Tuesday, October 22nd

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

Hebrews 11: 21

 

In our series, the Wall of Faith Chapter, our devotion today will cover Jacob.  We know Jacob as the poor guy who got duped into marrying the sister of the girl he thought he was marrying.  Jacob loved Rachel with a passionate, relentless love and originally agreed to work 7 years to have her hand in marriage (Genesis 29:18).  What he got on his wedding night, however, was Rachel's sister, Leah.  "Awww, how unfair is that!"  you might be thinking.  And, you'd be right; he was tricked and manipulated.  What's more, he had to work another 7 years to have Rachel.  Not only was he deceived in this way, he was taken advantage of often by Laban, his father-in-law.  It seems that Jacob just couldn't win!  Now, press the rewind button.

 

Jacob was not an honest young man while he was in his parents home.  Isaac and Rebekkah loved their twin boys, Jacob and Esau.  But, they made a fundamental mistake in their upbringing: Isaac loved Esau and Rebekkah preferred Jacob.  Because their parents played favorites, Jacob and Esau were likely always in competition, creating an atmosphere of contention between them.  When it was time to give the birthright blessing (remember we talked about this in yesterday's devotion?), Rebekkah helped Jacob trick Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing...instead of the oldest son Esau.  So, the meaning of the name Jacob--trickster or deceiver---fit him well.  It wasn't until he was out on his own and in-love with Rachel that Jacob realized the full extent of how his sin would come full-circle back to himself.  Did Jacob ever repent of his deception and get right with God and his father?  The answer is absolutely he did!  The Scripture also records that Jacob's name was changed by God to "Israel".  He became the father of the twelve tribes now known as the country of Israel. 

 

In blessing the two sons of Joseph, Jacob acknowledges that God is sovereign.  What a totally different man than in his younger days.  The question is: what did Jacob, the deceiver, have to go through in order to get to the point that he could, by faith, bless the two sons of Joseph in worship to the Lord God?  What are we going to have to go through to get our lives to the place of faith?

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 22
Romans 3