Monday Night Bible Study

Verses 1-19: Dinah is violated

At this point in the Bible story, the only child that Leah (Jacob’s wife) has had without the help of a handmaid is Dinah. Dinah has now come of age as a young woman. As Jacob has come to Canaan, his family is getting to know the land and Dinah goes out to see and meet the other young women in the area. We know that Dinah has matured into a young woman because a prince named Shechem notices her. Shechem was the prince of the land they were in and was the son of Hamor the Hivite.

It is important to note that God had not yet explicitly forbade His people from joining with the daughters of the people in the land that do not know or worship God. But we do have the precedent of Abraham not wanting a Canaanite bride for Isaac in Genesis 24:3-4, when he sent his servant to procure a bride for Isaac:

“and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;  but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Isaac, along with Rebekah, did not want a Canaanite bride for Jacob either, as told in Genesis 27:46 – 28:2:

“And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me? Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.”

Notwithstanding Rebekah’s dislike for the daughters of their locality, other reasons for their desire to marry among their own people is clear once you examine the cultures and practices of the day. Canaanites worshipped pagan gods with unholy acts and practices that did not honor or respect the true God. To intermarry with these people would bring in an undesired negative influence that could corrupt the relationship that Isaac and Jacob have with God. The avoidance of these relationships reads as “common sense” avoidance.

This intermarriage discussion is important to Genesis 34 because it demonstrates how affiliation with corrupt culture and persons brings corruption to a previously established culture of holiness, godliness and righteousness. Later in the Bible, God will clearly restrict intermarriage between His people and corrupt idol-worshippers. The danger is clear and great as we read that Shechem took Dinah, lay with her and violated her. So it reads that Shechem took Dinah’s virginity and that she did not seek nor was interested in this. This was a culture where a powerful man could take a woman if her desired her, even if she was a stranger. There could be consequences depending on who the woman was related to, but things like this happened nevertheless.

After violating Dinah, Shechem asks his father Hamor to get her for him as a wife. Shechem shows one redeeming quality in that he loves and speaks kindly to Dinah, and one might wonder how Dinah felt about all of this. Was she impressed by this prince’s interest? Were stars in her eyes as this powerful man took interest in her? Was she terrified as he imposed himself upon her? The text does not tell us. Whatever the exact conditions were, it seems like s stretch to assume that Shechem’s kind attitude towards Dinah would make up for his taking her away from her family and violating her, apparently without her consent.

Jacob hears what has happened and keeps his peace for the moment. When Dinah’s brothers hear of what has happened, they become understandably very angry. Hamor and Jacob then make pleas to Jacob and Jacob’s sons, citing the following reasons to allow the marriage of Shechem to Dinah:

• Shechem desperately desires Dinah
• If Jacob decides to give his daughters to Hamor and his sons, then Hamor will give his daughters to Jacob and his sons
• Jacob and Hamor and their connected families will be able to live in peace together, prospering from the land
• Shechem will give whatever dowry or gift that is desired by Jacob and family, as long as he is allowed to marry Dinah

 

Verses 20-31: Dishonorable intent

At this point, the story is already quite sad due to Dinah being violated, but it worsens after the proposition from Hamor. Jacob’s sons agree to the union but only on the condition that all of the males of Hamor and Shechem’s city be circumcised. If this happens, Jacob’s sons agree that they will intermarry with the daughters of Hamor also. Shechem, motivated by his great desire to marry Dinah, agrees immediately and gets circumcised. Hamor takes this decision back to their city and gets the agreement that all of the men of the city will indeed be circumcised with the understanding that intermarriage will occur and that they also all will enjoy the material blessings of the sons of Jacob. All of the men agree and are circumcised.

Three days after, Jacob’s sons Simeon and Levi come into Hamor’s city and kill all the males. Their mission was eased by the weakness of the men after their circumcisions. They killed Hamor and Schechem and retrieved Dinah to take her back home. Out of anger at what had happened to Dinah, the rest of Jacob’s sons then went into the city and plundered it, taking all their livestock, crops and wealth. Finally, they also took the wives and children captive, making them part of their own culture now that all of the men are gone.

The last two verses sum up the conclusion of Jacob’s and his sons’ stances after these events:

“Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?””

The ethical dilemma in this case is somewhat complex, but not so complex that we cannot find our way out. It is true that Shechem dishonored Jacob and all of this family through his actions. It is true that Hamor enabled this bad behavior for his son. Blaming these occurrences on “the culture of the day” in no way absolves Shechem or Hamor of these acts.

The actions of Jacob’s sons impart to us the priority that God has of the purity of His people. True, God did not direct their acts of killing and violence, but we could interpret that God allowed it to happen. Was God using the righteous anger of the sons of Jacob to effectively wipe out a debased and corrupt culture? This may be.

Jacob speaks as the conscience of the story in the closing verses, but he does not do so to explicitly communicate that this was something that they ought not have done. Rather, Jacob was concerned that these actions would make them a target for other factions in Canaan. His was a pragmatic concern, not an ethical one.

What should we, as the Bible student, take as a learning from this chapter? The primary lesson is that evil is punished. What Shechem and Hamor did was wrong, and moreover, the fact that their culture allowed and encouraged it suggests that the way they were living was wrong. For this, they were punished. A secondary lesson is to be intelligent about present threats and dangers, understanding that sometimes lurking dangers are unknown. Dinah was wholly innocent for the part she played in this drama, but the “stranger danger” in the land had to have been well-known after these events.

The final lesson is simple, but large: God is sovereign. He is in control, He is King, and He will allow the land and the people to proceed as he sees fit, just and right. He can neither sin nor lie:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19

There is no evidence that God directed any of these events, but if he so allowed them, our loyalty to Him demands that we see Him in a good light regardless of the goings-on in the earth. Did the deaths of these men occur along the same vein as those deaths in Sodom and Gomorrah? It does not appear so because the voice of God is not involved in this story as it was in that one.

But Jacob and his sons have faith in God, and we have watched Jacob’s faith increase over these last many chapters. While we cannot say that these deaths were part of God’s plan, we can say that they are part of the story of God’s people, and that cleaning the land of the corrupt and sinful people will be a decisive command from God as the story unfolds.

After his struggle with God, Jacob is spiritually ready to face his brother Esau. He is thinking about God in the proper way and his attitude towards God’s blessings and mercy is healthier.

Verses 1-11: Reunion

Jacob finally sees Esau coming with 400 men and he separates his children among Leah, Rachel, and their two maidservants for protection. In terms of exposure to the threat of Esau, Jacob placed groups in a particular order: maidservants and their children first, Leah and her children next and Rachel last. This order is reveling about whom Jacob values most and/or who actually is most valuable.

Jacob does not hide behind them, however. He instead places himself between Esau and the groups as he presents himself to Esau. We should note that Jacob bows before Esau seven times. The number seven represents completeness in the Bible so Jacob’s bowing demonstrates true regret over his former actions and total acquiescence to his elder brother. Esau’s original intent with the 400 men is not revealed, but it seems likely that it was to attack Jacob, seeking retribution for the thefts of the birthright and the blessing. It appears that Jacob’s successive waves of gifts have changed Esau’s heart, for he does not show aggression.

But let’s take a moment to recognize the beauty of Jacob’s servant heart. Jacob could choose to enjoy the reprieve and move on into the land and reunite with his father Isaac. Instead, however, he chooses to continue to make amends to Esau. When Esau asks him about the successive waves of gifts, Jacob plainly says in verse 8: “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

This again speaks to Jacob’s growth as a man of righteousness and hints at the idea that Jacob knows he has done wrong in his previous dealings with Esau. Here, the impact is not made by the gifts, for both were wealthy men. Rather it is the gesture that solidifies their positive reunion when we consider that the outcome could have been disastrous.

Verses 12-20:

When Esau proposes that they return home together, Jacob resists for the practical reason of the safety of his flocks and young family. They will need to travel at a much slower pace than Esau and his 400 able-bodied men. Esau offers Jacob a faction of men to travel with, but Jacob declines saying, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my Lord.” This is yet another positive sign of Jacob’s increasing faith and reliance on Almighty God. 

Jacob travels with his caravan safely to a place called Succoth and builds a house and dwellings for his livestock. Then Jacob goes to Shechem in Canaan, buys a piece of land for himself, builds an altar and calls the place “El Elohe Israel” or “God, the God of Israel.” Jacob, having been recently renamed “Israel” by God, seals the deal of his faith by naming the place of his home in this way. This is also the fruition of the prayer made in Genesis 28:20-22:

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.””

Jacob’s faith has matured and is now strong. He has made good on his end of the agreement and God has certainly made good on His. It is crucial to note here how much more important God’s promise is than Jacob’s. God’s promise is part of the covenant originally made to Abraham and eventually inherited by Jacob and you and me. The fact that Jacob had to make his own promise is a demonstration of his faith needing to grow; God’s plan was there for Jacob (and for Israel) all along. Jacob’s (and your and my) opportunity to grow in faith is grace from God, a lovingkindness through which God allows us to grow closet to Him, coming to know Him in a way that forms strong lifelong bonds. This growth, in due course, prepares us for a lifetime of walking with, and living for Almighty God.

Verses 1-21: Jacob’s plan

After Jacob’s agreement with Laban in Genesis 31, Jacob continues on his journey home. He suspects that he will eventually see Esau and the vow he made at Bethel must be on his mind as he travels:

“If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God.”

Initially, Jacob has reason to be encouraged that his return home will be peaceful because angels of God meet him as he travels. He calls the place where he meets them, “Mahanaim,” which translates to “double camp.” Their presence represents God being with Jacob, and that there will be continued blessings and oversight upon him during this journey. Jacob, although heartened and encouraged by the angels of God, is still thoughtful and strategic as he thinks about how best to present himself to Esau. He sends messengers before him to announce his arrival, saying that he has worked with Laban and is returning prosperous. The mention of his “oxen, donkeys, flocks and male and female servants” is meant to be suggestive to Esau that Jacob is prepared to share his blessings with his estranged brother.

But the news that returns to Jacob with the messengers is not as positive as Jacob would have hoped: Esau is coming his way with four hundred men. Jacob is not stymied by this news and he starts planning and praying. Jacob’s first plan is to divide his large company into two separate groups so that if one is attacked by Esau, the other will survive. Then, in verses 9-12, Jacob prays:

“O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

Jacob’s prayer is a humble request that God care for him and his family; he recalls to God how God had told him that he would be well taken care of. There is also a deeper note of humility and faith here than we have seen from Jacob before. His relationship with God is growing and deepening, and it rests on his reception of the Abrahamic covenant. Jacob is relying on the outcome of these promises to carry him through the threat of Esau.

After the prayer, Jacob enacts another plan: he designates a very large number of goats, ewes, camels, cows, bulls, donkeys and their young. Jacob separates these gifts of livestock into droves and sends them, in succession, ahead of him as gifts to Esau. When each group meets Esau, they will tell him that they are a gift from Jacob. These waves of gifts are meant to dampen Esau’s anger and lessen the perceived threat of the four hundred men. This plan is a very good one; it has the probability of wearing Esau down as he is showered with gifts. It is significant that Jacob’s idea is enacted after his prayer. This is a sign of two things: 1) Jacob’s clever plan follows his request to God that he be delivered from Esau, suggesting that his thoughts and actions were inspired by God and a direct result of the prayer and 2) Jacob’s faith in God is growing as is his understanding that it is within his power to affect the outcome with Esau, whatever it may be. All along, God has been and still is leading and protecting Jacob, and Jacob is growing into this relationship, realizing his role in it. Jacob’s confidence in God’s abilities has been steadily increasing also.

Jacob’s relationship with God is not unlike our own: a lifelong learning experience with peaks and valleys, yes, but there is a constant and steady growth underpinning it all.

Verses 22-32: Jacob’s struggle

This group of verses is admittedly odd. For one, we have Jacob engaging in what appears to be a physical struggle with God Himself. This is confusing because we know that meager man, created by God, is no match for God the Creator. The physical struggle, marked by the length of time, Jacob’s hip socket being thrown out of joint and Jacob’s pulled hip muscle is a physical manifestation of a real struggle between God and His people that took place over thousands of years.

In the first part of tonight’s study, we referenced Jacob’s growing relationship with God. Jacob might have not felt like he needed God so much at first, but has grown to trust and rely on Him. Jacob’s behavior suggests that he may have initially been a disappointment to God, yet God has not left Jacob nor has he denied him any blessings. Verse 28 is the key to understanding this passage: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

God’s physical struggle with Jacob is not only an allegory for Jacob’s spiritual struggle with God, but is also, in a much larger sense, an allegory for the nation of Israel’s struggle with God. At times, Israel left God and returned to Him, and they also enjoyed His many (undeserving) blessings over the many years from the time of Moses until the birth of Christ. God remained constant, yet Israel struggled over and over with its’ relationship with God, leaving Him for idols only to return generations later to seek true righteousness.

Despite all this, God finally fulfills the Abrahmic covenant through Jesus Christ when all nations and peoples are blessed in Jesus’s death and sacrifice forgiving the sin of all mankind. The struggle is man’s due for holding onto self-will in place of submitting to God’s will for him. The way that Jacob’s struggle personifies the nation of Israel’s struggle is enlightening and amazing.

Verses 1-21: Flee

Jacob was, with God’s providence, ready to leave the presence and influence of Laban with many possessions. Laban’s sons noticed all of the material things Jacob had gained from Laban and were remarking over it. Jacob heard, and Laban knew as well, that even though Jacob received all of these blessings from God, the perception among Laban and his sons was the Jacob had taken these things through dishonesty, trickery, or a combination of the two. The truth was that these were justly received blessings from God. Part of God’s plan for Jacob also was that he return to Isaac and the rest of his family.

God said that he would be with him. Part of the vow that Jacob made at Bethel was about to come true: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God.”

As Jacob prepares to go back home, he tells Leah and Rachel that the Angel of God spoke to him in a dream, confirming that the blessings of the livestock, etc., were provided to him by the same God that he had prayed to at Bethel. Leah and Rachel agree with Jacob’s plan to leave – they recognize that Laban has given them both to Jacob and that the blessings that Jacob received are right and just blessings from God. They support Jacob in listening to and obeying God. Rachel steals her father’s household idols, presumably not to worship them, but to secure principle heir rights for Jacob, which was accorded to whomever had possession of the household idols. Jacob leaves without telling Laban, as Laban is away shearing his sheep. Jacob heads back to Gilead with his family and his many possessions.

Verses 22-42: Pursuit and accusation

Jacob gets a three day head start before Laban realizes he is gone and gives chase. During the pursuit, God comes to Laban in a dream and says to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.” Laban finds Jacob in the mountains of Gilead. Laban feels that Jacob has done him wrong, not because Jacob had gotten many of Laban’s possessions, but because Laban was unable to say goodbye to his daughters and grandchildren. Laban feels that he would be justified in harming Jacob, but God coming to him prevented this. Laban’s primary concern, however, perhaps is most evident in his final statement: “but why did you steal my gods?”

Jacob, unaware that Rachel had stolen the idols, said that if Laban could find them, he could kill whoever had them. Laban searched all through the tents, but did not find the idols that Rachel had hidden under a camel saddle that she was sitting on. She did not get  up to allow her father to search the saddle because she said that she was menstruating.

When Laban could not find the idols, Jacob became angry with him. Jacob lashes out at Laban, defending his right to leave as abruptly as he did, considering how Laban had treated him during his time there.

Verses 43-55: Agreement

Laban recognizes that his position is weak and proposes peace between him and Jacob. Laban does not want to inflict pain on Jacob, which he knows will in turn also cause his daughters and grandchildren to suffer.

Jacob agrees, and Laban determines and voices the terms of the agreement. Jacob and his family gather and heap up stones, and Jacob and Laban name it “Heap of Witness”, albeit it in different languages: Laban in Aramaic and Jacob in Hebrew. This is meant to underscore their agreement being the same in essence, but their arrival to it is from different perspectives. Laban explains the agreement: “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!” Laban wants to ensure that Jacob will not mistreat his daughters; he is more than likely concerned with his perception that Jacob had mistreated him, and was not seeing the true picture. Nevertheless, it is good that Laban was able to agree to it with the one true God as witness. We can hope that Laban’s employing God as a witness is due more to a burgeoning faith than a desire to simply bring Jacob into the agreement.

Part of the agreement is also that Jacob will not go beyond the heap to Laban’s geography and likewise Laban would not go beyond the heap to the area where Jacob originated. Jacob sacrificed an offering there, and in the morning, after blessing his relatives, Laban leaves.

This chapter, though long, is not very complicated. Within it we have yet more evidence  that God will keep the promises of the covenant He made with Abraham. Jacob is leaving Laban’s clutches in peace and with much more prosperity than he had when he arrived.

 

In Luke 4:1-13, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert:

“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”

How did Christ’s ordeal play out? Was there an audience? Well, no. Not at the time. But in the sense that God has chosen to reveal it to us, then yes, you can consider that we were all there. And did having a live audience matter, at any rate, to Jesus or the devil? I don’t know. Either way, we know that both the devil and Jesus knew the stakes. Were Jesus to give in to any of these temptations, all mankind would be lost. In addition to Jesus resisting these temptations, this story and example also saves us as it gives us encouragement and a path to follow when we are faced with our own trials.

How did Jesus resist these temptations? Let us look at each one. This first is Satan tempting him to turn bread into stone. Look at the appeal: Hunger. How did Jesus resist? By quoting scripture, scripture pertaining to God’s will for Him, not to deviate from God’s plan and eat as Satan directed. Jesus, even though he could have, he did not turn the stone to bread, because he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to withstand trials to become strong and to know his adversary, not to give in and take the easy way out. It would have shown a weakness in faith to do as Satan said. His response that God’s Word was sufficient was perfect because it reflected a deep faith that God would provide. God would direct what was to happen, not Satan.

In the second temptation of the world’s kingdoms, Satan is appealing to Jesus’ humanness. If Jesus would bow down and worship Satan, He could have ownership and control over all of the kingdoms of the world, as this is Satan’s dominion. But Jesus resists again. Why? Because of strong faith again, Jesus knew that only the Lord God is to be worshipped and served. Jesus again resists, quoting scripture.

Lastly, Satan tempts Jesus atop the tabernacle, to throw himself down so that angels might bear Him up. And here Satan quotes scripture himself, perhaps attempting to validate his angle, or thinking he could trick Jesus. Satan is appealing to Jesus’ divinity, perhaps? But Jesus’ faith is far too strong to capitulate. He instructs Satan that the Lord should not be tempted. And after that, in this passage here in Luke, it says that Satan “departed from him until an opportune time.” He is a sneak; cunning and devious. Waiting in the shadows for a moment of weakness to spring upon you.

What has Jesus taught us from his ordeal in the desert?

• He was prepared
  • He knew scripture enough to reply to each temptation in kind. This belies a devotion to God, an ever-present readiness to not only resist the devil but to do God’s will
• He was strong
  • The account reflects no indecision on Jesus’ part; He did not have to deliberate, have an internal dialogue (which would indicate a divided heart)
  • His denials were emphatic and immediate
• He was bold
  • He faced Satan and stood for what was right

The account of Jesus’ resistance of Satan in the desert is the gold standard for temptation resistance. In our life, we have what seems like more choices, it’s not always as black and white or yes and no on the surface as it was with Jesus and Satan in the desert. There is ambiguity. When making a choice between resisting temptation and avoiding temptation, sometimes it is better for us to choose to avoid rather than resist. This is an important distinction.

Jesus could face and resist these temptations because he needed to. And he had the strength to. Do you have the strength to resist something that part of you really wants to do? You have to know yourself. Studying God’s Word will help this. If you feel like you would not have the strength to resist, then have the wisdom to avoid.

But look at Jesus. He was strong. He knew his Bible. He resisted with fortitude and courage. So should your faith in God be as his was.

After the laborious events for Jacob in Genesis 29 that resulted in is two wives, one wanted (Rachel) and the other forced on him (Leah), Jacob begins to father children.

1-24: Mandrake drama

Rachel, jealous that Leah is having children while she appears to be unable to, demands of Jacob that he father children with her. Jacob becomes angry because he rightly understands that aside from the natural act, it is not up to him whether or not Rachel actually becomes pregnant; this is up to God. Rachel then, assuming that she is the problem (Jacob had already fathered four sons with Leah), gives Jacob her handmaid Bilhah as a wife so that she can by proxy have children with Jacob too. Bilhah becomes pregnant and bears two sons for Jacob and Rachel: Dan and Naphtali.

Childbearing in this story is competitive and a source of jealousy. Leah stops bearing Jacob’s children around this time (not of her choice; she simply stops conceiving) and follows Rachel’s lead by sending her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife so that she may bear yet more children on Leah’s behalf. Zilpah has Gad and Asher.

Reuben was Jacob’s first son by Leah. One day he finds and brings mandrakes (a root that may have been used for medicine) to his mother Leah. Rachel, giving no break to the air of jealousy between the two wives, envies these mandrakes and asks Rachel for some. Leah, obviously perturbed, expresses frustration with Rachel because she sees Rachel as only taking things from her. Rachel, sensing this, offers her Jacob to sleep with, so that a deal of sorts is struck: Reuben’s mandrakes for Leah to sleep with Jacob. This deal gives us insight into their personal relationships: Rachel was the preferred or primary wife, while Leah was secondary.

Leah bears three more children with Jacob: two sons in Issachar and Zebulun and a daughter Dinah. After this, God answers Rachel’s prayers and finally blesses her with a first son of her own in Joseph. There are twelve children here, eleven sons and one daughter. The eleven sons will make up eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel as their progeny grows and spreads. The second and last son to be born to Rachel, Benjamin, will come in chapter 25. We see yet again, that despite the often poor and petty behavior of these ancient followers of God, God finds a way to complete His will.

25-43: Sight symbolism

Now that Jacob’s family is growing, it is time for him to leave Laban. Jacob asks permission to leave, but Laban has grown in riches since Jacob arrived and he recognizes this and asks that Jacob stay. A small negotiation takes place. Both Jacob and Laban know that God has blessed Laban because of Jacob. Jacob wants to take his portion of these material blessings with him when he leaves so that they can continue to be blessings for his family.

In dividing the livestock, Jacob devises a plan to make sure that he takes the high-quality livestock with him when he goes. Jacob lays claim to the spotted and white livestock. Through a system wherein he placed patterns before the animals while they were mating, he ensured that the strongest livestock were spotted and white. Placing the patterns before the animals is symbolic for the act of God blessing the strength of the livestock that are meant for Jacob. Jacob ended up “exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.” God continues to make good on His promise of blessing the seed of Abraham.

The throughline of God’s will is once again difficult to miss. Knowing what we know about the twelve tribes of Israel, here we are delighted to see the origin of eleven of them. Even though God’s people never have been (nor never will be) perfect, this will never stop God from directing things as He wants them on the earth.

At the end of chapter 28, Isaac sends Jacob away so that he can get a wife that was not a Canaanite. This was suggested by Rebekah. The original reason for Jacob to flee his family was to escape Esau. Jacob had, through shrewd and dishonest means, usurped Esau’s birthright and blessing. Despite this, Jacob is still supported by God and is in line to receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant.

Verses 1-14: Jacob travels to Laban

When Jacob makes his way to the east, he sees three flocks of sheep waiting to be watered at a well. Jacob finds that the people there are from Haran and that they know of Laban. Laban is Jacob’s uncle (Rebekah’s brother) and Laban’s daughter Rachel is a shepherdess that is coming to water her sheep.

When Jacob sees Rachel, he goes and removes the well covering and waters the sheep of his kinsman. After doing this, Jacob “kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.” Jacob had surely heard the story of how Isaac meet Rebekah and he immediately noticed the similarities with his meeting Rachel. Jacob is overcome with emotion because he recognizes that this meeting is also from God.

When Laban comes to know that his nephew Jacob has arrived, he embraces and kisses Jacob, welcoming him into his home. Time spent with Laban will not always be as uplifting as this first meeting.

Verses 15-35: Laban deceives Jacob

While at Haran, Jacob was evidently helping with the required work on Laban’s land. Laban notices and asks Jacob what his pay for the work should be. It should be mentioned here that Laban has two daughters, Leah and Rachel. Leah was the elder.

Jacob, who is falling in love with Rachel, says that he will work seven years for her to be his wife. Seven is a number in scripture that represents completeness. Jacob volunteering to work seven years shows his absolute dedication to doing everything he can to secure Rachel as a wife.

Jacob works the seven years and they go by quickly in the fog of young love. After the time has passed, he asks for Rachel and Laban throws a feast to recognize the union. After the feast, in the evening, Laban brings Leah in to Jacob instead of Rachel. With the absence of any formal marriage ceremony documented, we are left to assume that the marriage was completed through both the feast and the following consummation.

In the morning, Jacob notices that it was Leah and asks why Laban deceived him. Laban says that the firstborn daughter should be married before the younger. Laban then tells Jacob that he should spend a week with Leah, after which he will have Rachel as a wife, but he also has to work another seven years. Jacob fulfills his week of time with Leah and receives Rachel as a wife. Then Jacob works the second seven years to finalize the arrangement. Leah and Rachel were also given handmaids, Zilpah and Bilhah, respectively.

At this point we may ask, why would Laban treat Jacob, his nephew, this way? Laban may have noticed that Jacob was falling for Rachel and thus planned a way to get many years of work out of the young man. Or, Laban may have been motivated by finding a suitor for the less beautiful Leah. We really do not know exactly why, but there is a sense of poetic justice to be found: was the deception of Leah Jacob’s punishment for the way he treated Esau? It can readily be argued that Laban deals with Jacob the same way Jacob dealt with Esau, so surely a form of balance has been struck.

In the remaining verses of the chapter, Leah is blessed by God. She was not as favored as Rachel and the scripture tells us that she was “unloved.” Because God notices her situation, she bears four sons to Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Leah recognizes God for these blessings and recognizes that Jacob will be attached to her now because of these four sons. Rachel, as we will see next chapter, is upset at her inability to become pregnant.

Rachel’s behavior has not been poor, so we wonder at her plight. Leah, on the other hand, has had a poor experience with Jacob and Rachel, so it warms the heart to see God bless her in this manner.

Reading this chapter, one can quickly sympathize with Jacob. He had what seemed like true love from God, yet he was forced by Laban to work for many years before he could have Rachel as his wife. But when we recall how he treated Esau, sympathy dampens. However, Jacob still retains Isaac’s birthright, Isaac’s blessing and the Abrahamic covenant, which calls to mind the valuable passage:

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12

While reading this chapter tonight, I encourage you to resist judging Jacob and instead concentrate on God’s hand in the story. His ways, reasons and decisions are often a mystery but rarely are we permitted to see the perfection in His plans. There is no other place to put the totality of our hope and trust than in Him.

Verses 1-9: Jacob’s departure

Isaac blesses Jacob and tells him to go to Padan Aram and take a wife from his uncle’s sons. This was after the events of chapter 28 where Jacob tricked Isaac into receiving Esau’s blessing. Rebekah was fearful that Esau would kill Jacob, so she suggested to Isaac that Jacob go to her brother Laban so that Jacob would not have a wife from Canaan. Esau had taken Canaanite wives and they grieved Isaac and Rebekah. Before he goes, Isaac blesses Jacob with Abraham’s blessing, solidifying the notion that Jacob would be the one (although not firstborn) through which the Abrahamic covenant would pass.

In verses 6-9, there is a too-little-too-late attempt by Easu to please his parents by taking one of Ishmael’s daughters as a bride. This new bride would have been his third, as he retained the other two Canaanite brides that he had already wed. Her name was Mahalath.

Verses 10-22: A living promise

On his journey to Haran, Jacob stops one night and has a peculiar dream during his sleep. He laid a stone at his head, presumably as a pillow. In Jacob’s dream, he sees a ladder that begins on the earth and reaches all the way to heaven. There were angels of God going up and down on the ladder. God is at the top of the ladder and He reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob in the dream, saying:

“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

Jacob, astonished and amazed, names the place “Bethel” when he awakes, which means “House of God.” Jacob then, in a display of what seems to be an immature faith, creates a condition within which He will know that God will be his God. He says to himself that if God provides for him throughout his journey so that he can return to Isaac in peace, then he will recognize God and give Him a tenth of whatever he receives.

It seems obvious that God loves Jacob and has forgiven him of his poor decisions. Why else would God reaffirm the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob? Jacob, for his part, is being forced to run away from the consequences of his actions. One would think that having a dream such as he had would convince Jacob that God intended to bless him and keep him. Why was Jacob suspicious? Why did God choose to bless Jacob and ultimately recognize him as the receiver of the covenant despite Jacob’s trickery and dishonor? I do not know the answers to these questions. The best we can do with for now is to say that 1) hindsight allows for easy judgment and 2) we cannot know the innerworkings of God’s mind or the delicate nuances (seen and unseen) of His plan. The best we can do is to learn from Jacob and use our faith presently to believe that all things do indeed “…work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Is your faith greater than Jacob’s tonight?

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As an aside, I was thinking about something today and wanted to leave my thoughts with you…

Have you ever prayed to God about something very, very important to you? Maybe it is about a sickness, a child, a parent or a friend that is worrying you. You are praying and praying to God hoping that He makes real the outcome that you desire. But as you pray, you are anxious because you do not know whether God will answer your prayer in the way you want. You are uptight about both the prayer and your relationship with God because you are unsure about what the outcome will be.

I do not believe that God intends for us to retain anxiety in our supplication to Him. It is rather better for us to be like Elijah in I Kings 18 and to have the utmost strongest confidence that God will prevail. As long as our desires align with goodness, righteousness and His holy Word, we can be confident that God will create the favorable outcome….but not always. For the faith that God asks of us is deeper than that. We must be confident that God can and that God will, but we must also have a deeper sense that God has the right and the ability (for He is God!) to create circumstances in our lives and in the world that seem contrary to what that good, right and favorable outcome might be. God’s true intent and purpose may not be evident until long after we are gone, and the benefactor of God’s will may be someone entirely unknown to us and the manner of blessing altogether inexplicable. To understand this and to live as if we understand it, is to live with the type of active and all-encompassing faith that God asks of us. Jesus Christ has made this type of faith and deep belief possible.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

Knowing this, it seems best and right to strengthen our faith in God so that we always expect that He will answer our prayers.

Verses 1-29: The deception of Isaac

Both Jacob and Rebekah trick Isaac into giving Esau’s blessing to Jacob. Isaac is old and his eyes dim when he asks Esau to come to him. When Esau comes, Isaac asks him to go hunt game and prepare it for him because he loves the savory food Esau prepares. Isaac also tells him that he will give Esau a blessing before he dies.

We’ve taken note of how Rebekah favors Jacob over Esau. Her preference is readily apparent here as she encourages Jacob to trick Isaac so that he may receive the blessing instead of Esau. Rebekah tells Jacob to retrieve two excellent young goats that will be prepared as the savory food for Isaac. When Jacob hears this, he does not protest. Instead he brings up something that might foil the plan: Esau is a hairy man while Jacob is not and what if Isaac touches Jacob and realizes the deception? Committing to the deed, Rebekah tells Jacob that she will be to blame for this and that he need only obey her. Jacob, trusting his mother, does just this.

Imagine what it was like to be Jacob in this moment: he knows he is favored and he must know what he is doing is wrong, yet he completely trusts his mother. Jacob complies and gets the young goats. Rebekah makes the savory food from them, she dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothes and she puts the skins of the goats on Jacob’s arms and neck to give him the feel of a hairy man.

All goes according to their plan. Isaac eats the food, believes that Jacob is Esau and gives Jacob the blessing, which is substantial:

“Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”” Genesis 27:28-29

Verses 30-46: Esau’s anger and Jacob’s escape

When Esau returns from the field with the savory food he has hunted and prepared for his father, he is angered to find that Isaac has beaten him to it and received the blessing. Esau asks for a blessing anyway, and receives the blessing that must have been meant for Jacob:

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.” Genesis 27:39-40

Now that Jacob has taken Esau’s birthright and blessing, Esau wants to kill him. Esau says that he will kill Jacob when he is finished mourning the death of Isaac. Rebekah hears of this and tells Jacob to flee to Haran, where her brother Laban lives. Jacob is to stay there until Esau no longer wishes to kill him. Rebekah tells Isaac (he will not die until much later, in chapter 35) that it will be good for Jacob to go because it means that he will take a wife from among their people. You may remember that Esau’s wives, who were Hittites, grieved Isaac and Rebekah.

Conclusion

God’s people have not always behaved well. We think of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as our forefathers of faith yet we see them making increasingly poor decisions as the family tree grows. Are their mistakes part of God’s plan? Does God allow deception in these “early” days of mankind as part of the a larger plan? Does this behavior simply get overlooked because these men, despite their great faith in God, have not known the revelatory potency of the fullness of God’s law? This last explanation seems most likely especially considering Acts 17:30:

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,”

In our culture today, we do not accept ignorance as an excuse for breaking the law. We also have the full benefit of the knowledge of not only the Old Testament law, but also the evolution of that law in the liberty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These men of old benefit from God’s grace in the outcome of their poor choices, much like we benefit from God’s grace in the forgiveness of sins that we receive through Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to say a prayer in thanks of God’s grace in your life. Knowing and seeing it is one of the greatest blessings we have.

Abimelech in this chapter is identified as the king of the Philistines in Gerar. Whether or not this is the same Abimelech that Abraham dealt with in Genesis 20 is uncertain; 60 to 70 years have passed since then. We may also remember Phichol, the army commander that was with Abimelech. He also makes an appearance in this chapter.

If these are the same men from chapter 20, the explanation that they retain the same names and functions is convenient and simple. The lifespan of man at this time was still longer than today, although not the hundreds of years as in Adam and Noah’s days, so it is at least plausible. The other explanation is that the Abimelech and Phichol in chapter 26 are the sons of the men in chapter 20, and that the names Abimelech and Phichol are family names or perhaps even known titles associated with the functions of king and army commander. Whatever the details of their identities, these men behave in much the same way in chapter 26 as their counterparts did in chapter 20.

The content of chapter 26 seems parallel to the occurrences with Abraham and Abimelech earlier also. The men behave in the same way that they had and the outcome remains. Isaac here goes to Abimelech due to a famine in the land. God instructs him to avoid Egypt at this time and gives the Abrahamic covenant promises to Isaac, recalling the great faith of Abraham. Just as Abraham did, Isaac claims that Rebekah his wife is his sister to avoid being threatened and killed for her beauty.

But Abimelech discovers that Rebekah is Isaac’s wife when he sees Isaac showing love to her as a wife. Isaac fesses up and Abimelech describes how his lie could have brought guilt upon the men of Gerar had one of them lain with her, not knowing that she was married. It is interesting that these people retained this as a value; it seems that Isaac had perhaps misjudged them. Recall the covenant that Abimelech made with Abraham earlier and how it gave creedence to the power of the God of Abraham.

Earlier in the Genesis, there was a dispute over lands and wells. Abraham was, in due course, allowed to have consecrated wells in Gerar for his use. By the time Isaac comes to Gerar because of the famine, these wells had all been filled in with earth. This will be a problem for Isaac as he tends livestock and needs the water. Isaac was prospering and the men started to envy his prosperity so Abimelech asks Isaac to leave. Isaac goes to a nearby valley and he redigs the wells, calling them by the same names that his father had used.

But disputes over resources continue as Isaac digs three separate wells before the men in Gerar allow him to use the water in the land. Isaac’s temperament and attitude are exemplary here: he yields to the men, but continues to seek resources until they agree. Isaac acknowledges God’s part in the events: “And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”” Genesis 26:22

Isaac is visited by God and the promises are referenced once more as he builds an altar, prays to God and digs yet another well.

Then, Abimelech, Phichol and Ahuzzath (a friend of the king) visit Isaac and seek a covenant of peace with him. They recognize the power of God with Isaac and they fear, which prompts them to seek this covenant. Isaac agrees to the covenant, throws them a great feast and the oaths of peace are made.

Although the chapter is overall positive in that the glory of the Lord is known among Abimelech and others, the chapter ends on a sour note. Esau weds daughters of the Hittites, which grieves Isaac and Rebekah.

What can we learn from this chapter? First, we can recognize God’s faithfulness of the Abrahamic covenant to Isaac. Second, wise leaders will recognize and fear the one true God. Third, God values and blesses those that honor and obey Him.