The Monarch Butterfly—An Illustration of Transformation—Part 13—Isaac and Jacob

 

Monarch Butterfly

Introduction and Review

The previous part of this series examined the transitional and transforming events of Abraham's life represented by the number four. 

This installment will do similarly with the lives of Isaac and Jacob. 

Isaac digging for the wells (Genesis 26:12-25). Illustration from a Bible card published in 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company

Isaac's Four Wells

After Abraham dies in Genesis 25, a famine strikes the land (Genesis 26). Isaac, Abraham's son, goes to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. He is strictly instructed not to go to Egypt as his father, Abraham, did. Instead, he is told to stay in the land if he wishes to inherit the land God had promised his father. 

The text later mentions all the acquisitions Isaac made that provoked the Philistines' jealousy, so they stopped up all the wells that his father Abraham's servants had dug, filling them with "dust." Abimelech sends Isaac away, fearing that Isaac and his clan are getting too big. So Isaac moves to the Wadi, where he digs new wells that Abraham had found and stops them up after his death.

Isaacs's servants discover a "be'er mayim chayim (באר מים חיים)," a fresh wellspring or fountain of living water, to which the men of Gerar protest and claim as theirs. The well was named "esek" (עשק), meaning "contention" because of the dispute. Naming something in the Bible assumes ownership and dominion. Therefore, although disputed, the well belongs to Isaac. 

The second well is visited with similar events and is named "sitnah (שטנה)," and is the root word for satan (שטנ), which means "adversary" or "accusation."

An event occurred between the third well, named Rehoboth (רחבות), because there was no striving, and God opened up a space for them, and the fourth and final well. Isaac went up to Beer Sheva, where God reiterated His promise to Isaac on account of Abraham. There were four things that Isaac did. 

1. built an altar
2. called on the name of YHVH (covenant Lord God),
3. pitched his tent
4. And his servants began digging a well.

Abimelech appears once again. Isaac is surprised at his visit and wonders what he wants after Abimelech tells Isaac to get away from him. Abimelech explains.

We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. 

— Genesis 26:28 

An "if you can't beat them, join them" proposition inspired Abimelech to make a treaty with Isaac. Isaac agrees. The Hebrew text alludes to the idea that they became blood brothers.

Could the Palestinians today, who occupy the same territories the Philistines of the Old Testament did, explain the conflict that Israel is having presently? Is it possible that God honored Isaac's covenant with these people and that it still stands? This idea relates to Ishmael (some modern Arab nations), who are blessed because they are the blessed seed of Abraham ("And I will make him a great people too" ). Could we consider that today's world conflicts are not political by any stretch of the imagination, but rooted in ancient covenant bonds that the Sovereign God of all creation honors and upholds? God will use all these matters to fulfill His plan and purpose. 

The very day the covenant is made, and Abimelech leaves, Isaac's servants come to tell him excitedly about a well they have dug and discovered water in. Therefore, Isaac named it Beer Sheva (באר שבע), meaning "Well of the oath" or "seven." This is likely the same well that Abraham had contested with Abimelech earlier, for which he had given him seven sheep as payment and as proof of ownership, and where they had covenanted.

At the center of these parallel occurrences framing Abraham's first purchase of the land (the cave at Machpelah) and the finding of a wife for Issac, the establishment and continuance of the promise of both land and descendants are made.

This event offers a practical lesson and concerns the concepts of water (spiritual power and provision) and dust (flesh). Consider that Abraham, a picture of the father, dug the first wells that were later filled with dust. Isaac, the son, continues the father's work and mission and re-digs these wells.

Before the fall, Genesis records that finding water was effortless.

... a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 

— Genesis 2:6

This example illustrates that in an unhindered relationship with God, the power of the Holy Spirit was present and without toil. Immediately following this description, we are told the following. 

... the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 

— Genesis 2:7

By this, we understand that man's flesh is nothing but dust, and God's breath is the only thing that gives him life. When sin and separation occurred, all that was left was the dust Adam and Eve were made from. 

... dust you are, And to dust you shall return.

— Genesis 3:19

According to Paul in his letter to the Romans, the dust of our flesh is a big part of our contention, beginning with the first well.

... flesh, sold into bondage to sin ... waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin. 

— Romans 7:14

The works of the flesh are these.

... immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, 

— Galations 5:19-21 

These wells demonstrate what hinders us from accessing living water. The first well was described as a "beer mayim chayim," or a well of living water. Like Isaac, Jesus, the Chosen Son of Promise, appears at an ancient well and invites a woman living a dirty, dusty life to come and drink.

... whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. 

— John 4:14

Our second enemy, represented by the second well event, appears as our adversary accuser, Satan, whose only rightful access to us is through our flesh.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 

— I Peter 5 

Jesus redug this well for us, too.

For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

— I John 3:8

The third well is uncontested and depicts Christ's complete conquest over the final enemy, death and resurrection. 

... our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 

— II Timothy 1:10

This great salvation has placed us in a broad place (Rehoboth) of grace eloquently expressed in the following Psalm.

I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.

— Psalm 31:7-8

The fourth and final well that the servants of Issac dug and came to declare to their master illustrates for us the servants of Christ who share in the victory.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 

— Ephesians 2:5-6

Taken all together

Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.’

Therefore, with joy, you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.

— Isaiah 12 

 

Jacob the Shepherd
By Pedro Orrente

A Closer Look At Jacob

Moving along with the Formation of a Nation, Jacob, Abraham's grandson, according to an epigenetic promise from God, produced twelve (divisible by four) sons by four women. Jacob's sons became the twelve tribes that eventually formed a nation. Just a bonus note: There are also four women in Matthew's genealogy of Christ, along with forty men. 

A little story break relevant to Jacob and the number four before we continue: One year, my husband and I volunteered at a local church that hosts an annual drive-thru nativity scene. It was random, since we had never done it before, even though the event has been around as long as we can remember. We were both assigned the roles of shepherds—the set included animals, even a camel. I had no idea camels didn't mind Minnesota's cold. Did I mention there was also a donkey with a cross on its back, the most unruly of all the animals present?

As we watched our flocks by night, I noticed that the sheep in our pen were spotted and had four horns. I had never seen anything like it. A friend mentioned that these types of sheep are called "Jacob" sheep, named for the events in Genesis chapters 30 and 31.

This portion of Scripture involves a deal between Jacob and Laban. Jacob was to be paid his wages before obtaining the speckled, spotted, streaked, brown goats and sheep produced by Laban's flocks. Jacob miraculously acquired quite a large flock. Jacob secretly planned to return to the promised land with his parting gifts.

Four types of the flock were removed from the mating pool to guarantee the physical impossibility of reproducing the speckled, spotted, striped, or brown herds that Laban agreed to give to Jacob. This arrangement was a sweet deal to Laban, who thought Jacob would leave with nothing. God ultimately blesses Jacob despite Laban's underhanded deal. 

So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted ... Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks. 

— Genesis 30:39,43

God's creative transforming processes are evident in both the sheep and His people. As a bonus, the Jacob sheep fleece typically weighs four pounds and is about four inches long.

A Jacob Ram
Wildpark Tambach

Jacob Sheep Return to the Holy Land

"The Times of Israel" published an article by Melanie Lidman on June 21, 2016, titled On Wings of El Al, Biblical Sheep to End 3000 Year Exile, about a Canadian couple raising Jacob sheep. The couple sent 113 of them to Israel. In researching the number 113 in Biblical Gematria, I discovered that the Hebrew phrase "and your goats" equals this number. In the Jacob narrative, this phrase is used when Jacob secretly departs from Laban with his rightful spotted and speckled flocks of sheep and goats. The value of this phrase is 113. (Genesis 31:38) 

In the Gematria search, it is also discovered that the words/phrases equaling 113 before this are "to divide," "separate," "go out," and "take out." All of these describe what happened in this incident between Jacob and Laban.

Jacob sheep resemble goats in body form, and in the Ancient Near East, the breeds of both sheep and goats were very similar and sometimes difficult to tell apart. I couldn't help but think of the portion of Scripture that speaks of the end times.

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 

— Matthew 25:32

 The Canadian couple who raised the Jacob sheep began with four sheep, by the way.

A Sheep's Stomach

A Sheep's Four Stomachs

Sheep and goats are ruminants, meaning they have a four-compartment stomach.

1. the rumen
2. reticulum
3. omasum
4. and abdomasum

The first two chambers separate the liquid and fibrous material. The fibrous material is regurgitated back up for further breakdown, then swallowed again, where it is further digested by four processing agents.

1. bacteria
2. protozoa
3. fungi
4. and yeast

According to the law, these were considered the "clean" animals the Israelites could eat.

Depiction of autosomal recessive inheritance in Tay-Sachs disease

Tay-Sachs Disease

Surprisingly, Jacob sheep can have a rare genetic condition called Tay-Sachs Disease that can also occur in humans. It is predominantly found, but not limited to, Ashkenazi Jews, some French Canadians, and Cajuns. Tay-Sachs disease is an autosomal recessive condition, meaning the genetic mutation is present in both the mother and the father.

This condition causes a degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and spine, eventually leading to death by age four. The Tay-Sachs chromosomal mutation in Jacob sheep is at g444r and is known as the Hexa gene.  Jacob sheep, which have remarkably similar DNA, are currently being used for research and testing to help people with this condition. 

Sheep blood develops immune complexes to snake venom.

Sheep and Snakes

The following is a bonus note on sheep, reflecting on the story of salvation through Christ, our Passover lamb.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, also was sacrificed. 

— I Corinthians 5:7

Sheep, in general, surprisingly have a robust immune system that produces antibodies capable of neutralizing the deadly effects of pit viper venom.

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 

— I Corinthians 15:54-57

Although the sheep suffer, the venom is ultimately defeated.

He (Lamb of God-Messiah) shall bruise you on the head, 

And you (serpent) shall bruise him on the heel.”

— Genesis 3:15

Notably, rattlesnake anti-venom is made using sheep blood. Venom is injected into the sheep, producing antibodies that are necessary to treat humans bitten by a rattlesnake.

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" 

— John 1:29

Jacob's pillow turned pillar by Lo Spagnoletto
Museo del Prado, Madrid

Jacob's Four Pillars

The account of Jacob's life mentions four pillars. Each is like a landmark memorializing the transitions in Jacob's life from leaving the promised land to his return. The first event occurs when Jacob is on his way to his mother's family of origin to find a wife and flee the wrath of his brother, Esau, from whom he had taken both the birthright and the blessing. He lay down for the night, using a stone for a pillow. 

Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 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. 

— Genesis 28:12-15

Jacob awoke, remembering the vision and the promise.

Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 

— Genesis 28:18

The second occurrence is when Jacob sneaks off from Laban, and Laban catches up with him to confront him. God has strictly instructed Laban not to harm Jacob in any way, so he instead decides to make a treaty with Jacob, securing his future well-being, and they make a covenant between them.

So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 

— Genesis 31:45

The third event was a second appearance from the Lord when Jacob returned to Bethel, where God initially appeared to him when he left.

And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. Also, God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 

— Genesis 35:10-14 

As Jacob returned to his homeland, His brother Esau, a man of the flesh, met Jacob with 400 men in his company, displaying his earthly military might.

The fourth and final pillar occurs when his wife, Rachael, dies on the way to Bethlehem while giving birth to Benjamin.

And Jacob set a pillar on her grave. 

— Genesis 35:20

Benjamin was the last son of Jacob, completing the twelve tribes of Israel, which would go on to become a nation.  

Gems of the Breastplate

Twelve (4 x 3) Tribes

The birth order of the twelve tribes appears in sets of four. The first four are Leah's sons, the second set of four are sons of Rachel and Leah's maidservants, and the third set of four is both Leah and Rachel. Some commentaries connect Leah and Rachel with the typology of Jew and Gentile. Once again, this links us with God's promise to Abraham of descendants likened to sand and stars.

I (Paul) kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 

— Acts 20:20-21 

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free— and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 

— I Corinthians 12:13  

 

Photograph of Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, Bible teacher and creator of the Scofield Reference Bible
https://library.dts.edu/Pages/TL/Special/scofield.shtml

Scofield Notes on Romans 11 as it Relates to Jacob

Summary: Israel, so named from the grandson (Jacob) of Abraham, was chosen for a fourfold mission:

1. To witness to the unity of God in the midst of universal idolatry, Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 43:12
2. to illustrate to the nations the blessedness of serving the true God, Deuteronomy 33:26-29; 1 Chronicles 17:20, 1 Chronicles 17:21; Psalms 144:15.
3. to receive, preserve, and transmit the Scripture Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Romans 3:1, Romans 3:2.
4. to produce, as to His humanity, the Messiah, Genesis 3:15; 12:3; 22:18; 28:10-14; 49:10;2 Samuel 7:12-16; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:1; Romans 1:3 . According to the prophets, Israel, regathered from all nations, restored to her own land and converted, is yet to have her greatest earthly exaltation and glory

Joseph is sold into slavery
Johann Friedrich Overbeck

Jacob in Egypt

Jacob's sons sold their brother, Joseph—the fourth and final patriarch of Genesis—to some Ishmaelite traders, and famine struck the land. They heard that there was food in Egypt and were reunited with their brother, Joseph, who had gone from a slave to a ruler. They end up staying there for about 400 years.

This fourth patriarch embodies the number four. After Jacob's descendants develop and multiply in Egypt, they are delivered through the birth canal of the Red Sea by God's mighty outstretched arm. The twelve tribes created through Jacob have now formed into a nation, ripe and ready for delivery.

Four notable women give birth to two sons. The youngest always replaces the oldest, representing flesh (oldest) and spirit (youngest) 

1. Rebekah
2. Rachel
3. Asenath
4. Tamar 

... the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual ... 

— I Corinthians 15:46