Jacob There is an old Sunday school song called “We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder”. It is about the Biblical patriarch, Jacob, whose real life is a little deeper than just a Sunday school story or song. Jacob is known for deception, but he is an example of how God can work in anyone’s life. Jacob was a human that God blessed and loved even though he was imperfect. “This story is not so much the story of a great man, but a great God working in the life of a man” (Zavada). It is through Jacob’s life story, key bible verses and lessons learned through his trials that illustrate how God loves and can transform lives. Jacob’s life story begins with deception but ends in triumph. Jacob son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham was born around…show more content… Esau declared that after his father died that he would kill Jacob for his deception (“BibleGateway”). In fear of Esau’s malice towards him, Jacob had to flee from Canaan to Haran where his uncle Laban lived. While he was traveling, one night he fell asleep and had a dream. In the dream, he saw a staircase with angels on both sides leading up to Heaven with God at the top (Genesis 28:11-17). After the dream, Jacob continued his journey to Laban’s. Due to Laban’s deception, Jacob had to work many years before he could marry Laban’s daughters, Leah and Rachel. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter with his two wives and their two slave women (Genesis 29-30). The twelve sons were significant because they became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. After many years of hard work in Haran, Jacob became a mogul. Laban became jealous of Jacob’s success and the Lord called Jacob to return to his father’s land (Genesis…show more content… In fact the name of Jacob appears 386 times throughout the Bible (“BibleGateway”). Among all these verses, Genesis 32:26-28 are some verses that do a great job of summarizing Jacob. These verses state, “26 And He said, ‘Let Me go, for the day breaks.’ But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’ 27 So He said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ 28 And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’” Jacob’s life was full of struggles with God, other people and himself. These verses are so important because they capture Jacob at his breaking point. This is the turning point in Jacob’s life where God changes him. These verses are where Jacob has nowhere else to turn, so his God rescues