Judith P. Pando
Metaphysical Bible I
October 3, 2009
The Metaphysical Story of Jacob
The story of Jacob is one of transformation; a change in consciousness. He was born the 2nd twin to Rebekka and Isaac. As his brother Esau was leaving his mother’s womb, Jacob held on to his heel, and thus he was named Jacob, which means, according to Fillmore’s Metaphysical Bible, “heel catcher, lier in wait, supplanter, leaving behind, bringing to an end, recompensing and rewarding”. Esau, Jacob’s brother by a few moments, was hairy and rough. Jacob was smooth and soft. The two brothers could not be more different. In metaphysical terms, again according to Fillmore, Esau represents the body or physical vigor. It is an immature, animal consciousness, moved by desire. Appetite and passions are satisfied despite the consequence. Jacob, on the other hand represents the mentality or understanding. Esau was the favorite son of Isaac; but Rebekka favored Jacob. As the brothers grew, their differences became more pronounced. Esau was a good hunter and outdoorsman; Jacob “was a plain man, dwelling in tents”.
According to the custom of that time, it is the eldest son who gets the blessing from the father, as well as all the worldly inheritance. This did not seem a fair to Jacob and Rebecca. And Jacob finds an opportunity to use his mental abilities against Esau. Esau, representing the “lower consciousness”, the natural man, sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of pottage, immediate gratification over long term consequences. Despite the promise made by Esau, Isaac still favored the elder son, and when Isaac lay dying in his bed, he called for Esau to come to him to give the blessing, but first he asked Esau to prepare a meal for him. While Esau was hunting, Rebekka and Jacob conspired to deceive Isaac which results in Jacob getting the blessing instead. This may signify the idea of the spiritual gaining supremacy over the physical. When Esau returns, he is angry and told by his father that he will serve his younger brother. Jacob flees fearing for his life.
Charles Fillmore: “When read in the light of spiritual understanding or considered as part of the history of unfoldment of the individual soul, the incident loses its aspect of duplicity and we find that it is a description of the subtle working of the soul in spiritual evolution, under the guidance of Diving Mind. The soul is progressive. We must go forward. The soul must meet and overcome its limitations.”
Jacob leaves his home and moves to “the people of the east”, the land of his mother’s family for 2 purposes, to find a wife and to stay away from Esau. On the way, he stopped for the night, took stones as pillows and had a dream. In this dream, he sees a ladder to heaven. The symbolism is pretty clear; the ladder is the step by step process whereby one enters a higher state of consciousness. It opens a window to heaven. Jacob heard the voice of God and is afraid. Jacob had a numinous moment. He is told that God is with him now and always and everywhere he goes; that this land is his, and that his family will be blessed. Jacob may have been afraid because there was no going back to old way of being and thinking. Jacob was most probably awestruck at the enormity of the new ideas. Jacob trusts all things to Spirit and vows to tithe 10% to God. This was Jacob’s first attempt at making a covenant with God. Jacob then declares the spot upon which he slept to be holy ground and consecrates it and names it Beth-el, house of God.
Jacob then continues his travels to Haran, which means exalted, mountain to live with Laban, his mother’s brother. Laban means white, clear, shinning, gentle, and noble. There he meets Rachel, and instantly falls in love. He weeps and kisses her and asks Laban if he can marry her. Rachel means migrating, journeying in droves, ewe, lamb. She is “The feminine, receptive or soul phase of the pure natural life…This phase of life that Rachel represents is a transitory state (migrating). It is fruitful only on the higher, spiritual plane of ideas.” Rachel is the younger daughter of Laban. Jacob agrees to work for Laban for seven years in exchange for having Rachel for his wife. The number seven refers to fullness in the world. It always refers to the divine law of perfection for the divine-natural man.
Jacob worked with his uncle raising and selling livestock. Eventually, he becomes successful and prosperous. When he has worked the seven years, he claims Rachel to be his wife. Now the trickster is tricked for instead of Rachel, he was given poor unloved Leah (somehow Jacob didn’t notice the switch). Leah means weary, exhausted, faint, sluggish; but according to Fillmore, she also represents the human soul. Leah is described in the text as “tender eyed”, which could mean that she is weak, or it could mean that she had light colored eyes. When Jacob realizes that he has the wrong woman, he goes back to Laban and confronts him. Laban explained that it is customary for the eldest to marry before the younger. He set a price for Rachel of seven more years of work and Jacob complies. During this time, he becomes even more skilled and prosperous and grew Laban’s flock beyond all expectations. In the interim, Leah gave birth to 6 sons; Rachel was, of course, barren (as was Rebecca and Saha). Later in life Rachel gives birth to 2 sons and between her, Leah, and 2 slaves, Jacob had 12 sons.
But Jacob knew that he had a past that needed to heal. He decides to leave and take with him all his wives, children and a large number of Laban’s flock. Laban was not pleased with the idea of losing his sheep, but when he catches up with Jacob, the strike a deal and all is well with the in-laws. Jacob knows that he must finally face his brother so he retraces his steps and heads west. Along the way, he has another numinous moment. According to the text, he wrestles with ‘a man’ all night and refuses to let him go until ‘the man’ gives him a blessing. This wrestling could be seen as Jacob’s wrestling with himself with his past errors, with his sense of right and wrong. The result of this was that Jacob was a changed man. The God within him gave him a new name, Israel. Israel means who prevails with God, a prince with God, rulership with God.
As Jacob nears his home, he gets word that Esau is on his way to meet him with 400 of Esau’s tribe. Jacob sends his wives and children away, divides his livestock as an offering to Esau and Faces Esau alone. The brothers reunite, and Esau does serve his younger brother. Metaphysically, this represents the mind and the body uniting, but with the mind ruling the body both work in harmony.
This brief overview of the story of Jacob is not the entire story, nor is it the end of the story, but Rev. Guy asked us to personalize it, and I believe that I can relate to some of the lessons the story of Jacob demonstrates. First lesson, God keeps his promises. Throughout Genesis, there is a recurring story of barren women who pray to God to give to give them a child. After waiting for what must have seen a very long time, the precious children are born. I believe that this could be an allegory for reaching any goal that one may strive to attain. My inner wisdom will ensure that the goal will be achieved, but it may not happen as quickly or in the same manner as I would like. God also promised to protect Jacob on his journey. I think God protects all us in our spiritual journeys. Lesson two, the soul is progressive (and productive, at least in the case of Leah). The soul must meet and overcome its limitations. We must move forward. Lesson 3, the mind and the body must work together on this plane of existence. My body is indeed a temple, it should be cared for and healed, but my mind must be in charge and they must work in harmony. Lesson 4, the ladder represents a step by step process that all on a spiritual path must climb in order to learn the Truth. Lesson 4, life is a journey where we encounter obstacles. When our human brain tries to figure out how to overcome them, suffering may occur. However, when we listen to our higher wisdom self, when we trust that God is on our side and there is really nothing against us, not only we grow spiritually, but we thrive. Lesson 5, when you wrestle with God, you may get hurt, but in a good way.