Tag Archives: Jacob

Jacob has Children (Gen 29: 31-35, 30: 1-24)

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Bible Summary:

Since Jacob loves Leah less, the Lord gives her children but not Rachel.  Leah has four sons, including Reuben, and expects Jacob to love her more after each one.

Jealous Rachel tells Jacob to give her children.  He erupts that God is to blame for her lack of children.  Rachel gives Jacob her slave Bilhah so she can have a child and ends up with two sons.  Not to be one-upped, once Leah stops having children she gives Jacob her slave Zilpah who then has two sons.

One day, Rachel asks Reuben for some mandrakes.  Leah complains that she has already taken her husband.  Rachel bargains a night with Jacob for the mandrakes.  Leah becomes pregnant again with a son and later has another and a daughter.

Then God answers Rachel’s prayers and gives her a son, Joseph.

My Thoughts:

Change Fallacy: Expecting someone in your life to change after some significant event is achieved is a recipe for heartbreak.  That person has likely been that way their whole life and will not change unless they choose to change.  Your choices are: (1) talk to the person about the issue and ask if they will change, (2) accept the person for who they are, foibles and all, or (3) leave the situation.

I suspect that second marriages are more successful because people learn the grass is not always greener.  Having been through it once before, they realize nobody is perfect and then accept those foibles.  So, take a deep breath and try to look beyond those idiosyncrasies, try to find those reasons you got married in the first place and nurture them.  Try to talk.

Blaming God: This story blames God for controlling Rachel’s ability to have children.  We all like to blame God for our misfortune.  Why doesn’t He give us what we want so badly right when we pray for it?  I love the movie Bruce Almighty when he says “Yes” to all the prayers and chaos ensures.  Sometimes your prayers are answered later, maybe years later.  Other times they are not answered but something even better happens.  Try not to blame God next time, but look for the reason.  What are you supposed to learn?  And by all means, thank God when your prayers come true.

Jacob Marries (Gen 29: 1-30)

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Bible Summary:

Jacob arrives at Uncle Laban’s well, meets his daughter Rachel, and falls in love.  Laban runs out to meet Jacob, invites him to the house, and Jacob stays for a month.  Laban tells Jacob he should not work for free, so asks his price.  Jacob admits he loves Rachel and is willing to work seven years for her hand in marriage.  Laban agrees.

After seven years, Laban gives a wedding feast but then brings his eldest daughter Leah to Jacob for the night.  Jacob does not realize the trick until the morning and then confronts Laban.  Laban says it is custom for the oldest daughter to marry first, but if Jacob will agree to seven more years of labor, he can marry Rachel at the end of the weeklong marriage celebration.  Jacob agrees and Rachel becomes his wife at the end of the week. Jacob works for Laban for another seven years.

My Thought:

For Love: What would you do for love?  Jacob endures 14 years of labor and being tricked into marrying someone he is not really interested in.  The customs of that time and culture are vastly different, but the fairytale of love rings true to this day.  Divorce seems more the truth of today.  True love is very hard to come by.  Maybe Jacob had it right, to wait until they were older and more mature before getting married.

Jacob’s Ladder (Gen 28)

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Bible Summary:

Rebecca tells Isaac she is sick and tired of Esau’s foreign wives and would just die if Jacob marries one of the Hittite girls.  Isaac sends Jacob to Mesopotamia to marry one of Uncle Laban’s daughters and blesses him to receive many children, so he will become the father of many nations.

Esau learns of this new blessing, Jacob’s leaving, and that Isaac does not approve of local women, so he marries one of his Uncle Ishmael’s daughters.

On the way to Uncle Laban’s, Jacob camps overnight and dreams of a stairway to heaven, with angels going up and down.  God stands beside him and promises many descendants and the land he is lying on, and blesses all these nations through Jacob.  God tells Jacob He will protect him wherever he goes and will bring him back safely to this land.

Jacob wakes and becomes frightened since this must be the house of God with a gate that opens to heaven.  The next morning, Jacob dedicates a memorial to God and renames the place Bethel.  He vows upon his safe return to worship God there and give Him a tenth of everything he is given.

My Thoughts:

Marry Your Kind: The message is pretty clear that the author thought Hebrews should marry their kind and not foreigners, especially since biblical patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob married other Hebrews.  My opinion is that we are all of the humankind and no one is a foreigner.  Differences between us are only manmade.

Jacob’s Ladder: Led Zepplin aside, this stairway to heaven is also known as Jacob’s Ladder in other Bibles.  I believe this story is the beginning of formal religion with a vow by Jacob to worship God at Bethel.  I don’t understand why Jacob would be frightened though. He just saw God who vowed to take care of him.  Seems to be the religious establishment putting fear into people that they need to worship God and tithe.

Tithing:  There is a lot of debate about tithing, especially since a few have taken advantage of it and are now living in multi-million dollar homes from donations of their members.  I believe tithing is healthy, but in your own way.  Give some to your church, temple, or mosque, some to charities, and to others you know really need help.  I’m not sure 10% is the magic number, so give what you feel is appropriate.  If you are short on money, give your time and expertise by volunteering, even if only a couple times a year.

The key to tithing is in the giving.  It is about thinking of others, thinking of the greater good, and making a difference on a regular basis.  This is what I believe is pleasing to God.

Isaac Blesses Jacob (Gen 27)

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Bible Summary:

Old and blind Isaac sends his eldest son Esau out to hunt for a tasty dinner after which Isaac will give him his blessing.  Isaac’s wife Rebecca overhears and helps their younger son Jacob disguise himself as Esau so he can receive the blessing instead.  She even agrees to accept any curse if the deceit is discovered.

Isaac does not believe Jacob is Esau, so tests him in several ways.  With Rebecca’s help, Jacob passes all the tests and Isaac gives him his final blessing.

Esau returns and discovers he has been cheated out of his blessing.  Esau cries and pleads for any blessing from Isaac.  Isaac says the blessing is final and forever, that Esau is now Jacob slave along with all their other relatives, and that Esau will “live by the sword, be his brother slave, rebel, and break away from his control.”

Esau hates Jacob and plots to kill him when their father dies.  Rebecca overhears the plan and tells Jacob to live with her brother Laban far away until Esau cools off.

My Thoughts:

Is Deceit Good? Okay, on the surface, this story is right out of a Hollywood film, with favoritism, deceit, lies, mother and brother against father and brother, and revenge.  It makes for a captivating story, but what is the lesson?  Is deceit really good?  It seems to work well for Jacob.  Do you need to be cunning and do whatever it takes, even against your brother, so you can get ahead?

Following God’s Will:  Rebecca is the instigator in this story. She listens to other peoples’ conversations and guides Jacob into deceiving father and brother even though he knows it is wrong.  However, maybe Rebecca is just following God’s will. In Genesis 25, she is told by God that “the older will serve the younger”. Maybe this is why she takes extra care of Jacob and makes sure he receives the power God intended.

Verbal Contracts are Binding: Isaac sticks by his word even though he gave the blessing to the wrong person through deception.  Maybe Esau should have stuck to his word and told his father about selling his birthright to Jacob.

You know, if our word was our bond today, then we would not have hundred page legal documents for every transaction between people.  Of course, no one likes to get deceived either!

Family can be tough: Boy, you thought your family was bad.  No matter how bad things are, you can always find someone else in a worse situation, like Esau.  Be thankful for your blessings.

Self-Help Tip: I think Rebecca has a great tip for Jacob to leave until Esau cools off.  This can also work the other way: if you are angry, you can go to another room or leave until you cool off.

NOTE: no matter how much I try to be objective, I still don’t like the deceit, especially against family members, in this story!

Abraham’s Immediate Descendants (Gen 25)

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Bible Summary:

After Sarah died, Abraham married again and had six more children.  He gave them presents and sent them east, away from Isaac.  Abraham died at 175.  Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave next to Sarah.

Ishmael had twelve sons who were ancestors of twelve tribes that lived east of Egypt but away from Isaac’s descendants. He lived to 137.

Isaac was forty when he married Rebecca.  She became pregnant with twins that fought each other in the womb.  She asked the Lord why and he said two rival nations were within her.  The twins, Esau and Jacob, were born.

Esau became a hunter who loved the outdoors.  Jacob was quiet and stayed at home. Isaac preferred Esau and the food he brought home.  Rebecca preferred Jacob.

One day Esau returned home famished and demanded some soup from Jacob. Jacob agreed in exchange for Esau’s vow to give him the first-born rights.  Esau agreed, ate the bread and soup, and left, which was all he cared for his birthright.

My Thoughts:

Carelessness: I believe Esau is the main point of this story.  Esau’s carefree ways are in stark contrast to Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob’s concerns with preparing for a vast nation of descendants.  Esau is more interested in hunting, which as we learned during Cain and Able is not the family business of tending sheep, and is willing to give up his birth-right for some bread and a bowl of soup.  I am sure the storytellers of old emphasized how Esau’s carelessness cost him greatly.

Borrowed Future: This story rings true today.  Most people are more interested in a bigger house, a better car, and the latest technology than caring for future generations. The politicians have run the United States and many other “developed” countries into a hole.  They care more about trading favors and “what’s in it for me” than truly solving our countries’ ills.

The U.S. National Debt is quickly approaching $15 trillion (see National Debt Clock.  Note: click the World Debt button there for other countries), which does not include coming Social Security and Medicare shortfalls.  Who’s going to pay for this debt?  Not the people that used it.  They are dead, retired, or soon retiring now.  The federal debt really started to grow around 1980 (see Debt Graph) – about the time the carefree hippies of the sixties reached their forties and started running things.  Hmm?

Sorry for getting off the Bible.