If your mother taught you to say only nice things about other people, Jacob will push you to the outer limits of your imagination. This younger of the twins born to Isaac and Rebekah has few redeeming qualities. He takes advantage of every available weakness in others. The older twin, Esau, must have had the common sense of a fence post. On two different occasions, Jacob cheats him of his birthright. Jacob's father Isaac was old, blind and on his death bed when Jacob exploits the situation to benefit himself.

Jacob's father-in-law Laban tricked him into marrying Leah when he wanted to marry the younger daughter, Rachel. Later, however, Jacob got revenge by sneaking off with Rachel, taking many of Laban's household goods, as well as Laban's family gods. As Frederick Buechner says of Jacob,…