What a Heel

Oct. 19

Read: Genesis 25:19-34

What a Heel

“Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob.” (v.26)

I don’t know about you, but in our family the ends of the loaf of bread are the least desirable pieces. They end up getting left over and avoided until someone finally makes a sandwich with them. We have always called those pieces the “heel” of the bread. The “heel” is rejected… nobody wants it… just sad little excuses for bread! Now think about Jacob… the “heel”.

Jacob was named after the fact that he was holding onto Esau’s heel when he was born. What a thing to be named after… to go throughout your life being known as a “heel”! It is kind of demeaning in a way… and doesn’t seem real positive. Jacob did seem somewhat like the undesirable pieces of bread; thinner, weaker, and with a face only a mother could love. Ha! Esau had all of the traits of “strength” whereas Jacob was quiet and homely. Isaac loved Esau whereas Rebekah loved Jacob. (v.27,28) It is fair to say that Isaac was expecting Esau to be the child of the promise since he was the oldest and displayed such powerful traits. There is one other facet to the imagery of Jacob’s name, that is the idea of being a “supplanter”. One who overthrows and replaces. When we put these ideas all together we get the picture: Jacob comes out as a heel-grabbing supplanter who will eventually overthrow his older brother who represents the traits of this world and the culture Abraham was called out of by God.

God foretold Rebekah that her younger son would rule over the elder. (v.23) She had a “heads up” regarding this unexpected reversal. This would be yet another cultural twist that God unfolds. God had a track record of choosing to work through the younger brother. Think of Abel, Isaac, and now Jacob… all “younger brothers”. When we think forward in the scriptures we have examples like Joseph and David. You see, God has a habit of use the younger brother… the unexpected and culturally inferior younger brother.

God takes the weak and marginalized and makes them strong. He uses the “younger brother”… the “heel”… to frustrate and supplant the initially “stronger older brother” who is tied to the “earth” (to this world). This is Jacob. This is God’s heritage and portion. This is what God’s people look like. The Lord is supplanting the rulers of this world and working through the unexpected… the weaker vessels; He is blessing them and strengthening them along the way. Sometimes we lose sight of this and begin to favor the more worldly traits - like Isaac and his affinity for Esau over Jacob. We don’t normally pick the way that God would have us! This brings a whole other level to the saying “expect the unexpected”.

There is one other “heel” image that we need to talk about though:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”- Genesis 3:15

Do you remember this scene from the Garden of Eden? What a powerful picture we have regarding the war between the offspring of the Serpent and the offspring of the Image-Bearer (Eve). You see, the heel will be bruised by Satan. So we know that Jacob will have some bruises and wounds… he is the “heel”. But there is something else the heel will do: the heel will also crush the Serpent’s skull! WOW. God uses those who have been bruised by sin and Satan… God chooses to use “bruised heels”… to be the very one who have victory over the serpent and his offspring. Jacob is a prime example. Jacob becomes a sneaky, deceiving, wheeling-and-dealing trickster… a reel “bruised heel”; and yet Jacob’s line is also the family line whom God is going to use to bring about Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate serpent-skull crusher! Victory comes through the bruised heel. It doesn’t stop there though; God in fact has been crushing the skull of the enemy through his people ever since. He was even doing it as the world was being prepared for Jesus the Son to show up. God’s people have always been “bruised heels" being used by God to stomp out the work of the enemy in this world.

Turns out that God likes to make his sandwiches using the heels of the loaf. LOL. That is good news for us! Every time you feel weak, thin, fragile, and lacking strength… take hope; you are in a perfect position to be strengthened and used by God. God’s people have always been “underdogs” that way. That is ok. We don’t always seem to have the attributes one would expect at first. It is easy for us to get distracted and think that God’s promise and handiwork is going to come from a more “expected place”… Like Isaac assuming the older and stronger boy would be the one God chooses to use. We must admit that when left to our own devices we take matters into our own hands and look to what makes sense to us rather than expecting God to work through the least likely means. May God open our eyes to the “heels” he is using. May we be willing to be the “heel”, because in the end that is what God uses to destroy the enemy! If you are feeling the ache of being “bruised” by sin and brokenness, God is calling you near to himself. Take heart. He will mend. And the very locale of the attack will become the place of victory. Satan may strike, but God destroys him in the end. This is what God is doing through is people. Maybe it is not so bad to be a heel? Love you guys! - JDP