A Month of Jacob

We all know the story of Jacob and Esau. The heel-holder and the red-haired one. 

I was drawn to read from Jacob's story this past month, as I kept hearing the names of Jacob and Esau in sermons or articles. The preachers, either preached or taught from the story of Jacob and Esau or mentioned them, using them as examples. 

It all started in Feb. First, it was about the wrestling in Jacob's life by Ps Mervin Jayaseela. 

Then, it was about how Issac and Jacob held on to God's promises and blessed their next generation with God's promises at their old age, by Ps Rick Renner. 

I was most blessed by the teaching from Ps Leif Hetland, where he spoke of Contending For Your Destiny, illustrating this using Jacob's story. 

I also read this article by Ps Ashok R.K. about someone who started poorly but finished well. Guess who is that? Jacob, of course, who started off as a deceiver but finished as a Israel, a prince with God. 

And then, again, Ps Mark Varughese made mention of Esau's selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil in his sermon about how we should see beyond and see long term. 

Source: Internet

By then, I have already finished reading all about Jacob, studied almost everything that the Scripture has to say about Jacob, penned down my devotion on what God has revealed to me and what I felt strongly in my spirit, through Jacob's life. 

And so, I thought, OK, surely I've received all that God is teaching and revealing to me through the life of Jacob. 

Then I listened to this sermon yesterday of being Led By The Spirit by Ps Ashok R.K. where he showed how, when emerging from Peniel, Jacob leaned on his staff. A self-made man finally completely dependent on God. 

Truly, I have been so blessed by this patriarch. His life would really make for a remarkable novel or movie story. Such a colorful character befitting a drama or movie, one would say, I suppose. 

I would like to encourage you to study the life of Jacob. And I've listed below verses where you can find his story or what was said of him/ about him in the Bible. Of course there are more than what's listed here. (These are just verses that spoke to me personally. So, don't limit yourself to them.) 

  1. Gen 25:21-28  Rebekah's pregnancy and birth of Jacob and Esau
  2. Gen 25:29 -24 Esau sold his birthright
  3. Gen 27:1-44 Jacob cheated the firstborn blessings
  4. Gen 28:1-5 Jacob sent away
  5. Gen 28:10-22 Jacob's dream at Bethel
  6. Gen 29 Jacob's days in Padan Aram, working for Laban (and being deceived by Laban)
  7. Gen 31 Jacob left Laban 
  8. Gen 32 - 33 Jacob meeting Esau
  9. Gen 32:22-30 Jacob wrestled with a Man at Peniel
  10. Gen 35: Jacob returned to Bethel (God reaffirmed the Abrahamic covenant with Jacob and affirmed his new name, Israel)
  11. Gen 37, 42 - 45 Story of Jacob's children and story of Joseph in Egypt
  12. Gen 46: 1-5 Jacob left for Egypt. 
  13. Gen 47:27-31 Joseph vowed to bury Jacob with his fathers
  14. Gen 48 Jacob blessed Joseph's sons
  15. Gen 49 Jacob gave his last words to his sons
Other verses worth noting:
  1. Num 23:21, 23
  2. Hosea 12:2-4
  3. Mal 1:2
  4. Rom 9:10-13
  5. Heb 11:20 - 21

Be blessed as you study and seek a revelation from Jacob's life. 

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