The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Old Testament tells the account of the lives of a pair of brothers: Jacob and Esau. Jacob, the younger brother, steals his brother’s birthright and flees the country to go into hiding. From that point forward, we see Jacob live through a difficult series of circumstances and challenges, eventually fathering 12 children, whose descendants become the Jewish people. The difficulties he faced were ridiculous; his life was downright difficult. Later in the Scriptures, God says that he loves Jacob, but he hates Esau. This rather extreme sounding statement is a Jewish phrasing that essential...