Genesis 28-33
December 29, 1996
Introduction
The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings.
That's what the name "genesis" is all about.
It's the beginning of creation.
It's the beginning of man, civilization, and sin.
It's the beginning of redemption and faith.
We've been looking at the life of a man named Jacob, who was a trickster and conniver (his name means "heal-catcher")
He's just pulled off the trick of the century, fooling his old, blind dad into giving him the family blessing, and now his brother wants to kill him.
And so, at his mother's urging, he is going to leave town for a while, and stay with his uncle Laban, after making up an excuse that he doesn't want to marry a pagan girl like his brother Esau.
Genesis 28
:1 and blessed him,
Isaac seems to feel right about what he's done in blessing Jacob, and sends him off with a blessing.
We mentioned last time that there was a sense that Isaac realized at the time that the blessing actually went to the right person:
(Gen 27:33 KJV) And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
:2 Padanaram,
This is a 430 mile trip (as the bird flies) north and east, where the city of Haran is from Beersheba.
:4 the blessing of Abraham,
Isaac wishes for the same blessing that has been on him, to now be on his son.
:4 the land wherein thou art a stranger,
Even though God promised Abraham that the entire land would be his, yet while he was alive, he was only considered a stranger, a visitor in the land.
As we'll see in upcoming weeks on Sunday mornings in John 17, Jesus says that we're "in the world" but that we are not "of the world".
When we are born again, we gain new citizenship from heaven, and we no longer belong in this world.
We need to have the mindset of a stranger or pilgrim in this world.
Heb 11:13-16 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for
them a city.
:9 Esau unto Ishmael,
Esau takes another wife, now one from the "family" (???)
Hopefully this will make daddy happy.
:11 pillows,
Hard ones, that is.
:12 a ladder set up on the earth,
We refer to this as "Jacob's ladder".
The angels are going back and forth to heaven upon this ladder, or possibly, stairway.
I believe this is a picture of Jesus Christ, as the only mediator between heaven and earth.
Jesus said to Nathanael,
(John 1:51 KJV) And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
:15 I am with thee,
God just unconditionally promises to be with Jacob.
Note: God does not require ANYTHING from Jacob. It all depends upon God to fulfill the promises.
:16 Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
This is certainly one of the characteristics of Jacob’s life up to this point, and for a few more years.
He’s really very much unaware of God’s work in his life.
Lesson:
Being aware of God’s presence.
Sometimes it takes something special like this to open our eyes.
But God is there all the time.
:17 the house of God,
or, in Hebrew, Beth-el (House of God)
:18 a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
Two possibilities:
1. This was an act of consecration.
When the priests were ordained, and when the tabernacle was set up, everything had oil poured on it.
He was setting this place aside as a holy place.
2. He was just marking the spot so he could find it when he returned.
:19 Luz
Luz = "almond tree"
Bethel = "house of God"
Note: Bethel will become one of the centers of Israel's unauthorized worship after the kingdom splits under Jeroboam.
One of the altars with a golden calf was centered in Bethel.
:20 If God will be with me ...
Jacob doesn’t really believe in Yahweh yet.
He’s still a little skeptical.
He kind of wants to make a deal with God.
:22 I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
I have to admit that I'm a little skeptical of Jacob at this point.
I kind of get the idea that he think's that God is really going to take good care of him, so God can be sure to get a tenth of all the loot that Jacob brings back.
But I don't think God is impressed.
Lesson:
You don't need to make deals with God.
He just wants to love you.
Let Him.
Lesson:
Should I tithe?
This is the second time that the "tithe" is mentioned.
The first time was when Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils of war to that mysterious man, Melchizedek.
Two principles about giving:
1. The amount is between God and you.
(2 Cor 9:7 KJV) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
2. Don't keep God's portion for yourself.
This was the lesson that the prophet Haggai told the people.
They had given up on the work of rebuilding the temple, and had begun to channel their resources to take care of their own houses.
The result was:
Hag 1:6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
Haggai goes on to tell the people to give God back his portion that they had been holding on to themselves, and then God would meet their needs.
I don't like to talk about money and giving, it makes me very uncomfortable.
But I began to realize that some of you may need to pay attention to this, and if you're holding back what God wants you to give, I don't want to be the one responsible for not teaching you the truth about giving.
And no, the church is not hurting for money right now, and no, I don't have a clue how much each of you gives ... nor do I want to know.
Genesis 29
:2 behold a well in the field,
Contrast this event with that of Eliezer in Genesis 24, when he went on a mission for Abraham to find a bride for Isaac.
Eliezer was constantly praying and asking God for help, then worshipping God when he got the response.
Jacob doesn't seem to think twice about God.
:8 We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together,
Jacob wants the guys to move on so he can get to know Rachel.
And the guys can't move on because they are too little to move the stone by themselves, they have to wait until all the flocks and shepherds are together to move the stone away.
:10 when Jacob saw Rachel
Is this one of those moments when the background music begins to swell with violins??? Everything going into slow motion???
:10 rolled the stone from the well's mouth,
Keep in mind, this is a 77 year old man, rolling away a stone from a well singlehandedly, a stone that all the other shepherds couldn't roll away until they got enough help to do it!
:11 Jacob kissed Rachel,
Don't think this is necessarily a big romantic smooch.
This is most likely just a warm greeting (we're going to see Laban kiss Jacob in a minute)
:14 my bone and my flesh
Ryrie: May indicate that Laban adopted Jacob as a son. The phrase is found in ancient adoption rituals.
However, Laban quickly reduced Jacob to the status of a servant.
Perhaps Laban is just looking for some cheap labor!
:17 Leah was tender eyed;
Either she had bad eyesight, or else her eyes lacked a certain "luster".
:17 Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
A nice looking gal.
:18 Jacob loved Rachel;
A love story!
:18 seven years
That's a lot of love!
:20 they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
Lesson:
True love waits.
We tend to think it's a long time if a couple waits seven weeks to get married.
But what's the hurry?
If you want to do it right, take your time and find out who you're really marrying!
In the end, you're better off knowing for sure you're marrying the right person, than to marry them, and find out that they're not the person you thought they were.
:21 that I may go in unto her.
The physical union.
:25 in the morning, behold, it was Leah:
How can you make a mistake like that?
Was Jacob drunk on his wedding night?
Didn't they talk at all?
It obviously must have been dark!
Lesson:
Reaping and sowing.
Jacob had spent much of his life learning how to be really good at deceiving others.
And now he gets a taste of it himself.
If you want others to treat you fairly and honestly, you need to be fair and honest.
If you want others to be a friend to you, you need to be a friend to others.
:27 Fulfil her week,
Spend one week with Leah, and I'll give you the other daughter as well, as long as you pay for her as well!
:30 he loved also Rachel more than Leah,
The Levitical Law has a prohibition against marrying sisters.
LEV 18:18 And you shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister as a rival while she is alive, to uncover her nakedness.
For anyone wanting to know a good reason for this law, all you have to do is look at Jacob's life with his two wives.
:30 served with him yet seven other years.
Jacob now has to spend seven more years paying for the second wife.
:31 the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb:
Let the baby-games begin!
:33 Simeon = "heard"
:34 Levi = "joined to"
:35 Judah = "praised"
It's interesting that in her reasons for naming the boys, Leah stops worrying about her husband's love, and turns to the Lord this time.
Genesis 30
:1 Give me children, or else I die.
A little dramatic, don't you think?
:3 Behold my maid Bilhah,
Jacob, still being the fleshly guy he was, went ahead, and ended up following his grandfather Abraham’s example with Hagar, which caused many problems.
He should instead have paid attention to his own father’s example:
(Gen 25:21 KJV) And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
:6 Dan
= "a judge"
The score is now 4 to 1.
:8 Naphtali = "wrestling" (4 to 2)
:11 Gad = "fortune(NASB)" or "troop(KJV)" ??? (5 to 2)
:13 Asher = "happy" (6 to 2)
:14 mandrakes
- thought by some eastern cultures to be a sort of aphrodisiac, or fertility potion. Also called the "love apple" (though not related to the tomato which is also called that). Called atropa mandragora, it is thought to be related to a poisonous plant called "nightshade". It has yellow plum-like fruits, smaller than the tomato.
Note: Reuben must have been around 4 years old at the time, since this is still within the timespan of Jacob serving his seven years for Rachel.
:18 Issachar = "there is recompense" or "hire"(7 to 2)
:20 Zebulun = "exalted" or "endowment" (8 to 2)
:21 Dinah = "judgment" (finally, a daughter!)
pronounced "dee-nah"
:24 Joseph = "Yahweh has added" (8 to 3)
This is now Rachel's first real son.
:25 Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph ... send me away ...
According to the chronology, the first 11 sons were born during the seven year period that Jacob served for Rachel.
Keep in mind, there are four different mothers involved.
See also 31:41, for a recap of the total time spent in Haran.
Jacob has now been in Haran for 14 years, he is 91 years old.
:27-43 Jacob earns his wages.
Summarize:
Jacob works out a deal whereby he get to keep the speckled, spotted, and black sheep.
Then he proceeds to make sure that these sheep are the one that multiply the most and grow the strongest.
He does these "tricks" of animal husbandry:
He makes these sticks with stripes and spots on them and somehow uses them to cause only the strong sheep to give birth to speckled, spotted, and black sheep, supposedly just by looking at these peeled branches when they mate.
How does the trick with the sticks work?
Science doesn't know of anything yet.
God just blessed his efforts. (see 31:7-12)
He grows prosperous, Laban's flock grows weaker.
:43 And the man increased exceedingly,
It’s not that this was some scientific thing happening here.
Jacob, the conniver that he was, may have thought so.
But in truth, it was simply God at work, making Jacob’s experiment to cause Jacob’s flock to prosper.
(Gen 31:9 KJV) Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Genesis 31
:3 the LORD said unto Jacob, Return
This seems to be the first time that God speaks to Jacob since the time at Bethel, twenty years earlier.
:5-13 Summarize
Jacob calls his wives together, tells them he's concerned about Laban being angry with him, and that God has told him that it's time to go home.
read from verse 14 ...
:19 Laban went to shear his sheep:
In other words, he's out of town.
:19 Rachel had stolen the images
Images - teraphim - small figurines of female deities
Some suggestions as to their importance:
1) they were supposed to guarantee fertility
2) they guaranteed Jacob's right to Laban's estate when he died
3) they were still in some sense Rachel's gods on which she depended for religious or divination purposes.
Note: Where did she get the idea of stealing these things?
Look at the family she was brought up in, and look who she's married to!
:23 the mount Gilead.
This was about a three hundred mile journey from Haran.
:24 God came to Laban
I like the way that God likes to protect us.
To Abimelech, God warned him that if he touched Abraham's wife, he was a dead man!
We sometimes get a little too worried about things that God has completely under control.
(Psa 34:7 KJV) The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
:27 that I might have sent thee away with mirth,
Yeah, right.
:30 wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
It seems that Laban is more interested in these little idols than in anything else, like kissing his daughters or grandkids goodbye.
:34 put them in the camel's furniture,
She hid them in the camel's saddle.
:35 the custom of women is upon me.
or, "I'm having my period"
:41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house;
Actually, it seems as if Jacob was in Laban's house learning himself a good lesson.
He got rich, but he did it by good, hard, honest work.
:47 Jegarsahadutha ... Galeed
Both names mean "heap of witnesses", in different languages (Aramaic and Hebrew)
:49 Mizpah
or, "watch"
:49 The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
Some people use this as a kind of blessing when saying goodbye to people, getting kind of teary-eyed as they say it.
But in reality it is meant to say something like, "May God watch my back as I turn to leave from you, and keep an eye on you, you old sneaking thief!"
Genesis 32
:1 Jacob went on his way,
Keep in mind Jacob's situation.
Behind him he has a father-in-law who wants to kill him.
In front of him, he has his own twin brother, who promised to kill him as soon as daddy died.
Jacob doesn't necessarily know this, but Isaac still isn't dead, and won't die for another 23 years yet! (Isaac was 137 years old when Jacob left 20 years ago, and won't die until age 180).
:1 the angels
Here, in one of his toughest situations yet, God sends angels to help Jacob in some way.
Ps 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. (AV)
:2 Mahanaim.
= "double camp," referring to the angel's and Jacob's companies.
:3-8 Summarize
As Jacob starts to panic, he comes up with a plan.
First he sends messengers to Esau to find out how he's doing, and when they return, they report that he's coming to meet Jacob with 400 men with him!
Next, he prays!
Read verses 9-12
:10 two bands
Two main wives and their companies.
:13-23 Summarize
In Jacob's next part of his plan, he starts sending groups of animals with servants out onto the road, as "presents" for Esau.
The idea is that if Esau gets enough presents from Jacob, by the time he actually meets Jacob, he'll be in a good mood.
Then he sends the women and children on ahead of him, so he can spend the evening alone.
:24 Jacob's wrestling ...
Keep in mind, this is a 97 year old man.
:25 he touched the hollow of his thigh;
This mystery man (Jesus) cheats at the end of the night when He sees He can't beat Jacob.
He touches Jacob on the thigh, and cripples him.
:26 I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
We can't really make out the tone of voice that Jacob is using in the text, but the prophet Hosea fills in some blanks:
(Hosea 12:4 KJV) Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him:
This is not the picture of a strong man, twisting God's arm.
It's the picture of a broken man, pleading with God for help.
Lesson:
Prevailing Prayer
This picture of Jacob wrestling with the angel has long been a favorite picture to preachers of the idea of "prevailing prayer".
The idea is that of "wrestling with God" until you get an answer.
One writer said that you should never "wrestle with God" because you only end up crippled.
But that's the point.
We need to wrestle with God until we're changed, even if it hurts us.
Then there's less of us, and more of God.
:28 Israel
"Prince with God" or "God prevails"
:30 Peniel
means "the face of God."
I believe it was Jesus that wrestled with Jacob.
Genesis 33
:1-17 Summarize
Jacob's plan goes according as planned.
By the time he meets Esau, Esau is hugging and kissing his brother.
After much urging, Esau accepts Jacob's present of the flocks, and offers to guide Jacob into the land.
Jacob refuses the offer and goes on at his own pace, while his brother goes back home.
:18-20 Jacob settles down.
:18 Shechem
Jacob settles down outside Shechem, right in the center of the land of Israel, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem, up in the hill country.
:20 he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.
or, "God, the God of Israel"
Jacob's transformation is on it's way.
God is now HIS God.