Jacob was 70 years old when he left Canaan, 83 when he got married, and about 96 when he returned to the land of his birth. He left as the heir apparent to Isaac after tricking him into giving him the blessing of the first-born, but he came back to an uncertain future.

Everyone seemed to think that Isaac’s death was imminent when he bestowed that blessing, but twenty-six years later Isaac was more than 150 years old and still living in Hebron. Esau had settled on the southeastern side of the Dead Sea, away from his father and the estate that belonged to Jacob.  God put the inheritance process on hold and kept Isaac alive until Jacob returned to Canaan.

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

Jacob didn’t know what he would find when he came back. He thought Esau might be waiting to kill him, but instead, as he drew near to Canaan, God sent angels to meet him. Jacob recognized that he was in the camp of God and maybe he was safe after all.

He sent messengers down to Edom where Esau lived, along with a report on where he had been and how he had fared the past 26 years.

“[Jacob] instructed them, ‘This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to you my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.” Genesis 32:4-5

Jacob wanted Esau to know he was a man of substance, not a poor relative coming back, looking for a handout. Esau’s reply was to immediately set off with four hundred men to meet his long-lost brother.

Crossing Into Canaan

Jacob was scared. He immediately divided his people and livestock into two groups so that if one was attacked by Esau’s army, the other might escape. Then he prayed to the God of Abraham and Isaac, the God who had told him to come back to Canaan and had promised to make him prosper.

“I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray from the hand of my brother Esau. . .” Genesis 32:10-11

Jacob prayed for safety, but also sent a series valuable gifts to appease Esau as he marched toward  him. Then Jacob moved his family and all of his possessions to the other side of the Jabbok river and into Canaan.

What an act of faith! Jacob continued on his journey into Canaan even though he feared there was mortal danger waiting for him there.

Jacob Wrestles With God

No wonder Jacob wrestled with God until dawn. Everything dear to him was now in Canaan, and his future was on the line. He needed to know that God was going to keep his promises and bless him. He wrestled with God until God stopped the struggle by disabling him. Jacob had prevailed and God changed his name to Israel, the one who struggled with God and overcame.

Settling in the Land

Soon after this victory, Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. The  meeting Jacob feared turned out to be a loving reunion between the two brothers. Esau wanted Jacob to travel south to his place in Edom and Jacob said he would, but he sent Esau on ahead and then turned west. He took his family and livestock to the northern part of Canaan, bought some land, pitched his tents and built an altar for worship.

Jacob named the altar El Elohe Israel, Almighty God is the God of Israel. He was now clear on who God was . . .  and that his own name had been changed, from Jacob to Israel. He would cling to that new identity and teach it to his family in the years to come.

Sons in Charge

Jacob’s sons grew up and took charge of the family business. When their sister Dinah was raped by Hamor’s son Shechem, Jacob left it to his sons to decide what to do. If Jacob was testing his sons’ ability to lead he was soon disappointed. Things got out of hand when Simeon and Levi killed all the men of Shechem, and their brothers looted the place until it was stripped bare.

Jacob had dodged one source of danger with his brother Esau, but now his sons had offended the Canaanites living around them. What was to stop the people in the land from taking revenge and wiping out the family?

Back to Bethel

God intervened at this point by sending Jacob back to Bethel to build a new altar and worship him there. Jacob got his family ready by collecting all of the idols they had among them and burying them under an oak tree in Shechem. As Jacob cleansed his household of idolatry, the Lord put the fear of God into the Canaanite people so they wouldn’t pursue Jacob’s family.

Shechem was in the same part of Canaan where Abraham forsook the gods of his father’s house and became a follower of God two generations earlier. Hundreds of years after Jacob’s time, when the nation of Israel fell back into idolatry, this part of Promised Land would be riddled with idol worship. It’s as if the enemy chose this particular place to do battle with God.

When Jacob arrived back in Bethel, where he first met God, he had the opportunity to instruct his family in worship. He probably recounted his story of faith and taught them how to pray. His headstrong sons were humbled and Jacob regained spiritual leadership in his family.

It was good to go back to Bethel. It’s always good to return to the place where you first met God and worship him again.

Two Significant Women

Somehow Rebekah’s old nurse Deborah was with Jacob’s family at Bethel. There is no mention of Rebekah’s death, but since Deborah was no longer with her, Rebekah must have died and Deborah went in search of Jacob.

Deborah was a very old woman by now, and she knew the whole history of Isaac’s family. She was probably present at Jacob’s birth and helped to raise him. Jacob must have loved her because when she died, he buried her at Bethel, and everyone wept with him.

Rachel died not long after that, too. Jacob had decided to move on from Bethel to visit his father Isaac. Rachel went into labor along the way and died shortly after giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob’s last son. Ironically, the woman who said she would die if she didn’t have children ended up dying in child birth.

Reuben created a scandal on the journey when he slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. Sadly, this first-born son of Jacob lost his status in the family over this offense; his father never forgot it.

Jacob finally reached Isaac where he was living near Mamre, in Hebron, his ancestral home. Isaac’s heirs now included thirteen grandchildren. God kept his promise to Abraham and Isaac and through Jacob began to give them many descendants.