JACOB’S MATURITY IN LIFE - Abraham also needed Jacob’s maturity in life. According to the book of Genesis, the first person to bless others was Melchisedec (14:18-19). As the book of Hebrews reveals, Melchisedec was a type of Christ. But even when Abraham was very old, much older than Jacob lived to be, he never blessed anyone. Although he received the blessing, he never passed on blessings to others. After Melchisedec, the next person to bless others was Isaac. But Isaac blessed blindly; he was cheated and did not bless in a clear way. Rather, he blessed the wrong person, giving the birthright to Jacob instead of to Esau (ch. 27). However, as the record at the end of Genesis reveals, Jacob, although he could not see well, blessed in a very clear way. After Jacob became mature, he blessed whomever he met. Wherever he went, he did nothing except bless others. When Jacob was brought before Pharaoh, the first thing he did was bless him (47:7). After talking a while with Pharaoh, Jacob blessed him again (47:10). Jacob was not only a blessed person; he was also a blessing person.

While it is easy to receive a blessing, it is not easy to bless others. A grandson cannot bless his grandfather, because the grandson lacks the maturity in life. Because Jacob was mature, he blessed everyone he met, including Pharaoh, who was an unbeliever, a Gentile king. Jacob did not feel that he had to do anything for anyone. His burden was simply to bless others.

Consider the case of Jacob’s blessing the two sons of Joseph (48:8-20). When Jacob laid his right hand upon Ephraim instead of upon Manasseh, the firstborn, Joseph was displeased and attempted to move his father’s right hand to Manasseh’s head, saying, “Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head” (48:18). But Jacob refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it” (48:19). Jacob seemed to be saying, “I may be blind physically, but I am very clear spiritually. You don’t know what I am doing, but I know.” Here we see that Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons with a clear, full, and rich blessing.

Jacob also blessed his twelve sons in a very clear way. These blessings are the foundation of the basic prophecies in the Bible. If we would know the prophecies in the Bible, we must go back to their foundation, to their basic elements, as seen in the blessings rendered by Jacob to his twelve sons. Jacob could bless his sons in a way that was full of divine revelation because he was fully matured in the divine life. He was born a Jacob, but he was transformed into Israel. He was born a supplanter, a heel-holder, but he was transformed into a prince of God. He had become so clear and full of life. When we are clear and full of life, we can do nothing but bless. This is a sign of maturity.

As we have seen, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob form one complete person in the experience of life. Abraham did not bless, because he did not have the maturity in life. Isaac, having some maturity but lacking the richness of the maturity of life, blessed in a blind way. Jacob, who was mature in life, blessed in a full and clear way. Whatever he spoke was the divine word, and whatever he blessed was a prophecy concerning God’s economy with all His children. Eventually, Jacob became Israel, the expression of God.

If we have the light from the Scriptures as a whole, we shall see that the book of Genesis is a miniature of the complete revelation of the entire Bible. At the end of Genesis we see a man called Israel, a transformed person who is transparent, clear, and full of life. The transformed Israel is a seed, a miniature, of the New Jerusalem. At the beginning of Genesis we have man created in God’s image. At the end of Genesis we have a transformed person, a man not only outwardly in the image of God, but a man in whom God has wrought Himself, making him His expression. Although many Christians appreciate Abraham, his life was not high enough. Israel’s life was much higher.

ISAAC’S ENJOYMENT OF THE INHERITANCE - For his completion, Abraham also needed Isaac’s enjoyment of the inheritance (24:36; 25:5). From the day Abraham was called by God, God began to rob him of things. Firstly, God took away his brother and then his father. Later, God rejected Eliezer, commanded Abraham to cast out Ishmael, and told him to offer Isaac on the altar. After Isaac had been returned, Sarah died. Abraham’s life was not a life of enjoyment; it was a life of being robbed. Isaac’s life, on the contrary, was a life full of enjoyment. Isaac did not do anything; he simply inherited all his father had.

In our Christian life we have the experiences of both Abraham and Isaac. On one hand we are always being robbed. God rejects whatever we have. He seems to say, “You like it, but I don’t like it. You want to give it, but I won’t take it. You want to preserve it, but I reject it.” In a very good sense, God always acts contrary to our wishes and intentions. Abraham wanted to take his father with him, but the father was taken away. He wanted to have Lot, but Lot separated from him. He wanted Eliezer to be his heir, but Eliezer was rejected. He wanted to keep Ishmael, but God commanded him to cast out the son of the bondwoman. Abraham loved his son Isaac, but God required that he be offered to Him upon the altar. A while later, Sarah, Abraham’s dear wife, was taken. I doubt that Abraham had much time for enjoyment.

But there is another side to our Christian life. While we are suffering the robbing, we are enjoying our inheritance. This is why the records of Abraham and Isaac overlap, whereas the records of those who preceded them, such as Abel, Enoch, and Noah, do not. The record of Isaac is mixed together with that of Abraham. While Abraham was suffering, Isaac was enjoying. While Abraham was weeping, Isaac was rejoicing. This indicates that our Christian life is a life of night and morning. Night is at our left hand and morning is at our right hand. In the Christian life, night and morning go together. Many times I have been unable to determine whether I was in the night or in the morning. While I was in the morning I was in the night, and while I was in the night, I was in the morning. On the one hand, I was Abraham being robbed of everything, and on the other hand, I was Isaac enjoying the inheritance.

We all have been selected with Jacob and have been called and have believed with Abraham. As we have been robbed with Abraham and have been enjoying with Isaac, one day we all shall be matured with Jacob. We should not say that a certain brother is a Jacob or Abraham or Isaac. We should call him a Jacob-Abraham-Isaac. He is Jacob at the beginning and at the ending, and he is Abraham with Isaac in the middle. These three are one complete person. As we have seen, the maturity in life is neither with Abraham nor Isaac but with Jacob.

The sign of the maturity of life is blessing. I have seen thousands of Christians. Nearly every one has been either supplanting or complaining. Some saints complain about the elders, the brothers, and all the churches. It seems that the only church they like is the New Jerusalem. Complaining is a sign of immaturity. When you have matured, you will not complain; you will bless, saying, “O God, bless all the brothers and all the churches.” For the one who is matured in life, the supplanting hand has become the blessing hand. The more mature you are, the more you will bless others. You will not only bless the good ones, but the bad ones and even the worst ones.

Abraham’s life was wonderful and has been appreciated by Christians throughout the centuries. But, as we have seen, he was not mature in the divine life. Our God is not only God the Father, but also God the Son and God the Spirit. He is not only the God of Abraham, but also the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. May we all see that we need all three aspects, the life of Abraham plus the lives of Isaac and Jacob. The Triune God is working within us as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to make us the full expression of Himself. He is the Triune God, and we must be a person of three aspects in the spiritual experiences of the divine life. We need to be transformed in full. When we have been fully transformed, God will have the fulfillment of His purpose.