JACOB’S ALTARS

1A. FIRST, AN EVALUATION OF HIS LIFE (Genesis 47)

1B. His Situation

1C. Famine (God's permission to depart)

2C. Family (Son thought dead is alive)

3C. Favor (ruler Pharaoh, region Goshen)

2B. His Successes

1C. Revelation from God

2C. Raising a large family

3C. Reconciling with his only brother

3B. His summary (Genesis 47.7-11)

1C. “Few and evil.” What a terrible summary of this patriarch's life.

2C. Why do you suppose he looked back on his years, with the many miracles and blessings and accomplishments, and summarized his life in this way?

3C. Do you suppose we can learn, from the Biblical record of his life, how to live a blessed and prosperous life without the bitter taste at the end? Let's hope so.

2A. SECOND, AN EXPLANATION OF HIS LIFE Let's take note of just a few of the major highlights of his life.

1B. His designation as a child (Genesis 25.26)

2B. His direction as a boy (Genesis 25.27-28)

3B. His deceit as an adult (Genesis 27.1-28.22)

1C. Rebellion and lying to his father

2C. Conspiring and deceiving with his mother

3C. Running for fear from his brother

4C. Revelation from God and reassurance

4B. His decisions as a husband (Genesis 29.1-31.55)

1C. Resulted from sin (Notice how Isaac's wife was gotten)

2C. Resulted in sin

1D. Bitterness against Laban

2D. Lying and cheating by Laban

3D. Rachel stealing from Laban

4D. Rachel sinning against Leah

5D. Leah sinning against Rachel

6D. Both sinning against Jacob

3C. Resulted in separation

5B. His dereliction as a father

1C. He met with God returning to Palestine

2C. But he played favorites with his kids (Genesis 33.1-2)

3C. He lied in front of his kids (Genesis 33.14-17)

4C. He did not properly protect his daughter (Genesis 34.1-2)

5C. He did not properly restrain his sons (Genesis 34.25-26)

6C. They ended up deceiving him as he had deceived his father

6B. His diligence as a worker

1C. Commendable, but God made him wealthy

2C. And he ended up working harder than he ever would have had he not sinned against his father.

7B. His divine blessing as God's child

1C. God chose him before he was born (Genesis 25.23)

2C. God revealed Himself as Jacob ran from Esau (Genesis 28.1-22)

3C. God gave Jacob His choice for a wife....Leah

4C. God increased his flocks over Laban's

5C. God revealed Himself to protect Jacob from Laban, twice

6C. Jacob wrestled with God at Padanaram

7C. God changed his name to Israel

3A. FINALLY, AN EXAMINATION OF HIS LIFE

1B. Why no joy, no satisfaction, no delight after all these many blessings and encounters with God?

2B. Perhaps the fact that only two altars are identified in Jacob's life gives us a clue

3B. Jacob lived a selfish and carnal life that was not devoted to God

4B. And at the end of that life, though he lay in the mainstream of God's plan for the redemption of mankind, he was both unsatisfied and unsatisfying

5B. Put altars into your life