Jacob the Patriarch Article by H.H Pope Shenouda of Coptic Orthodox Church

God chose Jacob before his birth, and gave him blessing and authority while still in his mother's womb, for God said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25: 23) The older is Esau, and the younger Jacob.

St. Paul the Apostle says in this context, "The children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls, it was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.'" (Rom 9: 11- 13) The story of Jacob reveals how God chooses the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 Cor 1: 27).

Jacob was weak and afraid of his strong and mighty brother Esau, the man of hunting and arrows. He was greatly afraid and distressed (Gen 32: 7), and prayed God, saying, "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children." (Gen 32: 11) Jacob actually was always weak before Esau, but the only time he could prevail over him was when Esau was tired and weak and said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?" (Gen 25: 32)

God always supports the weak and humble but leaves the powerful and self-conceited to their power, though for a while, until they recognize that their power will avail them nothing and cry out in weakness seeking power from God.

God often chooses the weak; He chose the weak Jacob as He afterwards chose young David from among the sons of Jesse by the hand of Samuel the Prophet. David kept this in his mind, and chanted, "I was smaller than my brothers, youngest of my father's sons," "My brothers are big and smart, greater than me, but God was not pleased with them." On the contrary, people usually choose the strong; when they wanted a king they rejoiced at choosing Saul, because he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward (1 Sam 10: 23)!

Strange indeed that although Jacob had his weaknesses and wrongdoings, God's Spirit worked in him and turned him into such a saint whose intercession we seek in our prayers! One of his faults was relying on human arm and worldly wiles to settle his problems. He for instance seized the opportunity of seeing his brother hungry and tired to take his birthright for some food he gave him, saying, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." "Swear to me as of this day." (Gen 25: 31, 33) This is not an indication of love, besides, the birthright is not something to sell or purchase. He did other wrong things as, for instance, deceiving his father Isaac to receive his blessing, encouraged by his mother Rebekah. She was a holy woman, but she encouraged him to lie and to use human wiles wrongly. Jacob was afraid lest he receive curse, but she said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice." (Gen 27: 13)

Once again he tried to make up for the losses caused by his uncle Laban, by deceit (Gen 30: 37- 43). His uncle was about to do him evil but for God's intervention to protect him (Gen 31: 27). However, in spite of all this I wonder that the divine inspiration says, "Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents." (Gen 25: 27) Certainly he was good in other things, at least with respect to faith (Heb 11: 21), to honoring his parents as far as he could, not taking a wife from the daughters of Canaan as they wished (Gen 28: 1). He did not do like his brother Esau who took two wives from the Hittites, and they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 26: 35). Jacob also was decent, unlike his brother who was a profane and cruel person (Heb 12: 16).

His faults were out of weakness rather than out of corrupted nature, so God cleansed him of his faults, and he became as white as snow and the spirit of prophecy worked in him. God also blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, and his other children (Gen 48: 14- 19; 49). As he said it happened, according to God's foreknowledge. God chose Jacob rather than Esau, before they were born or did good or evil, for, "Whom He foreknew, He also predestined …these He also called … He also justified … He also glorified." (Rom 8: 29, 30) God knows everything before it takes place, so we read with amazement that Rebekah conceived, but the children struggled together within her (Gen 25: 22)! People struggle in life, but it is strange that they struggle before being born! Esau won the first round, for he came out red like a hairy garment all over. So they called his name Esau (Gen 25: 25). By birth, he was the firstborn and the elder, but God's will was different: "The older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25: 23) Because he was profane, he despised his birthright and sold it for lentils (Gen 25: 34). Although firstborn, but according to God, "Many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mk 10: 31)

If God puts you last, do not grieve or be depressed, for this maybe for a certain purpose, for He says, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." (Mk 9: 35; 10: 44; Mt 20: 27)

God could have made Jacob come first from his mother's womb, but He wanted him to be the younger, so that he might be humbled and might seek God's help. For the same reason God willed that Jacob be physically weaker than Esau, although Esau's physical strength benefited him nothing except raising fear within Jacob! Esau was a hunter, a man of the field who can subjugate wild animals (Gen 25: 27), and dart arrows. Hunting perhaps implanted much cruelty within him, so he said afterwards, "I will kill my brother Jacob" (Gen 27: 41), but God does not like cruelty or violence, and those who use these means divert themselves from God. Many of those whom God fought were violent, and the Scripture says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (Jas 4: 6)

Jacob struggled in his mother's womb but could not succeed.

Esau, the stronger embryo, came out first. Neither Jacob nor Esau benefited from the struggle, because God had another dispensation, which He had declared, a divine wisdom, a divine will that should be done. The struggle continued between the brothers after their birth, concerning the birthright, then concerning the blessing from their old father Isaac, and finally between their offspring. This perhaps was what God meant by saying, "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other." (Gen 25: 23) Jacob's offspring are the people of Israel, whereas Esau's offspring are the people of Edom, after the name of Esau, who was called Edom (Gen 25: 30).

History tells about the wars between the people of Israel and the people of Edom, and the Psalm says, "Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, 'Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation!'" (Ps 137: 7)

The struggle continued even between the tow sisters the wives of Jacob, to the extent of wrestling to bear children to Jacob, even from their handmaids! Rachel therefore said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister." (Gen 30: 8) They also wrestled concerning Jacob's love for each of them. So, when Leah bore Reuben, she said, "My husband will love me," (Gen 29: 32) and when she bore Levi, she said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." (Gen 29: 34) In this way, Jacob's offspring became a nation, and likewise Esau's. Here we recall God's words to Rebekah, "Two nations …"

Indeed, a son may become a whole nation, as Jacob and his brother, and an individual likewise may become many nations, as our father Abraham the Patriarch, and our father Noah the father of all humans after the great flood. This teaches us a lesson concerning the duty of the parents towards their children. Parents ought to be aware that each of their sons will be a family branching into more families. Not only the sons, but also the daughters will be families. That is why it was said to Rebekah when she was going to get married to our father Isaac, "May you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands." (Gen 24: 60) However, the father and the mother of Jacob and Esau differed concerning them, for Isaac loved Esau, while Rebekah loved Jacob (Gen 25: 28).

What was the impact of this on the life of each? This we shall explain next week – God willing.

Birthright was a great desirable thing in the days of our early fathers.

The firstborn before Aaron served as priest of the family after the decease of his father, as the Lord commanded Moses, "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb … it is Mine." (Ex 13: 2) Christ was expected to come from the firstborn, according to the Lord's promise to our fathers Abraham and Isaac, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 22: 18; 26: 4)

Jacob's desire for birthright was a holy desire, but the means was wrong or rather opportunist, completely void of love for his brother, and of the spirit of sacrifice. So strange was such a relationship between twins! Self-interest prevailed over the situation. Satan seized the opportunity and used two different ways for Esau and Jacob. He convinced Esau that the birthright is of no use to him, being about to die of hunger and fatigue! Esau obeyed and said the same (Gen 25: 32). Then Satan convinced Jacob to hold to the birthright and obtain it by any means, even by opportunism. This actually happened, for Jacob not being able to get it on his birth because Esau came out first, pursued Esau to get it many years later. The birthright however changed after Jacob, for Christ did not come from Jacob's firstborn Reuben, but from the offspring of Judah, and the priesthood of Aaron likewise came from Levi who was not the firstborn. There was no need then for wrestling over birthright after Jacob and Esau, for even Judah, from whose offspring Christ came, was the offspring of David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, not the firstborn! (1 Sam 16: 11)

There remains the blessing over which Jacob and Esau wrestled. The blessing is a holy thing, but it ought to be obtained by holy means, not by deceit and fraud. Jacob perhaps took as an excuse that the deceit was in obedience to his mother, but this is not an excuse, for obedience to the mother should be within the obedience to God, not for sinning and disobedience to God. Actually, his obedience to his mother was due to an inner desire to get his father's blessing. So, when she suggested to him to use deceit he considered it helpful for fulfilling his desire which had appeared before when he bought the birthright for some stew!

This reveals a family problem related to the different trends taken by the father and the mother. Isaac was a holy person, and Rebekah likewise, but their emotions were different. Rebekah loved Jacob, but Isaac loved Esau, because he was a hunter and brought him food (Gen 25: 28). He said to Esau, "Take your weapons … and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die." (Gen 27: 3, 4) Jacob, on the other hand, was the beloved of his mother. He dwelt in tents and learnt from his mother how to cook savory food, like the red stew which he sold to Esau for his birthright (Gen 25: 29- 34). He loved his mother and obeyed her counsel, to the extent of deceiving his father and fleeing to his uncle Laban to stay with him until his brother's fury turn away (Gen 27: 43, 44)!

Rebekah began her plan that Jacob hunts a game, cook it, and bring it to his father Jacob to get his blessing. Both Rebekah and Isaac had their spiritual motives.

For Isaac it was natural to give the blessing to Esau, being the elder. But Rebekah deemed it necessary to give the blessing to Jacob according to the Lord's will and dispensation declared before their birth, "Two nations are in your womb … one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25: 23) However, the main fault of Rebekah was that she thought the Lord had delayed, so she did not wait and sought human ways to fulfill the Lord's will! She ought to have waited trusting God's promises, but she thought the time had come when Isaac sent Esau to bring him food to bless him. She could have reminded Isaac of God's promise to postpone giving the blessing to Esau until the matter becomes clear, but she began to use her intellect. She made Jacob purport to be Esau and deceive his father to get the blessing, by fraud and lying.

Jacob likewise did not refuse sin, but was merely afraid of the consequences, of the difficulty, and of being exposed. He did not say as his son Joseph said dozens of years afterwards, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen 39: 9) He rather said, "Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing." (Gen 27: 11, 12) So, when his mother explained to him the plan he agreed and did it. How dangerous it is when war comes from outside while the desire of sin lies within the heart! Rebekah heard Isaac's request to Esau and arranged for the situation, and Satan heard her talk with Jacob and offered her the plan. So, Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, and put them on Jacob her younger son, and put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Knowing the kind of food Isaac loved she made it and gave it to Jacob to offer to his father. The decisive moment soon came! When his father wondered how he could bring it so quickly, he said, "The Lord your God brought it to me." Isaac still doubted and felt him to make sure he really was his son Esau. Isaac did not recognize him, and said, "The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," but Jacob asserted that he was Esau! Although he lied, deceived his father, and did not regard his weak eyes, and in spite of the doubts of his father, God in His kindness did not expose him! The holy man could not have imagined that his son deceive him. So he blessed him with so beautiful words, saying, "May God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine." (Gen 27: 28) The blessing was to have good things from heaven and from earth, from God and from people, spiritual things and material things, to find good things wherever he goes!

Indeed, a person who walks according to the Spirit will have the dew of heaven, that is, the work of the grace in him. The dew also may be the prayers and intercessions of the angels, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit from God. The fatness of the earth refers to the work of the Spirit within a person, because man is made of the dust of the earth, so the fatness is the response of that dust to the work of the Spirit. God gives tendency to repentance, acceptance of the grace, and submission to the work of the Holy Spirit, and gives the desire for doing good and love for God. The earth will not rebel against such a person, and the heaven shows kindness towards him. Cain and Adam experienced the opposite. God said to Cain, "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you" And to Adam He said, "Cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you." We therefore need the blessing of heaven and of earth, and the work and purity of the grace. We need the spiritual as well as the material good things from God so that what we do may prosper. The meek and the humble in the spirit will have the kingdom of heaven and will inherit the earth. Poor is the person who does not get the blessing of the earth nor of the heaven!

Imagine how Isaac put his hands on Jacob and commanded heaven to give down dew on him, and the earth to give its fatness to him! Indeed, as the Lord Christ said, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Isaac received the keys of heaven and earth as a steward in charge of the good things of God to distribute them as he wanted, and as a father, and they obeyed and gave the dew and fatness! What a blessing! On the contrary was the case for Esau, for the blessing was without the dew of heaven and the fatness of earth.

The grain and wine represent the Eucharist Sacrament of the New Testament. This means that Isaac gave Jacob the blessings of the Old Testament symbolizing the blessings of the New Testament. They also represent the priesthood of the New Testament. So, Isaac said to Esau about Jacob, "with grain and wine I have sustained him." (Gen 27: 37) Isaac moreover gave Jacob another blessing, saying, "Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you." (Gen 27: 29)

A person who walks in the way of the Lord receives from Him the gift of dominion, for God gives people from His own authority. When He created Adam, He made him master over all the earth and all creation, whether birds of the air, animals of the earth, or fish of the sea. When man sinned his dominion began to shake, and the creation began to rebel against him; the serpent began to bruise his heel, the earth bring forth thorns and thistles, the earth and the plants rebelled against man, and the man had dominion over the woman. In Jacob the blessing was restored; people bow down before him. What a strange thing that God permits it that people bow down before a person? Actually, they bow before God's steward on earth, God's representative or anointed. It is the gift of dominion and honor endowed God's children. Isaac also said to Jacob, "Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!" How comforting were those words to Jacob in his weakness and fear from his brother the valiant hunter Esau! Jacob was kneeling at his father's feet, while heaven's doors were open, bringing down gifts on his head, true and honest from his father's mouth and from God.

God says this to each of His children, even those who keep silent: You do not have to defend yourself. Keep your peace and I will defend you from heaven. Do not reiterate evil for evil, for any curse will return against those who curse you, and any blessing will go to those who bless you

Jacob succeeded in obtaining the blessing of his father, a great treasure sought by the sons at that time.

Blessings throughout human history came directly from God, from Him alone.

He blessed Adam and Eve (Gen 1: 28), Noah and his children (Gen 9: 1), and our father Abraham (Gen 12), the first to whom God said, "You shall be a blessing" (Gen 12: 2).

The fathers therefore became a source of blessing.

They were not only natural fathers, but also spiritual fathers to their children. At those times, the father was the priest of the family. That is why our father Noah offered burnt offerings to the Lord (Gen 8: 20), and our father Abraham built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord (Gen 26: 25).

Those father priests offered burnt offerings on the altar, and gave blessing and curses as well!

Those whom they blessed became blessed, and those whom they cursed became cursed. Our father Noah did that, he cursed Canaan, and Canaan became cursed (Gen 9: 25- 27). Isaac then was not a mere natural father to Esau and Jacob, but also a spiritual father to them, a priest with authority, and able to give blessing as God's steward on the earth. Therefore, each of them sought with all means to get his blessing.

Jacob sought the blessing through fraud and deceit.

He obeyed the counsel of his mother, or rather the desires of his own heart that conformed to that counsel! Strange indeed that his mother offered him the means not as a counsel but as a command, saying, "My son, obey my voice according to what I command you." (Gen 27: 8)

Jacob on the other hand did not refuse firmly to deceive his father and scorn his weak eyes, but the only thing that worried him was fear that his deceit be discovered. He was not brave as Solomon who for respect to his dead father refused his mother's request to give Abishag the Shunammite to Adonijah his brother as wife. (1 Kgs 2: 17- 25)

On the contrary, Jacob deceived his father, committing many sins and uttering many lies, for he said, "I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." (Gen 27: 19) He was not his son, nor did he cook the food or even hunt it!

This made Jacob suspect, so he felt him to make sure that he was his son Esau. Rebekah was intelligent; she not only cooked the food, but also planned the whole matter. The devil compiled it, while she and Jacob produced it, and deceived Isaac.

Was Jacob's heart afraid and disturbed?

How strange that such a weak person acquired strength at that time! He was able to stand firm facing his father's suspect, answering him, and kissing him! (Gen 27: 21- 27)

In short, receiving the blessing by deceit, Jacob had to suffer the consequences. The first consequence was the discovery of that deceit by the return of his brother Esau …

Undoubtedly Rebekah and Jacob were aware that the deceit would be discovered, but they also were sure that once he received the blessing it will not be withdrawn, "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Rom 11: 29) Even, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful." (2 Tim 2: 13) Nevertheless, God's word since the conception was to be fulfilled, that, "The older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25: 23)

Even without deceit from Rebekah or her human means, God was able to turn everything to fulfill His holy purpose, and the consequences of the wrongdoings to good.

Judas Iscariot did wrong and delivered his Master for thirty pieces of silver; the Sanhedrin Did wrong when they judged Christ unjustly, using false witnesses (Mt 26: 60); Pilate likewise did wrong when he delivered Him to the Jews to crucify Him, but all that turned to the fulfillment of God's purpose of Redemption! Nevertheless, the wrongdoing has its consequence and condemnation.

When Esau came asking for the blessing and discovered that he had been deceived when Jacob came cunningly and received the blessing, he trembled exceedingly (Gen 27: 23, 33)

How could that happen? Could it be that God permits giving the blessing to someone undeservedly? If so, can the blessing be of any benefit? Yes, course. How is that?

At that moment Isaac began to recall God's words which he had forgotten in his old age: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25: 23)

He was about to give the blessing to Esau, but God corrected him and did not allow him to fall in such a fault, for the blessing was meant to Jacob, so Isaac said, "and indeed he shall be blessed." (Gen 27: 33)

Here we present an important fact:

Esau was not honest, neither to himself, nor his brother, nor to God.

He was not honest to himself, because he sold his birthright for a cheap price, for stew of lentils! (Gen 25: 34) He disdained the birthright and sold the spiritual thing for a material thing.

He was not honest to God when he sold his birthright.

The reason is that the birthright at that time implied the blessing of priesthood, of ministering to God and His altar. More important is that it implied the possibility of having Christ from the offspring of the firstborn, in whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed. How could Esau sell all this for stew of lentils? Did he think that he was going to die without receiving the blessing?

Esau was not honest to his brother.

How, after selling his birthright, did he break his promise, reveal the sale to his father, and ask for the blessing, saying, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." (Gen 27: 33) It would be more suitable if he said to his father, 'I do not deserve the birthright, because I sold it and swore to my brother.' (Gen 25: 33) By swearing, he brought God as witness, so he became undeserving for it.

When he knew that his father gave the blessing to his brother Jacob, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, saying, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me also, O my father!" (Gen 27: 34, 38)

His father replied, saying, "What shall I do now for you, my son?" "Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing … Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. (Gen 27: 37) Was Isaac cruel? No, but Esau misunderstood the blessing and the birthright, that Christ was to come from the offspring of the firstborn. He therefore wondered if his father had one blessing only. Actually, having given that blessing to Jacob, Isaac could not give it again to Esau, for it is impossible that Christ come from the offspring of both. Esau ought to have bowed down before his brother asking for his brother's blessing, instead of the birthright, but Esau lifted up his voice and wept, for no avail!

Truly said by St. Paul the Apostle about Esau, "When he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears." (Heb 12: 17)

The request came very late after the door was shut, as happened to the five foolish virgins, when they said, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' but he answered them saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' (Mt 25: 10- 12)

The tears of Esau were not for repentance, but out of fury, sorrow, and hatred; tears for losing something not to be restored, without contrition or humility. The Scriptures says about this weeping man, that he hated Jacob and said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob." (Gen 27: 41) Of course, a person who bears such hatred against his brother and wants to kill him is not repentant.

When he wept and asked his father to give him blessing, his father said, "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,

and of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck." (Gen 27: 39- 40) Esau, hearing this, with such bad feelings within, he said to himself, 'Well, with my sword I shall live, and let him not live. I will kill my brother Jacob.'

The first consequence of the deceit of Jacob was the discovery of his deceit when Esau returned from hunting. The second consequence was the intent of Esau to kill him. This made his mother say to him, "M y son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran … until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him … Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?" (Gen 27: 42- 45)

Being very intelligent, Rebekah could convince him of going to stay with her brother Laban in Haran. How could she do that?

She touched on a sensitive point that Esau took as wives two of he daughters of the Hittites, and they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 26: 34, 35). She said to her husband, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?" (Gen 27: 46)

These words of his wife had their impact on him, so he called Jacob and blessed him, and said to him, "You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother." (Gen 28: 1, 2)

Here Isaac blessed Jacob once more, this time from his heart not like the first time, which was through deceit.

Remembering the divine promise, Isaac did not blame him for the deceit, nor did he punish him for the deceit. He rather blessed him, saying, "May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you …and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you." (Gen 28: 3, 4)

Jacob therefore fled from the face of his brother, away from his father's house and his mother's kindness. Next week – God willing - we shall see what happened to him.

Jacob fled from the face of his brother Esau who had intended to kill him. Strange indeed was such hatred and strange his ignorance! Could he prevent the blessing that went to Jacob, that peoples serve Jacob, and nations bow down to him, that he become master over his brethren, and his mother’s sons bow down to him, that the older serve him though the younger? (Gen 27: 29; 25: 23) Esau was defying the divine dispensation, unlike his father who despite intending to bless Esau, submitted to the divine will when he remembered God's promise. Isaac said affirming, "Indeed he shall be blessed." (Gen 27: 33) Esau nevertheless disobeyed and showed ignorance, for the blessing implied the coming of Christ from the offspring of the firstborn, how then would he kill Jacob before the coming of Christ from his offspring! How would he kill him before the fulfillment of the other blessing Isaac had given him, that he multiply and be an assembly of peoples (Gen 28: 3)? It was impossible, but Jacob in fear fled from his face.

Jacob walked alone in fear in the desert, waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises. He used to be scared from Esau the skilful hunter who was physically stronger than he was. Even in their mother's womb, Esau set him aside and came out first, red, like a hairy garment all over (Gen 25: 25). Both wrestled concerning the birthright and the blessing, and when those went to Jacob, the spirit of revenge entered into the heart of Esau, and the spirit of fear the heart of Jacob. He fled not knowing if the blessing of Isaac would prevail over the hatred of Esau or not. In spite of the faults of Jacob, God did not punish him immediately. Suffice the fear he was experiencing, and the punishment would be inflicted afterwards. It was time of need for God's care, rather than His Justice and punishment, for God always supports the weak and those in tribulation so that He might attract them. Truly said David the Prophet, "Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (2 Sam 24: 14) God did not want to leave his son alone, afraid, and without the care of the father and the kindness of the mother, in trouble and confusion. Although he brought upon himself such a state, God did not let him suffer the consequences of his own acts, for He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities (Ps 103: 10). It was then time for God's support, while Jacob was in the desert, in the gloom of day and darkness of night, in fear of the mount with its wild animals, reptiles, and insects, and in fear of the revenge of his brother. He needed God's support lest he say, where then is the promised blessing, "the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth" (Gen 27: 28)

The blessing then does not mean the broad way, for although David the Prophet, for instance, received the holy ointment by the hand of Samuel the Prophet, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (1 Sam 16: 13), he suffered many hardships. He suffered much persecution from King Saul, who kept pursuing him, but in due time David obtained the blessing of that holy ointment.

Jacob therefore had to wait for the Lord to act in due time, and in a way suitable to His divine dispensation. It was a period of weaning from all human support, from his mother's kindness and guidance who encouraged him to deceive his father, then to flee and stay with his uncle Laban, commanding him to obey her (Gen 27: 8, 13; 43). When he was with no human support, God appeared to deliver him out of the trouble. He began to feel God's hand in his life. Before that he had no idea about God except that He was the God of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, to whom they offered sacrifices (Gen 28: 13).

A personal relationship started between him and God, who took the first step when Jacob at sunset was tired of walking. Jacob sought a place to sleep, took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep (Gen 28: 10, 11).

Not able to bear seeing Jacob lying on the earth on a stone, God began to act and to establish a relationship with him. Perhaps Jacob thought he was alone in the mount, so God wanted to reveal to him that he was not alone. Though lying on the earth, there was a link between earth and heaven. God showed him a strange dream in his sleep: a ladder on the earth and its top in heaven and God's angels ascending and descending on it, and the Lord Himself standing over it speaking to him and blessing him! That was the first of many meetings between Jacob and God, in which God revealed Himself to him.

Jacob had believed in inheritance, being the son of Isaac the believer and his God is the God of Isaac, but after that meeting, he went further to believe in communion and experience, to speak with God. No more did he need blessing from his father Isaac. He now gets it from the mouth of God Himself who said to him, "Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 28: 14) God also gave him a promise: "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land." (Gen 28: 15) What a wonderful meeting, with God, His angels, and His heaven! These three represent his new spiritual life, before which he only conversed with his mother, his father, and his brother, but now a change happened in his life, a new chapter of his life started. That scene, the ladder, heaven, and the angels had a great influence on Jacob, and deeper was the influence of his talk with God. When he woke up, he said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" (Gen 28: 17) For the first time the Scripture mentions "the house of God", called afterwards "Bethel".

The first time we read about angels appearing to people was when the Lord with two angels appeared to our father Abraham, and when two angels went to Sodom and saved Lot and his family (Gen 19: 1- 18), and when an angel of the Lord prevented Abraham from slaying his son Isaac (Gen 22: 11, 12). This now happened to Jacob as well, for we read about angels ascending and descending. Jacob was thus the first man to see a number of angels together. Perhaps, in his confusion, he was in need to feel that he had a big family from above that was capable of bringing him upwards to a heavenly world. Again, while going on his way in fear of meeting Esau, he met a big number of angels, which he describes as "God’s camp" (Gen 32: 1, 2). The angels gave him such comfort that he needed much all through his journey.

The ladder between earth and heaven likewise was a source of comfort to him, for it proved that heaven is not separate from the earth, even though it brought forth thorns and thistles. It was a symbol of reconciliation and restored life, a symbol of the Lord Christ who made this reconciliation and revealed to the earth the love of heaven, and a symbol of our mother the holy Virgin who brought forth the Savior to the world, who we call in the praise song "the ladder of Jacob". Jacob also had a deeper comfort than that of the ladder, the angels, and heaven; I mean God Himself who conversed with him from over the ladder (Gen 27: 27; 28: 1). Though not deserving, Jacob received the blessing thrice, for God does not give the Spirit by measure (Jn 3: 34). He gives in our bosom good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Lk 6: 28). He looks to our need, not to our worthiness.

To Jacob who was fleeing in fear, God gave blessing and promises instead of disciplining and punishment. The Lord said to him, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go." This had its impact on Jacob. He became sure that the Lord was in that place but he was not aware of that (Gen 28: 16). This often happens, as in the case of the disciples from Emmaus who met with the Lord (Lk 24: 15, 16). Sometimes tribulations make us unaware of God's presence with us, as Gideon said to the Angel of the Lord, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about." (Judges 6: 13)

Jacob was unaware of God's presence with him, for it was the first time God appear to him, and His words were the first divine words that touched his ears.

He began to feel how God is near at the time of tribulation. Blessed is the tribulation then if it brings us near to God. That is why God permits it that we suffer hardships so that we may seek Him and He delivers us. Actually, Jacob did not seek God or call Him, but certainly, his need cried out to God with no words. Did the Lord not say to Moses, "I have surely seen the oppression of My people … I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them"? (Ex 3: 7, 8) How then did Jacob get to know that the Lord was with him? He knew this fact through the tribulation, and it removed away fear from him. If Esau thought of killing him, his life was in the Lord's hands, not in Esau's. Do not then think of the danger, but of God and of the open door in heaven. Let God's word be in your ears always. Do not think of Esau or of his strength and threats, or of killing and death. Jacob felt peace of heart when he heard God's promises, so he made a vow if God kept him actually, not only in a dream, "The Lord shall be my God." (Gen 28: 20, 21) His grandfather Abraham offered the tithes to Melchizedek (Gen 14: 20). Now he, his grandson, says, "All that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You." (Gen 28: 22) Let this be a lesson to everybody, to give the tithes, not only of the salary, but of all that the Lord gives us as Jacob did, following the steps of his grandfather Abraham, for gratitude to the Lord. Furthermore, Jacob consecrated to the Lord the place where the Lord appeared to him. Let us contemplate on this next week, God willing.

The covenant with God in Bethel
So many are the covenants made between God and man, among which was that with Jacob, where God said to him, "Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth … and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land." (Gen 28: 13- 15)

On the part of Jacob, he made a conditional vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You." (Gen 28: 20, 21)

Although God gave Jacob unconditional promises, Jacob made a conditional vow to Him. The reason may be that Jacob had not yet attained deep faith, but was still in the beginning of his personal relationship with God. He therefore wanted to be sure of God's promises to him!

God says to him, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go," and Jacob says, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going". God says, "I … will bring you back to this land", and Jacob says, "If … I come back to my father’s house in peace"!

Nevertheless, Jacob's vow was the first vow recorded in the Holy Scripture.

It was indeed the first time we read about a vow, and it was a threefold vow: the Lord shall be his God; he shall set a house for God; he shall give a tenth of whatever God gives him.

"The Lord shall be my God", these words were said in a pagan age, so they meant that God would be his God in practical life, not by inherited faith, and meant likewise true worship. So, we read that afterwards, when he returned in peace to Shechem in the land of Canaan, "He bought the parcel of land … Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel." (Gen 33: 19, 20)

Jacob was the first to use the expression "house of God".

On that occasion, he said it twice: first when he woke up and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" The second time was when he made a vow, saying, "This stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house." (Gen 28: 17, 22) It is good indeed that the first vow a man of God makes be building a house for God!

Our father Jacob also was the first to consecrate a place for God.

He used oil for consecrating it, for the Scripture says, "Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel." (Gen 28: 18, 19) The word "Bethel" means "house of God". That is why we read this chapter of the Scripture when we set the foundation of a new church, and in the liturgy of consecrating churches and altars.

Believe me I wonder how did our father Jacob get the idea of consecrating a house for God using oil for that purpose?!

In the days of Moses the Prophet, some hundreds of years after Jacob had consecrated Bethel, the Lord God commanded Moses to make holy anointing oil, and to anoint and make holy with it the tabernacle of meeting and the altars and their utensils, and Aaron and his sons, so that they might minister to Him as priests. (Ex 30: 22- 30)

Undoubtedly, our father Jacob knew this ceremony by divine inspiration as a man of God, and was a pledge for God's gifts to him.

It is worth noting that Bethel mentioned by Moses the Prophet where our father Abraham built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him, and from where he moved to the mountain east of Bethel and pitched his tent (Gen 12: 7, 8), was a city known in his days by that name. Before our father Jacob its name had been Luz previously, and it was he who called it Bethel (Gen 28: 19).

In brief, God was first in many things, including the following:

• He was the first to make a vow to the Lord

• He was the first to give the name Bethel to that city

• He was the first to consecrate a place to the Lord using oil for that

God prepared to Jacob the vision of the ladder connecting between earth and heaven, and the vision of the angel, besides the divine promise. All that was for two reasons: one related to the present, to comfort him in his fear and fleeing, and to establish a personal relationship with him. the other relates to the future, so that he might have such faith that would not be influenced by the worship of the idols that were in his uncle Laban's house.

The Scripture mentions that on fleeing from Laban's house to return to his father's house, it happened that "Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s." (Gen 31: 19). Jacob did not know that (Gen 31: 32), and Laban pursued Jacob and asked him why had he stolen his gods (Gen 31: 30)

Here we can distinguish three types of people with respect to worship:

• The first type worships God alone, like our fathers Abraham and Isaac in the days of our father Jacob, and before those in the days of our father Noah and the series of patriarchs stated in (Gen 5), such as Adam, Sheth, Enosh, Enoch, and Mathosalah ??????

• Another type is those who were completely away from God, worshipping idols, like the nations of the earth, such as Canaanites, the Hettites, Adomites, and others????

• A third type is that who worshipped the true God, yet influenced by the worship of idols. Those worshipped God with other gods, an example of whom was Laban.

Laban therefore made an agreement with Jacob when separated from him, and said, "The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us." (Gen 31: 53) Solomon the son of David probably fell under this type in his old age, "For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites." (1 Kgs 11: 4, 5)

Therefore, God, appearing to Jacob and speaking to him, wanted to protect him against the deviating worship that had been in Laban's house, by which Rachel also was influenced, being Laban's daughter.

Whatever the case may be, the Lord was pleased with Jacob's vow, with his consecration of that pillar, and with his calling the place Bethel.

Then when God permitted Jacob to leave Laban and return to his father's house, He said to him, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family." (Gen 31:13)

Therefore, the appearance of the Lord to Jacob in a dram, and the covenant between them in Bethel, were a main turning point in the life of Jacob and his offspring, encouraging him,

"So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East." (Gen 29: 1)

This time he went with a strong faith, and God prepared the way before him and made his ways easy. God prepared for him a way to meet Rachel and her father Laban, in a similar way to that which God did to Elizar of Damascus the servant of our father Abraham on going to choose a wife for his son Isaac. He chose her from the same house of Bethuel and Laban. Abraham had said to him, "The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way." (Gen 24: 40) He is the same angel who the Lord sent afterwards to guide Jacob to the house of his uncle Laban. This Jacob remembered when blessing Ephraim and as Manasseh (Gen 48: 16)

At the well Jacob met Rachel, as Elizar had met Rebekah Jacob's mother before.

There Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. Then he told her that he was her father’s