Verse 2 also says, “Isaac begot Jacob.” Isaac and Ishmael were brothers by the same father, but by different mothers. Jacob and Esau were more intimate; they were twins. Jacob means a superseder. He supersedes others, puts them under him, and climbs above them. When he and his older brother Esau were coming out of the womb, Jacob held Esau’s heel. Jacob seemed to be saying, “Esau, don’t go yet! Wait for me. Let me go first!” Jacob was a real heel-holder. The meaning of the name Jacob is the heel-holder, the supplanter. Beat others down. Put them under your feet by any deceitful means. That is Jacob.
Because God had already chosen Jacob, all his endeavors were in vain. Jacob needed a vision. He did not need to supplant others, because God had chosen him to be number one. Even before the twins were born, God had told the mother that the younger would be the first, and the elder would be second. It is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Mal. 1:2-3; Rom. 9:13).
Unfortunately, Jacob did not realize this. If he had, he never would have tried to do anything. Rather, he would have said to Esau, “If you want to go out first, just go out. No matter how much you try to be first, I will still be first. You can never beat me because God elected me.” Jacob, however, did not know this. Even when he had grown up, he still did not realize it. Therefore, he was constantly supplanting. Wherever he went, he supplanted. He supplanted his brother (Gen. 25:29-33; 27:18-38), and he supplanted his uncle (Gen. 30:37—31:1). He schemed and he stole from his uncle, Laban. Yet, all his labor was in vain. God could say, “Stupid Jacob. You don’t need to do that. I will give you more than what you have gained.” But Jacob kept striving. Although he was a descendant of Abraham, according to his striving and his nature, he was altogether a descendant of the Devil. Do you see this? Positionally speaking, Jacob was a descendant of Abraham, but dispositionally speaking, he was a child of the Devil.
What did Jacob need? He needed God’s dealing. Hence, God raised up his brother, Esau, and then his uncle, Laban, to deal with him. God even raised up four wives plus twelve male helpers and a female helper. There was a great deal of suffering in the life of Jacob, but this suffering came from his striving, not from God’s election. The more Jacob strove, the more he suffered. We may laugh at Jacob, but we are exactly the same as he. The more we try to do something, the more problems we have.
In Christ, we need, firstly, the life of Abraham. We need to forget what we are, live by Christ, and trust in Him. Secondly, in Christ we have no need of Ishmael, our doing; we need Isaac, His doing. Thirdly, we do not need Jacob, but Israel. We do not need the natural Jacob, but the transformed Israel, the prince of God.
Do you realize that it is absolutely not up to you? When you hear this, you may say, “If it is not up to me, but completely up to God, then I’ll stop my seeking.” Good. If you can stop your seeking, I encourage you to do it. Tell the whole universe that you have heard that it is up to Him, and that you have stopped your seeking. If you can stop it, it should be stopped. But, I assure you, the more you stop, the better. The more you stop, the more He will stand up. Try it. Tell the Lord, “Lord, I stop my seeking!” The Lord would say, “That’s wonderful! Your stopping opens the door for Me to do something. I will burn you. You may stop your seeking, but I will burn you!”
We all have been elected. In a sense, we are caught. What can we do? We can never get away. This is absolutely due to the Lord’s mercy. We did not choose this way. I certainly did not choose it, but here I am. What can I do? What can I say? Because God has chosen us, we can never get away.
If we read Romans 9, we shall discover that it is up to Him, not us. He was and still is the source. Praise Him that His mercy has come to us! No one can reject His mercy. We may reject His doing, but we can never reject His mercy (Exo. 33:19; Rom. 9:15). What a mercy that we have been selected to be associated with Christ and to participate in Him as God’s eternal blessing! In one sense we are Abraham, in another sense we are Isaac, and in still another sense, we are Jacob. Later, in a fourth sense, we shall be Israel. Thus, we have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The genealogy of Christ is a matter of the birthright, and the birthright is mainly the association with Christ and the participation in Christ. Jacob’s supplanting was not justified, but his seeking after the birthright surely was honored by God. Esau despised the birthright and sold it cheaply (Gen. 25:29-34). Thus, he lost it and was not able to get it back, even when he regretted and wept for it (Gen. 27:34-38; Heb. 12:16-17). He had lost the blessing of participating in Christ. This should be a warning to us. Jacob respected and sought the birthright, and he obtained it. He inherited God’s promised blessing, the blessing of Christ (Gen. 28:4, 14).