The Patriarchs

The Patriarchs Joseph and Jacob

 What is a Patriarch?
A Patriarch is simply the male head of a family or a tribal
line.

Patriarchs were religious leaders in the Old Testament who

related with God
 The Patriarch Joseph
Joseph was the first son of Jacob and Rachel. He lived in the land of
Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother and at least one half-
sister.He was Rachel’s first born and Jacob’s eleventh son. Out of all his
sons Joseph was the favourite one. Jacob demonstrated his love for
Joseph by giving him a very expensive coat of many colours. His brothers
hated him because of that.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he shared a dream he had with
his brother’s and his father. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers
gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed
to his own and in the second dream, the sun , the moon , and eleven
stars bowed to Joseph himself. This dreams implying his supremacy,
angered his brothers and made his brothers plot his death.
 Lessons Learnt From Joseph’s Life
Sometimes God reveals things to us that are meant for our ears only-Joseph was a
dreamer. But part of what made his brothers so envious was the fact that Joseph shared
these dreams with his brothers. They did come to pass in time, but hearing the dreams
caused great division and jealousy within his family.

Forgiveness is always a part of God’s plan-By the time Joseph encountered his brothers
once again, he was second in command of Egypt and they didn’t recognize him. Joseph’s
dreams became a reality when his brothers did indeed bow down to him in respect. This
would have been the perfect opportunity for revenge right? Joseph did no such thing. He
did test them to be sure they had changed, but forgiveness was always in his heart

The life of Joseph demonstrates God’s ability to transform sorrow into joy and to
breathe life into a seemingly dead situation.
 The Patriarch Jacob
Jacob was the second twin son of Isaac and Rebekah.After taking his elder twin
brother’s(Esau) birth right and blessings,he mended his ways and found favour with
God.Isaac blessed him saying, “May the blessings of God be with you and make you fruitful
and your descendants take possession of the land God promised Abraham”
Jacob travelled to Paddan Aram and met Laban.He agreed to work for seven years to cover
the pride price for Rachel to be his wife.
Laban explained that it is a custom that the senior sister marries first before the younger
one.Therefore,he can work for an additional seven years for rachel.After Working for
fourteen years he married both sisters.
God opened the womb of Leah because jacob did not love her and closed the womb of
Rachel.Leah gave birth to Reuben, Ishsachen, Zebulum, Simon, Levi, Judah and
Dinah.Racher put pressure on Jacob to get her a child or she will die. So, God blessed Rachel
and she conceived and gave birth to Joseph.Rachel and Leah also gave their servants to Jacob
and he bore children with them.In all Jacob had 12 sons and 1 Daughter.
The Lord said to Jacob; Go back to the land of your father and to your relatives.He left Laban with
his wives and children, livestock and servants. He sent an advanced team to his brother Esau with
presents consisting of bulls, donkeys and camels.He told them to inform his brother that his
servant was on his way to meet him.
In the night and angel of the Lord wrestled with Jacob,When he was leaving, Jacob asked him to
bless him. The man said henceforth, his name will be Israel.This is because he had struggled with
the Lord and man but had overcome.
The next day, he met his brother Esau who received him warmly with his 400 men. They
exchanged greetings and his brother accepted his gift.He finally settled at Shechem in Canaan
and camped close to the city.
Dinah,the only daughter of Jacob went to the city and was attracted to Shechem son of Hamor, the
Hirite. He raped Dinah. When the message got to the sons of Jacob They became very angry.
They planned to take revenge for what had been don’t to their only sister.They demanded that all
men in the city should be circumcised as conditions to enable them to marry their daughters.
All the males obeyed the instructions and were circumcised.When they were in pain,the sons of
Jacob and their servants attacked and killed them,They carried their livestock,wives and property
away
Finally,God spoke to Jacob now called Israel to settle at Bethel.God blessed him.
 Lessons learnt from Jacob’s Life
1.In spite of his weakness, Jacob was used by God to achieve his vision to bless Abraham
and his descendants.God is willing to work with us even with our sinful nature.Therefore,
we should avail ourselves to God's work and he will surely use us.

2.Jacob worked hard to please God.As a result, God blessed him with riches and a big
family.We should also work hard for God to bless us.Laziness is against God’s principles

3.He also endured unhappiness due to polygamy.By marrying two sisters and two
servants,Jacob compounded marital problems. We should also learn to keep to our future
husband and wife.Having multiple partners will give us more problems.

4.Finally Jacob was prayerful.After realising his sinful nature, he prayed to God for
forgiveness, guidance and protection. We should also pray to God without ceasing. Refer
to Genesis 32:9-12.
Thank You