Joseph's Dreams

Story: Joseph’s Dreams

Passage: Genesis 37:1-11

Characters: Jacob, Joseph, Joseph’s brothers

Summary: Joseph brought a bad report of his brothers to Jacob. Jacob loved Joseph and gave him a colorful robe. His brothers hated him. Joseph had a dream where they were binding sheaves and his sheaf stood up and his brothers’ bowed down to his. His brothers hated him more. Then he dreamt that the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. His father rebuked him, but he kept the dreams in mind.

Notes: The passage contrasts the previous chapter in that while Esau settled far away, we read that Jacob lived in his father’s land. Joseph was seventeen during these events. I found it interesting that he brought a bad report to his dad of his brothers. His brothers probably deserved it, but still this was probably a major contributor to the tension between Joseph and his brothers. No one likes a tattle tale. Jacob’s dysfunctional favoritism continues as he favors Joseph, his second youngest more than anyone else. This robe he gave Joseph is significant not because of the colors, but because of the length of the robe and it’s sleeves. This was a long sleeved robe reaching to Joseph’s ankles. This signified that Joseph was not a working man, but that he was privileged and favored. It was Jacob’s way of saying that Joseph had his birthright. His ten older brothers were obviously jealous of this favor their younger brother was receiving. It only gets better though. Joseph seems a bit oblivious to me! His brothers instantly knew the meaning of the first dream. They knew it implied he would rule over them. I don’t think they doubted this at first, they just despised it. They knew Jacob was giving Joseph whatever he wanted and he would become powerful, but the brothers were not happy about this. This dream also involved wheat. This is interesting since Joseph’s later interactions with his brothers would revolve around food. His second dream had the same meaning with an important difference. This dream included his mother and father. Joseph showed even less wisdom and more pride in sharing this dream. He knew how awesome this revelation was for him, but didn’t think about how it would sound to others. What God had told him did come true and it was real, but it would have been wiser and more humble for him to keep it to himself. This is not the first or last time the sons of Israel are represented by stars. Ever since Abraham, his descendants have been compared to stars, and we see the imagery again in revelation. You might have noticed that Rachel should be dead at this point, but she is still present in Joseph’s dream. It is possible that we have backtracked a bit here. It is possible that when the passage said these are the generations of Jacob that Jacob’s own account ended and Joseph’s began. However, Joseph’s dreams also included 11 other sheaves and stars implying that Benjamin was born, which would imply that Rachel was indeed dead. This story begins the long story of Joseph’s struggles. We will find that he never loses his focus even in the midst of incredibly unfair affliction. We can learn a lot from Joseph’s example, just not in this passage.

Questions: Why did Joseph tell his family his dreams? Did Jacob not see the negative effect his favoritism was having? Was Joseph oblivious or prideful? Remember he was only seventeen.

Lessons: If God tells you something, you need to evaluate how important it is for the general public to hear. If it is specifically for you, it might be wise to keep it to yourself and a select few friends or family members. You do not want to create jealousy or discouragement in others. Sometimes, if someone hears how God is doing something awesome for you, they might be disappointed that a similar thing isn’t happening to them. It is important to use wisdom when God does something in your life when you choose who to tell. If pride is your motivation, keep it to yourself. IF the edification of the church is your motivation, go for it.

Esau's Descendants

Story: Esau’s Descendants

Passage: Genesis 36

Characters: Esau, others

Summary: Here we see a list of Esau’s descendants and where they lived. Esau moved far away from Jacob.

Notes: There is not too much here other than names. We do read that both Jacob and Esau had so many possessions they had to move far away from each other to sustain themselves. Esau was the one who moved. He left the land which God had given Abraham which left the land to only Jacob. We read that Amalek came from Easu. We will read more about the Amalekites later. It looks like there is also a list in this passage of the sons of the kings of the land Esau moved to. Four women are mentioned in this list. Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau. She bore Amalek. We also hear of Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. I don’t know the significance of these names, but I suspect people of the time did. This passage also mentions a man named Anah who found hot springs in the wilderness as he pastured his father’s donkeys. Apparently this was a well known story. I love the way the Old Testament is so grounded in history. People’s names, historical events, and known locations were all utilized in the writing of this book.

Questions: Why were these specific women mentioned? Who was Anah? Did Esau mix with the people in the land he moved to?

Lessons: The biggest lesson I see here is that God promised Jacob the land, and here we see Esau leave it and let Jacob live in it alone. God’s plan is slowly working itself out. We need to remember that we may not immediately understand what God is doing, but He is slowly working us towards the land He has promised us, where we get to live in His presence forever.

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Story: The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac

Passage: Genesis 35:16-29

Characters: Rachel, Benjamin, Jacob, Reuben

Summary: Rachel went into hard labor. As she was dying, she named her son Ben-oni, but Jacob named him Benjamin. Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem. Jacob set a pillar over her grave. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine and Jacob found out. Jacob came to his father in Hebron. Isaac dies at 180 years and Jacob and Esau buried him.

Notes: Rachel’s death is tragic. No longer do you sense joy and pride in a son being born. Her name for Benjamin, Ben-oni, means son of sorrow. This was not a victory for Rachel, this was a defeat. I find it interesting that the competition which she seems to have based her life upon ends up costing her her life. How wrong she was when she told Jacob “Give me a son or I’ll die!” I also think her tragic death could be a result of the curse Jacob placed on whoever had stolen Laban’s idols. The pillar over Rachel’s tomb is still there at the time of the writing of Genesis. I find it interesting that this must have been a well known landmark. If Moses indeed wrote Genesis like people think, he never entered the Promised Land. So his knowledge of landmarks came from hearsay. Two sentences describe Reuben’s sin, but it is big enough to forfeit his rights as firstborn. Is it any surprise we see sexual sin from Reuben though? Look at the family he grew up with. We even read he was involved in finding mandrakes for his mother. Reuben was sucked into this struggle his parents were involved in and he never got a good idea of how marriage should look. His actions are not excused, but they are more understandable. Either way, Reuben’s sin and Simeon and Levi’s violent actions from a few chapters ago have made them unfit for God’s redemptive plan. The torch is now passed to Judah. It is interesting that Isaac now dies. If you remember, Jacob stole the blessing from Esau over twenty years before this when they thought Isaac was going to die! Esau and Jacob buried their father together. They were opposed to each other at their birth, but united at their father’s death.

Questions: Did Rachel’s death fulfill the curse Jacob placed on the idol thief? Did Rachel understand the futility of her struggle with Leah before she died? Were they on good terms? Are Jacob and Esau getting along at this point? How messed up were Reuben and his brothers as a result of the struggle between their mothers?

Lessons: It is important as a parent to be a good role model for your children. If they don’t see you following certain morals, they will have no reason to. This is what we saw happen in Reuben’s life. We also can learn a lesson from this passage about the futility of pursuing anything but Christ. Rachel wanted children, and it became the death of her. Anything of this world we pursue will ultimately fade away and be worthless. Only Christ is worth our efforts and passions.

God Blesses and Renames Jacob

Story: God Blesses and Renames Jacob

Passage: Genesis 35:1-15

Characters: God, Jacob

Summary: God told Jacob to return to Bethel and live there. Jacob told his family to purify themselves and get rid of foreign gods. As they journeyed, God terrified the people around them and they did not pursue Jacob. Jacob came to Bethel and built an altar. Rebekah’s nurse died. God appeared to Jacob and renamed him Israel again. He repeated the promise of nations coming from him. God gave him the land around him. God left and Jacob poured oil and a drink offering on the pillar and called the place Bethel.

Notes: I suspect that God wanted Jacob to go to Bethel in the first place instead of Shechem. That would explain why Jacob’s time in Shechem was so bad. Jacob shows he had completely turned to follow God when he had his family get rid of idols. They willingly did so which shows how when the head of a house follows God, the family does too. Jacob built an official altar to God in bethel and called it God of Bethel. Bethel means house of God if you remember. We know nothing else about Rebekah’s nurse, but she must have been important to be named in the passage. They obviously mourned for her. I wonder if they picked her up in their group while with Laban. God appeared and reaffirmed His covenant with Jacob now that Jacob was back in Bethel. This was the place Jacob’s spiritual journey had begun and it was where God planned on it ending. God officially named Jacob Israel here. Jacob poured out a drink offering. Drink offerings were usually wine. By pouring that out on the altar, Jacob was giving even his possessions to God and showing that God was his utmost priority.

Questions: How many idols did Jacob’s family have? How willingly did they get rid of them? What made Deborah so important? Was Jacob initially supposed to go to Bethel?

Lessons: The main lesson I see here is the importance of being a spiritual leader. As in the importance of being a spiritual leader if you are a leader in general. Jacob was the head of his family and when he committed to God, his family did. If you are a husband or a father, your spiritual example has a huge impact. If you are a political leader or a manager at work, your example makes an impact. It is important to always conduct yourself in such a way that people can see Christ through

Horrid Red Things

Horrid Red Things

This is an article from God in the Dock called Horrid Red Things. This article discusses the conflict between observable science and the supernatural aspects of Christianity. My thoughts on this article are given in italics at the end of my summary.

Lewis addresses the thought that the conflict between science and religion is over. He claims that if this is true, it is only with the very learned. The conflict is very real for the common man. According to Lewis, the people see a fundamental difference between Christianity and the picture of the universe they get from current scientific knowledge. Lewis says that when people hear that God has a “son”, they picture a physical son. When that son “came down” to Earth from Heaven, he dropped down like a skydiver, when he later descended to Hell, he went somewhere beneath the surface of Earth and later He ascended into the sky and sat down in a fancy throne next to His Father. This implies, according to Lewis, a material, local heaven, a flat earth, and many other misconceptions. Basically we put spatial, material, physical elements to these words and it can cause confusion. Most Christians know we need to interpret scripture differently and put aside those differences, but that doesn’t cut it for most people. They assume we can allegorize and spiritualize these metaphors and it works, but if the authors of scripture had current knowledge of science, they would have written the stories differently. This is the argument which Lewis is now going to discuss.

Lewis says that there are two things Christians can do to convince this modern man that there is no issue here. First, they must make it clear that even after any explanations and interpretations, the scriptures will still be completely supernatural and miraculous. No matter what, we have to believe in a spirit world which can invade the physical observable universe. What Christians cannot do is imply that they have their myths for ignorant listeners, but when we encounter an educated person, we can explain everything away through science and logic such that no one would ever deny your claims. Lewis warns that there are theologians who do this and we need to disassociate with them at all costs! If Christianity can be boiled down such that it is explainable through our logic without “Christian” language, then we should abandon Christianity altogether. The miraculous supernatural element of Christianity is very real and is crucial to our beliefs.

The second thing Lewis says Christians can do is teach about the difference of thinking and imagining. While it is inaccurate to say that early Christians all believed in a flat Earth or a physical heaven somewhere in the sky, some did. In fact, some would not be able to separate their faith from this imagery in their minds. Lewis attempts to distinguish the core of belief from this imagery. He gives an example of a child told not to take too much aspirin or she could die. The child replied, “But why? If you squash them you don’t find any horrid red things inside them.” Lewis says that this child has associated poison with “horrid red things”. This is obviously wrong! Not all red things are poison and not all poison is red. However, this error does not affect her thinking. She still understands that an overdose of aspirin would kill you. If this child warned you that something in her house you were about to drink was poison, you would be dumb not to listen to her because she has an incorrect view of poison. Later in life, when she learns that poison does not have to be red, her view of poison will not change. She will still know that if you drink poison, you will die. Her imagery of poison drops away but the thought remains unaffected. Say a Christian believes that there is a physical heaven at a certain altitude in the sky with two physical chairs on which the Father and Son sit. When He learns that this is not how heaven works, the essentials of his beliefs will remain unchanged. He would still know that Christ, who was once crucified, is living and is now the supreme ruler of the universe. The imagery does not change that thought and belief in his mind. Lewis discusses whether the imagery is even necessary in the first place. He points out that we cannot use words to describe God that do not imply spatial imagery. God is outside of our spatial universe and thus Lewis says we cannot find words to describe Him more literally than what we already have.

Lewis concludes by saying that the difference between explaining and explaining away is simple. Anything that concerns the unincarnate God, operating outside of our senses and universe, must be taken with the imagery which we have, even if it is not totally true. He basically argues that the imagery may not be literal, but it does not matter or affect things. In fact, we have no choice but to accept the imagery given us in scripture. However, we cannot use this with miracles. Miracles occur within our observable universe. They are recorded and can be described literally. When it comes to miracles, you must either take it or leave it literally.

This article confused me a little bit. It is hard for me to grasp not taking the imagery in the Bible literally and I immediately put up some walls when reading this. In reality though, any language used to describe God or Heaven involves wrapping a concept that transcends our senses and the laws of our universe and fitting into the framework of language which forces it to be described using those laws and observations which we can explain. We are forced to explain and describe the creator through His creation. When I thought about this, I realized that this is an imperfect way to describe God. The imagery in the Bible is most likely not able to be literal because we are limited by our universe in describing God. However, the imagery is inspired by God and therefore, while the imagery might not be literal, it is the correct imagery to use. God chose the words of scripture and that is what we must go with until we are with Him in glory and can understand more fully.

Myth Became Fact

Myth Became Fact

Myth Became Fact is an article written by C.S. Lewis in the collection of Lewis’ writings called God in the Dock. I plan on occasionally posting reviews of these articles when I have time as they are very interesting and thought provoking. You do not have to agree with what he wrote. I do not always agree with what he wrote, but he was a very smart man and there is much we can learn from him. Please comment if you have any thoughts on any of these! Without further ado, Myth Became Fact.

Lewis addresses a claim by a friend of his that there are no Christians at all. Anyone who claims to be a Christian is believing a modern system of thought while using the language and emotions from Christianity. This compares it to the kingship in England. The form is there, but it means nothing in reality. Lewis argues that this is false. He starts by assuming his friend was right. Assume that Christianity is a system in which the names, rituals, formulas and metaphors persist while the motives behind it changes. Lewis says that one would have trouble explaining why these things persist. Why would these modern Christians choose to express their thoughts through an ancient m? Before I continue, let me define what a myth is according to Wikipedia. A myth is usually regarded as a true account of the remote past. Myths are generally regarded as being true. Legends are also considered true, however legends generally take place in more recent times and involve humans. Myths tend to involve the supernatural and take place when the world was a much different place. Back to Lewis now! If this modern view is correct, then we should be very willing to cut any ties to these ancient dead myths and replace them with something as modern as our thoughts. In fact we should be quick to do so. However, we see that when presented with that choice, very few people are willing to completely cut off the Christian myths. This would make more sense if it was profitable to hold to Christianity, but in general it is not. It is actually more difficult. Lewis acknowledges that it would be easier to cut away the myth in much the same way it would be easier for a man to divorce his wife to marry someone more suitable. The only issue with marrying someone more suitable is that you abandon the very point of marriage. In the same way if England were to get rid of the kingship, they would get rid of the thing that carries British values. These ancient institutions trickle into modern thought and customs.

Lewis argues that what matters in Christianity are the myths even if they are purely myths, which he does not think. This modern view wants Christianity to move with the times, but the times always move away. Christianity shows something which does not move. What is called a myth remains while what is called “modern thought” always fades and is replaced. Philosophies against Christianity disappear but the “myths” that they attacked remain. The myth outlives defenders and attackers. It is this so called myth which gives life to Christianity.
Lewis then explores myth. He explains that human thought is incredibly abstract. However, the realities we experience are concrete. We cannot understand and experience simultaneously. The more we think, the less we experience and vice versa. For example, we cannot study laughter while we are occupied with laughing. But in reality, when else can you understand these concepts? This is something which myths can partially solve. In myths, we can understand something abstract through something that is concrete. When abstract concepts are interpreted through the concrete framework of a myth, we have a common ground between reality and thought. Myth does not have to be created to carry these principals because it inherently will carry universal principals according to Lewis. When you begin to analyze a myth you enter the abstract world of thought again. Only when you listen to the myth do you experience the abstract principal. Lewis distinguishes between truth and reality. He says that, “truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is.” Myth communicates reality not truth and thus myths create many truths at the abstract level. Myth is the connector between thought and experience. It belongs to neither but it shares characteristics of both.

Lewis claims that as myth transcends thought, Incarnation transcends myth. Christianity is a myth which is also fact. The myth of the Dying God became fact without ceasing to be a myth. While other myths have their gods dying, Christ comes to earth and is crucified under Ponitus Pilate in a historical place, on a historical date, with historical consequences. Lewis argues that the miracle of Christianity is that the myth becomes fact but retains the myth. Lewis suspects that some people get more from the myths they disbelieve than the religion they claim to follow. Lewis argues that to be a Christian means to hold to the historical fact while receiving the myth, though it is now fact.

Lewis concludes by saying that we can learn from these modern thoughts in that it reminds us that what became fact was a myth and still carrys the properties of a myth as well as fact. God is more than a god and not less. Because of this, we should expect parallels and Christ figures in other pagan religions and cultures. They should be there. What makes Christianity beautiful though is, as Lewis says, “the marriage of heaven and earth: Perfect Myth and Perfect Fact: claiming not only our love and our obedience, but also our wonder and delight, addressed to the savage, the child, and the poet in each one of us no less than to the moralist, the scholar, and the philosopher.”

I found this article very interesting. While I have never defined myth like he did, he really captured the importance of the wonder of the Bible which requires faith, and the logical historic fact of the Bible which we can evaluate with our reason. Christianity really does encompass both abstract thought and concrete reason and experience. Christianity is not against science, it just goes beyond science. But we will hear more from Lewis on this subject in the future.

The Defiling of Dinah

Story: The Defiling of Dinah

Passage: Genesis 34

Characters: Shechem, Hamor, Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Dinah

Summary: Dinah went to see the woman of the land. Shechem, the prince of the land saw her and slept with her. He loved her and spoke tenderly to her and wanted her as his wife. Hamor, his father went to negotiate with Jacob. Jacob’s sons were horrified. Hamor wanted to intermarry with Jacob’s family. Shechem asked what the bride price would be and Jacob’s sons said that the Hivites must circumcise themselves. They did just what Jacob’s sons asked. While they were still sore and weak, Simeon and Levi killed all the males in the city. Abraham was worried that they were now a stench to the inhabitants of the land. Simeon and Levi justified their actions by saying that their sister should not have been treated like a prostitute.

Notes: This is another ridiculous story. First of all, Dinah was visiting the women of the land. It is possible she was developing relationships with the native women. This might have been unwise of her, but she could not have seen the results coming. The Hivites did not follow God and thus their morals were not very good. Shechem saw someone he wanted, so he took her before worrying about the formalities of marriage. Hamor wanted to intermarry because he wanted to absorb Israel. If they intermarried, they would become one people and Israel’s possessions would be his. Hamor was motivated by greed, but it appears that Shechem was madly in love with Dinah. Jacob’s sons were deceitful and honestly cruel! Their plan for revenge was awful! They claimed they wanted the Hivites to be circumcised and set themselves apart like them. Shechem gladly obliged and he and his people went through this painful process. They basically temporarily disabled every man in the city for a few days. Simeon and Levi were sons of Leah and thus sisters of Dinah and I suspect they were the masterminds of this plan. They went in and killed every male in the city. God wanted the gentiles cleared from the land eventually, but that was not the motivation on Simeon and Levi. They did not kill the Hivites to keep from mixing with them. They killed them out of hatred for what was done to their sister. They plundered the city of Shechem taking everything, including their wives. This makes me wonder if they did intermarry after all. Either way, Jacob was well aware that the people in the land were not going to be very friendly anymore. But the brothers had a fierce devotion to their sister and they felt like their actions were justified.

Questions: Why was Dinah visiting the women of the land? Did Shechem truly love Dinah or was he just attracted to her? Was the only motivation of Simeon and Levi revenge for their sister? What did the other people in the land think of this incident? How did Leah react to this?

Lessons: We can learn from Simeon and Levi’s devotiong to their sister. While their reaction was way too much, we see how important their sister’s honor was and they were obviously willing to fight for her. Any males out there need to have this attitude for their sisters. In Song of Solomon we see that the beloved’s brothers were responsible for protecting their sister’s honor and purity. Women are treasures belonging to God. God entrusts them to their father and brothers for the beginning of her life and then entrusts the treasure to their husbands. Ultimately though they belong to God and as a male, our job is to keep that treasure safe for God. While this does not mean slaughtering a city for your sister, it does mean being active in her life and willing to fight for her.

Jacob Meets Esau

Story: Jacob Meets Esau

Passage: Genesis 33

Characters: Jacob, Esau, Rachel, Leah, 11 kids

Summary: Jacob saw Esau coming. He set up his group with Rachel and Joseph in the back. He bowed low seven times as he approached Esau, but Esau embraced and kissed him and tried to return the gifts. Jacob sent Esau home saying he would follow at a slower pace, but he did not follow and settled in Shechem.

Notes: Jacob was very humble and distrustful of Esau. He put those he loved in the very back of the group. He did not hide his favoritism. Interestingly, he associated the servants’ children with the servants and seems to have not seen them as children of his wives, which was the intention of Rachel and Leah. Esau showed no signs of resentment. He had cooled off over twenty years and had apparently built up some wealth of his own. Since he seems to have dwelt in the present rather than looking to the future his whole life, his current wealth was good enough. He saw no need for the birthright or blessing anymore. As a descendant of Abraham, he was probably partly under Abraham’s blessing regardless as Ishmael was. Jacob still didn’t trust him though and he did not follow Esau home. Esau possibly didn’t trust Jacob either for we see he brought four hundred men with him to meet Jacob. Jacob settled in Shechem and built an altar called God of Israel in Hebrew. This is very significant! He used his new name of Israel and acknowledged that God was his god. He kept his promise! God had brought him back to his land safely against all odds, and Jacob made God his god. This is the conclusion of Jacob’s journey of growth. From his dream in bethel until now, he had been basically testing God and God came through! Jacob saw God’s hand in all that had happened and he officially and publicly put his trust in God. The God of Jacob and Fear of Isaac had become the God of Israel! I see this as a pivotal moment in the redemptive history of the world, yet it only receives one sentence.

Questions: Why was Esau so happy to see Jacob? Did Esau trust Jacob? What did Esau think of Jacob not following him home? Did that affect his trust of Jacob? Did God want Jacob to settle in Shechem or was that Jacob’s own thing?

Lessons: God will come through on His promises. If we make the effort to trust Him even when it doesn’t make sense, He will prove Himself worthy of being our God.

Jacob Wrestles with God

Story: Jacob Wrestles with God

Passage: Genesis 32:22-32

Characters: Jacob, God

Summary: Jacob sent his family across the river. When Jacob was alone, he wrestled with a man all night. The man touched Jacob’s hip and set it out of joint. Jacob wouldn’t let him go until he blessed him. God asked for Jacob’s name and changed it to Israel. Jacob asked God’s name but He refused. Jacob had a limp. Jews don’t eat the sinew from the hip for this reason.

Notes: This is one of the more confusing stories in my opinion, yet it is very meaningful. Where did God come from? I wonder if Jacob knew who he was wrestling at first. That would have been so weird! Imagine a random stranger appearing and wrestling with you. This wasn’t a short match either! They wrestled until midnight! God could have won the fight at any moment, but He chose to let Jacob wrestle with Him on even ground. The way this struggle ended has a lot of meaning which I think we miss sometimes. First, God did not prevail over Jacob. Jacob struggled with all his might. When God asked to go, Jacob wanted a blessing first. I don’t know if Jacob knew this man was God, or thought he was an angel or something. All I know is he knew this man could bless him. God asked for Jacob’s name. In that culture, your name was very important and it was tied to your very identity. To give the man his name meant admitting defeat. Jacob gave God his name and God changed his name to Israel, which means He struggles with God. This is amazing foreshadowing to the nation of Israel’s relationship with God in the future. At this point, Jacob knew that this man was God. Jacob wanted to know God’s name though. He wanted a draw. God would have none of it and asked why Jacob would want His name? God was saying that He won. Jacob had struggled with God spiritually and now physically, but God had won and changed Jacob’s whole identity, including His name. It is interesting that God eventually did use His power to win the fight. He allowed Jacob to struggle with Him for a while, but then He revealed His power and drew Jacob back to Him and Jacob left the experience a changed man spiritually and physically. This encounter with God affected every single aspect of Jacob’s identity and is significant since Jacob is about to have to show whether he will keep his vow he made with God about returning safely to his land.

Questions: Where did God come from here? How long did it take for Jacob to know who he was wrestling with? Why did God let him wrestle with him? Who initiated this match? What was Jacob’s family doing this night without him? Was his limp permanent?

Lessons: Many times, we struggle with God. We try to use our will instead of following His. Many times, God will let us struggle with Him. He may even let it look like we are winning, but in reality, He is in total control the entire time and eventually He will show us His power and draw us back to Him and it is hard for us to avoid being changed by the experience. Another example of this is Job. Job argued with God and God let him argue before eventually showing Job His power and holiness and knowledge and Job was overwhelmed and changed. A similar situation happened with Habakkuk. God will let us struggle and wrestle with Him, but He has no intention of letting us win, but rather He will use it to show us His holiness and draw us closer to Him.

Jacob Fears Esau

Story: Jacob Fears Esau

Passage: Genesis 32:1-21

Characters: Jacob, Esau

Summary: Jacob leaves and meets the angels of God. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. He sent them in droves to appease Esau. He split into two camps to keep one camp safe for sure.

Notes: Jacob knew he did not deserve God’s blessings. He also realized what he had done to Esau and knew Esau was justified in hating Jacob. He also realized that Esau was older and therefore should have authority over Jacob. Because of his understanding of this, he feared Esau and now he humbly offers a significant amount of his possessions to his brother. Jacob acts out of what appears to be human fear and divides his camps into two. This ensures the safety of one of them should the other be attacked. He also sent many gifts to Esau. Yet we know he ultimately looked to God for protection, appealing to God’s promise to Jacob. From what I can tell, Jacob is the first person we see who appeals to God’s promise in a tough situation instead of needing God’s reminder. This shows us that God’s promise had sunk in. In verse 1 we read that the angels of god met him. I don’t know why or how long they stayed, but Jacob named the camp Mahanaim, “two camps”. He then splits into two camps. This is interesting to me also. It is possible that the angels were still with him and the order to split camps came from them. I like the detail in the exact numbers of male and female livestock he sent to Esau. He sent them in droves so that Esau would continually see the gifts sent to him. In verse 20, the Hebrew says that Jacob hopes to appease Esau’s face so that Esau would lift his face. I enjoy this use of words and the parallelism between the appeasing of Esau’s and the lifting of Jacob’s face. Jacob shows great humility and submission to Esau. This is totally different from how Jacob interacted with Esau up until he fled. He had been struggling with Esau from birth. Ironically, now that Jacob submitted to Esau, God was going to bless Jacob.

Questions: Is it possible that the angels of God stayed with Jacob and were instructing him? Why was he afraid even with the promise? Are we sometimes afraid even though we have the ultimate promise from God?

Lessons: We can learn from Jacob’s humility and submission to someone he viewed as having authority over him. Esau was not necessarily a good man, but Jacob still submitted to Him. Even though Jacob was afraid, he trusted God enough to obey him and go back to his brother who, last he saw him, wanted to kill him. We need to learnt o trust God enough to obey Him, even when we are afraid of the consequences. We do not have a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

What's up!

Hey everyone, I have not posted in a long time. I got sick and really busy with work and things. I have kept up with my reading though and my posts are written in a notebook. So over the next couple days, I hope to get them all online and up to date! So quick update on my life! Nothing much is new lol. I've been working and learning. It's been good and I'm getting used to it. I am so blessed to have a job right now and it is honestly a good job! I am still working on getting in the midset of working for God and not man though. I have been able to continue seeing London on weekends which has been great! It is awesome working together and trying to serve God together to try to reach her campus(my former campus). Anyway, I will try to get more regular and detailed updates again, but we will see how that works!

Jacob Flees from Laban

Story: Jacob Flees from Laban

Passage: Genesis 31

Characters: Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Laban

Summary: Jacob heard that Laban and his sons did not like him anymore. God told him to return home. He told Rachel and Leah tha God had told him to return. They said they had nothing left at home and Jacob could do what he wanted. They fled. Laban pursued. He wanted his idols back which Rachel had stolen. Jacob said he would kill whoever had the idols. Laban did not find them. Laban and Jacob made a covenant and Laban returned home.

Notes: Laban did not like Jacob. I doubt he ever really did. He just liked what Jacob did for him and he was no longer on the receiving end of this relationship. Jacob had served with all his strength for 20 years but Laban had continued to change his wages and take advantage of him. Jacob gave credit to God for blessing him and bringing him through his time with Laban. This is significant since he did not yet consider God his god. God referred to Himself as the God of Bethel, where Jacob had made Him a vow. This meant God was reminding Jacob of His promise to Jacob and their deal they had made. Rachel and Leah felt regarded as foreigners in their own home. Their dowry was meant to be used for them, but Laban had used it for himself. He was not providing for his daughters, so they had nothing tying them to home. They submitted to Jacob’s leadership through following God. They said “Whatever God has said to you, do.” This is a great example for how marriage should work. The wife is supposed to submit to the husband who is to submit to Christ. If the husband is following Christ, then by following her husband, the wife is following Christ. Rachel and Leah decided to follow Jacob because they knew he was following God. Rachel stole the idols. I assume she must have believed in worshipping them. She kept it secret though. The passage is specific enough to tell us that Laban took seven days to overtake Jacob’s three day lead. God told Laban not to talk to Jacob. He failed miserably! He claimed that he wanted to celebrate with Jacob and send him on his way. I think that this is dripping with deceit. Laban did not like Jacob anymore and would not have consented to letting him leave with his daughters. The missing idols were a good excuse to chase down Jacob. I find it interesting that the passage says he felt for the idols everywhere. This was a very thorough search. I find Rachel’s method of hiding the idols humorous. Claiming she was on her period and could not move is funny to me, but even funnier is that Laban did not question it and gave up. Jacob was angry and questioned Laban’s motivation for chasing them down. Laban said that everything he saw was his: the flocks, his daughters, his grandchildren. Laban still did not acknowledge that Jacob had earned his wealth but felt it was stolen. If Laban had his way, Jacob would have never had any wages. Laban does not want Jacob to marry again showing that he does have some respect for his daughters. Jacob offered a sacrifice to God, probably to thank him for letting him survive his encounter with Laban. Jacob called God the God of Abraham and Nahor and the Fear of Isaac. I find it interesting Jacob called the God he didn’t quite know yet the Fear of Isaac. Laban left for home.

Questions: Why did Rachel want the idols? Did Jacob ever find out she had them? What did the daughters think of their father Laban? Why did Jacob call God the Fear of Isaac?

Lessons: Leah and Rachel’s submission to Jacob is a great example for marriage. Husbands can learn from Jacob’s submission to the will of God, and wives can learn from Leah and Rachel’s submission to their husband as they knew he was following the will of God. We can also learn from Jacob giving credit to God for his blessing and protection and his submission to God’s will as a result. Everything we have comes from God and belongs to God. If we can remember that, it could transform how we approach our lives. Jacob’s obedience is significant as well because while God had blessed him, it had not been easy. He had spent twenty years of hard work constantly having to overcome unfairness from his employer, yet he still trusted God and tried to follow Him.

Jacob's Prosperity

Story: Jacob’s Prosperity

Passage: Genesis 30:25-43

Characters: Jacob, Laban

Summary: Once Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob asked to leave Laban. Laban had learned through divination that his wealth had come because of Jacob. Laban was trying to convince Jacob to stay by offering him wages. Jacob asked for the speckled and the striped livestock in his flocks. Laban agreed and then removed all of the striped and speckled animals. Jacob set striped sticks in front of the animals and they bred and gave birth to striped and spotted young. Jacob would put the sticks in front of the strong flocks but not the weak ones, so his share of livestock was stronger and healthier than Laban’s. Thus Jacob’s wealth increased.

Notes: This is one of the most confusing passages in Genesis for me. I have no idea what Jacob was doing with the sticks and things. But here are my thoughts on the passage in general. First of all, Jacob wanted to leave as soon as Joseph was born. Basically, as soon as the wife he loved gave birth, he was ready to go home. Laban had consulted pagan gods and discovered that Jacob was why Laban was wealthy. Really, he could have figured that out on his own. A hard working motivated man started working for him, he got rich, end of story. But however he discovered this, he didn’t want Jacob to leave. He had found a good worker in Jacob and was trying to set wages for him. Wages involves work. Laban didn’t want to lose Jacob as a worker. Jacob wanted to provide for his family. Laban’s wages probably didn’t support a family of eleven very well! Jacob asked for flocks, but only the ones who were striped or spotted. This way, Laban would know Jacob was not stealing the animals. But Laban removed all the marked flocks three days journey away. Jacob was not deterred though. He carved stripes into sticks and put them in front of the animals as they were breeding. This apparently caused them to breed striped and spotted young. Jacob might have known some tricks about animal breeding which we don’t. He was around animals a lot. Maybe this was a legitimate technique; maybe God just blessed his efforts. Maybe Jacob’s technique was in obedience to God. I don’t know, all I know is it worked! Jacob then employed natural selection and only used the sticks with the strong animals. So he ended up with the strongest flocks. God blessed his efforts and Jacob became wealthy over this period of time.

Questions: What was going on with the sticks? What did Jacob think of Laban at this point? Why did Jacob want to leave as soon as Joseph was born?

Lessons: We can learn quite a bit from Jacob’s hard working attitude. It is obvious that he was not with Laban to work. His first seven years of work was done to marry his wife. The second was to marry Rachel. This period was done to obtain flocks to take home. Laban was obviously not a very kind person. He was using Jacob for his own personal gain. Jacob still worked hard and focused on the long term reward. We can learn from this as we are to do everything as if for the Lord and not men. If we work to please imperfect selfish men, we will not be satisfied. If we focus on Christ and our eternal reward though, work can be pleasant, fun, and fulfilling.

Jacob's Children

Story: Jacob’s children

Passage: Genesis 29:31-30:24

Characters: Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph

Summary: The Lord saw that Leah was hated and opened her womb. Meanwhile, Rachel was barren. Leah had four sons. Rachel gave her servant to Jacob as a wife and she had two sons. Leah gave her servant to Jacob and she had two sons as well. Leah had mandrakes but gave them to Rachel in exchange for getting to spend the night with Jacob. She had another son. She ended up having one more son and then a daughter. God listened to Rachel and gave her a son.

Notes: This is basically terrible. First off, Joseph apparently hates Leah. God does not hate her however and gives her children. Her names for her children reveal the purpose behind all these kids though. It was a giant competition. Reuben was first, and his name means “See, a son”. Next was Simeon, which means “Heard”. This was because she said that the Lord had heard that she was hated. Next, she had Levi, which means, “attached” because she hoped Jacob would now be attached to her. Finally she had Judah, which means “Praise” because now she would praise the Lord. I wonder if this implies that Jacob now was noticing and caring for Leah. Rachel envied her sister. She told Jacob, “Give me children or I will die!” This was drastic, but it shows how much she envied her sister. Leah envied the love of Jacob which Rachel had and Rachel envied the kids Leah had. Both were too busy looking at their sister to notice what God had blessed them with. Jacob knew that God was the reason Rachel had no children and got mad at Rachel for blaming him. Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah. The deal was that any kids she had would count as Rachel’s. Sure enough Bilhah gave birth to Dan which means “Judge” because God had judged Rachel and heard her voice. She actually believed God was on her side in this dispute. Next Bilhah gave birth to Naphtali which means “Wrestle”. She wasn’t hiding it anymore, she knew she was wrestling with her sister and she literally named her son wrestle! I feel bad for that kid growing up when he explained his name to people! I also find it funny that Rachel decided she had prevailed! Her servant had two sons in contrast to Leah’s four! Anyway, Leah saw that Bilhah was having sons and they counted for Rachel so she gave Jacob her servant Zilpah. Zilpah gave birth to Gad which means “good fortune”. Next Zilpah gave birth to Asher which means “happy”. Leah was happy that she had more sons. She didn’t care about these kids, just that she was better than her sister. All of these sons were brought into the world as the after effects of a heated competition. Now we see a story involving mandrakes. Reuben had given Leah his mother some mandrakes, which were believed to increase fertility. Apparently Leah was even using her sons to help in this battle with her sister. Rachel asked for the mandrakes. The theory was that Jacob would be more likely to go to the sister with the mandrakes. Leah knew Rachel was basically asking to be more desirable to Jacob. So she set up a deal where Rachel could have the mandrakes as long as Leah still got Jacob. Poor Jacob had no part in this deal. When Jacob got home he was informed by Leah that he had been hired with Reuben’s mandrakes. Leah indeed got pregnant again and had Issachar which means “wages”. Leah believed that this was her reward for giving Jacob her servant. Leah had another son named Zebulun which means “honor” because she assumed that now Jacob would honor her. Leah then had a daughter named Dinah. God finally at this point allowed Rachel to bear a son named Joseph which means “May He add” and it sounds like “take away” because god took away her reproach and she wanted Him to add to her another son. Overall, this mess was totally the result of jealousy as a result of favoritism. Neither sister could look at her own blessings but rather looked at her sister’s blessings. As a result, Jacob ended up with eleven sons at this point and one daughter. There is a reason God set marriage up to be between a single woman and a single man. Later He also forbids marrying sisters. This is a perfect example of why that law makes total sense!

Questions: What did Jacob think of all this? How did the children feel when they realized they were the result of a big competition? Did Laban feel guilty that he had made Jacob marry both of his daughters?

Lessons: An important lesson I see here is to avoid jealousy and covetousness. If Rachel or Leah had focused on the ways God had blessed them and not wanted their sister’s blessing as well, this conflict would not have happened. Leah would have been happy having sons and raising them and Rachel would have been happy with the love she was receiving from Jacob. In the same way, if we are wanting to be blessed like someone else we know is, we need to stop and look at all the ways God has already blessed us.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Story: Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Passage: Genesis 29:1-30

Characters: Jacob, Rachel, Laban, Leah

Summary: Jacob comes to Haran and finds a well with shepherds around it. Rachel leads her sheep to the well. Jacob rolls the stone away from the well and waters her sheep. He then kisses her and weeps. She tells Laban what had happened and Laban comes and asks Jacob what his wages should be. Jacob agrees to work sevewn years for Rachel. When the seven years are up, Laban gives him Leah. After he wakes up and complains, Laban makes him work another seven years for Rachel.

Notes: We are about to begin reading about one of the biggest cases of sibling rivalry this world has ever seen! But for now, we have Jacob arriving at a well. Around this well are a bunch of sheep and shepherds. Jacob did not know where he was so he asked them and he found out he was in Haran. He had made it! Now this well had a large stone covering it and the shepherds would not move this stone until all of the sheep were there. Apparently it was difficult to move and they didn’t want to move it more than they had to. Rachel was a shepherdess. She led her sheep to the well and when Jacob saw her, he went crazy. Boys today will go to great lengths to impress girls with their strength. Jacob was no different! As soon as he saw Rachel he went and moved the stone himself. His immediate reaction to seeing her was to move a giant stone by himself which normally took several men to move. This cracks me up! Jacob knew she was one of Lot’s daughters and he was apparently very attracted to her! He watered her flock and then kissed her and started weeping. I want to imagine this scene from a couple different perspectives. First of all, Rachel must have been confused. She went to the well like normal and there was a strange man there who started showing off his strength, then kissed her, then started weeping. This was not an ordinary event! Now from the other shepherds’ perspective, this would have been equally if not even more odd! Now from Jacob’s perspective, this makes more sense. This was a very spiritual moment for him. God promised to grant him a successful trip and now he had been led to the correct land, to a well where one of Laban’s daughters was coming, and she was very beautiful. This event showed Jacob that God was really with him! It is no wonder he wept. I also find it funny that both with Rachel and Rebekah, watering a stranger’s animals was involved. Anyway, Laban acknowledged that Jacob was family. Remember, Jacob would have been Laban’s nephew. Laban let Jacob set his wages. Jacob only wanted one thing, Rachel. However, he would need a dowry and he did not bring anything with him, except for some oil apparently. So he offered to work seven years for Rachel. Laban’s response was very indifferent. He thought it would be better to give her to Jacob than another guy so he agreed. Seven years of work was honestly better than a typical dowry. A dowry was designed to go to the bride in case of an emergency. While Jacob provided no actual wealth, Laban was blessed because of Jacob, but as we will see later, instead of giving it to Rachel, he kept it for himself. The passage says that the seven years felt like only a few days because of his love for Rachel. Awwww. Isn’t that sweet! In reality though, this shows us Jacob’s character. In that culture, he would not be able to see Rachel as much as he would have liked. To be willing to work seven years for her, and to do it so easily shows us how willing he was to wait and be patient for his future wife. This shows how his character truly was transformed during his journey from an impulsive deceitful young man to a patient wise man whom God would use to further His redemptive story. When Jacob’s seven years were up though, he was done waiting and he did not beat around the bush. He demanded his wife. So Laban set up the marriage feast. However, when night came, Laban switched Leah and Rachel. Jacob did notice this switch until morning. Needless to say, Jacob was surprised and upset. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Genesis 29:25, “And in the morning, behold, it was Leah!” How might this have happened you ask? Well in that culture, the custom was to veil the bride until she was alone with her new husband. In this case it would have been dark at that point and I’m sure that there was some alcohol involved as well. Obviously Rachel would not have been terribly willing to go along with this plan, but the father had the ultimate authority so she would have had no choice but to give in to her father’s demands. Jacob felt wronged. He had been deceived. The man who had impersonated his own brother to get the blessing had now been tricked by a woman impersonating her sister to marry him. Laban gave a lame excuse, but Jacob could do nothing about it. Jacob who was known for his deceit was now the object of deceit. This would trigger a battle between two deceitful men. Jacob worked another seven years to marry Rachel, but Laban at least let them get married as soon as the honeymoon was over for Leah. I imagine there was some tension for those seven years between the two men though. The Bible clearly states that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Poor Leah married Jacob and then watched him complain about not marrying her younger sister, and then he married Rachel and worked seven years for someone else. She was now married to a man who did not care for her. The passage says that she had weak eyes. This could mean that her eyesight was bad, or that she had delicate, or blue, eyes. Blue eyes were considered weaker than strong brown eyes and this would have made her less attractive. Either way, Rachel was more beautiful than Leah. Once again beauty plays a role in a biblical marriage. And it will play a role in some conflict as we will soon see.

Questions: How could Jacob not know who he was marrying? What made him so attracted to Rachel from the very beginning? How big was the stone he rolled away from the well? Was Laban aware of Jacob’s deceitful nature? What did Leah think of this deal? What did Rachel think of this deal? Had Leah been attracted to Jacob over that first seven years he had worked?

Lessons: True love is worth waiting for. If you truly love someone you will be willing to do anything, even working seven years for that person. Jesus calls us to love our enemies, love our neighbors, love God, basically love everyone. This total devotion and selflessness should be evident in any relationship in your life. Another lesson to pull from this is yet another lesson against favoritism. Though we have not yet seen the consequences, the favoritism Jacob shows to Rachel will create quite a bit of conflict in the next passage.

Jacob's Dream

Story: Jacob's Dream

Passage: Genesis 28:10-22

Characters: Jacob, God

Summary: Jacob was travelling to Haran to find a bride. He stopped to sleep. He had a dream that there was a ladder/staircase reaching from heaven to earth and angels were going up and down it. God spoke to him and promised to bring him back to his land and to bless all families on Earth through him. Jacob woke up and set up an altar to God and made a vow that if God upheld His promise, that he would make Him his God.

Notes: Jacob would not travel through the night because it was dangerous to travel at night in that area at that time. Instead, he found a rock to use as a pillow and he rested. Having a rock for a pillow seems like it would be really uncomfortable, especially when we remember that Jacob was not outdoorsy but rather he stayed with the tents. At this point, God was not his god but rather the God of Abraham and Isaac. This was his parent's religion not necessarily his own. That was about to change. When he saw the ladder or staircase coming down to Earth, he saw that God was connected to the Earth. He was not distant, He was in Heaven and on the earth. God promised that He would bring Isaac back to his land. This was probably significant because if you recall, Jacob was fleeing for his life. He probably feared he would never be able to return home. I also wonder if this is God predicting Israel's return to the promised land from Egypt. God also promised to bless the entire Earth through him. This linked him to his grandfather Abraham's covenant with God. When the dream ended, Jacob's reaction was fear and awe. He said that the place was the house of God and he named it Bethel which means "House of God". Today, we have entire buildings dedicated to worshipping in the presence of God, and the Spirit has chosen us as His dwelling place, yet are we filled with fear and awe at the presence of God? Is the god we picture a powerful holy God who created the universe with a few words, or is it a watered down god designed to serve us and help us be comfortable and happy? The God Jacob encountered was powerful, scary, and in total control of his life! Jacob responded by making an altar out of his pillow. (That must have been a huge pillow!) Jacob then anointed his altar with oil. He made a serious vow that if God kept His promise and provided for him and brought him home safely, then God would become his God. At first, you might think that such a conditional promise is an issue. Jacob was putting faith in God only if God met a certain condition. I don't see this as a problem however. God made a promise. If that promise was not kept, it would mean that God was not perfect and holy. This would mean He would not be worth following. Jacob was essentially saying if you really are holy, if you really are perfect, if you really are the one God, then you are my God. If you are not, if you are an imposter, I will not follow you. We can see Jacob's devotion to God by his promise to give God a tenth of all God gave him. Jacob acknowledged that everything he had came from God and that he owed it all to God. This devotion is impressive and shows what a powerful and life changing experience this dream must have been!

Questions: Did Jacob completely believe God's promise? Why did he have oil with him? Was he afraid for his life at this point of his journey? What about this dream made it so life changing for Jacob?

Lessons: An experience with the power and holiness of God can only be life changing. We need to make sure we acknowledge God for who He really is and not who we want him to be. When we have a good understanding of who God is, it becomes much easier to follow Him instead of ourselves. It becomes easier to give all of our time, money, and efforts to Him. When we get a grasp of who God really is, it is a life changing experience. I encourage you to really look into who God is. If you are looking for a good book on the holiness of God, I recommend "The Holiness of God" by RC Sproul. It is a great book which attempts to define what it means to call God holy. If you read it with an open heart, I suspect it will change how you view and approach God and will make you better appreciate the grace He has offered us which will in turn draw you closer to Him.