Grace Bible Church
Pastor/Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday, September 30, 2016
The life of Jacob as he relates to the title that our Lord claimed to be when He said "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
1. The first failure was in his manner of meeting Esau, verses 1-11.
Notice that the trial and the tribulation turned out to be much less than anticipated.
He was depending on his gifts and his presents to Esau rather than upon God, to try over his brother Esau.
PSA 127:1-2, Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
ECC 2:11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. The acceptance of the gift of the person giving it was considered to be the absolute proof that all was well.
2. The second failure will be in the deceit to which Jacob resorted to, to free himself from Esau's company, when Esau offered him the protection of his armed men, 12-16.
It's incredible that Jacob practiced a deception on his generous brother in order to get rid of him by promising what he never meant to fulfill which was to visit him at Seir.
Jacob really never planned to go to Seir; for as soon as he had seen the rear of Esau's retiring forces, he journeyed in the contrary direction to Succoth.
All such deceitfulness and lying were utterly unworthy of the man who had seen God's angels face to face and then God Himself.
Esau suggested that some of his own army should stay behind with Jacob to afford protection for Jacob and his herds while passing, through a wild and dangerous country.
Jacob politely refuses to travel with Esau, but he does say that he will follow at a slower pace behind him until he meets him in Seir.
Jacob, contrary to his word, moves westward toward the Jordan Valley and stops at Succoth and never goes to Seir.
Prin-Note that Esau kindly accepted the presents of Jacob to make Jacob feel better about his wronging Esau.
Sometimes the unbeliever has a lot more integrity then the believer.
Secondly, Esau kindly received the wives and children of Jacob.
Thirdly, Esau goes on the way before Jacob to make the way clear.
Fourth, Esau acts as his brother's guide and vanguard.
Fifthly, Esau shows his forgiveness by deeds as well as by words.
Six, the point is that Esau is pictured in this chapter as a noble and with a chivalrous character.
Jacob, however, is still mistrustful of the one whom he had betrayed and he gives Esau the slip by going toward Canaan instead of following him to Seir as he had promised.
Succoth was a backward step, spiritually as well as geographically.
Bethel, rather than Shechem, was his appointed goal.
He did worse there; he pitched his tent before the city-as Lot did, when he pitched his tent before Sodom.
Jacob sought to relieve his conscience by building the altar, and dedicating it to the God of Israel.
The very next word Jacob received from the Lord, concerned the "altar" and insinuated that God was not pleased with the altar he had erected in Succoth.
In GEN 34:1, his daughter got involved with the world. In GEN 34:2, she was raped.
In GEN 34:7, his sons found out and vowed revenge.
In GEN 34:13, his sons use deceit on the people of Shechem.
In GEN 34:25, his sons killed every male and committed murder.
In GEN 34:27, Jacob's sons unjustly and unfairly came upon the slain and looted the city.
In GEN 34:28, they stole their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;
In GEN 34:29, they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives and all that was in the houses.