Every careful reader of the Word of God cannot fail to find a great difference between the history of Isaac and the history of Jacob. Isaac's history was uneventful and peaceful, while Jacob's history was full of trials and troubles. Isaac's path was smooth, while Jacob's path was rugged. Everything that occurred in Isaac's life worked for him. Even when he encountered opposition, it was easily overcome. But most of Jacob's experiences were painful ones.
God is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Therefore, we cannot separate their histories. Spiritually speaking, the histories of these three reveal three aspects of a person's experience. God works on man from these three angles. Do not think that some people are absolutely like Jacob and that others are absolutely like Isaac. Thank the Lord that we are Isaac, and at the same time we are Jacob. On the one hand, we enjoy everything in the Lord. Everything is peaceful, rich, and victorious, and we can thank and praise Him continuously. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit continually works in us and disciplines us because of the presence of our natural life. God's Word says, "For what son is there whom the father does not discipline?" (Heb. 12:7). As sons, our Father receives us as well as disciplines us. Isaac shows that we are received by God's grace as sons, while Jacob shows that we are disciplined by Him as sons. On the one hand, God shows us that our life is like Isaac's; it is full and smooth, and everything that is in the Lord becomes ours. Everything that Abraham had belonged to Isaac. Everything that our Father has is ours. On the other hand, He leads us to partake of His holiness so that Christ may be formed in us and the Holy Spirit may bear fruit through us.
In reading the history of Jacob, it is very easy for us to stand aloof and judge Jacob as being unqualified for God's use and worthy of condemnation, especially if we have never been dealt with by the Lord and do not know our flesh. We find Abraham's history interesting, but we find Jacob's history irrelevant. However, if we are enlightened by God and realize what the natural life is and what fleshly energy is, we will spontaneously see that the aspect of Jacob is in us. We will realize that there is more than one aspect of Jacob inside of us. When we read the history of Jacob in his old age, we see that his seventeen years in Egypt were his richest years. In reading of his words, his deeds, his attitudes, and his acts, we cannot help but bow our heads and say, "God, Your grace can make a man like Jacob reach such a state!" When we come to the end of Jacob's history, we cannot help but exclaim in tears, "God, Your grace truly has turned a hopeless person into a useful vessel!"
Let us consider the way that God accomplished His work in Jacob—how God disciplined him, dealt with his natural life, and weakened him, how God caused Christ to be formed in him through the constitution of the Holy Spirit, and how he bore the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
What is the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and what is the constitution of the Holy Spirit? The discipline and constitution of the Holy Spirit are one work; they are not two separate works. We are constituted by the discipline of the Holy Spirit. We are molded by the carving work of the Holy Spirit. When our natural life is being dealt with, the nature of Christ is being constituted into us. While Jacob was being dealt with by God, he began to bear the fruit of peace. In the midst of discipline, the fruit of peace is borne. The fruit of peace does not come after the disciplining work. While God was touching his natural life, the fruit of peace was borne. This is the principle by which God manifested Himself through Jacob. On the one hand, we have to observe the way that God carved him and weakened him. On the other hand, we have to observe the way that God wrought the nature of Christ into him through the Holy Spirit. This work makes Christ's nature his nature.
The history of God's leading in the life of Jacob can be divided into four sections. The first section describes Jacob's nature (Gen. 25—27). It began with his birth and lasted until the time he received his father's blessing by cheating. This section tells us the kind of person Jacob was. The second section describes the discipline Jacob experienced (Gen. 28—30). It began from the time he left his home and lasted until Padan-aram. During this period, he suffered trials and discipline. The third section describes the dismantling of the natural life of Jacob (Gen. 31—35). It began from the time he left his father's-in-law house in Padan-aram, journeying through Peniel, Shechem, and Bethel, until he arrived in Hebron. During this period, Jacob's natural life was being touched by God. The fourth section describes Jacob's maturity (Gen. 37—49), that is, the period of his old age. It began from the time Joseph was sold to the time Jacob died.