And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured Genesis 29:16-17

So now we continue on our journey as Jacob is now looking for a wife. He left the land of Canaan to go back to his homeland and find a suitable wife. Upon his arrival he met Rachel , who was said to be very beautiful and kind. And it was love at first sight, as Jacob was mesmerized by her

However the story is going to take a twist, as Rachel is not the eldest sister. Therefor her father wants the eldest sister, Leah, to get married first. There father made an agreement with Jacob that he could marry Rachel after he worked for him for seven years, however the deceiver got deceived

And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? Genesis 29:25

I don’t know if Jacob had a little too much wedding wine, but upon the wedding day their father switched them and Jacob actually married Leah instead of Rachel. Once Jacob realized this the next morning, he made another agreement to work 7 more years to finally marry Rachel

Now this obviously is going to create a lot of family drama. However God is going to use this mess to make the nation of Israel.

And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. Genesis 29:31

The truth of the matter is Jacob loved Rachel but not Leah. However Rachel was unable to have children and Leah was very fertile. This turned out to be a blessing from Jacob, as remember the 12 tribes (sons) of Israel are to come from Jacob

God had mercy on Leah and gave her the blessing of children. Now in todays society that might not seem like a blessing, but in this culture having children was the greatest wealth (blessing) you could receive from God

Leah had 4 sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah) Remember the Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah….Leah has blessed this world forever!

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 God ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12

One of the most intriguing stories, maybe in the whole Bible is known as “Jacobs Ladder”. At this time Jacob was sent away to find a wife. Just as his father Isaac , they didn’t want him breeding with the Canaanites , who were wicked and pagan people.  So Jacob made the journey back to his descendants homeland to find a wife

During his journey, he had a vision of a Ladder going to Heaven and angels were ascending and descending from it. Now it gets more interesting as he sees God standing above the ladder

And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; Genesis 28:13

Now the interesting thing is this scripture says “Yah-weh” stood above it. Meaning Jacob saw God himself standing above the ladder. How is this possible if God is a spirit (John 4:24) and nobody has seen him and lived? This was Jesus Christ standing before Jacob

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. Genesis 28:14

Again God reminded Jacob of the blessings through his family line. The same promises he gave Abraham and the same he gave Isaac, he is now passing down those blessings to Jacob. As this is the line that will birth Israel and will bring forth the Messiah

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither 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. Genesis 28:15

God promises he is with Jacob and he will never leave him. This is wonderful assurance to Jacob who is beginning his journey to staring his family. God is with us in Jesus name Amen!

And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. Genesis 27:2-4

Well were coming to the end of Isaacs life. And Isaac wants to bless his firstborn son, which was tradition back then. Esau was technically the firstborn son even though him and Jacob were paternal twins. However if you remember a few chapters back, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew

So Esau still thinks hes going to get the blessing, even though he sold his birthright. So he goes out hunting per his fathers request to find him a deer for his final meal. Meanwhile their mother, Rebekah devices a plan for Jacob to trick his father into getting the blessing. This is one of the reasons Jacob has become known as a “deceiver”

More background is the Bible tells us Esau was actually his fathers favorite because he was a mighty hunter however Jacob was his mothers favorite because he was quiet and liked to hang around the house (Genesis 25:27-28)

And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. Genesis 27:19

Jacob went ahead with the plan that him and his mother came up with to deceive his father. Esau was a hairy man and Jacob wasn’t, so he wore animal fur to discuss himself. His father was surprised he found a deer so quickly, but he believed his son and ate it anyway

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. Genesis 27:29-30

Isaac blessed his son, who he thought was Esau but was really Jacob. Esau arrived right after his father finished blessing Jacob. Obviously his father was greatly confused when Esau brought back a deer at his request.

And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. Genesis 27:35

Eventually Isaac realized he blessed the wrong son but it was too late. Esau begged for a blessing but his father said Esau will serve Jacob. Obviously this angered Esau greatly and vowed to kill Jacob when he finds him.. This fulfilled the prophecy of two nations coming from Rebekah’s womb (Genesis 25:23) His mother sent Jacob away to hide so Esau doesn’t kill him

Esau would eventually form the nation of Edom, which would be longtime enemies of Israel for years to come!

And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. Genesis 26:24

So now that Abraham has passed away, and Isaac is married to Rebekah. Its time for Isaac to continue establishing the nation God has promised them through his covenant. This is a very interesting scripture as the original Hebrew says “Yah-weh appeared to Isaac”

Now knowing that God is a spirit (John 4:24) and nobody has seen God (John 1:18) We can make the assumption that Isaac is speaking with Jesus who is God in the flesh (John 1:14) This is an interesting moment as we remember Abraham spoke with Jesus face to face in Genesis 18 before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Now you might say, What is the big deal? Well the question has always been how were the Old Testament patriarchs saved? Well as you study the Old Testament closely you see that almost all of them have met Jesus face to face at one time.

And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well. Genesis 26:25

Notice Isaacs reaction , he built an altar to Yah-weh to worship there. So obviously Isaac met God and he accepted and worshipped him. How is this possible? Because of God incarnate Jesus Christ

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12

There is no other means of salvation then Jesus Christ, our Living Hope! Amen!

And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:23

Genesis Chapter 25 is actually a busy chapter. We see Abraham has died  and gave everything to Isaac. We also see God blessed Isaac  (25:11) and not Ishmael, because remember Isaac was the promised Son from God, Ishmael was not

Isaacs wife Rebekah then conceived twins, they will be Jacob and Esau. This is where things get interesting as Esau is technically the firstborn however Jacob will get the blessing from his father

And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? Genesis 25:31-32

Jacob knowing that he wasn’t technically the firstborn, gets Esau to sell him his birthright. Now you could do all kind of sermons with this, such as is there anything that you are selling your birthright with God? Is there any sin in this world that is worth losing your soul over?

It says that “Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34) Esau never appreciated his position as being the firstborn to begin with, he had a heart issue. Much like the people who reject Christ, they don’t value their salvation, they don’t value their position with God

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Romans 9:13-15

As the Apostle Paul is teaching here, God is displaying his sovereignty and predestination, as Jacob he has chosen and Esau he didn’t. Just as Isaac was the chosen son and Ishmael wasn’t. Now there are factors that go into consideration, as God is the only one who can read hearts and minds.

However regardless of what our opinion, God is in complete control and we are not. As he told Moses, he will have mercy on who he wants , its not up to us. As we work through Genesis we will see how Gods plan plays out and leads us to the Messiah