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Jacob: A Third-Generation Man of God
If Jacob, grandson of Abraham and son of Isaac, were alive today, we might call him a "third-generation Christian." What lessons does his story hold for young people today?
by Bruce Gore
None of us gets to choose our parents before birth, nor our siblings, nor the time we are to be born, nor the land we are born into. Some are born into small families, some into large. Some are born in one country, some in another. Some were born anciently, some were born in our time.
And some are born into families that the great Creator God is working with! No one asked us about our preferences beforehand. It all just happened without our knowledge or consent.
It was the same with Jacob, father of the children of Israel. We could say that by an accident of birth he was born into a family that God had chosen and was working with—perhaps like some of us. His father, Isaac, was the son of Abraham and Sarah. God chose to work with Abraham and his descendants. Through them He would manifest His greatness and power to the rest of the world.
Isaac, Jacob’s father, was a righteous man, a servant of God. As a result Jacob’s life was blessed. His family was prosperous and always had plenty to eat, and good clothes to wear. But as he grew up, Jacob probably didn’t give it a lot of thought. From the biblical account it seems that in his younger years he was not deeply interested in the family religion. That was his father’s religion and not something he seemed to care that much about.
Jacob and his brother Esau were never very close. His dad, Isaac, spent a lot of time with Esau, and Jacob felt closer to his mother, Rebekah. His brother, being the firstborn, was in line to receive the best of the family inheritance.
That concerned Jacob. One day when his brother came to him hungry and asked him for something to eat, Jacob saw a chance to barter with him for the birthright to the family inheritance.
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