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Beginning with this chapter we will consider four crucial points in Jacob’s experience: being chosen, being dealt with, being broken, and being matured.
If we consider the entire experience of the called ones, Jacob’s experience begins before Abraham’s. The record of Jacob’s experience begins with being chosen by God, but the record of Abraham’s experience begins with being called by God. Being chosen precedes being called. A person is called by God only after he has been chosen by God. God calls only those whom He has chosen.
When did God choose Jacob? Genesis 25 says that God chose Jacob before he was born. When Rebekah conceived twins, the two children struggled with each other within her. She could not bear the struggling and went to inquire of God (vv. 21-22). Jehovah said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, / And two peoples shall be separated from your bowels. / And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. / And the older shall serve the younger” (v. 23). The older refers to Esau, and the younger refers to Jacob. Even though the children were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, God chose Jacob and rejected Esau; He loved Jacob and hated Esau (Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:10-13). God’s selection does not depend on man’s behavior but on God’s calling. God’s selection does not depend on man’s struggling but on God’s mercy.
Jacob’s second experience was his being dealt with. Before he was born, while he was still in his mother’s womb, Jacob was being dealt with. It was not until he went down to Egypt in his later years and stretched forth his hands to bless people that this dealing ended. When he went down to Egypt, he had graduated from the lesson of being dealt with. To be dealt with is to be disciplined. Hence, God’s dealing is His disciplining.
The first characteristic of Jacob’s nature was his selfishness. His strongest point was that he could not forget himself. While he was still in his mother’s womb, he held on to his older brother’s heel because he was not willing to let his brother come out first (Gen. 25:26). Because he was a selfish person, he was able to grab, to supplant. As a result, his name was called Jacob (v. 26), which means “supplanter,” “heel holder.” We should consider whether we supplant. We supplant position, enjoyment, reputation, riches, education, and innumerable things in the world. We would even supplant spiritual knowledge in the meetings. We all are Jacobs by nature. We all have a supplanting nature.
One day when Jacob cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and was faint. So he said to Jacob, “Let me swallow down some of the red stew, that red stew there, for I am faint” (v. 30). Jacob had a scheme and said to Esau, “First sell me your birthright” (v. 31). Jacob already had a plan to acquire the birthright, so when the opportunity finally came, he used some red stew to buy Esau’s birthright. This was Jacob’s selfishness. Later, when he was in the house of his uncle Laban, he displayed his skill of selfishness. As a result, nearly all his uncle’s possessions became his. Jacob married not only his uncle’s two daughters but also two female servants, and he begot many children. Laban asked Jacob to remain when Laban realized that Jehovah had blessed him on account of Jacob, and he asked Jacob to name his wages (30:27-28). When Jacob heard this, he could not help but come up with a wonderful scheme. The subtle Laban nearly went broke as a result of Jacob’s schemes. Nearly all of Laban’s belongings became Jacob’s possessions (31:1). These incidences portray Jacob’s selfishness.
The second characteristic of Jacob’s nature was his craftiness. Without exception, every selfish person is crafty, because he is always thinking about himself and caring only for himself, not for others. Jacob was so crafty that he deceived his brother and his father and also employed his skill to deceive his uncle. Jacob and his uncle agreed that every speckled, spotted, and black animal among the flocks would be his wages (30:32). But Jacob used gimmicks so that when the stronger ones of the flock conceived, they brought forth speckled and spotted calves, but when the feebler ones conceived, they brought forth white calves. In this way the feebler flock became Laban’s, and the stronger became Jacob’s. Consequently, Jacob became exceedingly wealthy and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys (vv. 40-43).
Laban, Jacob’s uncle, was a harsh man. Jacob served him seven years for his younger daughter, but on the evening of the marriage Laban brought Leah, his older daughter, to Jacob. The next day Jacob rebuked Laban and said, “What is this you have done to me?” (29:25). Laban said, “It is not done in this way in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you will serve with me for another seven years” (vv. 26-27). In the twenty years that Jacob served Laban, his wages were changed ten times by Laban (31:7, 41). Even such a harsh uncle, however, could not cope with Jacob. Jacob used his skill so that all the stronger ones in the flock became his.
At this stage Jacob was the same as Abraham and Isaac. Were Abraham and Isaac honest? Jacob’s craftiness was planned, and Abraham’s and Isaac’s craftiness were also planned. Abraham and Isaac used craftiness to deceive people about their wives. They did this for their livelihood. Jacob’s craftiness was also for his livelihood. The record in the Bible is extraordinary. Did Abraham and Isaac not have other weaknesses? The Bible records only Abraham’s preplanned lying, and it also records Isaac’s lying (Gen. 12:10-13; 20:1-2, 11-13; 26:6-7). This means that craftiness is in the human nature of a called one. Although the problem of man’s nature was not touched in Abraham’s experience or in Isaac’s experience, the craftiness in man’s nature was present. When Abraham went down to Egypt, he was one hundred percent like Jacob.
Without exception, every person is like Jacob. The main element in human nature is craftiness. We lied before we were saved, and many believers lie after being saved. Many people say that Christians do not lie, but many Christians lie just as Abraham and Isaac did, and some Christians lie as Jacob did. If we are under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we will see that we are crafty within and without. We are real Jacobs. Sometimes we are quick to apply our subtle schemes and to lie. We should not think that Jacob was crafty but that we are not. We all are Jacobs. We are crafty by nature.
Third, Jacob was very skillful. A crafty person will employ skills. Jacob began using his skill when he was still in his mother’s womb (25:26). He also used his skill to deceitfully obtain the birthright when he was young (vv. 29-34). Later, when he was at his uncle Laban’s house, he used skill to gain the stronger ones among Laban’s flock (30:37-43). Jacob was truly skillful.
After Jacob increased exceedingly in Laban’s house, he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father” (31:1). He also noticed that Laban’s countenance was no longer favorable toward him. Then God came and said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you” (v. 3). Thus, Jacob decided to return. However, he was fearful of Esau his brother and was worried that Esau still had a grudge against him and would come to attack him (32:6-7, 11). Jacob, an expert schemer, quickly came up with a plan. He divided the people who were with him as well as the flocks, the herds, and the camels into two camps. He thought in his heart that if Esau attacked one camp, the camp that was left would escape (vv. 7-8).
Furthermore, from what he had with him he took a present for Esau his brother. Then he told his servants to take the present and cross over before him, for he said in his heart, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me” (v. 20). Jacob had a spiritual basis for dividing all that belonged to him into two great camps. He also had spiritual vision and revelation. After fleeing from his uncle Laban and then making a peace agreement with him, Jacob continued on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw the angels of God, he said, “This is God’s camp” (v. 2). So he called the name of that place Mahanaim, which means “two camps,” or “two armies.” What Jacob saw in Mahanaim was to encourage him so that he would not fear his brother, because he had God’s protection. However, based on this revelation, Jacob, who had schemes and was skillful, divided his people and livestock into two camps (v. 7). What Jacob saw in Mahanaim was sent by God, but he later produced a Mahanaim of his own. Furthermore, Jacob used his skill in sending gifts to Esau. He divided the goats, sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys into droves and put a space between each drove (vv. 14-16). He also taught his servants to apply his method, which was a wearing-out policy (vv. 17-20). With this scheme, even if Esau had a hardened heart, his heart would be softened every time he received the present, so that when Jacob would see Esau’s face, he would surely be accepted by Esau.
Jacob exhausted every earthly and human method. Then he used the spiritual method, which was to pray and hold on to God’s promise. He said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who said to me, Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will do you good, I am not worthy of all the lovingkindnesses and all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant...Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. But You have said, I will surely do you good and make your seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude” (vv. 9-12). Jacob prayed on the one hand and employed skills on the other hand. He seemed to be saying that it would be best for the prayer to work; otherwise, it would be wise to use his skill. That night God came and wrestled with Jacob until the break of dawn. Being unable to prevail against Jacob, God touched the socket of Jacob’s hip, and Jacob became lame (vv. 24-25, 31). Because of this incident Jacob should have learned a lesson, but afterward, he still used his skill. He further divided his drove into three groups, putting the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and his most beloved Rachel and Joseph last (33:1-2).
Fourth, Jacob could strive. He used any means to gain something for himself. He always struggled to have the upper hand in his dealings with others. His struggle with Esau began while they were in their mother’s womb. Jacob was unwilling to let Esau come out first, so he desperately held on to Esau’s heel. According to our nature, every called one strives. Some strive openly, and others strive secretly; they all strive to be ahead of others and to have the upper hand.
Jacob’s fifth characteristic is that he was very capable. He was capable of working hard for fourteen years in order to obtain his two wives. This shows that he had a very strong will and could persevere to the end. Afterward, he fled from Laban’s house, taking his two wives, two concubines, eleven sons, herds, flocks, and servants with him to return to the land of Canaan. Four thousand years ago transportation was extremely inconvenient, yet Jacob had perseverance. Later, at the ford of the Jabbok, God came and wrestled with Jacob throughout the night but was not able to prevail against him. In the end God had to touch the socket of Jacob’s hip so that he limped. Jacob was so capable that only God could deal with him.
God’s dealing with Jacob began while he was still in his mother’s womb. Jacob was striving to be the first, but in order to deal with Jacob’s nature, God arranged that Jacob would not be the firstborn son. Why were Jacob and Esau twins? Why was Jacob not born first? If Jacob had been the firstborn, all the sufferings that he went through could have been avoided. If he had been the firstborn and his brother had had a grudge against him, Jacob would have had no need to run away to his uncle in a faraway place and go through numerous ordeals. All his sufferings were arranged by God. While Jacob was still in his mother’s womb, God prepared a neighbor for him, that is, his brother, who caused him to be severely dealt with.
I hope the saints understand that if we were to trace the source of all the people, things, and events that a called one encounters, we would eventually trace them back to God, for everything is out of God. Why do you have such a brother, such a father, or such a mother? We need to thank and praise God because He has made the most suitable arrangement. As a Jacob, we need an Esau. Jacob and Esau had different dispositions. One was passive, and the other was active. Isaac and Rebekah also had different dispositions. The father enjoyed eating tasty meals, and the mother enjoyed having a son who stayed quietly at home. Esau was fond of hunting, but Jacob was fond of dwelling in the tent. Hence, Isaac loved Esau, and Rebekah loved Jacob (25:27-28). All these matters were under God’s rulership. Without such a father and such a mother, Jacob would not have suffered such hardships. Without such a dear mother who helped him to cheat his own father, Jacob might not have had such boldness (27:6-17). Without Isaac’s blindness, Jacob would not have been successful in cheating and therefore would not have left his loving mother and his father’s house (vv. 21-23, 42-45; 28:1-5). All these situations were God’s arrangement. Are you crafty? Do you strive? Are you skillful? Are you capable? Do you persevere? We must remember God’s hand and His rulership. When God moved His hand slightly, Jacob could no longer stay at home.
When Jacob left home to seek protection with his uncle Laban, God appeared to him the first time at Bethel. On the one hand, God repeated His promise to Jacob’s grandfather and his father (vv. 13-14). On the other hand, God said to him, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will cause you to return to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (v. 15). This promise was what Jacob needed to hear at the time, because this was his first time to leave his mother’s tent, for he had always lived a sheltered life. While traveling alone in the wilderness and sleeping in the open air in a desolate land, he must have felt that his future was uncertain. What would he depend on for his livelihood? Where would he find rest? When would he go back home? These miserable conditions were God’s disciplining. But it was in the midst of these miserable conditions that God spoke to him and gave him a precious promise. However, Jacob did not hear the great items of the promise. He only heard God’s promise to keep him in peace, to be with him, and to bring him back to his land. Afterward, he vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and garments to put on, so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then Jehovah will be my God” (vv. 20-21). These few words reveal Jacob’s nature. He used skill and bargained with God. Then he prayed, “Of all that You give me I will surely give one tenth to You” (v. 22). This prayer meant that if God did not give him anything, he would not give anything to God. This was Jacob.
We have often prayed in the same way. We bargain with God, saying, “O God, if You do this, I will do that.” This is not the way that God deals with us. His dealing with us is unconditional. God would say, “While you were still in your mother’s womb, I chose you and loved you.” God’s promise is unconditional. He said to Jacob, “I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will cause you to return to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (vv. 13-15). This was God’s promise, and it was unconditional. Our God is great.
Jacob went from Bethel to Paddan-aram, to the house of his uncle Laban. This extremely clever Jacob met Laban, who was even cleverer than he was and who dealt with him in such a way that he complained about the hardships, not knowing how to react to the situations. Jacob served Laban fourteen years for his two wives and six years for his flock, and Laban changed his wages ten times (31:41). Jacob said, “Thus I was: By day the dry heat consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes” (v. 40). Jacob’s entire life was full of afflictions. Finally, he secretly fled from Laban, but Laban overtook him. Jacob threatened Laban in God’s name, saying, “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham,...had not been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night” (v. 42). These words show that under Laban’s hand, Jacob was continually being dealt with day after day. Jacob was crafty, but Laban was crafty and cruel.
This was God’s hand, God’s disciplining, which lasted twenty years. Jacob fled from Laban. While Laban and his brothers were pursuing Jacob from behind, Esau, his brother whom he dreaded, was ahead of him. This situation was God’s disciplining in order to subdue him and break him, but Jacob was not broken. He was still the same as he was before. Even though he had gone through numerous ordeals and had suffered heavy blows, he was not yet broken. God had raised up an older brother for him, prepared such a mother for him, and also arranged an uncle, wives and children, and sons of his uncle, but these circumstances were specifically to deal with his person. They brought Jacob into precious experiences. Seeing that everything in Christ is ours is not the most precious experience. God has put us in various circumstances, and His hand leads us into ordeals and deals with us daily. These experiences are precious.
Are you a Jacob? God has prepared an Esau specifically for you, and He has also prepared a Laban for you. Every person around us has been arranged by God to deal with our person. We need these people. God’s discipline and His dealing are in the people, things, and events that we encounter. In principle we are the same as Jacob in our nature, and God’s discipline of us is the same as His discipline of Jacob. Everything that was in Jacob is also in us. The highest experience of a believer is that his natural man be subdued and broken. When Jacob in his later years went to see Pharaoh, he said, “Few and evil have been the years of my life” (47:9). God put sufferings upon him to deal with him. Jacob became Israel through sufferings. Previously, Jacob was raw and wild, but he later became a matured Israel.
Like Jacob, we were initially raw and wild. Jacob was chosen by God and received God’s appearing, and he often mentioned God’s name. Hence, he feared God. Nevertheless, Jacob was raw and wild in the beginning. He was skillful and talented in himself. When he had the opportunity, he would do something by himself. He was so raw and wild that God did not seem to be working on him. To be raw is to be like a vegetable that has not been processed by cooking, so it is raw and bitter. Jacob was such a person.
After fleeing from his uncle’s house and before arriving in Canaan and seeing his brother, Jacob again displayed his skillfulness and schemes. He was experienced in the things of the world and was an expert at using his natural skill. All his schemes, skillfulness, and strength were put to use, because he assumed that his brother Esau would surely kill him. He felt that he was in a precarious situation of life and death. Hence, meeting with Esau was a very serious matter. However, this circumstance was a severe trial arranged by God’s hand. It was in this circumstance that Jacob began his next experience, being broken. In the next chapter we will consider Jacob’s experience of being broken.
