"and Isaac the father of Jacob" - Matthew 1:2b

Who was Jacob? We know him as the son of Isaac. The twin Brother of Esau. In Genesis 27, we see
that Jacob was a deceptive and manipulative son, who with the help of his mother, tricked Isaac into
giving him the birthright that was to go to his brother. Ironically, later in life, Jacob was deceived by his
uncle Laban and tricked into marrying Leah. While much of Jacob's story is one that we wouldn’t
purposefully emulate, there is an account of his story that reminds us of the promise of the Lord and
of His redemptive power in the heritage and bloodline of the Messiah.

Have you ever had one of those dreams where everything felt so vivid, so real, that you felt like it was
something that actually took place? The moment you awaken, you feel like you should spring into
action as a response to that dream, as if it really happened. For Jacob, it did. His dream, however,
wasn’t just his brain processing the thoughts of the previous day, it was a message from God!
In his dream (Gen. 28:10-22), God confirmed the promise that he had made to Abraham, Jacob’s
grandfather, so many years ago: “Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall
spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your
offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 28:14) Here, God also promised that he would
be with Jacob wherever he went (28:15).

Jacob was then determined that the God of his father Isaac, and Grandfather Abraham, would be his
God. He declared his faith and gave his life to the Lord, giving a tenth of what he had to the Lord, and
then annointing the place where he had laid, calling it Bethel (which means house of God).

During Advent, we anticipate the fullest expression of God’s promise to remain with us. At Christmas,
we celebrate that Jesus came as Emmanuel, God-with-us. As we wait for his return, let us consider
where our faith and allegiance lies and whether we’re offering back to God what is rightfully His.