Jacob’s Sorrows Series

Jacob’s Sorrows

Genesis 34-50

When you here, they lived happily ever after, what do you associate that with? Yes, a fairy tale. Everything will work out just fine. You read that story to a child and with that ending you close the book feeling good.

The Bible does not give us a, they lived happily ever after. This was not the reality for Jacob even though in many ways he was a very blessed man. For Jacob there is grief, stress, heartache that comes.

Jacob had his share of troubles as a young man. Even as a baby he came out of the womb on the heals of his twin brother Esau. His name Jacob means one who grasps the heal. Figuratively Jacob’s name meant deceiver.

Esau said, 'Isn't he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!' Then he asked, 'Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?' (Genesis 27:36)

Esau was so furious with Jacob for deceiving their father Isaac and taking his blessing that Jacob fled his home with nothing but a staff. Jacob went to sleep after fleeing Esau with nothing but a stone pillow. Jacob met God there in what we know as Jacobs Ladder experience. He set up an altar using his stone pillow. He vowed to serve God and become a giver for this rest of his life.

Twenty years later Esau forgave Jacob. It was when Jacob fully let God work in his life that God blessed him. Jacob was under huge duress before meeting Esau. The night before Jacob met Esau, he wrestled with God all night. The Lord changed his name from Jacob, meaning grabber, to Israel, meaning one who contends with God and man.

Jacob became Israel. His twelve sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Then did Jacob live happily ever after? No. Then came sorrows, grief, heartache in his later years of life. His troubles were many and very severe.

Maybe it seems that Jacob had more sorrows than any one person could bear. His troubles are spread over 17 chapters of the Bible (Genesis 34-50). But Jacob lived by the promises of God to bring him through.

Yes, there was tremendous stress when Jacob met his brother Esau who was waiting for him with 400 men. But it was Jacob’s experience meeting God just prior that brought him through.

Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” (Genesis 32:20)

One of the tragedies of Jacob’s life is recorded in Genesis 34. It tells of his daughter Dinah being raped in Shechem. The situation became compounded by the way his sons took revenge on the people responsible for raping their sister. Some versions say Shechem slept with her, and other versions say he raped her. All the versions say what was done was an outrageous and disgraceful thing.

Meanwhile, Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob's daughter--a thing that should not be done. (Genesis 34:7)

Shechem wanted to marry Dinah and Jacob’s sons responded deceitfully.

They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. (Genesis 34:14-15)

Jacob’s sons surprise attacked Shechem’s city after they fell into the trap. All the men were circumcised to become acceptable for Shechem to marry Dinah. Then Jacob’s sons killed all the men while they were defenceless and plundered the city.

Jacob told his sons, you have brought trouble on me, making me a stench to the Canaanites. If they join forces, they will wipe out Jacob’s family. Just this chapter alone tell us of troubles, anger and grief for Jacob.

The next chapter (Genesis 35) tells us about 3 funerals of significant people in the life of Jacob.

Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak outside Bethel. So it was named Allon Bakuth. (Genesis 35:8) the Bible note on this verse says: Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping.

His mothers nurse died, and he buried her under the oak tree he called oak of weeping. His grief is evident at the death of his mother’s closest friend.

The great love story of the Bible is Jacob and Rachel. Jacob has great sorrows at the death of his wife Rachel, especially as she died giving birth to their son.