himself and had lived and overcome.

What a very strange and unusual answer to a prayer!

So God appearing in the form of a human man continues to bless Jacob before leaving:

Genesis 32:29

Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there.”

Israel (Jacob) amazed from the encounter names the place:

Genesis 32:30-31

“So Jacob called the place Peniel,[Hebrew for “face of God”] saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.”

But he didn’t have time to rest from his all-night fight, because Esau and his men had arrived:

Genesis 33:1-3

“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;… He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.”

So things looked bad for Jacob but had Esau changed his mind through the gifts? Not exactly, it seems he was more than happy to see his brother after all these years:

Genesis 33:4-16

“But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked. Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your servant.’ Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. Esau asked, ‘What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?’ ‘To find favor in your eyes, my lord,’ he said. But Esau said, ‘I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.’ ‘No, please!’ said Jacob. ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.’ And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. Then Esau said, ‘Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.’ But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.’ Esau said, ‘Then let me leave some of my men with you.’ ‘But why do that?’ Jacob asked. ‘Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.’ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.”

So Rebekah was right, After 20 years Esau had time to not only calm down but even forgive and accept his brother as inheriting the Birthright. And he was surprisingly more than happy to see his brother again! So Isreal finally was able to come back to Canaan just as God had promised.

Genesis 33:18-19

“he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.”

But soon Israel and his children would have trouble with the locals:

Genesis 34:1-2

“Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.”

Israel’s daughter was raped by a Canaanite king! That is terrible! But Shechem really did love Dinah:

Genesis 34:3

“His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman…”

So they went and found her Father and Brothers to get permission to marry her :

Genesis 34:6-10

“Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing…[to] Israel by sleeping[having sex] with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done. But Hamor said to them, ‘My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.’ ”

And in return for the marriage they could inherit the entire city and intermarry with them so they would become on people (mixed); Abraham and Isaac would NOT approve of intermarrying with Canaanites! But Israel at this point seems to be silent about this because he seems to be more afraid of the power of these Canaanite nations than what was the wish of his fathers was, but his sons Simeon and Levi have other plans:

Genesis 34:13-15

“Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, ‘We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.’”

So Shechem and his father Hamor agreed:

Genesis 34:18

“Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.”

So they went and told all their male citizens to become circumcised:

Genesis 34:20-22

“So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. ‘These men are friendly toward us,’ they said. ‘Let them live in our land and trade in it; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are.’…All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.”

However, Circumcision left all the men in the city in very weak conditions, and Simeon and Levi took full advantage of that to avenge their sister:

Genesis 34:25-29

“Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.”

So while they were down, they murdered the whole city and took everything for themselves as revenge for raping their sister, Israel was very upset and fearful about what they did because he thought that other Canaanite nations would see them as a threat and attack them:

Genesis 34:30

“Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.’ But they replied, ‘Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?’ ”

After this, God spoke to Israel reconfirmed the Birthright with Israel and his new name:

Genesis 34:9-13

“After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 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. And God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.’ Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him.”