The Role of Jacob in the Book of Genesis - Essay Example

?Theological Analysis: The Role of Jacob in the Book of Genesis Jacob stands as a predominant figure in Genesis, as beneficiary of the Abrahamic covenant and forefather to the nation of Israel. In the competition between himself and Esau, although he is prophesied as “the greater,” he does not obtain the promise lodged in his destiny easily. He passes through a baptism of fire in which his character develops from a deceiver and a usurper to a faithful man who struggles and overcomes numerous personal battles. Yet in the midst of these variables, Yahweh accomplishes his will in calling an elect and set-apart people through whom the whole earth would be blessed. One theological commentator notes that “the change of name from Jacob to Israel signifies divine approval of Jacob's inheritance of the birthright1.” As Jacob ripens in his experience, one traces growth and strength.. DECEIVER AND USURPER True to his name, Jacob, along with Rebecca, plots and manoeuvres to get his will accomplished in seizing the birthright from Esau. Jacob takes advantage of this situation, arranging a deceitful contract. Jacob knows that he is destined for greatness because of his mother’s transmission of that knowledge of his mysterious tendencies in the prenatal stages. Like his forefather Abraham, he takes matters into his own hands when already there was an immutable promise ratified by Yahweh himself. The culmination of Jacob’s strategizing is witnessed when he feigns that he is Esau in a classic impersonation stunt. At t his point of Jacob’s life, he shows that the end justifies the means. COMPLICITY WITH HIS MOTHER It is worthy to note that Jacob’s deception is not totally inherent within himself for his chief abetting accomplice was his mother. His mother understands clearly that although Jacob and Esau are twins they are completely separate from one another in thought, in disposition and in destiny. There could be no peace between them. The prophetic message stated that “the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). Knowing this, “because of the birth oracle, Rebekah knows that Jacob is Yahweh’s chosen one…so it is her job to make sure Jacob is the one who carries on the promise. It is not known why she uses deception …(but) deception is a very present theme in Genesis2.” Rebekah seeks to fulfill the prophecy on her own terms via deception. However, Jacob’s mother becomes the highest influence of his life. LIFE IS A STRUGGLE One understands that these names are divinely chosen since before birth he struggles with his twin brother in the womb to gain the ascendancy (Gen. 25:22). Even from his childbirth, Jacob commenced fighting with his twin brother and this attitude would forever characterize their relationship. Using sly means, Jacob struggles against his elder brother to whom the primogeniture belonged hence, “the oracle of the struggle between Esau and Jacob reverberate throughout Israelite history… It is worthwhile to note the history of enmity between the nations of Edom and Israel3” These tokens prefigure Jacob’s life before him which would consist of extraordinary struggle for the mastery. He strives to gain the coveted birthright from his elder twin, Esau then he struggles with his Uncle Laban who was twice as conniving as he was. The climax of his struggles is represented when he has to confront an enraged Esau and encounters the Angel of the Lord with whom he “wrestled” for an entire night season (Gen. 32:24). However, at the end of the combat, he emerges victorious. Yahweh proclaims that Jacob’s “name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with Yahweh and with men and hast prevailed (Gen. 32:28). It is at that night of tribulation that Jacob “was what we call converted; he was a changed character, and, to indicate that great change, Yahweh altered his name: he was to be henceforth called Israel”4 which is a new beginning. CRITICAL TURNING POINT The major turning point in Jacob’s life commences when he is far from home, escaping the wrath of his brother Esau. It is at this time, that his life takes more shape and his faith deepens profoundly. With a personal revelation in a dream pointing to the Messiah paves the way for Jacob. Yahweh reaffirms his love for Jacobs and confirms the Abrahamic promise of blessing to him (Gen. 28:11-16). Before this time, the Bible records no interaction between Jacob and Yahweh; however Yahweh chooses to interact, playing a more evident role in Jacob’s life when Jacob is at his lowest “in a place called Luz to spend the night. It is there he has a fateful dream that was to influence the course of the rest of his life.5” Jacob’s faith in Yahweh matures for, like his forefathers, he consecrates himself, building altars of worship at milestones in their life journeys. Unlike his earlier years, the seasoned Jacob trusts in Yahweh to help him and although Laban attempted to rob him in his wages and deny him the wife of his dreams – Yahweh still took those difficulties and work in Jacob’s favour. He continues receives prophetic dreams from the Lord instructing him with wise counsel; hence, his intimacy with Yahweh builds. When Jacob recognizes the sacred direction of Yahweh he accustoms himself to building altars which “should be regarded as compatible with the lifestyle of the patriarch and as having been not only as a memorial but also for offering worship and sacrifice”6. He is now a full-fledged patriarch who could afford to prophesy into the lives of his children, characterizing each tribe of Israel, blessing them and warning them-hopeful in the fulfilment of Yahweh’s promised land that would belong to Israel’s descendants forever (Gen 50: 5-13). JACOB’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE COVENANT/PROMISE (HOW HE FACTORS IN THE WIDER UNIVERSAL SCOPE IN GENESIS) Jacob’s life fits into Abrahamic promise and the universal heritage belonging to the people of Israel because of the Genesiac themes of the promise of an imminent Messiah and Saviour, the selection of a favoured people, the blessing, multiplication and establishment of a nation and the promised land Canaan. Yahweh pledges that he “will make of (Israel) a great nation, and will bless it, and make its name great; and it shall be a blessing: (Gen. 12:2; Gen. 18:18; Gen. 46:3). The promise of a Messiah to be born through a selected generational line is one of the prevailing themes of Genesis (Gen. 3:15). This promise has been passed down from generations since Adam and Eve anticipated the arrival of the Saviour of the world. In every man child born, the expectancy for the Redeemer comes alive. Israel forecasts the coming of the Jesus declaring that “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Gen. 49:10, 11). Jesus the Messiah also refers to himself as the antitype of Jacob’s ladder (John 1:51). Indeed, Jesus utilizes the metaphor of Jacob’s ladder “in comparing Himself to a ladder between heaven and earth.”7 He is the living connection between man and Yahweh. Another pervasive theme in Genesis is Yahweh’s chosen and peculiar people, Israel. From Genesis 12 Yahweh separates Abraham from the rest of his family. Yahweh chooses Isaac over Ishmael. Yahweh favours Israel over Esau. From the beginning, Yahweh shows that he has a peculiar nation upon which he bestows favour. It is Yahweh’s prerogative who “simply favoured one brother over another in a mysterious manner...In the generation after Abraham, Yahweh only chose one of the patriarch’s sons (Isaac)….In the following generation Jacob becomes the chosen one8.” Yahweh demonstrates that he calls an elect and distinguished people to carry out his purpose. Journey/Pilgrimage is a salient theme in Genesis and Jacob’s life harmonizes with this subject perfectly. His father Abraham has to commit himself to a journey from Haran to Egypt to Canaan. Also, Isaac has to undertake his own pilgrimage in which he travels from Canaan to Gerar and Beersheba. Again, Jacob has to undergo a journey where he transitions from Gerar to Padanaram, Seir, Succoth and settled in Shalem (a city of Canaan). Also, Israel’s favourite son Joseph has to perform a pilgrimage from his home in Canaan to Egypt and then back to Canaan. The pilgrimage is a personal, physical and spiritual journey in which each patriarch in Genesis, drawing closer to Yahweh. In the pilgrimage, one traces development from one point to the next, in search of a common home rooted in Canaan – a promised land. Genesis presents the promised land theme as another eminent topic. Yahweh promises a special land for his people, one in which they and their descendants would dwell forever. Yahweh makes a land covenant with Abraham, Isaac and with Israel. (Gen 12:1-3; Gen 26:2,3; Gen 28:3 and Gen 35:12). “In the Old Testament few issues are as important as that of the promise of the land to the patriarchs and the nation Israel…it does hold a dominant place in the divine gifts of blessing to Israel…it is the reality of the land as a Jewish state9. Israel and his ancestors dwell in Canaan as a harbinger of the promise to Israel’s offspring. The theme of the promised land spills over into in Exodus where Yahweh reaffirms his promise to usher in the people of Israel “to a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo. 3:8). The multiplication of a people is another preponderant theme in Genesis with which Jacob’s life lines up. Owing to Yahweh’s promise to Abraham of an innumerable multitude of descendants, “as the sand of the sea” and as the stars (Gen. 22:17; Gen.32:12;). This same promise was repeated to Jacob which he recounts when he prays. As the generation progresses from father Abraham, the children naturally multiply. The multiplication of seed is crucial in the development of a nation. “To envision an abstract concept such as nation requires poetic power… that would make the transition from one into a multitude more comprehensible. The sight of the stars in the sky is the key to understanding the future of Abraham’s descendants10.” Stars and sand are the metaphors used to conceptualize nation-building. Also Yahweh gave a commission to mankind both immediately after Creation and after the Flood: “Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth” (Gen 1:22,28; Gen.8:17; Gen. 9:1). Isaac reiterated this exponential mandate to Jacob before fleeing his household for Padanaram to Laban’s home (Gen 28:3). Further, Yahweh personally told Jacob of this commission to be fruitful and multiply after leaving Laban’s home (Gen. 35:11). Dreams and visions recur very often in Jacob’s life as a light that Yahweh shines on his path, leading him throughout his experience. The role of dreams and visions is ineludible in the narrative of Genesis and specifically in Jacob’s story. He becomes a man “guided and supported by dreams and visions on his transformation to adulthood…If one puts the whole narrative together in Genesis 15, it forms a dreamlike story. Yahweh speaks in a vision to Abraham….11.” All the mentioned patriarchs in Genesis included Jacob received visions and dreams as a not only a method of communication, but also a manifestation of Yahweh’s imparted favour. CONCLUSION: In all, Jacob’s life stands as a testimony to Yahweh’s mercy, compassion and love on a deceiving and ambition wanderer who has a conversion experience. In Jacob’s life is imparted the divine legacy which originated in Abraham as the father of Israel. It is Jacob’s namesake though, that obtains the recognition after which the whole physical and spiritual nation would be named. His transformation and life tell of the potency of Yahweh to choose and change men, regardless of the past. BIBLIOGRAPHY Albair, A. Rebekah: The Most Powerful Matriarch of Israel, Wagner College Forum for Undergraduate Research, 2006. Accessed 15 December, 2011. Beitzel, B. J. Biblica, the Bible Atlas: A Social and Historical Journey through the Lands of the Bible, New Holland Publishers, Sep 28, 2007 Bulkeley, K. A. P.A. Davis. Dreaming in Christianity and Islam: Culture, Conflict, and Creativity, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2009 Carruthers, L. Allegory and Bible Interpretation: The Narrative Structure of a Middle English Sermon Cycle, Literature and Theology, Oxford University Press, 1990. Couch. M. The Fundamentals for the Twenty-First Century: Examining the Crucial Issues of the Christian Faith, Kregel Academic, 2000. Firestone, R. Who Are the Real Chosen People?: The Meaning of Chosenness in Judaism, SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2008 Kaiser, W.C. The Promised Land: A Biblical-Historical View, Dallas Theological Seminary, Bibliotheca Sacra, 1981 . Accessed 15 December, 2011. Kugel, J. L. The Ladder of Jacob: Ancient Interpretation s of the Biblical Story of Jacob and His Children, Princeton University Press, 2006. Pagolu, A. The Religion of the Patriarchs, Grand Rapids, MI: Kreger Publishing Company, 1998. The Churchman, Volume 38, 1878, The Churchman Co. Pardes, I. The Biography of Ancient Israel: Imagining the Birth of a Nation, Journal of Comparative Literature, 49(1), 1997, 24-41. . Accessed 15 December, 2011. Smith, S.H. ‘Heel’ and ‘Thigh’: The Concept of Sexuality in the Jacob-Esau Narratives, Vetus Testamentum, 40 (4), 1990), 464-473 . Accessed 15 December, 2011. Read More