Jacob views the covenant between himself and the Lord as transactional. He is willing to put his faith in God, but only if God first demonstrates His power and grants favor to Jacob. Jacob behaves like a savvy businessman who is willing to agree to a profitable contract, but only if some sort of guarantee or "ability to pay" is first demonstrated. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When Jacob sleeps in the Bethel temple, he has a dream with angels ascending and descending a staircase from heaven (Genesis 28:12). At the foot of the stairs, and right next to Jacob, the Lord stood and, presenting himself as the God of Jacob's ancestors, promised to give Jacob the land on which Jacob rested, to give him many ancestors, to be with him, and protect him wherever he goes; never leave Jacob until the Lord fulfills all that he promised him (Genesis 28:13-15). Normally, if a human being had such a vision or dream from God, he would marvel at the power of God to perform such a great miracle. At this point, seeing that the Lord has such great power, they would take God's word literally and trust that such a powerful being would be true to His word. Jacob, on the contrary, said: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey that I am taking and give me food to eat and clothes to clothe me, and if I return safely to my father's house , the LORD will be my God (Genesis 28:20-21). By listing all of these things that the Lord must do before Jacob will accept the Lord as his God, Jacob indicates that his disposition toward God is one of doubt. Jacob is only willing to take the Lord as his God because he thinks it will be beneficial and profitable for him. This statement from Jacob sets the tone for his relationship with the Lord. Jacob, while recognizing the power of the Lord, does not fully trust the Lord to fulfill His word or, at a minimum, he does not trust God to fulfill His word in the exact way Jacob wants it to be fulfilled . Jacob's distrust of how God will fulfill his word is highlighted in chapter 32, when Jacob is informed that Esau, his brother, is coming to meet him with four hundred men (Genesis 32:7). Jacob had taken advantage of Esau by taking his firstborn rights (Genesis 25:33) and had stolen Isaac's blessing intended for Esau (Genesis 27:36). Esau was angry with Jacob and wanted to kill Jacob the last time the two brothers were near each other (Genesis 27:41). Jacob, fearing for his life, implored the Lord to “Save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau!” Otherwise, I fear he will come and strike me” (Genesis 32:12). As previously mentioned, the Lord promised Jacob that He would be with him and never leave him (Genesis 28:15). Jacob, however, doesn't seem to believe that God will protect him and takes further steps to hopefully save himself. He sends Esau a fairly large gift of livestock (Genesis 32:14-17) in the hope that this gift will pacify Esau and save Jacob's life (Genesis 32:21). Jacob's view of the covenant between him and God is one of prudence. He is willing to use the covenant and reap the benefits, but he does not fully surrender to the Lord's mercy or trust in the Lord's actions. He forms contingencies in case God does not fulfill his word and even tries, in some sense, to manipulate God to fulfill his word in a way that Jacob desires. This contrasts sharply with Abraham who, after receiving the promised son Isaac.