How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?

   What was the deal between Jacob and Esau?  From the get-go Jacob was determined to get the birthright and the firstborn’s blessing.  The Bible says they even wrestled with each other in their mother’s womb. At every turn Jacob tried to outsmart his brother.  God must have laughed when He watched Jacob’s schemes.  

I took this picture on a trip to Mt. Baker

  These twin brothers were so totally different from one another.  Esau liked to hunt and make his father’s favorite dish while Jacob was a swindler, liar, and cheater.  Hmmm, If you were God which one would you choose to be the father of the nation of Israel?  Believe it or not, God chose Jacob.   The New Testament sheds a lot of light on the story of Jacob:

The children not yet being born, nor having done anything good or bad that the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works, but of Him who calls.  Romans 9:11

    So we learn from Paul that hidden in the story of Jacob we see the matter of God’s selection.  That might be a bit mind boggling when you put that next to man’s free will.  How can these two be reconciled with each other?  I got a lot of help understanding this when I read something by D.L. Moody—He said something like this--before you’re saved the sign says “Whosoever will let him come and take the water of life freely.”  Then after you’re saved and you turn around, the back of the sign says, “Chosen before the foundation of the world.”   Only God can pull something like that!

Witness Lee’s sharing  on God’s selection in chapter 66 of the Life-Study of Genesis is very enlightening. I’ve excerpted some key parts  from pages 862-863 and 866-867:

In Jacob, we see God’s selection, the matter of Jacob’s being chosen (25:21-26; 1 Pet. 2:99)…..Jacob was chosen before his birth, even before the foundation of the world (25:22-23; Rom. 9:11; Eph. 1:4).  We, like Jacob, were also chosen before we were born….Jacob, the naughty one, the heel holder, the supplanter, was chosen by God. This was what determined his future….Likewise, our being chosen is not according to our struggling …..God’s selection in eternity past was followed by His pre

destination (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5)….God selected us in eternity past and called us in time….We have been selected and called for God’s purpose (Rom. 9:11)….What is the purpose of God’s calling?  It is to transform His called ones into kings.  We can see this purpose in Jacob, but not in Abraham or Isaac (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print). 

   Did you catch that part about the purpose of God’s calling is to transform His chosen ones into kings?  I had to do a double-take on that when I read that a few years ago.   Look at Jacob in the beginning of the story in Genesis 25 and then trace all the events that happened to him throughout his life.  I wrote them down one time—wow--what a transformation journey he went on!  Now look  at this same man at the end of the story in Genesis  47-49 and, you see a  man who is fully transformed and matured and blessing Pharaoh, the highest ruler of the day!  And guess what, I learned from my reading that this is our journey, too!   

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call theTwo Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?