Tag Archives: Old Testament

Jacob Meets Esau (Gen 33)

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Bible Summary:

As Esau and 400 men approach, Jacob divides his family by the concubines first, then Leah, and finally Rachel and Joseph. To Jacob’s surprise, Esau runs up and hugs and kisses him. They both cry tears of joy.

Esau questions Jacob about the group of servants he met earlier. Jacob admits it was to gain his favor. Esau tells him to keep the animals since he has enough, but Jacob urges Esau to keep them.

Esau urges Jacob to leave for Edom. Jacob tells him to go ahead since they will be slow with the kids and animals. Esau leaves and Jacob goes to Sukkoth instead. Jacob finishes his journey back at Shechem in Canaan, buys a field for his camp for 100 silver pieces, and erects an altar to the God of Israel.

My Thoughts:

Caution: Jacob still shows caution towards Esau even though the warm welcome, likely since Esau arrived with an army, and finds his own place away from Esau’s Edom.

Israel: It is weird that Jacob does not go by Israel after being renamed, except for the reference to God of Israel. It sounds like each tribe had its own god, like Laban’s, so did we just end up with our God because Jacob’s family wrote the stories? I guess we will find more as we continue.

Jacob Faces his Fears (Gen 32)

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Bible Summary:

On his return home, Jacob sends messengers ahead to tell his brother Esau how he had been delayed at Uncle Laban’s. The messengers return to warn him that Esau is on the way with 400 men. In fear, Jacob divides his people and animals in two, in hopes that one group might escape.

Jacob prays to God about his fear of Esau and reminds Him of His promise to keep them safe. Jacob sends hundreds of farm animals ahead as gifts to Esau in hopes of being forgiven for taking his birthright twenty years earlier. Later, he takes his wives, concubines, and eleven children across the Jabbok River to safety, and then returns alone.

A man arrives, wrestles Jacob until daybreak, and knocks his hip out of joint. Near daylight, the man asks to be let go, but Jacob demands to be blessed first. The man commends Jacob for successfully struggling with God and men, changes his name forevermore to Israel, and blesses him.

My Thoughts:

Fear: Jacob still fears Esau’s revenge for taking his birthright, even after twenty years in hiding at Uncle Laban’s. After bringing his family to safety, he fights his fears (the man) and wins. To honor this victory, the now bolder Jacob is renamed Israel.

Fear is everywhere today – in the news, on the streets, in our homes. We fear the shaky economy, losing our job, someone invading our home or stealing our car, “those people”, “that part of town”, getting cancer, failing, getting rejected, and so on.

But, fear is the only thing holding you back from a fulfilling and happy life. You need to put aside the fears you cannot control and push through the ones you can. Through repetition, the fear will diminish and soon disappear altogether.

Jacob Quarrels with In-Laws (Gen 31)

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Bible Summary:

Jacob realizes Uncle Laban and his sons do not like him for taking their wealth.  God tells him to return to Canaan, so Jacob complains to Rachel and Leah about their father’s attempts to cheat him out of his wages.  Jacob’s wives agree to leave since nothing is left to inherit and their father treats them like foreigners.  They leave in a hurry with all their animals and belongings.  Unknown to Jacob, Rachel steals Laban’s household gods.

A week later, Laban and his men catch up to Jacob.  In a dream on the way, God warns Laban not to threaten Jacob, but he feigns the hurt father who didn’t get to say goodbye and then confronts Jacob about the stolen household gods.

Jacob says he left in a hurry for fear that Laban would take his daughters back and challenges him to search for the household gods.  Laban unsuccessfully searches all the tents as Rachel hides the household gods in a camel saddlebag under her.

Jacob rants to Laban about hunting him down for no good reason, about giving him twenty good years of work, fourteen to win his daughters and six for his flocks, about suffering the heat of day, cold of night, and sleeplessness, and about incurring the loss whenever a sheep was killed or disappeared.  On top of that, Laban tried to change his wages ten times but was confounded by God each time.

Laban yells back that he owns everything, his daughters, their children, and all the flocks, but then agrees to a truce because there is nothing he can do.  Jacob can leave with everything after he agrees not to mistreat Laban’s daughters or marry another.  Laban and Jacob promise not to attack each other, then celebrate over a sacrificed animal.  The next morning, Laban kisses his family goodbye.

My Thoughts:

Appreciation: It’s easy to get lulled into the repetition of everyday life and forget to acknowledge or appreciate the people around you.  Laban learned this the hard way when his daughters and grandchildren suddenly disappeared one day over his son-in-law feeling cheated.  Be sure to appreciate those closest to you today!

Family Owned Business: Working with family can be very difficult.  The skills that made the business survive and thrive in the beginning, like minimizing expenses, can be a great area of contention when the expense is the other family member’s wage.  Many families struggle or even dissolve today over similar issues to this story.  And, it sure doesn’t help that Jacob is the son-in-law when there are other sons.  You might want to consider talking your kids into a different line of work.

Jacob Bargains with Laban (Gen 30: 25-43)

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Bible Summary:

After the birth of Joseph, Jacob asks his uncle Laban to let him return home to Canaan with his wives, children and earnings.  Laban asks him to name his wages.  Jacob says he has made Laban’s flocks prosper and does not want wages.  Instead, he would like all the black lambs and spotted and speckled goats.  Laban agrees.

Laban tries to trick Jacob, removes the blemished animals, and has his sons take them three-days journey away.  Jacob uses stripped tree branches to entice the remaining unblemished animals to mate, which results in streaked, speckled and spotted offspring. Furthermore, Jacob entices healthy animals to breed but not the weak.  Soon, Jacob owns all the healthy flocks and Laban is left with weak animals.  Jacob becomes very wealthy with many flocks, slaves, camels, and donkeys.

My Thoughts:

Smarts beat Tricks: I think the morals of this story are to be smart about your actions in life and that playing tricks on people will come back to bite you some day.  Jacob is very knowledgeable about breeding, which allows him to get his agreed wage after Laban tries to trick him.  Of course, you might say Jacob just “out-tricked” him.

Assets over Income: The most important lesson from this story is that assets are more important than income.  Assets, like the livestock of old, will continue to produce value for you long after the income is spent.  All the rich people of the world understand this rule and guard it with their life.  Why do you think there is an income tax and not an asset tax?

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!

Isaac Survives a Famine (Gen 26)

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Bible Summary:

Another famine hits Canaan. The Lord tells Isaac not to go to Egypt but stay in the lands near Canaan that He promised Abraham, so Isaac moves to the land of Philistines.

Isaac tells everyone Rebecca is his sister for fear they will kill him for his beautiful wife. King Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebecca making love, so challenges Isaac about the lie. Isaac tells the king of his fear, so Abimelech warns his people not to mistreat them or be put to death.

Isaac becomes a farmer, reaps a hundred times as much as he sows, and becomes a very rich man. The Philistines become jealous and fill Isaac’s wells, plus King Abimelech asks Isaac to leave.

Isaac moves twice and digs new wells. Each time the shepherds of the area quarrel over the water, so Isaac moves on. With no dispute after the third move, Isaac stays and names the well “Freedom”.

Isaac then leaves for Beersheba. God appears and tells Isaac not to fear because He is with him. Abimelech shows up with an advisor and army commander to make a peace agreement since Isaac was close to God. They celebrate with a feast.

My Thoughts:

Wife as Sister Again: Isaac pulls the same stunt as Abraham did to Abimelech in Genesis 20 by telling everyone his wife is his sister. Maybe the fear of being killed for his wife is real since they are foreigners. Things were a lot different back then.

Isaac Rich Again: I guess Isaac must have lost his inheritance during the famine, likely spent on the only remaining food, since this story says he becomes rich in the new lands. Farming seems somewhat of a break from shepherding for Isaac, though he still has sheep per the quarreling over the wells. Farming is a natural response to famine though.

Do Not Fear: God says, “Do not be afraid; I am with you.”  God is always with us, each and every one of us.  I love the poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson.  It helps me remember that God is there, even when things are not going well.

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.