Jacob: Bargaining with God

The story of Jacob is told in Genesis from chapters 25 to 35. As with all stories, there are other characters, but the focus of these chapters in Genesis is very much Jacob. I was not going to deal with these major characters, not because I do not think that they have anything to say, but mainly because they have been dealt with so well, so often, by so many others. I could not resist the story of Jacob and his relationship with Isaac's God. So, join me in looking at this father of the tribes, the man who becomes Israel, who gives his name to the covenant people of God.
Jacob was the second son of Isaac, but only by a short amount of time; his twin was born first. Esau, Isaac's twin brother, was his father's favourite; Jacob was his mother's favourite.  Jacob was a homebody; Esau was a traveller. Jacob kept his eye on the main thing, always wanting more for less. In fact, his name came to mean 'deceiver, supplanter, trickster'. When Jesus met Nathanael (John 1:45-51), he commends him by saying, "Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob." (Jn 1:47)
Jacob is not a nice person. On one occasion, his brother returns hungry from his hunting, and asks Jacob for some stew already prepared. Common courtesy, and the custom of the day, required Jacob to feed his hungry brother, but Jacob would not until Esau "gave" him his birthright (a double portion of the inheritance). When their father is old and wishes to pass on blessing to his son, Esau, Jacob tricks Isaac and steals the blessing for himself.
This is not what I want to focus on. I mention these things about Jacob simply to notice the person about whom we are thinking, to paint, in broad strokes, a caricature of this patriarch. What I would like to focus on in this post is the relationship between Jacob and Yahweh. Jacob's birth is a direct answer to prayer. Like his grandmother, Sarai, Isaac's mother was barren. (I'm not sure what it was about the Patriarchs, but they each married women incapable of conception.) Like his father Isaac, Jacob was either the direct answer to prayer or the result of the promise of God. Isaac was born in a home and family accustomed to the blessing of God. As discussed in a previous post, Isaac passed on the heritage he had from his father Abraham, to his descendants. But, like all of us, Isaac needed his own encounter with God.
As a result of the theft of his brother's blessing, Jacob is on the run. Esau has vowed to kill him as soon as their father Isaac dies and the mourning period is over. Rebekah, Isaac's wife, has convinced Isaac to send Jacob to her relatives to get a wife, and Jacob is on his way. On the road one night, as he lay sleeping, he has a dream. He sees a ladder or staircase, set between heaven and earth, that angels are using to go back and forth. In the course of the dream, he sees Yahweh standing beside him, and Yahweh promises blessing to Jacob. When Jacob wakes up, he realises two things. First, he has been in the dwelling of God. Second, he should worship. So he makes an altar, or a stone of remembrance, out of the stone he was using as a pillow by pouring oil on it. Then he makes a vow. It is a most interesting vow, because it is such a quibbling speech. "If God will do this and this and that and that, THEN he will be my God."
If one compares the speech of God in the dream, and the vow Jacob makes, they are almost inverted. God says he will do A, B, and C, and Jacob says, "If you do A, B, and C, then you can be my God and I will worship you." Please keep in mind that Jacob is making this bargain with the creator of the universe. He is, in fact, withholding the worship God deserves simply because He is God, offering it only if (and after) God will also be Jacob's protector, deliverer, guide, and provider. We know God is all these things. But one should not refuse to worship God until God has done these things for us. Look at the story of Job, as a comparison. Job worships God even when terrible things have happened to him.
Perhaps the most amazing part of this story is the part where God continues to bless Jacob, continues to lead and guide him, and continues to protect him, even with Jacob's lousy attitude and lack of respect. These things end up costing Jacob, but God meets Jacob's terms.
God loves us more than we can ever imagine. He desires relationship with us, not because He needs to be worshipped and adored, and certainly not because He has a big ego. God desires relationship with us because He loves us. He wants our worship, not for His sake, but because we need to worship, and He is the only one worthy of that worship. If you are considering a bargain with God, be warned. He does not promise to give us everything we want, but He does promise to give us what we need. And if what we need is a period of trial, that is what He will supply. The rest of Jacob's story is certainly an example of this.