Parsha Va’ishlach
Gen 32:4–36:43; Hos11:7–12; Obad 1:1–21; Jn. 1:19–2:12 By Raphael ben Levi
Last week our thoughts were upon Jacob who deceitfully obtained Isaac’s blessing in place of Esau. And it was accomplished by an elaborate plan hatched by Rebekah who wanted to give God a helping hand (interfere) after He had told her before she even conceived that she would have twins where the older would serve the younger. (Gen.25:23)
Once a blessing had been given in ancient biblical times it could never be retracted so Rebekah’s scheme resulted in an ever widening schism within Jacob’s family. Attempting to force God’s hand or to manipulate Him even for all the right reasons is never a good idea.
A similar thing occurred with Joseph’s twin sons a generation later with Ephraim and Manasseh when Joseph gave the blessing of inheritance to Ephraim, the younger of the twins instead of the eldest. However, although with Jacob and Esau there existed constant divisions, Ephraim and Manasseh allowed nothing to destroy their bond of unity.
It was something so significant and noteworthy that it’s given mention at the beginning of every Pesach Seder in the section where we pray a blessing over our children:“ The Lord make you like Ephraim and Manasseh and like all those we know throughout history who served the Lord our God faithfully with radical obedience.” Why did the sages chose Ephraim and Manasseh, people we hear little about in the Bible in contrast to great heroes of faith such as the patriarchs? It was because although Joseph gave the eldest son’s blessing to the younger twin (going against every custom and convention of the day), they refused to allow their bond of unity to be broken and allow division to creep in between them – two sets of twins – two generations and two sets of consequences that reverberate loudly even to this day. Although Jacob and Esau would ultimately reconcile, we see how a deep wedge had been formed between them that would manifest exponentially throughout succeeding generations to what we are seeing with modern-day Esau seeking revenge against Jacob’s descendants with their total annihilation.
We asked the question last Shabbat whether the collusion between Rebekah and Jacob to steal Esau’s birthright was justifiable? Is deceit ever justifiable? And yet somehow this deception was in the strangest way aligned to God’s eternal purposes that led to the establishment of Israel as God’s covenant people from whom the promised Messiah, Yeshua, was directly descended.
Deception inevitably results in chaos in families and society in general. We see it everywhere combined with corruption that’s not anymore even disguised.
Family dysfunction was not a stranger to the Kings of Israel and the judiciary but in this particular instance with Jacob and Esau we see it on steroids. Yet God allowed Isaac’s entire family to be thrust into a maelstrom of turmoil because even when things seemed to be spinning spin out of control God was always in control! May seem strange but it is true!
The NT provides us with an insight from a midrash in Heb.10:26-29 describing the character of Esau where he treated common something that was sacred, (referring to selling his birthright for a pot of stew) and for this he forfeited his entire inheritance. He compares Esau’s reckless disdain in the harshest terms: “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Heb.10:26-29) Here unbelievers recklessness in treating lightly God’s salvation is akin to Esau squandering the blessing of his inheritance to temporarily assuage his carnal cravings.
Jacob’s life was characterised by never-ending struggles. After spending 22 years in Haran he decided to free himself from being under the shadow of Laban where he had been constantly taken advantage of and abused and yet we never hear of Jacob complaining. It was as though he understood that the deceptions that characterised his life until now had come back to bite him. But through it all God in His mercy used it to draw Jacob to Himself. God allows our woundings and betrayals – the bitter pain of rejection and abuse and the smothering of our transgressions and every hurt, misunderstanding and failure – every negative, painful, overwhelming experience and turns it into something positive within His eternal purposes for His glory because nothing is wasted in His Divine economy. You may question this and say how such things could be possible? But Scripture states that “…All things work together for good…” (Rom.8:28) God seeks to heal the brokenhearted when we allow Him to bring restoration and transformation in every area of our lives and the testimony that Dawn will be sharing a bit later will verify everything I am saying.
Jacob had experienced a taste of his own medicine with his uncle Laban and it was all strategically what God had lovingly allowed to happen in order to transform his character. Jacob may well have been blind to his failings and by looking into a mirror had done little to change what he saw in the reflection until God began to do some prodding.
In Ps.19, David wrote, “Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of my hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.” And in Ps.139:23 “Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Here, God gave Jacob a helping hand because perhaps he was not as keen as David to seek God on his own initiative. So, what did He do? He purposefully, at the perfect time, organised events to place Jacob in Haran where He could change, mould and transform him into an ‘Israel ’ – a prince with God.
The name Jacob is often translated as “trickster” which maybe fitted his unredeemed character yet it’s been wrongly translated and used throughout church history as a ploy to promote anti-Semitism (i.e., “all Jews are tricksters”). The name Jacob literally means, “May God be at your heels”, that paraphrased means “May God be your rear guard,” or even “God is my refuge and my strength.” …a very present help in times of trouble” – that was his testimony!
So God gave Jacob a helping hand by catapulting him to a place where He could change, mould and transform him into the person He had created him to be. Sometimes, God places us in uncomfortable situations for the same reason, and when we question Him we need to ask Him the right questions lest we become like blameless Job questioning God about his suffering based upon his own self-righteousness. Apportioning blame to God instead of trusting Him within our circumstances will cause bitterness to become dominant, and blaming ourselves and allowing it to fester and grow like a cancer will eventually destroy us – and blame shifting is simply a form of escapism. It is something as ancient as we see at the very beginning in the Garden of Eden.
From Isaac’s blessing of the first-born, Jacob gained the higher ranking above his brother Esau, (Gen.49:3) comprising a double portion of his father’s inheritance (Deut 21:17); the priestly office in the family (Num 8:17-19) and the promise of the Seed in which all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen 22:18). But, it all came at a high price and as we shall see, it took a toll taking many years before the promise would be realised.
After 22 years of faithful service, Jacob fled Laban in secret, fearing how Laban would react. It was an action that was a gross insult in the Middle Eastern culture of the day and it could have cost Jacob his life. Only God’s direct intervention through a dream to Laban prevented a tragedy from occurring.
Jacob fled Haran because he feared that Laban would strip him of all the wealth he had accumulated over the years he had faithfully served him. Jacob defended his actions with words that Laban could not contest: “…In the years I’ve worked for you, ewes and she-goats never miscarried. I never feasted on the rams from your flock. I never brought you a torn carcass killed by wild animals but that I paid for it out of my own pocket—actually, you made me pay whether it was my fault or not. I was out in all kinds of weather, from torrid heat to freezing cold, putting in many a sleepless night. For over twenty years I’ve done this: I slaved away fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flock and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless.”
Throughout his time in Haran, Jacob never criticised Laban for the many manipulations and deceptions employed against him, and despite all these things he nonetheless prospered. Can you imagine how frustrating that must have been for Laban? Laban was unscrupulous but Jacob was learning to trust in God instead of harbouring grudges and offences.
But the main reason why Laban pursued Jacob was for something far more serious. Unbeknown to him, Rachel stole Laban’s household gods. Among the surrounding pagan nations, it was believed that whoever was in possession of the household gods legally held the family rights of inheritance!
So here for a second occasion Jacob acquired another person’s birth rights illicitly though on this occasion it was without intent or prior knowledge. Laban never reclaimed the stolen items, so we don’t know what happened to the idols. But through it all Jacob rashly though unknowingly placed a curse on the very person he loved the most in life – his wife Rachel – which led to her premature death when giving birth to her second son, Benjamin.
Speaking indignantly to Laban at what he perceived was a false accusation, he challenged him: “32 The one with whom you find those gods of yours, let him not live… For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen [the images].” Laban never did discover that Rachel had stolen them and Jacob never ever confronted her about the incident.
Things didn’t end there and following this episode, Jacob now faced another crisis. In order to return home he needed to pass through the land of Edom owned by his twin brother Esau who had vowed to exact revenge against him. Jacob had no idea whether his attitude had changed and yet again we see the hand of God in action. Unknowingly for Jacob, Esau’s attitude towards him had mellowed over the years. He understood that it was in his own interest to forge a truce in a rare moment of reconciliation even though succeeding generations would be filled with active hostilities against Jacob’s descendants (the Jewish people).
Jacob now faced an entirely different battle, something that would define his future and identity. This one was impossible to win and yet through it he would achieve the greatest victory in his life. It was a struggle that resulted in surrendering his life completely to God. And for this he received a new name – Israel (“Prince of God,” or, “One who struggles with God and men and prevails.”) It came at a price that left him with a dislocated hip and a permanent limp! The mark of Jacob, was a prophetic reminder of the victory over sin that came at an immense cost, which in the fullness of time was won by Yeshua who, “surely has carried borne our griefs and carried our pains.” (Isai.53)
We remind ourselves of Jacob every Pesach when we reflect upon the shank bone on the Pesach plate and recall the event when he struggled with God and prevailed. Prophetically, the shank-bone is a perfect illustration of Yeshua who although ’…He knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God’. (2Cor.5:21) Jacob experienced a new beginning with a name change as with each person who embraces Yeshua as their Saviour and Lord. We become a “new creation” and with it we receive a new name that’s reflected in Rev. 2, where the Pergamum congregation were promised a white stone (symbolising purity) with a new name written upon it: “To the one who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone—and written on the stone a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (v.17)
In the end, God sent ‘a man’ to Jacob who he ‘wrestled’ with all night until dawn. The identity of this person is something which the rabbis have puzzled over. The text calls him a man (aish). Hos.(12:4) called him an angel. The Sages said it was the guardian angel of Esau, but we as believers know it was Yeshua. Jacob himself seems confident about it when he declared “I have seen God face to face and my life was spared” (Gen. 32:30). He called the place where the struggle took place ‘Peniel,’ (‘face of God’). The phrase ‘face to face’ is an idiom used in Scripture to mean someone who ‘faces’ another (i.e., comes in full contact with that person to resolve a conflict). For Jacob it was a physical reminder that God’s blessings are always on His terms. And we again see something of immense significance here regarding the cost of discipleship – always on God’s terms not our own!
Jacob understood the significance of what happened to him in his encounter with God: “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared” (Gen 32:30). It was there in a place of wretchedness – at the lowest point of his life where he received a new beginning. He had struggled with God and prevailed. (Gen.32:29)
During his encounter God asked Jacob a strange question: “What is your name?” and he replied, “Jacob.” (Gen 32:27) By stating his name, Jacob admitted his true unredeemed character and by implication, his desire for the Lord to change him. It is a beautiful illustration of true repentance. So how does this relate to the meaning of Jacob’s name: “God is my rearguard?” The answer is both simple and profound. As already stated, there is a difference to know God as our rearguard as indeed the Jewish people have done throughout their history via their covenant relationship with Him – and to know God personally, as it were face to face. The Jewish people have yet to “know” God in a biblical sense that Scripture makes clear is only possible through Yeshua, who is the way, the truth and the life. Instead of relating to God back to back (achor el achor) as our rearguard, He who comes to us as the “King in the Field” as illustrated in the 6th month of ELUL in the biblical calendar desires to embrace us face to face (Panim el Panim). No-one can ever build relationship back to back, only face to face!
Yeshua referred directly to Jacob’s ladder in His calling of Nathaniel where He referred to the angels who were descending and ascending implying that He himself was the ladder by which future generations would be transformed. And from this we learn that when we leave behind our past and allow God to take full control of our lives, He will guide us through every obstacle in our lives and our self-made safety nets into the fullness of our destinies.
Each of us must face up to the same question presented to Jacob before we can receive a name change through Yeshua. From sinner we become redeemed through the blood of the Lamb, changed into His likeness moment by moment, step by step! Everything that occurred in his life until this point had been carefully crafted by the Living God to prepare him for this pivotal moment in time.
Jacob’s story contains many elements we can relate to: our struggles: anxieties, darkness, loneliness, vulnerabilities, times of powerlessness, exhaustion, pain and suffering. But God is searching for those who dare to be over-comers in every situation and He has equipped us with the means to do so when we are willing to pay the price for God to transform our lives into something beautiful for Him.
Jacob risked everything to come home and leave Haran behind him. When we leave behind our past and allow God to take full control of our lives, He undertakes to guide us through every obstacle and bring us safely to our Canaan – to our full reward.
God has called us into His family where we fight the good fight together. If one should fall, all of us stumble. When one does a mitzvah, all of us participate. If one is suffering, everyone shares that pain. When one rejoices, all of us dance and sing. None of us can say to the other, “You go your way and I will go mine.” Wherever you go, you take some of me there with you, and where I go, you too will come along. The functional life of the true believer is experienced in fullness when we recognise and apply it to our lives.
So now I would like to now invite Dawn to share her testimony with us which I believe will reflect some of the things we have just reflected on.
