Heel Grabber.

Jacob the Heel Grabber – it sounds like an unusual title to give someone. But Jacob was known for his act of heel grabbing his twin at birth.

A Rascal Like Jacob

Only God’s amazing power and grace could turn a rascal like Jacob into a hero. Someone who thought only of his own blessing becoming a nation to bless the whole world.

Jacob’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for “heel” and meant “protection”, as a bodyguard would follow close behind the person he is to protect. That good meaning of the name was twisted by Jacob’s actual character into “Heel-grabber” or “Over-reacher”.  Esau was born first but Jacob grabbed his heel.

Someone has joked, “He’s the kind of guy who follows you into a revolving door and comes out ahead of you.” He was over-ambitious, grabbing and heartless.

There is Hope for You and Me

If there is hope and blessing for a Jacob, there is hope for you and me. Three times he worked against his brother Esau to get the upper hand – or the upper foot. First, he grabbed Esau’s heel at birth.  Second, he grabbed Esau’s birthright in a swap for stew. Third, he plotted to get the blessing which Esau expected. 

Jacob believed in God’s promise, but he did not believe God could keep his promise without Jacob’s help, or without his mother, Rebekah, literally cooking up schemes for him. Jacob had to lie 3 times to sell the masquerade to his father: First he said,

“I am Esau, your firstborn.” (ESV)  (Genesis 27:19)

Second, he said,

“The Lord your God granted me success,”

meaning, when I went hunting for this venison. (Genesis 27:20)

Third, when Isaac asked,

“Are you really my son, Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” (Genesis 27:24)

God’s Point of View

What is God’s point of view on this scene? Is it just which son gets a nice blessing from his father? Much bigger than that. The big question here was whether Abraham’s knowledge of the only true God should pass from Abraham to Isaac to …. Esau?  Esau, who despised his birthright? 

No, God is going to grab us with a big surprise. Loyalty, to the Great I AM, was going to be carried on by the only son of Isaac who valued the birthright and coveted the blessing. Trash Jacob as much as we like, we have to give him credit for treasuring the blessing that Jehovah could give him through his father, Isaac.

The Blessing That Ended With a Real Gem

Of course, that blessing included things that might have stirred the greed and selfishness in Jacob’s heart. But notice the real gem at the end of the blessing: “Blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

That is the promise to Abraham:

“In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:18)

Abraham got that promise because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. How would God the Father fulfill that promise to Abraham?  By being willing to sacrifice his only Beloved Son. Everyone of us in this room now has a chance to be blessed because 40 generations after Jacob, Jesus would come and offer blessing to all – Israelites and non-Israelites – by dying in our place.

What did Jesus have to do to offer us that blessing instead of a curse? “Christ purchased our freedom and redeemed us from the curse of the Law and its condemnation by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,

‘Cursed is everyone who hangs [crucified] on a cross.’” (AMP) (Galatians 3:13)