Isaac and Rebekah
READ Genesis 24:3-4; 26:34-35; 27:46; 28:8-9
What does it matter who the sons marry, as long as they
truly love, serve and sacrifice for each other as a married couple?
Those things are vital because
they are fundamentals upon which the sealing of the covenant depends; however,
they are NECESSARY but not SUFFICIENT.
For the Abrahamic Covenant to
be in effect, both the husband and the wife have to be able to enter the
presence of the Lord, as Adam and Eve did - this cannot happen if one knows
nothing about the living God or does not believe - both have to enter the
covenant and abide in it.
READ Genesis 24:12-14
The servant has brought 10 camels with him, each of
which can drink 200 liters (53 gallons) of water a day; what kind of person is
he looking for as a wife for his master Isaac?
Selfless.
Hardworking.
Kind.
Intuitive/empathic.
Able to discern the spirit of
the Lord and do His will.
READ Genesis 24:17-21
What is Rebekah like?
All of the traits listed above
– and she has them intuitively, plus she is fast or gets to work immediately
(she “hastens” to her work…).
Jacob and Esau
Rebekah consents to go back with Abraham’s servant and become Isaac’s wife. Some years later she becomes pregnant with twins, Esau and Jacob, who are born in that order - which means Esau received the birthright as the first born.
READ Genesis 25:27-28
How would you compare Esau and Jacob?
Esau = cunning, hunter and
farmer, focused on the material world; a “man’s man”.
Jacob = “perfect” or in other
words, he has focused on connecting with the spiritual world, not just the
material world; as the world’s ways are not the Lord’s ways culturally, this
may imply that Jacob was a bit “different” from most people – and not in ways
that the world appreciates.
READ Genesis 25:29-34
What is the birthright?
It
was temporal and spiritual blessing connotations.
It
is the right to receive the covenant of Abraham – to be the “one” holding the
mortal right to preside in the Holy Order.
Why does the firstborn get the birthright?
It is symbolic of Christ’s
being the firstborn of God in the spirit and the flesh.
It is symbolic of our need to
be born again of Christ and become a member of the Church of the Firstborn.
Why does Esau sell the birthright?
He is starving – about ready
to pass out from hunger; he thinks he’s going to die.
Esau is like 99.9% of people
and sees no value in a “birthright” if he is not alive to enjoy it.
He does not value or he does
not have sufficient faith in the spiritual or eternal aspects of the covenant,
such that he would choose death over losing them.
In Genesis 26, Isaac enters
into the presence of the Lord and receives the same promises and covenant that
his father, Abraham did. In chapter 27,
Jacob deceives his father Isaac and “steals” Esau’s covenant blessing. Esau weeps at the loss and then promises to
kill Jacob.
READ Genesis 26:1-5 and 24-25
Why does the Lord appear to
Isaac and give him the same covenant He’d given to Abraham?
Isaac was now the rightful
owner of the birthright, as Esau had abdicated his right to it and sold it to
Isaac.
But receiving this promise
from the Lord is SO much more than a 1+1=2 calculation; meaning that just
because one has a temporal right through birth order to receive something from
God doesn’t mean that the person will actually receive the blessing – they must
have faith in God and abide by the guidance of the Spirit such that they
connect with God Himself and receive the actual promise from His lips; and THEN
they must abide by the terms of the covenant to actually receive the blessings
on earth and in eternity.
While it doesn’t say how much
time has passed between the end of chapter 25 and the beginning of chapter 26,
the fact that they are right after each other suggests that the Lord was just
waiting for Esau to make his decision regarding his own candidacy for the
covenant; Esau had first right of refusal (or first right to rise up), given
his birthright status – the Lord honors our agency and gives us opportunities
to rise up, if we will; but if we do not, He will pass the opportunity on to
another.
The Lord continues to try
Isaac over time and continues to bless him as he chooses to align his behavior
with the Lord (see v 6-23) – after which trials He continues to appear to Isaac
and bless him; it is a process of growing or quickening – of choosing to become
more like the Lord in the face of opposition, over time.
READ Genesis 27:1-38
Can Isaac bestow the Abrahamic Covenant on either of
his sons?
No.
Isaac’s blessing is an
ordination, a “legal” invitation to go obtain the oath and covenant from the
Lord – but it isn’t the actual covenant itself; that can only be extended to a
mortal by the Lord Himself.
But the Lord hadn’t waited for
this “blessing/ordination/invitation” anyway; after Esau had “sold” the
birthright to Jacob years before, the Lord immediately taken over the process
personally – there was no real need for a mortal invitation, as the Lord had
already begun the work of sanctification and relationship building (between Him
and Jacob).
While there may be more to
this last blessing from Isaac than I understand (likely there is!), it is
interesting to note that it is Rebekah not the Lord that tells Jacob to engage
in all of this trickery and cooking and disguise; it would have been
interesting to find out what the Lord would have said about this whole
adventure if Jacob had stopped to inquire first of Him. Since the Lord Himself had already promised
Jacob the blessings of Abraham (and of Isaac) after Esau had abdicated his
right to them, I wonder if Isaac’s blessing mattered at all.
What does this story teach us about God’s covenant?
Esau doesn’t understand what
he is asking for - he is thinking of the temporal part of the covenant:
posterity, land and power, not eternal increase, a celestial kingdom and God’s
high priesthood power.
Esau either doesn’t understand
the link between the birthright and the blessing or he has conveniently
forgotten that he’d already sold it – fair and square (although he hasn’t
because he accuses Jacob of “stealing” both the birthright and the blessing).
God extends opportunities for
us to receive blessings and our agency governs the results; and God honors our
agency.
God can do His own work with
us and doesn’t need a mortal to intercede on His behalf (which is not to say He
doesn’t use servants to do this – it’s just that He doesn’t NEED to use
them).
READ
Genesis 27:39-45
What is Esau willing to kill Jacob to receive?
Esau wants the temporal
blessings promised in the birthright.
If Esau were after the
spiritual blessings and had ANY idea of the requirements, he would not want to
kill anyone regardless of what they had stolen from him, and he would have
realized that killing his brother is the best way to prevent the realization of
those blessings he said he was seeking for.
While Jacob wants the
ordination that will enable him to obtain the true spiritual covenant for
himself.
Jacob’s Ladder
READ Genesis 28:10-12, 16-18
What is this ladder that Jacob is seeing?
It is a “stairway” or “gate”
to heaven - the pathway we must use to ascend to heaven and those who dwell in
heaven use to descend to earth.
It represents the stages we
must progress through in order to enter the presence of the Lord, who stands at
the top of the ladder.
It represents the various levels
of glory that the Powers of Heaven (angels) possess; and that we must each pass
obtain and pass through ourselves if we are to rise up to become precisely like
Christ is and nothing else and be saved (see LoF 7:9).
"When you climb up a
ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive
at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with
the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it
will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will
have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a
great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave."
(King Follett Discourse, TPJS, p.348.)
"When Jacob traveled from
Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on the earth at
the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood above it. He
beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized that the
covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he
himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings—blessings
that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord…” (President
Marion Romney, Ensign, March 1971, p. 16)
No one can arrive at the
throne of God in any other way than all have taken to arrive there. Everyone
develops the same way, through the successive stages of Jacob's Ladder. Combining these two quotes, though, implies
that not all of the covenants we must make with the Lord will happen in this
life or world – we will continue to climb the ladder after the life on this
earth is over.
Did Jacob just happen to camp on an ancient temple
site?
It’s possible but likely not
true - it is not the land but the person standing on it that makes it holy.
If Jacob’s body is a temple
that the Lord can come to and abide within (through a fullness of the Holy
Ghost or mind of God), wherever Jacob stands is holy ground.
Having said that, light
attracts light (and darkness attracts darkness) and congregates to places on
earth with certain properties – some of these can be electromagnetic or energy
based in nature and some come as a result of the deeds done there. If someone rends the veil and communes with
the heavens in a place, there will be a residual amount of light or energy
which will remain there (the same with the dark).
READ Genesis 28:13-15; 20-22
Why is Jehovah called the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac but not of Jacob?
Jacob must receive the
covenant directly from God, which he has not yet done, officially, as of this
encounter (he’s received promises that he will receive it from the Lord on
multiple occasions but hasn’t actually received the covenant yet).
Implied is that to be the god
of someone, that person must have obtained a covenant directly from God to them.
What happened to Jacob at Beth-el?
He received for himself the
Abrahamic Covenant from God - or at least the PROMISE or hope to receive it if
he is faithful (see Gen 31:13).
Why is God not just called the “God of Abraham”?
Because Isaac, and now Jacob –
at this point, have also entered God’s presence and have been received as sons
of God through covenant. So, He is now
their “God” too.
Jacob Wrestles an Angel
Jacob follows the path of his father and leaves the land of “gentiles” to go back to Haran to marry in the covenant. He meets and falls in love with Rachel and serves her father 7 years as a dowry for her but is tricked by Laban into marrying his older daughter Leah instead. Jacob then must work another 7 years for Rachel. Between Leah, Rachel and their two handmaids (who Jacob also marries), he is bourn 12 sons - the “House of Israel”. After 20 years of service, Jacob is commanded to leave Haran for Canaan.
READ Genesis 32:3-8
Why is Jacob afraid?
He had “stolen” the birthright
from Esau and had fled.
It had been 20 years of
possible hatred brewing in Esau’s heart.
Esau had threatened his life
(see Genesis 27:41)
READ Genesis 32:9-15
What does Jacob do?
He prays to ask for help and
to remind the Lord of His covenant.
Prepares an extravagant gift
of livestock for Esau.
How is Jacob’s response similar to Nephi’s attempts to
get the Brass Plates?
He is using his own ingenuity
and wealth.
But he is also putting his
life in the Lord’s hands.
What does Jacob most need in the face of an ordeal that
could mean the death of his family?
Greater light and knowledge.
To connect with God and obtain
a promise of salvation (temporal and spiritual, because the former without the latter
doesn’t really matter and Jacob is spiritually mature enough to know this –
even in the face of physical death).
He needs an assurance of the
fulfillment of the promises received 20 years ago - he needs to be “sealed up”
to eternal life.
READ Genesis 32:24-30
How does Jacob seek to obtain this blessing from the
Lord?
Despite the exhaustion that
was likely overwhelming him, he spends the entire night alone in focused,
intense prayer.
He must “wrestle” the blessing
from the Lord or as Joseph Smith was quoted as saying “weary the Lord until He
blesses you.”
He must ascend “Jacob’s
Ladder” to heaven and pass the one appointed to guard the portals of heaven; he
must somehow rend the veil and encounter a heavenly being authorized to give
him the blessings he is seeking.
What happened to Jacob – why “wrestle” - what does that
imply?
The wrestle is a challenge to
overcome, after which the blessing is received - with physical and spiritual
aspects that require and test faith.
Jacob must approach and make
contact with the spiritual realm.
As with the Tree of Life after
the fall of Adam, the way or portal to heaven is guarded; some believe that
part of John the Beloved’s mission as a translated being is to guard that
portal from the earth while Elijah or Enoch or Melchizedek/Shem guards the
other end in heaven (as all were translated, and the latter three taken up)
As the Lord Himself employs no
“gatekeeper”, it is also possible that (on this occasion at least, given the
objective that Jacob was seeking for) that the Lord Himself came down to Jacob,
like He came to Mahonri, in His pre-mortal, glorified physical body (see Ether
3:17-18); it is interesting that Jacob calls the place Penuel, which means
“face of God”.
Instead
of appearing in a dream, where Jacob’s mortal body would have been protected
from the glory of the heavenly being, He comes in His glory; implied is that
this is a being who cannot mask His glory but could be touched physically – so
it can’t be a translated being after all, because they can mask their glory.
He
appeared in an impulse of light and fire some distance from Jacob, like the
breaking of the day or a lightning strike and with such energy or explosive force
that it physically threw Jacob back and he sustained an injury to his leg from
which he never fully recovered – popping the bone out of the hip socket.
The
glory of the being “pinned” Jacob to the ground on his face (it’s a wrestling
analogy, after all) – it is not like earthly fire where warmth and brightness
are the only physical manifestations; this light pierced or permeated Jacob’s
entire being.
Rob
Smith has an interesting take on the nature of the “wrestle” – I will summarize
it: in extreme distress and trying to shield his face from the light, Jacob
struggled for what must have seemed like an eternity to hold on in the presence
of the being, as He waited patiently. The
light penetrated his shielding arm and closed eyes and began to purify Jacob’s
flesh by burning out the impurities; the pain gradually began to ease. Eventually Jacob was able to remove his arm
and open his eyes; too bright at first but as his eyes adjusted, he made out
the shape of a man. Most people, knowing
they were in the presence of the Lord in His glory would have long since
recoiled and said “it is enough Lord” but Jacob mustered every ounce of
strength left and inched forward, towards the personage. Slowly, he crawled to the being and grabbed
His feet, clinging to Him. The Lord
blessed Jacob for wrestling all night with His glory and overcoming it by
coming unto Him.
Why does the personage give Jacob a new name?
It is symbolic of the power he
has just received from God - an endowment or “power with God and men”.
Why does Jacob say “I have seen God face to face” and
“my life is preserved”?
Either Jacob passes the
Guardian’s test and enters the presence of God.
Or the Lord Himself came down
to minister to Jacob.
His “eternal” life is
preserved or ensured - Jacob is sealed up to eternal life.
What was it about these circumstances that caused Jacob
to “wrestle” for this blessing?
He thought that it was very
probable that he and his family might die.
This was his “moment of great
alarm” – a very real and deadly threat – something worth doing whatever it took
to be saved from.
Why did the Lord put Jacob’s family’s lives in mortal
danger?
Despite all the promises and
blessings he had already received throughout his life, Jacob had not sought the
fulfillment of this, the highest of all blessings, with the required urgency
and earnestness.
This was the ultimate kick in
the pants to get him to muster the faith and effort to rend the veil in order
to obtain the blessing of safety, and like Mahonri in Ether 3, the Lord had
much more to give Jacob besides preserving the mortal lives of his family.
If this is true, why do we continually petition the
Lord to avoid all trials or be immediately released from trials when they come?
We are afraid - we lack faith.
We don’t want the prize badly
enough when we begin to realize the cost.
We have been deceived by the
devil that a loving God wouldn’t ask this kind of sacrifice of us.
Or that He has changed His
plan and doesn’t require sacrifice at all.
