Jacob

 
Jacob was one of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament, but at times he was also a schemer, liar, and manipulator .Jacob is a troubling character in the Old Testament. He is conniving and he is spiritual too. He has moments of strong faith as well as of fear. His family is sometimes in disarray, and yet at the end he is the one who sets it straight. Jacob, whose very name suggests "deceiver," is renamed by God as "Israel" -- "one who has struggled with God." And an entire nation is named after this patriarch -- the nation of Israel.

Jacob is a bit too much like us -- with very human strengths and weaknesses, but a man with a striving for spiritual things. From this imperfect man we learn important lessons of faith. Especially, we learn about God's grace

God established his covenant with Jacob's grandfather, Abraham. The blessings continued through Jacob's father, Isaac, then to Jacob and his descendants. Jacob's sons became leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel.

The younger of twins, Jacob was born holding on to his brother Esau's heel. His name means "he grasps the heel" or "he deceives." Jacob lived up to his name. He and his mother Rebekah cheated Esau out of his birthright and blessing. Later in Jacob's life, God renamed him Israel, which means "he struggles with God."

In fact, Jacob struggled with God his entire life, as many of us do. As he matured in faith, Jacob depended on God more and more. But the turning point for Jacob came after a dramatic, all-night wrestling match with God. In the end the Lord touched Jacob's hip and he was a broken man, but also a new man. From that day forward, Jacob was called Israel. And for the rest of his life he walked with a limp, demonstrating his dependence on the Lord. Jacob finally learned to give up control to God.

Jacob's story teaches us how an imperfect person can be greatly blessed by God--not because of who he or she is, but because of who God is.

 

Jacob's Accomplishments:

Jacob in the Bible account, fathered 12 sons, who became leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel. One of them was Joseph, a key figure in the Old Testament.

His name is frequently associated with God in the Bible: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Jacob persevered in his love for Rachel. He proved to be a hard worker.

Jacob's Strengths:

Jacob was clever. Sometimes this trait worked for him and sometimes it backfired on him.

He used both his mind and strength to build his wealth and family.

Jacob's Weaknesses:

sometimes Jacob made his own rules, deceiving others for selfish gain. He did not trust God to work things out.

Even though God revealed himself to Jacob in the Bible, Jacob took a long time to become a true servant of the Lord.

He favoured Joseph over his other sons, leading to jealousy and strife within his family.

Life Lessons:

The sooner we trust God in life, the longer we will benefit from his blessings. When we fight God, we are in a losing battle.

We often worry about missing the will of God for our life, but God works with our mistakes and bad decisions. His plans cannot be upset.

Hometown:

Canaan.

Referenced in the Bible:

Jacob's story is found in Genesis chapters 25-37, 42, 45-49. His name is mentioned throughout the Bible in connection with God: "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Occupation:

Shepherd, prosperous owner of sheep and cattle.

Family Tree:

Father: Isaac
Mother: Rebekah
Brother: Esau
Grandfather: Abraham
Wives: Leah, Rachel
Sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali
Daughter: Dinah

Key Verses:

Genesis 28:12-15
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (NIV)

Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (NIV)

Genesis 32:28
Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." (NIV)



Jonah

One of the greatest prophets during the time of Jeroboam II was Jonah the son of Amitai, who, as a prophet disciple, had anointed Jehu and who, therefore, enjoyed the king's benevolence. Once God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, one of the largest cities of that time and foretell its destruction, because the evil of its inhabitants had reached the limit. The mission, however, was not to Jonah's liking. Nineveh was a bitter enemy of Israel, and Jonah would have liked to see its destruction. If he should succeed in his mission and Nineveh would be spared, it would remain a constant threat to Israel. Jonah therefore decided to seek escape. He boarded a ship that sailed for Tarshish, hoping to forget about his mission. Once the prophet was on the high seas, God caused a storm to break that threatened to tear the ship asunder. The sailors were frightened and each one prayed to his god. Jonah, however, lay down to sleep. The captain of the ship, seeing the sleeping man, went over to him and reprimanded him for sleeping in that fateful hour, instead of praying to God. Meanwhile the sailors drew lots to find out whose fault it was that this misfortune had been brought upon them. The lot fell upon Jonah. When the sailors questioned him as to who he was, whence he had come, and what his business was, he told them that he was a Jew and a servant of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Then the sailors asked what they should do in order to quiet the raging sea and save their ship with all aboard. Jonah replied that all they had to do was to throw him overboard, and the storm would immediately die down, since it had been caused by his refusal to obey God's command. At first the sailors did not want to do as Jonah asked. But the storm grew fiercer and the end was seemingly unavoidable. Very reluctantly, the sailors threw Jonah into the water and the storm ceased at once.

As soon as Jonah was in the water, God sent a large fish to swallow Jonah alive. Three days and three nights Jonah stayed within the fish. In distress, he prayed to God to save him, and God ordered the fish to eject Jonah and set him on dry land.

Jonah in Nineveh

Again God ordered Jonah to go to Nineveh to convey the Divine message. This time the prophet traveled to Nineveh to carry out his mission. Upon his arrival in the city, Jonah stepped right into the middle of the busy thoroughfare and announced that the city would perish in forty days. The prophet's solemn warning electrified the city. The residents believed the prophecy and repented. They fasted and wore sackcloth; even the king himself took off his royal robes and put on the garbs of mourning. Everyone in the city honestly and sincerely decided to abandon his evil past. All the people truly tried to mend their ways. Possessions unjustly acquired were returned to their rightful owners, and false judgments were revised. God saw that they were sincere in their repentance and accepted it. Nineveh was saved

Characteristics of the book of Jonah

Anger: The book of Jonah shows the danger of focusing on anger and allowing feelings of anger to supersede reason and being humble before God. Selfish anger leads to errors in judgment and sometimes feelings of depression.

Disobeying God: The book of Jonah study clearly shows how intentional disobedience by a servant of God can lead to trouble not only for themselves but for those near them.

God uses imperfect people: God does not give up on his people although we may feel far from God when we are unfaithful.

God’s sovereignty: The Bible study of Jonah identifies several instances where God shows his sovereignty through nature as well as through uncooperative people.

God’s purpose for difficult times or pending judgment: The Jonah Bible study shows how God intends for difficult times or pending judgment is intended to turn people to Him. God’s delay in bringing judgment is for the purpose of allowing people time to repent.

Repentance: The people of Nineveh demonstrate the type of repentance God desires; acts of remorse and change in behavior.

Values: The Bible study on Jonah points out how selfishness leads us to prefer personal benefit over the salvation of enemies and that sometimes unbelievers show greater value for human life more than believers.