Bless This Mess (Jacob - Genesis 25-50)
Last week, we were introduced to a man named Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebekah. This week, we’ll dive deeper into his story. He’s the grandson of Abraham, the grandson of the promise, and God made it clear before his birth that he would rule over his brother. God chose Jacob before his birth to carry Abraham’s promise, but his father, Isaac, favored Esau—the rugged hunter over the quiet son who stayed near Rebekah. Esau would go out, hunt, and bring back game for his father, while Jacob lingered at home with his mother.
The Stew (25:27-34)
This sparked favoritism. Rebekah loved Jacob, and Isaac loved Esau. In that culture, the father was the head of the house. He could hand everything to Esau if he chose—or give Esau a double portion as his birthright, the common practice. Esau and Jacob were twins, but Esau emerged first and was considered the firstborn. Esau didn’t care much about that. He had his father’s love and lived for the here and now. One day, Esau was out hunting too long and came home famished. He stumbled into the house where Jacob was making stew. I imagine it smelled so good. “Esau,” said Jacob, “I’ll give you a bowl of stew, but you must give me your birthright.” It was a foolish bargain. A birthright would have doubled Esau’s share of Isaac’s wealth—far more than a bowl of stew. But Jacob knew Esau was impulsive. Esau said, “What good is a birthright if I die of starvation? It’s yours.” He gulped the stew, trading his future for a full stomach.
In this first part of the story, we see Jacob exploit his brother’s weakness. They weren’t close and didn’t care much for one another.
The Lie (27)
Later, as Isaac neared death, Jacob made another play for what was Esau’s. He dressed up like Esau and took a meal to his father while Esau hunted for wild game. Isaac, nearly blind, blessed Jacob to rule over everyone. It’s as though Isaac hoped to favor Esau over God’s plan for Rebekah’s younger son, but it backfired. God had chosen Jacob, and he would receive God’s blessing. This lie changed Jacob’s life completely. When Esau found out, he hated Jacob and wanted to kill him. So Rebekah urged Isaac to send Jacob away to Haran. Isaac, now seeing God’s will, blessed him again with Abraham’s promise and sent him to find a wife.
Isaac recognized that Abraham’s blessing belonged to Jacob. He sent him on his way, calling for God to multiply his offspring.
Finding God (28-33)
As Jacob left for Haran, he stopped to rest. Imagine being out there, all alone in the wilderness. Jacob wasn’t a rugged outdoorsman like his brother—I imagine it was tough for him. As he fell asleep, he dreamed of a stairway stretching from the ground to the sky, with angels going up and down. God appeared and said He would be with him and give him the blessings promised to Abraham. God didn’t wait for Jacob to deserve it—He met him in his fear. Jacob was blown away. He set up the rock he slept on as a marker, worshiped God there, and vowed that if God kept His promise, he’d give back a tenth of all he received.
When he arrived in Haran, he met a beautiful woman named Rachel and became as impulsive as Esau over her. She was his cousin, from the family he was meant to choose a wife from, and he had to have her. So he offered to work for Laban, her father, for seven years to marry her—an extraordinary bride price. Jacob was so infatuated with Rachel that those seven years passed like a few days. But on the wedding day, Laban swapped daughters, giving Jacob Leah instead. Under the veil and in the dark of night, Jacob didn’t realize until morning. He was furious—fooled just like Isaac. Laban explained it wasn’t their custom to marry the younger before the older, offering Rachel the next week if Jacob worked seven more years. Jacob agreed—seven years for Rachel, then seven more after getting Leah too.
This is one of the most ironic events in Scripture. Jacob used deception and Esau’s impulsiveness; now he tasted his own medicine. God humbled him, showing how it feels to be treated unkindly. Even though Jacob was God’s choice over his brother, he wasn’t as he should be. His life was a mess.
Returning to Esau (32-33)
After marrying and working those seven more years, Jacob stayed with Laban six additional years to build his own herd and wealth. God was with him, blessing his work with abundance. Then God appeared again, telling him to return home. As he headed back with his family and wealth, Esau got word and came to meet him with 400 men! Jacob sent much of his wealth ahead as gifts to Esau, hoping to make things right. He and his family trailed behind a long train of offerings. Then he sent his family across a river and stayed alone. That night, a man—likely an angel or God Himself—wrestled with him. All night they fought, Jacob clinging despite exhaustion. With a touch, the man dislocated Jacob’s hip, yet Jacob demanded, “Bless me!” Still he hung on. The man blessed him, saying, “Your name is no longer Jacob, but Israel—‘one who wrestles with God’—for you have striven with men and God and won.”
After this, Jacob crossed the river, met Esau who welcomed him, and settled in Canaan with his family. God had fulfilled His promise and blessed him.
Wives and Children (29-31, 34-35, 37-38, 42-50)
Beyond trials with Esau and Laban, Jacob struggled with his family. His two wives competed like Jacob and Esau, vying to bear more children. Leah was fruitful, but Rachel was barren, much like Sarah and Rebekah. Rachel, like Sarah, gave her handmaid to Jacob to have children through her. Leah followed suit with her handmaid. From these four women came 12 sons and one daughter.
These sons brought trouble. In Canaan, Dinah was sexually assaulted by a local leader, leading Simeon and Levi to slaughter the city in revenge—a dark mark on Jacob’s legacy. Later, after years of barrenness, Rachel bore two sons. Joseph, the first, became Israel’s favorite. The second, Benjamin, cost Rachel her life at birth. Favoritism sparked jealousy, and the other sons sold Joseph into slavery, telling Jacob he’d been killed by a wild animal.
Jacob lived much of his life without his favorite wife and son—a sad story. Yet it ends in hope. Near his end, he learned Joseph was alive, second to Pharaoh, and had saved the family from famine. They reunited in Egypt, and Jacob made his sons promise to bury him in Canaan, trusting God to bring them all back to fulfill His promise.
God’s Promise Holds Firm
Jacob’s story is one of the longest we’ll explore—his life fills half of Genesis! Why so much about this man? Jacob, renamed Israel, becomes the father of the great nation of Israel. His twelve sons found the twelve tribes. His faith in God’s promises is pivotal for Israel’s story.
But let’s be honest: Jacob was no better than Esau morally. His lies and deceptions make him unqualified for such blessing—he’s no Abraham. Can God still keep His promises through increasingly flawed descendants? Yes! God redeems the broken, teaching us through trials (Romans 5:3-4). He showed Jacob that temporary loves—stew, status, even Rachel—won’t sustain him. Jacob needed to rely on the one true God, clinging to Him for blessing over human favor. He grasped this after wrestling in the dark, becoming Israel. He didn’t live perfectly, but he relied on God and led faithfully—even calling his family to put away idols (Genesis 35:2). Through it all, God blessed him with a large family and provision, even amid famine, and promised to return them to the land.
Through Judah, Jacob’s son, comes Jesus—the true Israel who wrestles sin for us.
What About Us?
We should see ourselves in Jacob. We’ve been impulsive and deceptive to get our way, yet God wants us to enjoy His promised blessing. He says, “I am with you” (Genesis 28:15), as we wander life’s wilderness. He teaches us, offering eternal blessings if we cling to Him through trials.
Is that you? Are you fighting to hold God’s promises? We must ditch impulsive, idolatrous ways—seeking fulfillment in wealth, status, or people. Don’t trade God’s blessing for a bowl of soup. Don’t slave away for idols that leave you empty. Focus on God. Make Him your everything, endure trials, and look to the promised land beyond this life.
Jesus makes this possible. He’s Jacob’s heir, our ladder to God (John 1:51), bringing eternal life. Will you trust Him? He’s still wrestling to bless you.