Genesis 32
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.
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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, and a daughter: Dinah.
God remembers Rachel and opens her womb. She conceives a son and names him Joseph, meaning “may he add”.
The main theme of Genesis 31 is Jacob’s departure from Laban and his return to his homeland. The chapter details several conflicts between Jacob and Laban over Jacob’s wealth, Laban’s idols, and a covenant they make at Mizpah. The chapter also shows how God protects and guides Jacob throughout his journey.
Jacob left Laban for several reasons. First, he heard that Laban’s sons were envying him for his wealth and accusing him of taking their father’s property. Second, he noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not friendly anymore. Third, he felt that it was time to return to his homeland and build his own household. Fourth, he received a command from God to go back to the land of his fathers and his relatives with a promise of God’s presence.
When do you not trust a handshake?
Have you ever lied about your period?
When do the bonds of family overcome family rivalry?
When God blesses you, are you upset that it took so long and you worked so hard?
Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’ ”
When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has four hundred men with him.” Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, herds, and camels. He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”
Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. Please rescue me from my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’ ”
He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.” And he told the first one, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’ then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’ ” He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.” So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two slave women, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok.
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip. That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
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
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