Strong Man Of God Blog

          It is only fitting that after examining his wives, Rachel, his second who he loved and Leah, his first who bore him six sons and he honored with burial next to him, that Jacob also be looked at for what God would have His aspiring strong men in the image of Christ learn from him.¹  Indeed, as the last of the three revered Jewish patriarchs God had Personally interacted with to bring this ethnic people into existence, Jacob in heart and character is very important in His plans and actions during those days.  The world today in post-Christianity rebellion against God may be rejecting the role of men as patriarchs in His order of mankind, but He continues to honor it for good cause.

          Let me start as the Lord leads by declaring unequivocally that Jacob as all other men from Adam was born a sinner to parents that each was one too!  Yet, this did stop God from assigning him a place in the godly line of men from Enosh, grandson of Adam down through his grandfather, Abraham, and father, Isaac, both of whom “called on the name of the Lord,” enjoyed relationship with Him as well as received His covenant of promise (Genesis 4:25-26, 12:1-9, 26:1-6, 12-25, NKJV).  No mortal human existence from Adam much less a godly line could have continued unless his seed had made it possible as understood in the term, “begot,” (Genesis 5, 10, 11:10-26, 21:1-7, NKJV).

          The godly line eventually comes down to Jesus of Nazareth biologically and most awesome, spiritually, since He is described as “the son of God” and “the only begotten of the Father,” (Luke 3:23-38; John 1:14-18, NKJV).  God the Father begets His Son in the sense of providing the command for His incarnation and supernatural power through the Holy Spirit upon the seed of the virgin to make it happen as I write about in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics (Luke 1:30-35)!²  The Son in turn becomes a spiritual father to all who look to Him for salvation and new birth through faith and the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 9:6-7, 53:10-12; John 1:10-13, 3:1-8, 6:63, 20:19-23).³

          God’s sovereign election of Jacob to walk in the destiny and promises of Abraham and Isaac before conception in their mother’s womb, rendered the struggle with his fraternal twin, Esau, unnecessary for nothing can thwart His will (Genesis 25:19-23; Malachi 1:1-3a; Romans 9:6-13)!  Nevertheless, true to the name his parents gave him which means supplanter, Jacob came out of the womb clutching his brother’s heal as if to replace him in the birth order (Genesis 25:24-26).  They were not only different in appearance, but interests and dispositions also.  Esau grew up to become “a skillful hunter, a man of the field; Jacob a mild man dwelling in tents,” (Genesis 25:27, NKJV).

          The interests and dispositions of Esau and Jacob would play vital roles in the outcomes of their respective lives and those of their descendants.  Esau would prove to be wild, independent, impulsive and dull of thinking; Jacob, though quiet and loyal to his family as a herdsman and tent dweller like his forefathers, was calculating, laid back and patient.  While He can and does work with both types of men if they are willing, it is important for men that aspire to become strong men of God in the image of Christ to note Jacob in the natural was more like Him than Esau.⁴  Now, “Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob,” (Genesis 25:28, NKJV).

          The parental favoritism of their respective sons facilitated the great deceit that was to take place in the aftermath of Jacob’s to obtain Esau’s “birthright,” (Genesis 25:29-34, NKJV).  His mother and Jacob successfully conspired to deceive Isaac into bestowing Esau’s birthright blessing of the firstborn on him instead (Genesis 27:1-38).  Fear of Esau’s threat of murder and once again his mother’s cunning led to Jacob leaving for what she purposed as a short stay in “Padan Aram” among her people ostensibly to seek a wife (Genesis 27:41-28:5).  She never saw him again.  Meanwhile, on the first night of his nearly 500 mile journey north, Jacob had the first of what would be many encounters with God.  To this point, he plainly had only known of God, but did not know Him!⁵

          Jacob’s first encounter with God came by way of a dream.  In it, he saw “a ladder” erected from earth and reaching into Heaven where “the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”⁶  He also saw “the LORD” standing “above” the ladder who then, began to introduce Himself as ‘“the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.’”  From there, God restates to Jacob the covenant promises He made to Abraham and to Isaac (Genesis 28:10-14, NKJV).  After this, He promises Jacob His presence and protection and assures He will bring him back to the land he was leaving (Genesis 28:15).  Jacob wakes up in awe of God’s presence.  In the morning, he names the place “Bethel.”  Then, Jacob makes his own solemn promise to God (Genesis 28:16-22, NKJV).

  1 Read the May 21, 2023 post, Lessons From Rachel For Aspiring Great Women, under the category, The Cause and that of May 28, 2023, Leah Unloved, Favored By God,
     under the category, Glory To God!

  2 The Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition of the book as well as companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study are
     available in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

  3 Christ  is  God  the  Word which as living spiritual Seed is planted into the hearts of those who receive Him through the Gospel and energizing power of the Holy Spirit who
     causes new birth and development (John 1:1-5; 1 Peter 1:22-2:3; 1 John 3:9)!

  4 Yes, as  the  Lord  leads,  I  am  saying  the  lopsided  wild, outdoorsman persona some of my brothers in the Christian men’s movement want to present as manhood God
     seeks  to  build  in us is not biblical.  The Lord was not a wild man.  One has only to objectively examine His Persona and measured aggressive actions in passion for God
     and  His  purposes  along  with His own description of Himself in the Gospels to see this (Matthew 11:28-30, 12:15-21, 21:12-17).  The Lord spent much time outdoors with
     His disciples (some of the key men were fishermen by trade) because they traveled throughout Israel preaching and teaching.

  5 Sound familiar?  Jacob’s head knowledge of God up to this point had come by listening to and watching his father, Isaac, and is typical of many professed Christians as re-
     ligious impostors.  Time and again in witnessing to folks and asking whether they know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord I have heard the retort, “My mother (or grandmoth-
     er and most rarely, father)….”  You cannot know God through someone else; you must know Him for yourself!

  6 The Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament validates Jacob’s dream and connects Himself to it as the unique Ladder into Heaven (John 1:47-51; 14:6).

          Rachel, the mother of Israel, has much to instruct aspiring great women of God in the image of Christ.  She was central in last week’s Mother’s Day post as she was too, when the Lord first led me to write about her back in January of this year.¹  Unfortunately, the positive lessons Rachel has to teach are from her less than admirable character and bad behavior.  Her historical appearance in the Bible serves as a cautionary tale for all women, but especially those that are Christians and would live on purpose to please God and do His will as is the heart of the aspiring great woman of God in Christ’s image.²  Rachel is famous in Israel because of God’s acknowledgment and in spite of her.³

          Rachel bore Jacob two sons: Joseph and Benjamin.  Joseph grew up to become an outstanding example of a spiritually gifted aspiring strong man of God, ruler (under Pharaoh in Egypt) and deliverer of Israel in the image of Christ.  From Benjamin’s seed came Israel’s first king, Saul.  Like too many men today Christian or not, Jacob was initially enraptured with Rachel’s beauty, not her character.  As it turns out, it appears that Rachel’s descendant, Saul, and his half-hearted commitment to God, contrary and independent spirit originated with her in the biblical narrative;⁴ being displayed first in her choice to shepherd sheep among predominantly males.

          Examine Genesis 24:1-28 and 29:1-12 to compare Rachel’s assertive insertion into what was typically a male vocation (she had brothers--Genesis 31:1) to the servant’s heart of her aunt Rebekah in her youth who was also “beautiful,” but carried out the usual tasks women had in those days (NKJV).⁵  She clearly had been accepted and was respected by the males because they waited for her as part of the community rules for when flocks could be given water.  However, as is the case for guilty females in today’s feminist driven world where Rachel’s assertive insertion into the traditional occupation of males is applauded, that spirit reveals some deeper, underlying character flaws of sin.

          Accustomed to having her way since clearly her father, Laban, permitted Rachel to be a shepherdess despite having wealth enough to give maids to his daughters when they married Jacob and sons that did not require it, she was also envious, demanding, impatient, competitive, self-willed, selfish, self-deceived in attempting to make God a party to sin and conniving (Genesis 30:1-8, 14-16).  Though she had prayed to Him for children and was heard in His timing with the birth of her firstborn, Joseph, she hoped would lead to another son (Genesis 30:22-24), Rachel did not exalt God in gratitude or truly reverence Him thereafter seeing as she stole her father’s idols (Genesis 31:17-21).⁶

          Whatever Rachel’s motives for stealing her father’s idols, the act not only made her a thief, but also one that did not highly regard the living, “only true God” her husband, Jacob, spoke to and heard from as did her father (Genesis 31:2-16, 22-29; John 17:3, NKJV).  Wicked in idolatry with her father, Rachel became a deceiver as he demanded to know who had stolen his idols he searched for she had hidden and prevented their discovery underneath her (Genesis 31:30-35).  She clung to those idols while hearing of Jacob’s encounter with angels and name change along with seeing the result in his body after wrestling with “a Man” he identified as “God,” (Genesis 32:1-2, 22-32, NKJV).⁷

          If Israel did not know about the idols Rachel stole from her father before this point, he most certainly learned about this after he commanded all his household to “put away the foreign gods” and collected the idols in preparation for leading them to meet with God at “Bethel,” (Genesis 35:1-15, NKJV).  Rachel’s last act of selfishness was as she died naming her child translated, son of my sorrow, which Israel changed (Genesis 35:16-18).  No doubt, he was heartbroken as before and at her death he saw the woman he had loved so deeply in true spiritual, moral and ethical character that over twenty years had never changed while he drew closer to God and did.  Not in the family plot of his fathers, but a marked grave near Bethlehem by herself he buried Rachel (Genesis 35:19-20). 

          Rachel’s lessons for every aspiring great woman of God in the image of Christ should be heeded.  First, outward beauty impresses men, but not God.  Second, separated from God as a sinner, you are inwardly grotesque and dead in spiritual death!  There is no make-up or pretense to hide the real you that will eventually show through.  Third, Rachel was so close, but failed to reach out and come to know God as did her husband so she could be transformed inwardly in character.⁸  No one who comes to truly know God remains the same!  For this cause, if you want a life blessed of God, well lived with a godly husband and family, then press into and submit fully in all obedience to Christ (Proverbs 31:30; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:1-10, 4:17-24; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Peter 3:1-6).

1 See the January 15, 2023 post, Rachel’s Children Live!, under the category, Instruction.

2 I am led by the Lord to first introduce the aspiring great woman of God in the image of Christ in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.  More biblical details and
   instruction about her are later presented in a companion women’s group study.  Get a Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book Edition of the book as well as the Great Woman Of God
   Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, among internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

3 As  noted  in  my January post, Rachel had standing with God because the patriarch, Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham loved her deeply.  Her burial off a major
   north-south connecting road near Bethlehem gave rise to the Lord using her in two prophetic instances (Jeremiah 31:15-17; Matthew 2:16-18).

4 Read 1 Samuel 9-15 to see the character and ways of Rachel’s blood descendant, king Saul, God rejected.

5 In  her  later years Rebekah refused to patiently wait on God to work out the prophecy of Jacob’s family standing and convinced him to follow her lead in using subterfuge to
   gain  it  with  his  father’s blessing.  This created a murderous family rift and she never again saw Jacob as outcomes.  After those days, she disappears from Genesis being
   only mentioned when her nurse died and as buried in the family plot with Isaac near its end (Genesis 25:19-28, 27-28:5, 35:8, 49:29-31).

6 In  Rachel’s defense, she had only the superficial knowledge of God retained in the years following Noah’s flood and as her father and other spiritually duplicitous Mesopota-
   mians, practiced syncretism (Genesis 11:1-9).

7 The “Man” is plainly a pre-incarnate appearance of Jacob’s future Descendant, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ!

8 Character  matters  to  God!   The  Lord  leads  me  to  write  about  the  character  He  seeks to construct in His great women in my book, group study and exclusively in the
   Strong Man Store, the  Audio  Resource,  The  Character  Of  The  Great  Woman  Of  God  available on CD or for Download.  The character God builds in both His aspiring
   strong  man and great woman begins with faith and humility which if Rachel had had, her fame would have been so much nobler and eternally excellent as well as worthy of
   imitation.