Genesis 30 pt2
Notes
Transcript
And not only that, but Rebekah conceived children through one man, our father Isaac. For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger. As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.
THE BINDING OF ISAAC
This chapter introduces 2 important concepts:
Substitutionary atonement (dying in the place of another to make things right)
Belief in the resurrection after death
Exodus 20:16 (CSB)
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Remember that Genesis is building up to the rest of the Torah, which builds to Jesus. Abraham’s family is one of liars…so no surprise that not giving false testimony is a top ten commandment.
Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 20)
Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.
In the previous chapter, we saw Jacob’s name is a wordplay on “heel”, since he was grabbing Esau’s heel when they were born (perhaps to stop him from being born first). As adults, Jacob buy’s Esau’s birthright (inheritance, clan leadership, etc.) for some lentil stew. Jacob is about to deceive his father, but deception is embedded in their family makeup.
Jacob’s (Ya’aqob) name is a play on heel (aqeb) and cheat (aqab). Jacob is called a cheater by Esau later on. The name Jacob probably is related to the phrase “God Protects” (Ya’qabal’el), and God does indeed protect Jacob. God will ultimately change his name to Israel (meaning “God struggles’).
Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 25)
But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her:Two nations are in your womb;two peoples will come from you and be separated.One people will be stronger than the other,and the older will serve the younger.
test
What does your dream house look like?
How can you tell a couple is married?
Can children avoid the sins of their parents?
Have an example when in-laws actually were the bad guys?
Moms, how far would you go to protect your favorite son?
Have you ever accidentally done the right thing?
Why is gluttony a deadly sin?
How do you recover from parenting mistakes?
Why do we copy others? Why do we fail?
Do you get angrier at people who are close, or people who aren’t?
Have you ever made a deal with God?
What do people think heaven is like?
What magic beans do we chase?
What do you do after you have been betrayed?
If you shared a husband with your sister, and he was actually your cousin, how would you make it work?
Who are some unsung heroes?
Does your road with God slow down sometimes?
Do you reward your kids more than they deserve?
Do families have personalities? Do they change? Who changes them?
Has there always been a struggle between science and religion?
What ridiculous things have envy led you to do? What about that one coworker?
Are there moral lies?
Is hard work rewarded? Should it be?
Do life events change our personality?
Rachel; meaning “ewe”. Younger daughter of Laban. Second and favorite wife of Jacob. Mother of Joseph and Benjamin. One of the two matriarchs of Israel, along with her older sister Leah. Like her grandmother-in-law, Sarah, she is barren and jealous of another woman. Like her mother-in-law Rebekah, she is barren and a trickster. Rebekah asks the Lord for death during her pregnancy, and Rachel dies in pregnancy. Rachael is a pagan, loved by Jacob, while her sister Leah honors the Lord and is not loved by Jacob.
Leah, meaning “gazelle.” Older daughter of Laban and Jacob’s first wife. Leah bore six sons to Jacob (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun) and a daughter (Dinah). Her handmaid, Zilpah, bore two sons to Jacob (Gad, Asher), which by the law of that day were officially Leah’s. When Jacob returned to Palestine from Padan-Aram, Leah and her children were placed in front of Rachel and Joseph, evidently to absorb any violence from Esau, Jacob’s brother. This is indicative of the less-favored status of Leah to Rachel. Leah died in Palestine and was buried in the cave at Machpelah, where lay the remains of Abraham, Isaac, and their wives.
The main theme of Genesis 30 is sibling conflict between Jacob’s wives Leah and Rachel, who compete for his love and children. Another theme is God’s blessing on Jacob and his family, who multiply in number and wealth despite human schemes and deception. A third theme is God’s sovereignty over human fertility and destiny, as He alone opens or closes a woman’s womb and fulfills His promises to Jacob.
Rachel is barren and envies her sister Leah, who has four sons with Jacob. She gives her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a surrogate mother and names the two sons she bears: Dan and Naphtali.
Leah stops having children and gives her servant Zilpah to Jacob as well. She names the two sons she bears: Gad and Asher.
Leah’s son Reuben finds some mandrakes, a plant believed to enhance fertility, and brings them to his mother. Rachel asks for some of them and Leah agrees in exchange for Jacob sleeping with her that night. Leah conceives two more sons: Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter: Dinah.
God remembers Rachel and opens her womb. She conceives a son and names him Joseph, meaning “may he add”.
After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go. You know how hard I have worked for you.” But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.” So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me. For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”
Laban asked, “What should I give you?” And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.” “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.
Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young. Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.
Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same as before. The Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your family, and I will be with you.”
Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were. He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me. You know that with all my strength I have served your father and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me. If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked. God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me. “When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ And he said, ‘Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to me. Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.’ ”
Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we have any portion or inheritance in our father’s family? Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? For he has sold us and has certainly spent our purchase price. In fact, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has said to you.” So Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels. He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac. When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols. And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing. He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his relatives also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead. Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war! Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres, but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly. I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Watch yourself! Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family—but why have you stolen my gods?” Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live! Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
What should Jacob have done?
What memorials do you put up?
Jacob wanted food, clothes, and family. What do you want from God?
Are there similarities between these verses and your life?
What did Esau want from his father? Could God have replaced it?
What did you want from your father?
What are you giving your children?
Where was God in this story?
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 11
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
How do I keep from becoming like Isaac?
What should have Rebekah done differently?
Why would God use this mess?
Applications
6