Page 28 - Pentateuch

Chapter 5: Pentateuch: Part II:
Jacob and Joseph: God’s Transformation and Circumstances
Genesis 25:12-50:26

Connect…

Moses changes his viewpoint slightly as he continues his history. The life of Abraham highlighted his
growing relationship with God. Through a variety of events, he learned more about God and especially
about the promise of a Messiah who would be one of his descendants. Some of the events display the flaws
in Abraham. He was a sinner. Abraham did not fulfill the law, yet because of his faith in a coming Messiah,
God said, “All nations on earth will be blessed because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required
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of him, keeping my commands, my decrees, and my instructions” (Gen. 26:4b, 5). He did everything God
required of him by believing in the Messiah.

Little is said about Abraham’s son, Isaac. Instead, the history turns from lengthy
treatment to the next two generations. Isaac and Rebekah have twins, Jacob and
Esau. As we read this account, we find more about the spiritual development of a
person than the development of that person’s understanding of God. “Jacob”
means “he grasps the heel (figuratively, he deceives).” This little detail of birth,
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certainly with no conscious effort by the baby himself, sets the tone for Jacob’s
life (25:26, 22). He is a deceiver. That is his nature and the characteristic sin that
drives him. While God has decided to bless his line with the Messiah, God also has
a lot of work to do in Jacob to rescue him from himself.

In the last section of Genesis about Joseph, we see Moses take another step back from his major theme.
Instead of focusing on God’s promise, as in the life of Abraham, or on God’s refining process, as in the life of
Jacob, the writer details the circumstances surrounding Joseph. His approach does not highlight them for
the sake of Joseph but for others. Joseph’s personal situation and development are in the background.
Joseph is the major person, but his life is more about others than himself. We find the theme clearly stated
toward the end of the account. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (52:20).

How often does God use one person’s life for the benefit of another? Is he fair in doing so? What if he
sends us a trial to help a stranger or a whole group of strangers? Should we complain when he treats us this
way?

The Lesson ...

Learning with Jacob and Joseph

36 “The author if the Pentateuch says, ‘Be like Abraham. Live a life of faith and it can be said that you are keeping the
law.’” (John H. Sailhamer, “The Mosaic Law and the Theology of the Pentateuch” Westminster Theological Journal, 53,
(1991): p. 254).
37 The NIV Study Bible, ed. K. Barker (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), note m, p. 44.
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