Jacob - The Deceiver

Jacob is one of the most fascinating characters recorded in the Bible. This is the guy that later had his name changed to Israel, and is the patriarch of the Nation of Israel. And yet when the Bible reader is first introduced to Jacob, he is not a mountain of faith, but instead a conniving, deceptive individual.

It is interesting that even his name originated at his birth, when he “was born with his hand grasping” his twin brother’s (Esau) heel (Genesis 25:26). The footnote in the New International Version Bible states that Jacob means he grasps the heel (figuratively, he deceives). I have often wondered if that Hebrew saying is like the American saying, he is pulling your leg.

Well … Jacob was a deceiver. He tricked his brother into giving up his birthright and his father’s blessing. Jacob’s brother, Esau, angrily points out that Jacob lived up to the meaning of his name when he said, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing” (Genesis 27:36; NLT).

Another American saying is “what goes around comes around,” and that is about what Jacob is going to experience when he runs away from his angry brother, Esau, to go live with his deceptive uncle, Laban. It appears that God is going to let Jacob experience the frustration of being deceived at the hands of his uncle. The transformation is about to begin!