The Character of Leadership: Jacob

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Jacob.

I love that one of the accompanying ideas in the Bible that goes along with its inerrancy is the fact that the Bible tells the truth about people. It doesn’t sugarcoat what happens, and it doesn’t ignore the bad or the ugly It doesn’t paint biblical characters as superheroes or as models of perfect perfection (outside of Jesus), but portrays who they really are and what they really experienced, both the good and the bad. Jacob is one of many characters about whom that is very obvious.

From the moment of his birth, Jacob seemed to be selfish, conniving, and deceitful. He was fighting with his brother before he was even born. As a young man, he took advantage of his brother to take away his birthright. With his mother‘s help, he deceived his father to take the blessing that was supposed to go to his brother. He deceived his father-in-law to get the best of the sheep as his own. Now, to be fair, he wasn’t always the instigator or initiator, like when his mom pushed him to get his brother‘s blessing or when his father-in-law tricked him into marrying a different daughter than the one he asked to marry. But his faults are still glaringly obvious.

However, one of the positive aspects of his character that is revealed in his journey is his tenacity. He worked for decades to get the woman he wanted as his wife. He spent a long time carrying out a plan to grow his herd of sheep. But his tenacity became most obvious when he was returning home after years away, but before he got there, he wrestled with an angel of the Lord (perhaps the Lord himself?). His tenacity was on full display when he wrestled all night to win favor from the Lord, and it didn’t end until the being that he was wrestling with touched him and dislocated his hip socket. In that experience, his name was changed to Israel, and he became the father of sons who would become the tribes of Israel.

There are things that we can learn from the character of this character, and, like a lot of people that we learn from, they can be negative traits or characteristics. But I would challenge you to focus on his tenacity, his unwillingness to give up even when the fight has been long and tiring. Plans don’t usually come to fruition quickly, so they require someone who can envision the long-term outcome and will stick to it, even when obstacles threaten to derail it. Yes, there are times when you need to change direction, or throw your plans out and start all over, but at the same time, there will always be obstacles and opposition that threaten a plan that needs to be carried out. Have the kind of tenacity that Jacob had, standing strong and moving forward, and see the blessing that the Lord will bring. If you are going to take anything from the character of this character, take his tenacity.