UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
PART SIX - JACOB

5 August 2001
In order for us to understand the grandson of Abraham, we need to know his relationship to God. Jacob must have been taught how God brought Abraham out from the land of the Chaldees, he must have had knowledge of Adam and Eve, what Enoch had written, the salvation of Noah and his family from the flood. But when it comes to righteousness and living a holy life, Jacob had not understood this. From his dad and mom he had learned to lie and cheat. Because of the death threat from Esau, he accepted his dad’s command to go back to his family among the Chaldees and there take himself a wife. Genesis 28:1-5

God knew that Jacob was bound in sin, and that he needed a personal visit from God himself in order to know what he was supposed to do! Genesis 28:10-15

We can see Jacob's surprise when he realized that God was speaking to him as a person, but he was also fearful - verses 16-19

Then we can see the unbelief - If God will be with me....verses 20-22

God guided Jacob to the people who knew his uncle Laban, and there he met his cousin Rachael - Genesis 29:1-15

Leah had poor eyesight; Rachael was healthy and beautiful - verses 16-17

Laban was as dishonest as the rest of the family and he deceived Jacob - v.18-25

Jacob had not understood that bigamy was not from the Lord (Genesis 2:21-25;

Matthew 19:3-6) and accepted Laban’s offer of a second wife - Genesis 29:26-30

Jacob was stuck with Leah and began to hate her, so God intervened - v.31-35

This caused Rachel to have envy, and it made Jacob angry. Sin came in and Rachel copied the sin of Sarah, and gave her hand maiden to Jacob to bear a child-Genesis 30:1-8

Now the domestic strife was in full bloom, with Jacob now having three wives. This upset Leah, and she gave Jacob a fourth wife - verses 9-13

The strife between Leah and Rachel was great, and they bickered over who would have sex with Jacob - verses 14-21

Now God opened the womb of Rachel - verses 22-24

Jacob now lived up to his name "Swindler " using black magic (demon power) to make sure that his animals became spotted or striped - verses 27-43

Laban and his sons now became angry and Jacob was about to take off. God had, despite Jacob’s dabbling into the occult, intervened and told Jacob it was time to go: Genesis 31:1-18

During the years, Laban and his family had embraced idol worship - v.19

God had to speak to Laban to put fear into him not to harm Jacob - v.20-25

Then followed a family quarrel, and then Jacob took off with his families -v.26-55

God is now increasing his contact with Jacob, his time of conversion is drawing near, and at the same time Jacob is seeking reconciliation with Esau - Genesis 32:1-23

Being alone, he now encountered the Son of God himself, and during this night Jacob was forced to face his sins, repent, and as a result he was given a new name, Israel, which means RULING WITH GOD!

    To be continued . . . . 

Every human being must be born again - John 3:1-8 and once we have been born again, there is a place for us to meet God alone and once and for all settle that He is Lord.

Jesus himself settled it for us, once and for all in the garden of Gethsemane - Matthew 26:36-46

        Have you been to Gethsemane????