[114]It seems rather strange that many Christian people have severely criticized Jacob and his mother Rebekah in this transaction. It has evidently been due to the fact that they were ignorant of the record. No part of Jacob's action in connection with the birthright is reprehensible. Everything with reference to Esau is reprehensible. God subsequently showed that Esau pictured the peoples of earth who are Christians in name only, but not in truth and in fact, who are hypocritical, and who persecute the true Christians; while Jacob pictured or foreshadowed the true followers of Christ who have been misrepresented and persecuted by the merely nominal Christians. God showed his approval of the conduct of Jacob and his mother Rebekah, and showed that it was his purpose and intention that Jacob should receive the blessing going with the birthright. Jacob had shown his great desire for the birthright, which was merely a promise; while Esau had despised it. Acting upon the advice of his mother, Jacob now fled from the wrath of Esau; and as he went away, he lay down and slept at a place situated north of the present site of Jerusalem and which afterward he named Bethel, which means the house of God. There he had a dream, in which God signified his approval of Jacob and pronounced a blessing upon him.
[115]"And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."—Genesis 28:11-15.
[116]Whom God approves and blesses all others should approve. We may be assured, then, that Jacob was blameless before Jehovah in this transaction. It shows how carefully Jehovah was guarding his promise and the seed which would spring from it ultimately and through which the families of the earth should be blessed.
[117]Some years later God showed his further favor to Jacob by changing his name from Jacob to Israel. The name Israel means, He will rule as God. "And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land." (Genesis 35:10-12) According to the promise given to Jacob at this time, a nation should spring forth of him.
[118]Jacob had twelve sons. There were born to him by his wife Leah the sons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; and by his wife Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin. His other sons were Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Jacob's wife Rachel was the most beloved by him, and she was the mother of his beloved son Joseph. After Jacob had been deprived of Joseph's presence and fellowship, he devoted his affections to Benjamin, the other son by his beloved wife Rachel. The Scriptures show that these two sons typified those who will be born on the spirit plane, Joseph being a type of the royal family of heaven; while Benjamin typified the great company or tribulation class born on a spirit plane lower than those possessing the divine nature.
[119]Jacob spent his last days with his family in Egypt. Just before his death he called before him his sons, that he might bestow upon them his last blessings. From this time forward dates the history of the nation of Israel. While pronouncing the blessing upon his various sons, he said concerning his son Judah: "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:9,10) This prophetic promise definitely shows that the mighty one to come through whom the blessings of the people would flow must spring from the tribe of Judah, the word Shiloh being one of the titles applied to the great Prince of Peace, the Deliverer, the Savior of mankind.
[120]After the death of Jacob his offspring were known as the children of Israel, or Israelites. Joseph when a lad had been sold into Egypt, had grown to manhood, had become a mighty man and ruler in Egypt under the king, and was dwelling there in power and glory when his father Jacob and the other members of his family moved into Egypt to live. During the lifetime of Joseph the Israelites were well treated. After his death, however, a new king came to the throne of Egypt, who began to oppress and persecute the Israelites. God raised up Moses and used him to deliver the Israelites from the land of Egypt and the oppressive hand of Egypt's king.
[121]We incidentally remark that here are some other pictures foreshadowing portions of the divine plan. Egypt under the rule of a wicked king pictures or represents the world of mankind in darkness under the rule of the unrighteous one, Satan, who is the god of this world. The Israelites in Egypt picture the people of God and those who shall ultimately come into harmony with him; while Moses was a type foreshadowing the great Messiah, who is to deliver all mankind from the bondage of sin and death.
[122]Moses was a prophet of God and God spoke through Moses, using him as a mouthpiece or messenger. After the Lord had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt by the hand of Moses, he spoke through Moses, who prophesied unto Israel, saying: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken". (Deuteronomy 18:15; Acts 3:22) From that time forward the Israelites watched and waited for the coming of the great prophet, priest, and king who should be like unto Moses and of whom Moses was a picture or a type. They knew that such a one must come from the house of Judah, because God had promised as much. David was a direct descendant of Judah.—Luke 3:31-34.
[123]From time to time God's prophets gave utterance to words that kept alive in the minds of the Israelites the hope that God would send them a mighty one, through whom the promise made to Abraham would be fulfilled. In time this promise was specifically limited to the house of David, the Lord causing his prophet to write thus: "The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore."—Psalm 132:11,12.