Jacob

Jacob which is Israel. On Jacob’s journey to find his wife, God came to Jacob in a dream. Jacob had a dream of a ladder reaching to Heaven seeing the angels ascending & descending from it. And the LORD stood above it and spoke to him and said that the land where he lay he will give it to him & his descendants. He will bless him with many children & will be with him along the way. Jacob woke up and took the rocks as he used for pillows and poured oil on it and called the name of the place Bethel.
Jacob went where Isaac said to go & married Rachel but had to stay and serve Laban (Rachel’s father) for 7 years for her hand in marriage, Jacob did so, but Laban also gave Leah his oldest daughter to Jacob as a wife too with the condition that she was the oldest and could not have the younger daughter until he takes the older daughter which made him serve another 7 years with him. Jacob loved Rachel and she could not bare children at first so Jacob and Leah had Reuben, Simeon, Levi & Judah. This made Rachel upset so she sent her maid servant (Bilhah) to bare him children. Bilhah gives birth to Dan & Naphtali. This made Leah upset so she gives her maid servant (Zilpah) to bare him children. Zilpah gives birth to Gad & Asher. Then Leah ends up giving birth to Issachar, Zebulun & Dinah (a girl). Finally Rachel bares him two sons, Joseph & Benjamin. She doesn’t give birth to Benjamin until later on.
After Jacob served his time (which was a total of twenty years; fourteen for the daughters and then six years for the cattle) with Laban he wanted to leave but Laban was reluctant. Jacob betrays Laban with some cattle and Jacob ends up being blessed with more. Jacob leaves with his family and Laban goes after them.
God came to Laban in a dream one night and told him not to speak to Jacob. But Laban meets up with Jacob and wants to know why he left with his daughters without saying goodbye. Laban also told Jacob that God spoke to him in a dream. Jacob said he fled because he was afraid that Laban would not let him go. Then Laban got upset that he thought Jacob stole his images and unknown to Jacob, Rachel was the one who stole them and hid them. Laban went into their tents searching for them and could not find them. Jacob then asked Laban what is his sin against him. He reminded him that he had spent his twenty years with him and held up to his end of the bargain and it was time to go. So Laban made a covenant with Jacob. They laid a heap of stones to make a pillar then Laban named it Jegarsahadutha but Jacob named it Galeed. And the heap was called Mizpah. The heap ultimately signified that two people could not be trusted and they needed God to watch out for them so one could not do harm to the other. Laban made Jacob promise not to take any other wives other than his daughters and that Jacob must remain good to them. Jacob offers up a sacrifice on the pillar and they ate bread on it. The next morning Laban blesses his daughters and grandchildren then leaves home.
Jacob went on his way and the angels of God meet with him. Jacob then sends messengers to his brother Esau to tell them that Jacob had been staying with Laban up until now and he has all kinds of possessions that he may find grace in his sight. The messengers came back and said that they spoke with Esau and said he had four hundred men along with him. This frightened Jacob so he split up his people into two bands. At least one of the half could escape. Then Jacob talks to God and tells him that he was just doing as God told him to do, to come back to his land and that he needs his protection. God assures him that everything will be alright and will protect him that he will make his seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. So Jacob sends out presents to Esau through his servant who rode ahead of him and he was to tell Esau who they were from and that Jacob was riding behind him. The servant went on ahead and Jacob camped that night. That night he took everyone and everything and had them go ahead of him so that Jacob was left alone. Jacob wrestled with a man all night and Jacob’s thigh was out of joint when he wrestled with him. But he would not turn him loose until he blessed him. So the man blessed him and changed his name to Israel. Jacob seen God’s face and lived. Jacob ended up walking with a limp the rest of his days but this reminded him of that day always.
Jacob ended up meeting up with Esau and put his maid servant and their children in the front. He then put Leah and her children then Rachel and Joseph in the back. Then he bowed to Esau seven times until he came near his brother. Esau came to him and kissed his neck and they wept together. Then Esau asked who all of the people were with Jacob and he told him that they were what God had gave him. Then Esau told Jacob to keep his gifts that he has plenty. Jacob begs him to take his gifts that he really wants him to have them. So they depart separate ways. Jacob pitched his tent toward the city of Shechem. His daughter, Dinah goes out to the city and the prince of the country, named Shechem took her and defiled rapes her. Then the prince told his father named Hamor that he wanted Dinah for a wife and told him to make it happen. Then Jacob heard that Shechem had raped his daughter. Then Dinah’s brother heard what happened and they were angered that she was touched. Hamor visited Jacob and asks for Dinah’s hand in marriage to his son. And that he would also offer up his daughters to him. And Schechem said that he would give them whatever they ask if they give Dinah to him. The sons of Jacob answered them deceitfully and said that they would give their sister and daughters over to him and live with them and become as one people if every man would be circumcised. But if they did not that they would take their daughter and be gone. This pleased Hamor and Schechem and they went into the city and told them they were to do this so they all did. And on the third day all the men were sore and Simeon and Levi came into the city and killed the men including Hamor and Shechem and took Dinah out from there. Jacob’s sons came in and took away their families and possessions. Jacob heard of this and told his two sons that he was worried and that they have now made it hard for him to keep the good will of the neighboring people.
God tells Jacob to go to Bethel and build an altar. Jacob goes to his family and tells them to put away the strange gods that were among them and they gave them to Jacob along with all their earrings and he hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. They then traveled to Bethel were he went to the altar which where he fled from his brother. God spoke to Jacob and told him that his name was no longer Jacob but Israel. God told him to go and multiply that kings should be made from his descendants. And that the land that he gave to Abraham and Isaac will be given to him. God left and Jacob set up a pillar and poured a drink of offering and poured oil. Jacob called the place where God spoke with him Bethel. Then they traveled away from Bethel and Rachel had hard labour and died during birth. She had a son named Benoni but Jacob called him Benjamin. Rachel was buried in Bethlehem. Jacob set a pillar on Rachel’s grave.
They traveled on and Reuben (Jacob’s son) went and seduced Bilhah his father’s concubine. Then Jacob went to Isaac his father and Isaac died. Esau and Jacob buried him.