[Music]
esau
traded his firstborn birthright to his
brother
jacob for a bowl of stew when rebecca
saw that their father
isaac was not going to honor the
agreement jacob and esau made
she talked to jacob into tricking isaac
to give him the blessing
of the firstborn instead of esau
this made esau so angry that he began
plotting to kill
jacob when jacob found out about esau's
plan
to kill him he became very afraid and
decided to run away
to his mother's relatives that lived in
the land of mesopotamia
[Music]
on his way across the desert to the land
of mesopotamia
the sun began to set and he decided to
camp for the night
and get some rest he laid a stone under
his head for a pillow
and fell into a deep sleep
that night jacob had an unforgettable
dream
[Music]
he saw a ladder that was set on the
earth that reached all the way to heaven
many glorious angels were going up and
down the ladder
from heaven to earth and behold the lord
stood above it
and said i am the lord the god of your
grandfather abraham
and your father isaac i will give to you
and all your descendants the land that
you are lying on
your descendants will be spread out in
all directions
as many as the dust of the earth i am
with you
and will watch over you and bless you
wherever you go
[Music]
when jacob woke up from his dream he
realized that god was truly the lord
and would be with him always and protect
him wherever he went
just as god had spoken to his
grandfather abraham
and his father isaac god had also spoken
to him
to always trust the promises of god
[Music]
the next day jacob continued his journey
to find his mother's family in the land
of mesopotamia
when he arrived he was happily welcomed
into his mother's family
he soon fell in love with a girl named
rachel
and wanted to marry her unfortunately
he was tricked into marrying her older
sister leah
first
[Music]
eventually he married his first love
rachel
as well together with his wives and
children
jacob worked hard and became very
wealthy in livestock and possessions
[Music]
god told jacob to return to his family
in canaan
so he packed up his wives children and
many herds of animals that he had
obtained over the years
and began the long journey home
[Music]
he still had great fear over how esau
would treat him
when he returned he had not forgotten
esau's plan to kill him
before he had left his family
[Music]
[Laughter]
one night as jacob and his family were
getting close to the country he came
from
he sent his family and all his livestock
and possessions ahead of him
across a stream to camp for the evening
jacob chose to stay alone by the stream
that night
suddenly a man came to jacob and began
wrestling with him
they wrestled the entire night with
neither one winning the match finally
daybreak came and the man realized that
he could not
overpower jacob the man touched jacob's
hip
and caused his hip to come out of the
socket the man said
let me go for it is daybreak but jacob
replied
i will not let you go until you bless me
the man blessed him and said your name
is no longer jacob it is now israel
because you have struggled with god and
with men
and have overcome then jacob realized
that he had seen god
face to face that night and god had
spared his life
the dream of the stairway to heaven and
the wrestling match with god
never left jacob's mind
both events were proof to jacob that no
matter how difficult or frightening life
can be
he could always believe and trust in the
promises
of god
you