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Roger Salter article from Sunday, July 31, 2005

JACOB
A Study in Prevenient and Prevailing Grace

Jacob’s nature and future pattern of behaviour were hinted from his birth. He was born clutching the heel of his elder twin, Esau. The two jostled in their mother’s womb as a preliminary to their rivalry throughout life and Jacob’s infant grip upon his brother’s foot presaged the cunning ploy whereby he would supplant Esau in the traditional entitlement to his birthright and blessing. Jacob was not a man to be denied his desires. A native resolve and cunning prevailed throughout his life. He would calculatingly target his objectives and even reach beyond his entitlements to grasp what he craved even if it was another’s due. He had a clever mind, agile mental skills, and no compunction about resorting to craftiness and deceit. He gives the impression of being the charming rogue, but beneath the veneer of affability there was a ruthless lack of scruple. The con-man and cad of Canaan was “so out for number one” that he did not hesitate to deceive his father or cheat his brother — sadly at his mother’s instigation. The supplanter was a swindler who would ride roughshod over his next of kin, and not demur at offending God, if it seemed to be in his selfish interests. It is not hard to adopt an attitude of distaste toward Jacob, and to feel a twinge of sympathy toward the weak and gullible Esau. Jacob’s behaviour with the pot of stew was reprehensible and it was a recipe for trouble that plagued his life.