The Patriarchs and Their Desperate Housewives: Jacob, Leah and Rachel

Episode 5 - Part Four

Hello, and welcome to this special presentation of Heroes of the Old Testament brought to you by In the Lighthouse: your safe harbor from the storm. This is Daphne Collins, your Lighthouse Keeper, and host for our time together.

At the opening of this series, I defined a patriarch as “the male head of a family or tribe,” and the first patriarch spoken of in this series was Abraham. The Lord God appeared in a vision to this erstwhile pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans and commanded him to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). This man, formerly known as Abram and renamed by God as Abraham through the generations, was given the oracles of God with blessings beyond all he could hope for. In exchange for God’s blessings, Abraham, in return, was to give his unwavering trust and obedience. The visible sign of this covenant was a circumcision of the flesh of all males in Abraham’s household – eight days and older. In addition to the blessing was a promise of a son for Abraham and his barren wife, Sarah. Their son, Isaac, would be Abraham’s heir and, therefore, the recipient of the birthright and God’s blessing of the new patriarch. According to ancient tribal tradition, the birthright would typically come to the eldest son of the patriarch. Abraham’s eldest son, Ishmael, however, was not given this distinction because he was the son of Hagar, the servant of Sarah and Abraham’s legal wife. The birth of Isaac was the beginning of Abraham’s blessing for generations, as promised by God. He was the son of the promise. He was entitled to the birthright and subsequent blessing of God.  

Isaac married Rebekah, a woman from his father’s family in Mesopotamia. God blessed Isaac and Rebekah with twin sons, Esau and Jacob, who were conceived after Isaac prayed to God on behalf of his barren wife. They had waited twenty years for the birth of their sons. Esau was the firstborn of the twins, but he rejected his birthright and handed it over to his brother in favor of his personal comfort. Jacob, whose name means “supplanter,” not only took away Esau’s birthright as eldest son but his blessing from their father Isaac when the twins came into their majority. The patriarchy of the clan was foremost in Isaac’s thinking but it was Jacob and not Esau who was blessed by his father.  

        Thirty-seven years of avoiding his brother’s wrath would pass since the time of the blessing of Jacob until a disturbing rumor was overheard by his mother, concerning Esau’s plan to kill his brother and reclaim his birthright after the death of their father. The twins had been living apart for decades, but Jacob’s close proximity to their father always bothered Esau. You see, listener, Esau never acknowledged his own immoral and rebellious behavior by marrying two Canaanite women, who forfeited his right as eldest son to receive his father’s blessing. His misguided desire for vengeance came from Esau’s weak character hidden behind this unresolved sibling rivalry with Jacob. 

       Isaac and Rebekah enjoyed many years of relative peace because of God’s abiding presence and blessings. Yet, Rebekah was very aware of the combative nature of her twin sons. It all began in her womb, and the Lord explained prophetically what the outcome would be for these two nations she was carrying. So when she heard the news from the caravans concerning Esau’s promise of vengeance against his brother, she took her concerns to Isaac. When Jacob was summoned by his father and elder of the clan, he could see the grave concern on his parent’s faces. They told him the news of the threats coming from Esau’s camp and encouraged him to leave Canaan and go north to Paddan-aram to Laban, his mother Rebekah’s brother. It was long past time for Jacob to marry and have a family. Moreover, his parents were very concerned about Jacob choosing to marry a Canaanite woman as his brother had done. They wished for their son to seek a bride from amongst their kindred. Although Isaac was strictly forbidden by his father, Abraham, to return to Mesopotamia to find a bride, the requirement was lifted in favor of Jacob going there directly. For expediency as well as for safety, Isaac and Rebekah prayed that their son and heir would find a woman to marry and be blessed with sons and daughters. Rebekah was confident that her brother Laban would help her son in this venture and would personally see to his safe return. It had been decades since Rebekah had set eyes on her brother Laban. Jacob would soon learn personally that there are certain familial traits that are easily detectable but not pleasing when they are applied against you. One specific trait that’s unmistakable is deception, and this time, it will be employed against the one whose name means “trickster” or “supplanter.”  Okay, let’s get started! 

Show Notes

All Scripture references have been taken from the ESV Bible (www.biblehub.com )

All music themes used in this story are taken from Envato Elements

Opening Theme: Heroes of the Old Testament

1.     Theme 1:   Persian Sunset by MatthewPablo

2.     Theme 2:   Nimrod’s Folly by Envato Music

3.     Theme 3:   Sahara Vocal by LukePN

4.     Theme 4:   Egypt by rasberrymusic

5.     Theme 5:   Middle-Eastern Flute Solo by Orchestralis

6.     Theme 6:   Ancient Egypt by iCENTURY

7.     Theme 7:   Middle-Eastern Female Vocal by Orchestralis

8.     Theme 8:   Middle Eastern by iCENTURY

9.     Theme 9:   Desert in Egypt by iCENTURY

10.  Theme 10: Persian Streets by tunestogo

Transcript of “Jacob, Leah and Rachel” - Part Four by Daphne Collins

Transcript of “Strength in our Weakness” by Melissa Saenz