Of Razor Wires and Daisies

"You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel..." Genesis 32:28

Sometimes the Bible presents us with more questions than answers, just as in the case of the story of Jacob and his twin brother Esau. Esau sells his birthright as the older brother to Jacob for some stew. The Jacob steals the blessing intended for Esau in connivance with Rebekah, his mother. Isaac, the patriarch, sent Jacob away, for Esau planned to kill him. 

Jacob's life continues with many twists and turns like an intriguing telenovela. He marries two sisters because he was tricked into marrying the first when he really loved the second. Jacob then begets many sons including Joseph the dreamer. 

In Genesis chapter 32, Jacob "wrestled with God", another perplexing incident in Jacob's life. Instead of getting hurt however, Jacob managed to receive a blessing.  This convoluted story reminds me of razor wire, which is so ubiquitous in Israel, for security purposes. You undoubtedly would get hurt if you insist on going through it. But because the concertina coils are airy, yellow daisies manage to bloom between the barbs. Jacob's life was like that. Messy, full of the barbs of sin and treachery, but out of it, God's beautiful plan unfolded. 

If our life is full of twists, wrong roads taken, and dirty with sin, we can look to Jacob's life and see hope that God would give us a blessing as long as we don't give up.