Heroes of Israel Part 5

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob."

And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah; and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, "Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

=--12. The Dream of the Heavenly Ladder= (Gen. 28:10-22)

And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of G.o.d ascending and descending on it.

And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, "I am the Lord, the G.o.d of Abraham thy father, and the G.o.d of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." And he was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of G.o.d, and this is the gate of heaven."

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If G.o.d will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my G.o.d, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be G.o.d's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

31. No man is altogether good and no one is wholly bad. Good and evil struggle for the mastery in us. Jacob is a man in whom this is very clearly seen. He was the twin brother of Esau, but Esau had the right of the oldest son. This was called the birthright. It was very important in that day. It meant that after the father's death Esau would become the head of the tribe, and would have twice as much of the property as his brother. Jacob did not like this and began to scheme to get the better of his brother.

32 (--10). What was the difference between the two men?

33 (--10). Tell the story of the hunting day and how Jacob sold the food to his brother.

34 (--10). What do you think of Esau in this affair? He gave up a great future for a little satisfaction.

35 (--10). Jacob was "smart" or "clever" in his bargain. Was he brotherly? Is it honest to charge all that you can get for something that people must have?

36 (--11A). The last solemn blessing of the head of the tribe was considered very important. How did Isaac arrange that it should be given to Esau?

37 (--11B). There was a wretched favoritism in this family. What was Rebekah's scheme to get the blessing for her favorite? Tell the story.

38 (--11C). Picture the blind old father and the crafty son coming to him. How did he secure the blessing? Notice how one wrong leads to another.

39 (--11D). Tell the story of Esau's bitter disappointment.

40 (--11E). What revenge did Esau plan? Rebekah was afraid: what advice did she give to Jacob? When the man had to flee for his life, how much had he gained by his deception? Do the "smart" men always win? If they do is it worth while?

41 (--12). The Lord is wonderfully forgiving, and he still wanted to lead Jacob to a n.o.ble life. Follow the journey on the map. What did Jacob do when night overtook him? There are great rocks at Beth-el that look something like a huge staircase. How did these form themselves in Jacob's dream? This is a simple, beautiful story of the old time when men thought they saw G.o.d in dreams. Tell the whole story in your own words.

42 (--12). What promise did the Lord give him? What vow did Jacob make?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Call to mind the meaning of _magnanimous_. Taking advantage of another's need as Jacob took advantage of Esau is the opposite of magnanimous.

When the earthquake occurred in San Francisco some stores that had bread put up the price so high that very few could buy it. Soldiers compelled them to sell it for the regular price. How were those storekeepers like Jacob? Why was their conduct wrong? Write the answers to these two questions in your notebook.

V. ISRAEL, THE G.o.dLY

THE STORY

=--13. Jacob's Return after Twenty Years= (Gen. 29:1, 16, 23, 28; 30:43; 31:17, 18)

And Jacob came to the land of the children of the East. And he served Laban, his mother's brother. And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Laban gave his two daughters to Jacob to be his wives.

And Jacob increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and a.s.ses.

And after twenty years Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered to go unto the land of Canaan.

=--14. Jacob's Fear of Esau= (Gen. 32:1-21)

A. THE MESSAGE TO ESAU

And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir. And he commanded them, saying, "Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau, 'Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now: and I have oxen, and a.s.ses and flocks, and menservants and maidservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.'"

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him."

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; and he said, "If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape."

B. JACOB'S PRAYER

And Jacob said, "O G.o.d of my father Abraham, and G.o.d of my father Isaac, O Lord, which saidst unto me, 'Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good': I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I pa.s.sed over this Jordan; and now I am become two companies. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children. And thou saidst, 'I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for mult.i.tude.'"

C. THE PRESENT TO ESAU

And he lodged there that night; and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother; two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-a.s.ses and ten foals.

And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself; and said unto his servants, "Pa.s.s over before me, and put a s.p.a.ce betwixt drove and drove."

And he commanded the foremost, saying, "When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, 'Whose art thou? and whither goest thou?

and whose are these before thee?' then thou shalt say, 'They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us.'"

And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, "On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him; and ye shall say, 'Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me."

So the present pa.s.sed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company.

=--15. The Wrestle and the New Name= (Gen. 32:22-31)

And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and pa.s.sed over the ford of Jabbok.

And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that he had.

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.