Jacob Wrestles with His Flesh to Get to God
Jacob never seems to be anyone’s favorite Bible personality. You don’t often hear Christians really relate to Jacob. We all want to be like David or one of the Apostles. Jacob just seems too “much”. He is intense. He is in your face from the moment he is born, literally. Jacob comes out of the womb fighting to get what he wants. His life is characterized by deception. His name itself means “grasper” or “deceiver”. Jacob tricks his brother out of his birthright and then out of his father’s blessing.
He just doesn’t seem like a good role model yourself. God doesn’t give us a comfortable example with Jacob. His is not the star you would chose for God’s story. He may be the perfect one for us, though.
Why?
Jacob may do some sinful things in his lifetime. He is clearly not following God in his choice of methods. But Jacob’s grasping is always consistent in its goal – the blessings of God. Jacob initially doesn’t do it in the right way. He receives consequences for doing so. But while Esau thinks nothing of throwing away his gifts from God, Jacob consistently battles for them. He also learns trust and to do the fighting God’s way as he grows older.
