Jacob IV: Destinies Assigned

Gen. 28

From the parent's perspective, one good thing comes out of Jacob stealing his brother's blessing and birthright. Esau married a couple of women that Isaac and Rebecah did not approve of, while Jacob is as of yet still unmarried. They do not want him to marry a Canaanite woman like Esau did and cause even more headaches for the family, and now that Jacob carried God's covenant, it was possible for it to fall into more noble hands. So, at his parent's request, Jacob leaves his home and makes his way North to a place called Paddan-aram, where his uncle Laban lives, in order to find a wife.

When Esau hears about this, he marries the daughters of Ishmael. With his blessing taken, he settles in to his destiny and begins to take his place as the second son of Isaac and Rebecah.

On his way to Paddan-aram, Jacob also is prepared for his destiny. While sleeping one night, he has a dream of angels ascending and descending down a staircase from heaven.

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.
Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Gen. 28:13-15

With this dream, God officially places his Covenant with Abraham and Isaac on Jacob as well.

The next morning, Jacob took the stone he had used as a pillow and anointed it with oil and named that place Bethel.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to you." Gen 28:20-22

So Jacob makes God his conditional God. If the Lord helps him, keeps him fed and clothed, and returns him home safely, he will accept him as God. Jacob is testing God's word and his Covenant. If God keeps his word to Jacob, he will become His servant and will pay a tithe to Him.

Now Jacob is on his way to fulfilling the destiny that God gave him, and even more, fulfilling the destiny that God gave to Abraham.