THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From Abraham to Joseph
Message Four—Jacob
Scripture Reading: Gen. 25:22-23; 31:38-41; 32:22-32; 34:30; 35:1, 16-21, 27
I. Jacob was chosen before his birth; therefore, in Jacob we see God’s selection—Gen. 25:22-23; Rom. 9:11: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
A. Like Jacob, we were chosen before we were born, even before the foundation of the world—Eph. 1:4; 2 Thes. 2:13; John 15:16a. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
B. God’s selection depends not on what we are but on God’s sovereign mercy—Rom. 9:11-13, 16. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
C. As those who have been chosen by God, we should cast ourselves upon Him and trust that He will bring us to the point where we are pleasing to Him. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
II. Jacob’s life is a life that represents God’s dealings, and the God of Jacob is the God of dealings—Gen. 31:38-41: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
A. Jacob’s history is a picture of the discipline of the Holy Spirit—47:9; 48:15-16a; Heb. 12:9-11: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
1. The discipline of the Holy Spirit refers to what the Holy Spirit is doing in our outward environment, to His arranging of all people, things, and happenings, through which we are being disciplined—Rom. 8:28. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
2. Through the discipline of the Holy Spirit, God completely tears down our old creation so that the element of the new creation may be built up in us. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
3. As our natural life is dealt with through the discipline of the Holy Spirit, Christ is constituted into us—Gal. 4:19; Eph. 3:17a. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
B. Everything and everyone in our environment is an instrument of sovereignty used by God for our transformation—Rom. 8:28. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
C. When we say, “Lord Jesus, I love You,” we are actually saying, “Lord Jesus, I am one with You and I am ready for You to deal with me”— S. S. 2:16a; 4:16. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
III. Jacob’s life shows us that God has to break our natural life, that He has to touch our natural life in a drastic way—Gen. 32:22-32: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
A. The Lord wrestled with Jacob in order to expose to Jacob how natural he was and how great his natural strength was—v. 24. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
B. After Jacob was broken by God, outwardly he was the same as before, but inwardly his natural life had been dealt with—33:1-4: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
1. It was not the outward living that was touched by the Lord; it was the inward, natural strength that was touched by Him—32:32b. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
2. When the Lord touches us at a certain crucial spot, we are lame and can no longer be the same in our inward being; from then on, we limp and are no longer whole—v. 25. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
C. After Jacob was broken, “the sun rose upon him,” and “he limped because of his hip”; this indicates that anyone in the Lord’s recovery who has light must be a crippled one—v. 31. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
IV. Jacob, a man under God’s transforming hand, represents a life of transformation—Gen. 32:28; 35:10, 16-21, 27: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
A. The trouble Simeon and Levi caused Jacob touched him in the depths of his being, and he began to be transformed—34:30; 49:5-6: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
1. After the events recorded in Genesis 34, Jacob could heed God’s word about going up to Bethel—35:1. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
2. Without being in a difficult environment, we are often unable to listen to the word of God; therefore, before He speaks to us, He waits for certain things to happen to us. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
B. The birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel occurred simultaneously; this means that Jacob gained a son by losing Rachel—vv. 16-20: (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
1. Jacob gained Christ (typified by Benjamin) through the loss of his natural choice (signified by Rachel)—v. 18; 29:9-11, 16-20. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
2. Eventually, we will be confronted with a choice—to keep Rachel (our natural choice) or to gain Benjamin (the expression of Christ): (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)
C. After experiencing deeper and more personal dealings, Jacob entered into full fellowship with the Lord at Hebron; the fellowship at Hebron means intimacy, peace, satisfaction, and joy—Gen. 35:27. (2000 FTTA-F, msg. 14)