Chapter 7 Jacob dreaming

Now that he was home at last in Hebron, he felt that his days on earth were numbered.He wants to arrange his funeral before he dies.So he called his eldest son Esau and told him to hunt a deer in the woods and roast it for him to eat, which was his favorite, and then he would bless Esau and give him wealth. Esau agreed, picked up his bow and arrows, and left the house.Rebekah heard their conversation, and she hurried to find Jacob. "Quick," she whispered, "this is your chance. Your father may not be able to do it today. He wants to bless Esau before going to sleep. You have to dress up as Esau so that the old man thinks you are Esau, and he will Give you everything."

Jacob didn't agree to do this, he thought it was too risky.He had smooth skin and a high-pitched voice. How could he pretend to be the loud and hairy Esau, but Rebekah had already figured it out. "It's very simple," she said. She quickly killed two sheep, roasted them as Esau did, then wrapped the skins around Jacob's arms and put them on Esau's old, sweat-smelling tunic.Let Jacob speak with a rough voice, and move as Esau used to do. Isaac was so old that he couldn't see, but he heard the familiar voice, smelled the smell of Esau, touched the hairy arm of the firstborn son, and after he had eaten the meat, he gave the false Esau who was kneeling on the ground. Sweep the blessing and let him inherit all the property.

When all this was done and Jacob had left his father's room, Esau returned.This was a terrible outcome, and Isaac could not withdraw his blessing.He said he loved Esau, but the mistake was made, Jacob stole his brother's property, he was a thief. Esau was furious and vowed to kill Jacob.Rebekah was terrified. She knew her precious son was no match for Esau, and Esau was angry. She told Jacob to run east to her brother Laban and return after Esau's anger had subsided.There, he could also marry a cousin and settle down with his uncle. Jacob did as his mother said.However, after he did this unscrupulous thing, he had to go through all kinds of hardships before he dared to come back and face his brother who was deceived by him.

He found his uncle's house easily, but he had a strange dream on the way.He fell asleep on the desert near Bethel.I dreamed that the gate of heaven suddenly opened, and there was a ladder between heaven and earth, on which the angels of Jehovah stood, and Jehovah stood at the top of the ladder, telling him to be his friend and promising to help him. I don't know if it's true or not, I'd rather think it was Jacob's idea to mitigate his guilt, to make people believe that Yahweh wants to be friends with him, so he's not as much as people think so bad. As for the help that God promised him, we don't see much.His uncle was happy to take him in, but when he asked to marry his young, beautiful cousin, Rachel, Laban demanded seven years of unpaid labor first.Seven years later, his uncle married his eldest daughter Leah to him.Jacob didn't like Leah and didn't want to marry her.The uncle said: The local custom is that the eldest daughter is not married, and the younger daughter is not allowed to marry.If Jacob still wanted to marry Rachel, he would have to do it for another seven years.

What could Jacob do?Esau was at home waiting to beat him, and this was not his home.And he really loves Rachel, and believes that only with her can he be happy.He worked another seven years to marry Rachel. At this time, he still couldn't do without his uncle, because he didn't have his own flock and couldn't stand on his own.So he made another agreement with Laban, and he worked for another seven years, at the end of which he would get all the black sheep and the dappled goats. It was a strange deal, and Laban knew that black sheep and dappled goats were rare.In order to protect his own interests, he gave both the black sheep and the dappled goats to his son and moved them to another pasture.

Jacob is worthy of being a master shepherd. He is both an expert and a lot of skills. He knows how to mix feed and water, and he can get black or spotted sheep. But Laban didn't understand the new method of raising sheep. Before he could figure out what was going on, more than half of his flock belonged to Jacob. Laban was very angry, but there was nothing he could do.Jacob went away, and took all the black sheep and dappled goats, and two wives, and eleven children, and besides, he took the furniture from the old father-in-law's house, while there was no one there. Although Jacob and Laban never had an open conflict, Jacob decided to leave Ur.But he has nowhere to go.Had to venture home, and perhaps Esau would forgive him.And if Isaac dies, there is still an inheritance to inherit.

According to Jacob, he had many strange dreams again while crossing the desert, and he swears that he really wrestled with the angel of the Lord, who sprained his leg and made him change his name to Israel from then on. would be a noble prince in his birthplace. As he got closer to Mamre, Jacob became more and more nervous. He heard that Esau brought many people to meet him, and he felt that the time of death was near. But Esau, in spite of his rudeness, was very forgiving, and when he saw Jacob, he embraced him affectionately.Jacob tried so hard to please his brother that he divided his flock into three and gave one to Esau each day.Esau didn't want anything from Jacob, he forgave him long ago, and said let it go.He told Jacob that their old father was alive and old, but that the new grandchildren would be happy to see them too.

Jacob had eleven children before returning to Hebron, and he had another one on the way home. Rachel and Leah had hated each other for a long time, and Jacob did not love Leah, but she had ten children, and poor Rachel had only one child, Joseph.On the way back to Hebron, after giving birth to her second son, Benjamin, Rachel died. What a misfortune that Jacob buried Rachel in Bethel, and then marched on with his men until Hebron. Isaac is still alive, and he greets his long-lost son with mixed feelings.He died shortly thereafter, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah where his father and mother were buried.

Jacob (now renamed Israel) inherited his father's family business and enjoyed the property obtained by improper means. This kind of life will not be peaceful.Soon, Jacob was again forced to leave his homeland, and came to distant Egypt, where he spent the last years of his life, far from the cemetery of his ancestors. The reasons for this will be introduced in the next chapter.