My family doesn’t have kind words for dating. I’ve been brought up to view it as both pointless and dangerous. And when I went through a time of questioning that fact, Dad brought to light the example of Jacob: a man who was very diligent in marrying the right woman.

Although I now see eye-to-eye with my Dad concerning dating, I don’t think Jacob was all He was said to be.

I was reading over His account a week-or-so ago and I realized just how ridiculous His life actions were.
Let us go through a list:

1: He was a poor brother

Genesis 25:31

And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

Genesis 27:19

And Jacob said unto his father, I [am] Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

Here we have Jacob first convincing Esau to sell to Him His birthright, and then cheating Him out of His blessing. He effectively turned His brother against Him.

2: He was a poor son

Back to Genesis 27:19.

He deceived His own father! Yes, His mother put him up to it, but that does not excuse Him.

3: He was a poor husband

Genesis 29:18

And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

Here is a good thing. A very good thing. Most guys are willing to devote, maybe, a year or two to a girl. And not a difficult 2 years either. They get the girl with no responsibility.

But Jacob was willing to work for 7 full years so he could marry Her.

But this is where He gets off track:

Genesis 29:23

And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

He served for 7 faithful years, and then He gets too drunk (I’m assuming) to recognize the woman He worked so hard for. He has to work another seven years to marry Her.

Genesis 29:30

And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

Here is a quick mention of how Jacob neglected His first wife and turned them both against each other. It marks the beginning of a child-bearing war between Leah and Rachel.

It could have been avoided if He only had Proverbs 5:18 to read.

Genesis 29:32

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

Leah believes that Jacob finds no value in Her, and thus believes that having a son for Him would change things. It doesn’t.

She, in fact, goes on to have 3 additional sons without ever increasing His love for Her.

Genesis 30:3

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

Wow. Things get so bad between Leah and Rachel that they ask Jacob to sleep with their maids and therefore produce more children in their name.

What’s the worse part about all this? He does. It keeps going down-hill until the wives start trading items of value for opportunities to sleep with their own husband.

Before His wife Rachel dies She bares Him a son of Her own womb. Joseph.

4: He was a poor father

After all of the above you would think that Jacob would have learned something. But no. Take a look at the following:

Genesis 37:3

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colours.

He’s playing favorites again. He turns His own sons against each-other. You know that the story has a happy ending, but He was inexcusable.I don’t think He would have lasted so long without Gods blessing and promise.

I guess I have to go find another roll-model for marriage.
-Cullen Webb

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