To be honest, there isn’t much about Jacob that I like . . .

To be honest, there isn’t much about Jacob that I like.  He swindled his slow-witted brother Esau out of a birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew, and then tricked his nearly-blind father Isaac into giving him the blessing intended the firstborn.  As a result, his family doesn’t like him much either, and it isn’t long before tempers are flaring at the old homestead.  Neither Esau nor Isaac wants anything more to do with him.

However, his mother, Rebekah, intervenes, and manages to convince Isaac that since the birthright blessing he mistakenly gave to Jacob can’t be undone, the best course of action is to secure the family line—which means finding Jacob a good wife.  Oh, and by the way, not one of those dreadful Hittite girls that his brother Esau brought home!  Jacob will have a Canaanite—a woman from the Promised Land.  And what better place to find such a wife than at Rebekah’s former home, now being run by her brother Laban.  I mean, why not keep things in the family?

So, in response to his wife’s persuasive powers, Isaac finally agrees to meet with his cheating, con artist son, and bestow upon him—this time legitimately—both a blessing and a charge.  The promise of God’s covenant is officially being passed from one generation to the next; and with that, Jacob sets out for his uncle’s house to find a wife.

As night falls on the first day of the journey, Jacob finds himself in the middle of the desert, alone and without shelter.  He gathers some stones, places them around his head, and drifts off to sleep.  While he sleeps, he dreams of a ladder stretching into the heavens, with angels ascending and descending.  When Jacob awakes, he has a revelation (or as the Hebrew says, he was “over awed”—I love that word).  “Surely, God is in this place and I didn’t even realize it,” he exclaims.

Immediately, the old con artist decides to strike a deal with the Lord.  “IF God will indeed be with me, and IF God will protect me on this journey, and IF God will provide with food … and shelter … and clothing … let me think if there is anything else … oh, yeah … and IF I get back to my father’s house in one piece, THEN the Lord will certainly be my God.”

Like I said, it’s not easy to like Jacob.  But then again, maybe the point of the story is that you don’t need to be perfect to be loved by God.  God already knows all of our flaws, and weaknesses, and shortcomings.  God already knows all of our fears, and doubts, and worries—and get this … God still loves us.  Now, if that doesn’t “over awe” you, I’m not sure what will.