Editorial October 20, 1945 Issue

Claim the Blessing!

John Randall Dunn

Some incidents in the story of Jacob, the son of the patriarch Isaac, as recounted in the book of Genesis, do not make pleasant reading. The Hebrew name, Jacob, means "supplanter"; and it would appear that Jacob, in his early days, exemplified a supplanter in his treacherous, deceitful dealings with his brother Esau. There would be no point in setting forth this narrative in Holy Writ had not Jacob finally awakened from his dream of trickery and duplicity, and thus presented a valuable lesson to the human family of error uncovered, forsaken, and destroyed.

After a career of deception and sin, Jacob finally found himself alone—alone with his unlovely thoughts, unhappy memories, and unsolved problems. He might flee from Esau, and from his uncle Laban, but from his thinking, never!

The Biblical record states that then Jacob wrestled with a man. Who was this man? Who but the false sense of man, called Jacob? How error that is not squarely faced and scientifically dealt with, returns to one! Someone has well said, "Men are punished by their sins, not for them."

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