The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

The Bible follows the messianic line to Abraham's son, Isaac, and then to Isaac's son, Jacob who lived around 1900 BC. Jacob was a shrewed and deceitful con man who tricked his brother Esau and lied to his father so he could steal his older brothers birthright. Afraid, Jacob fled to Haran, in Mesopotamia, where his uncle Laban lived, but on the way he met the Lord and saw a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven with angels on it. Jacob had his first encounter with God and the Lord revealed to him the promises He had made to Abraham and how he would be part of those promises, so Jacob began to trust in God and named that place, Bethel, which means, "house of God".

"Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."

When he arrived in Haran, his uncle was more shrewed than he was, con-man meets super con-man. Laban tricked him into working for him for 14 years in exchange for a wife. He wanted Rachel, but he got Leah first and then Rachel. Developing the muscle of trust was a long, slow job for Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons and great possessions when he finally returned to Canaan not because he was more shrewd than Laban but because God was with him. God protected Jacob all the way and also prepared his brother Esau's heart so that he was no longer angry. God changed Jacob's name to "Israel." Jacob was next in the Messianic line. His 12 sons became the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.