Jacob: A TNT Bible Story

In the foreign land of Canaan lives Isaac, son of Abraham, with his clever, strong-willed wife Rebekah and his twin sons Esau and Jacob. The first-born, Esau, is a strong and fearless hunter with a voracious appetite for sensual pleasures. Jacob is a shepherd, more tender and compassionate han Esau. Just as Esau is the pride of his father, so is Jacob the apple of his mother's eye. Rebekah is convinced that Jacob, though the second born son, is the chosen one and the rightful heir of Isaac and Abraham. And she tells him that when she was with child, God announced to her: "Two nations are within thy womb. Two manner of men shall be delivered to you. The one shall be stronger than the other and the elder shall serve the younger". One day Esau returns from a hunt to find Jacob preparing a lentil porridge. Famished, he asks Jacob for some food. Jacob agrees, but on one condition: that Esau sell him his birthright. Since Esau ascribes little value to its meaning, he readily agrees and they conclude the pact. Time has passed. Isaac has grown old and nearly blind. It is time to pass on his paternal blessing to the firstborn. He asks Esau to hunt and prepare some game for him, after which he will give him his blessing. Rebekah knows she must act now. Cornering Jacob, she pressures him into deceiving Isaac so that he obtains the blessing instead of Esau. Jacob resists, but when Rebekah vows to take the blame for this ploy, he finally consents. And thus does Jacob trick his father. When Esau returns from the hunt and appears before his father, he explodes in anger when he learns of the scheme. Having obtained only a lesser blessing from Isaac, he vows to kill Jacob as soon as his father passes away. Isaac, following Rebekah's suggestion, advises Jacob to flee to Harran, to the home of Laban - Rebekah's brother, and to ask him to marry one of his daughters. Laden with gold, silver, skins, spices and oils, Jacob sadly leaves his home and his loved ones. Soon, however, he realizes that he is being followed: a Canaanite, one of Esau's brothers-in-law, robs him of the treasure that was to be his dowry. One night, as he is asleep, Jacob has a vision of a stairway with angel-like figures on it. During this vision God promises him protection and prosperity. The next morning, Jacob swears to remain faithful and devoted to God. After an arduous journey, Jacob arrives in Harran. Haggard and drained of his strength, he immediately forgets his fatigue when he sees a pretty young