Summary
- Life of Jacob so far has been full or usurping and lying
- Laban is somewhat of his match
- Jacob ended up with Laban because of swindling Esau, so he can't stay in Isaac's be-dav because Esau wants to kill him
- Jacob tehn has to leave Laban's and be his own be-dav
- Jacob is a guy who wants more - back to why God chooses who he chooses, Jacob strives and seeks to do things.
Wresting with God
Genesis 32:24–32 (ESV)
24And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
32Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
- Jacob wrestles with a man, but the NT says Jacob wrestled with God
Meeting Esau
- Jacob sends groups of his be-dav first to meet Esau
- Almost certainly he sends them in reverse order of importance to himself... Leah first, then Rachel, then even himself
- After Jacob wrestles with God and Esau forgives him, Esau offers protection and to live in reconciled relationship but Jacob continues to lie and he doesn't follow up by going to Seir with Esau, but instead he goes to Succoth
Rape of Dinah
- Dinah is taken into the house of the king of Shechem
- Her brothers then plan for revenge
- Their manner of planning looks similar to their father, Jacob - full of deceit
- At the very end of this story (Genesis 34:30-31) Jacob seems super concerned with himself still - kind of forces us to question whether the story of him wrestling with God above, is actually a turning point for Jacob... His name is changed but he so far very much hasn't
Second Name Change
- In first part of Genesis 35, they go up to Bethel and Jacob builds an altar
- Him building the altar looks like he's just trying to work the system - he never "builds an altar and calls on the name of the Lord", Jacob only ever builds the thing
- Jacob's name is changed a second time in 35:10 <– Indicative of a chaism here?
Genesis 35:11
- Be fruitful and multiply - Adam and Eve, Noah.
- Jacob is told the same thing as these two stories so we expect a few things:
- More children mainly
- With Noah in our head, and the story of creation, we expect that there will be tragedy with the next child, and someone will have to take the blame (mainly with Noah in mind who blames Canaan and curses him for Noah himself not having his next child, which again was hinted at with the 4 rivers)
What followed
- Rachel dies giving birth to Ben-oni who Jacob renames Benjamin
- End of Genesis, Jacob blames himself for Rachel's death (not clear in English)
- Back when someone stole Laban's idols, Jacob tells Laban that if anyone stole them, they will die. It was Rachel who stole them but kept it hidden, so at the end of Jacob's life he blames himself.
- See the parallel to Noah blaming Ham for the loss of his (non-existent) 4th son
- Jacob here also finally confronts himself - the only real true love of his life was Rachel, and he own the curse he put on her even unknowingly
- Jacob's name, Israel, can mean 2 things... "Conquered God" or "God conquered"
- Marty makes an argument that the name change means "Conquered God" the first time when Jacob wrestled with God - and God honors Jacob's "hutz-pah", but the second time is when God conquered Israel and God won. Becuase it's after Rachel's death that Jacob changes and starts to actually love, and fear losing, the things he has.