Jacob's character is changed by the consequences of his sin.
18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” 19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”
20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
Jacob has a reputation for being a deceiver but in reality he came from a family full of deceivers that was as dysfunctional as you can find anywhere. As a result of Jacob's home life he will fail to be a good father and husband for his family and he will repeat many of their mistakes.
Each of Jacob's parents had a favorite child that was their accomplice in the deception that eventually got Jacob thrown out of the house. Despite the sinful and twisted way that Jacob received what God said he would inherit, God kept his covenant promises that started with Jacob's grandfather Abraham. (Genesis 28:1-9)
Jacob left home to run from his brother but his departure was disguised by saying that he needed to get a wife. If he was really going to get a wife he should have packed some essentials before he left home. Remember back in Genesis 24:1-67 when Isaac needed a wife, Abraham sent his servant with everything that was needed but Jacob was running for his life.
Jacob did the initial work that Rebekah did when she met Abraham's servant but then he also worked for fourteen years for the wife that he really wanted. The consequences of sin forced him into working for his bride instead of giving his future father in law the dowry that was expected.
It is ironic that Jacob cheated his brother out of the rights of the firstborn son and then he gets cheated by his father in law because of the rights of the firstborn daughter. Leah treated Jacob the same way that he treated his father when he pretended to be Esau. The cheater was forced to deal with being cheated. (Genesis 29:25, Galatians 6:7-8)
Jacobs new family looks a lot like the dysfunctional home that he grew up in. His parents had two sons and one was preferred over the other and now Jacob has two brides and they both know that they are not loved equally. Imagine on the first morning of married life, your husband wakes up and gets angry when he sees you, and then he storms off to see your father.
But if having two wives that are sisters isn't bad enough, Jacob also slept with their handmaids and had more sons through them, it looks like God allowed Jacob to punish himself through his relationship with these four women.
But wait, there's more, the rivalry between the two wife's rubbed off on their sons and to make it worse Jacob did like his father and had his own favorite son. The trouble that existed between Jacob and Esau was nothing compared to the deception that occurred between Joseph and his brothers.
Despite all of his lies, deception and the times that he made commitments without asking for his will, God used all of this to shape Jacob's character. God allowed Jacob to go through many self made trials before he brought him safely home.
| God's Boot Camp |
|---|
| 1. Recognize and submit to God’s hand in the daily events of your life. 2. Submit to God when you reap the consequences of your sin. 3. Don’t run from the difficult people in your life until God gives you the okay. 4. Plan to persevere over the long haul. Christianity isn’t a 100-yard dash; it’s a marathon. 5. Thank God for the gracious blessings He bestows in spite of your sin. |
The consequences of Jacob's sin took a long time for him to live through. All of us can testify that we have had the same experience. As many preachers have stated, sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay. (Hebrews 12:10-11)
I have been too much like Jacob but I need to remember that all of God's children make plenty of mistakes. We should be encouraged by the imperfect humanity of the people in the Bible. We all have desires that don't need to be fulfilled, we all want what others have and wonder why God has blessed someone else more than we think he should. (James 4:1-3)
1 Corinthians 9:25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
We tend to think that God's people in the Bible were more adequate for being used by him but most of the examples in scripture show us that God uses ordinary people that must yield to God's work of preparing us into the person that he wants us to be.
Thank you Lord for being patient and willing to help me learn to be more like your son through my circumstances, places and the people that you placed in my life.
RELATED ARTICLES
Steven Cole - God's Boot Camp (bible.org)
Run The Race (biblestudytools.com)
