Genesis 21-35

Genesis 21:1-34

Sarah had borne the burden of childlessness for many years, a heavy burden indeed in that culture and at that time. People  must have smiled when they heard that her husband’s name was Abraham, “father of a multitude.” He was the father of /one /son, Ishmael, but that was far from a multitude; and Sarah had /never /given birth. But now all of her reproach was ended, and they were rejoicing in the arrival of their son.**[1]**

            1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him -- whom Sarah bore to him -- Isaac.

The birth of Isaac was certainly /the revelation of God’s power./ That was one reason why God waited so long: He wanted Abraham and Sarah to be “as good as dead” so that their son’s birth would be a miracle of God and not a marvel of human nature (Rom. 4:17–21). Abraham and Sarah experienced God’s resurrection power in their lives because they yielded to Him and believed His Word. Faith in God’s promises releases God’s power (Eph. 3:20–21; Phil. 3:10), “for no word from God shall be void of power” (Luke 1:37, ASV).[2]

The name Isaac (“he laughs”) is cleverly explained in this passage. *Sarah said* that *God* gave her *laughter* (v. 6), that is, joy. Her laughter of unbelief (18:12) was now changed to rejoicing through the provision of her son. *Everyone who *would hear *about this *would *laugh, *that is rejoice, *with* her. But Ishmael turned her laughter into a ridiculing mockery (see comment on 21:9) of God’s work.

[3]

4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made me laugh, /and /all who hear will laugh with me." 7 She also said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne /him /a son in his old age."

            8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, /namely /with Isaac." 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he /is /your seed." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting /it /on her shoulder, he gave /it /and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

The Weaning ceremony, according to the Talmud, Children were weaned between 18-24 months.

*21:8-13.* God used this incident of Ishmael’s *mocking *Isaac to drive out the child Ishmael and *Hagar* (v. 10), for they would be a threat to the promised seed. The word “mocking” is mes\ah\eµq (“laughing or jesting”), from which comes “Isaac”(yis\h\aµq). Earlier Sarah had mistreated Hagar (16:6); now Hagar’s son was mistreating Sarah’s son. Earlier Sarah caused pregnant Hagar to flee (16:6); now she caused Hagar and her 16- or 17-year-old *son* to flee. (Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born [16:16], and 100 when Isaac was born [21:5], and Isaac *was* probably *weaned *[v. 8] at age 2 or 3.) When *Abraham *became* distressed *because of Sarah’s request to oust Hagar and Ishmael, *God *assured Abraham that Ishmael would have a future because *he* too was Abraham’s *offspring* (vv. 11-13).[4]

            15 And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. 16 Then she went and sat down across from /him /at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite /him, /and lifted her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he /is. /18 "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

            22 And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God /is /with you in all that you do. 23 "Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt." 24 And Abraham said, "I will swear."

            25 Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard /of it /until today." 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What /is the meaning of /these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?" 30 And he said, "You will take /these /seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well." 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. 32 Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then /Abraham /planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

Beer - Sheba - well of seven , or well of Oath. Abraham and Abimelech conclude a mutual non-aggression pact.

In Galatians 4:28–29, Paul makes it clear that Ishmael represents the believer’s first birth (the flesh) and Isaac represents the second birth (the Spirit). Ishmael was “born of the flesh” because Abraham had not yet “died” and was still able to beget a son (Gen. 16). Isaac was “born of the Spirit” because by that time his parents were both “dead” and only God’s power could have brought conception and birth. Ishmael was born first, because the natural comes before the spiritual(1 Cor. 15:46).

When you trust Jesus Christ, you experience a miracle birth from God (John 1:11–13), and it is the work of the Holy Spirit of God (John 3:1–8). Abraham represents /faith, /and Sarah represents /grace /(Gal. 4:24–26), so Isaac was born “by grace...through faith” (Eph. 2:8–9). This is the only way a lost sinner can enter the family of God (John 3:16–18).

It is worth noting that, in the biblical record, God often rejected the firstborn and accepted the second-born. He rejected Cain and chose Abel (Gen. 4:1–15). He rejected Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn, and chose Isaac. He bypassed Esau, Isaac’s firstborn, and chose Jacob (Rom. 9:8–13); and He chose Ephraim instead of Manasseh (Gen. 48). In Egypt, the Lord condemned /all /the firstborn (Ex. 11–12) and spared only those who were “twice-born” because they were protected by faith in the blood of the lamb.

Isaac pictures the child of God not only in his birth but also in /the joy that he brought./ Isaac means “laughter,” and this time it was not the laughter of unbelief (Gen. 18:9–15).  In the parables recorded in Luke 15, Jesus emphasized the joy that results when lost sinners repent and come to the Lord. The shepherd rejoiced when he found the lost sheep, and the woman rejoiced when she found the lost coin; and they both asked their friends to rejoice with them. The father rejoiced when his prodigal son came home, and he invited the neighbors to a feast so they could share in his joy. There is even joy in heaven when sinners turn to God (Luke 15:7, 10).

Nowhere do we read that Ishmael caused great joy in Abraham’s home. Abraham loved his son and wanted the best for him (Gen. 17:18). From before his birth, Ishmael was a source of painful trouble (Gen. 16); and after he matured, he caused even greater conflict in the family (21:9). The old nature is not able to produce the fruit of the Spirit, no matter how hard it tries (Gal. 5:16–26).

Note a third comparison between Isaac and the child of God: /He grew and was weaned /(Gen. 21:8). The new birth is not the end, but the beginning; and the believer must feed on God’s Word and grow spiritually (Matt. 4:4; 1 Cor. 3:1–3; Heb. 5:12–14; 1 Peter 2:1–3; 2 Peter 3:18). As we mature in the Lord, we must “put away childish things” (1 Cor. 13:9–11) and allow God to “wean us” (Ps. 131) from temporary helps that can become permanent hindrances.

The mother weans the child because she loves the child and wants it to be free to grow up and not be dependent on her. But the child interprets her actions as an expression of rejection and hatred. The child clings to the comforts of the past as the mother tries to encourage the child to grow up and enter into the challenges of the future. The time comes in every Christian life when toys must be replaced by tools and selfish security by unselfish service (John 12:23–26).

Like every child of God, /Isaac experienced persecution /(Gen. 21:9; Gal. 4:29). Ishmael was apparently an obedient son /until Isaac entered the family, /and then the “flesh” began to oppose “the Spirit.” It has well been said that the old nature knows no law but the new nature needs no law, and this is certainly illustrated in Abraham’s two sons.

Jewish children were usually weaned at about age three, so Ishmael was probably seventeen years old at the time (Gen. 16:16). What arrogance that a boy of seventeen should torment a little boy of only three! But God had said that Ishmael would become “a wild donkey of a man” (16:12, NIV), and the prediction came true. The flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with each other and always will be until we see the Lord (Gal. 5:16–26).

When, like Isaac, you are born of the Spirit, /you are born rich /(Gen. 21:10). Isaac was the heir of all that his father owned, and God’s children are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). Abraham cared for Ishmael while the boy was in the home, but “Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac” (Gen. 25:5).

Finally, /Isaac was born free /while Ishmael was the son of a slave (Gal. 4:22). Freedom is one of the key themes in Galatians (5:1) and one of the key blessings in the Christian life (4:31). Of course, Christian freedom does not mean anarchy; for that is the worst kind of bondage. It means the freedom to be and to do all that God has for us in Jesus Christ. “No man in this world attains to freedom from any slavery except by entrance into some higher servitude,” said Phillips Brooks; and that “higher servitude” is personal surrender to Jesus Christ. No one is more free than the child of God who delights in God’s will and does it from the heart.

[5]

Genesis 22:1-24

            Genesis 22 records the greatest test that Abraham ever faced. True, it also presents a beautiful picture of our Lord’s sacrifice at Calvary; but the main lesson is /obedient faith that overcomes in the trials of life./ Abraham teaches us how to face and handle the tests of life to the glory of God. Consider five simple instructions.[6]

1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

God had told the patriarch to send Ishmael away (21:12-13), and now He told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham had willingly sent Ishmael away, but he would not want to kill Isaac.[7]

To read this in Chronological  order some has estimate  that Isaac  is as much as 37 years old.

The command to *sacrifice* his own son *as a burnt offering* would have undoubtedly seemed totally unreasonable (even though child sacrifice was known in Canaan). How then could God fulfill the promises He made earlier (12:1-3), to say nothing of Abraham’s emotional loss of his only son, born to him so late in life?[8]

It's interesting that God calls Isaac the "only" son.

In reality, there was another.

*Lesson:*

*God doesn't recognize the works of the flesh.*

There was another son, Ishmael, but he was a product of the flesh, of Abraham trying to make God's promise come true, instead of allowing God to do the work.

MORIAH (Moh ri' uh) Place name of uncertain meaning translated in various ways, including "Amorites" by earliest translators. The rocky outcropping in Jerusalem located just north of the ancient city of David. It was on this rock that Abraham would have sacrificed Isaac as a burnt offering, but God intervened and provided a ram (Gen. 22:2,13). Later, the Jebusite city of Salem was built adjacent to the hill. After David captured the site, he purposed to build there a Temple for the ark of the covenant. However, God gave that task to his son Solomon (1 Chron. 28:3-6). It may be modern khirbet Beth-Lejj.[9]

*offer him there for a burnt offering*

Human sacrifice was practiced by the pagan peoples that lived around Abraham.

But before you get to wondering if human sacrifice is okay with God, keep in mind that God doesn't allow Abraham to go through with it.

God is just testing Abraham, to see whom he loves more, Isaac, or God.

*Lesson:*

*God wants to be first place in your heart.*

Jesus said,

/Mat 10:37-38 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me./

"loveth" is /phileo/, the word that speaks of warm, affectionate, emotional love.

God wants all our affections to be on Him first of all.

            3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.

*22:3-8.* Abraham’s response was staggering—he gave instant, unquestioning obedience. He even got an *early *start! However, the three-day journey (v. 4) was probably silent and difficult. The distance from Beersheba to Mount Moriah was about 50 miles (see the map “Abraham and Isaac’s Journey to Mount Moriah”).

When he *saw the place in the* region of Moriah (v. 2; later the temple mount; 2 Chron. 3:1)[10]

2 Chronicles 3:1

            1 Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where /the Lord /had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (NKJV)

It took Abraham three days to get there, but remember that it was on the third day that Abraham received Isaac alive, back from the dead, as it were. That is the way that Abraham looked at it: Isaac was raised up to him the third day. What a picture we have here.[11]

*:4 on the third day*

Now that's an interesting phrase!

As we're going to see, this is a tremendous picture of another Father who will offer up His only begotten Son, who on the third day would rise from the dead.

It has been suggested that Abraham has considered his son to be dead for three days, ever since God told him to sacrifice him.

5 And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."

*We will worship and then we will come back* (Gen. 22:5), is amazing. All Abraham knew was that (a) God planned the future around Isaac, and (b) God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. He could not reconcile the two, but he would obey anyway. That is faith. In response to Isaac’s question *Where is the lamb? *Abraham again revealed his faith: *God Himself will provide* (v. 8; cf. v. 14). Isaac was brought “from the dead” twice—once from Sarah’s dead womb, and again from a high altar (cf. Heb. 11:17-19).[12]

*:5 I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.*

Either Abraham is flat out lying to his men, which doesn't quite seem to be his style, or else Abraham is fully trusting that his son will come back alive, even if God has to raise him from the dead!

/(Heb 11:17-19 KJV) By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. {18} Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: {19} Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure./

Here we see that this whole thing is indeed a picture of something else, as well as a real historical account.

6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together.

*Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son;*

Kind of sounds like Jesus carrying His cross.

7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

*:7 where is the lamb for a burnt offering?*

Isaac is beginning to wonder what's going on.

8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.

*:8 God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:*

I have to admit that I think the King James does it best here.

Even though you can understand it as if God is simply going to provide a lamb, you can also take it to say that God will provide /Himself/ as the Lamb itself!

Jesus is the Lamb of God.

            9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

*:9 bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar*

Don't be thinking that Isaac is some little three year old here.

Keep in mind that he's carried the wood up the hill for Abraham.

It has been suggested that Isaac could be in his early teens.

And Abraham would be well over a hundred years old by now.

Isaac could have easily overpowered Abraham, and told him, "No way!"

Yet Isaac willingly submits to his father.

Just as Jesus willingly gave Himself on the cross for us, submitting Himself to the Father's plan.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."

*:11 the angel of the LORD*

We've mentioned before that we believe this is a specific individual in the Old Testament, none other than Jesus Himself, before His earthly birth. (see Ex.3)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

*:12 now I know that thou fearest God,*

This was what God was looking for all along.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

*:13 Abraham went and took the ram ...*

Sometimes God asks us to lay aside something that has become too great in our affections.

Something that has begun to take God's place in our heart.

And you will find that often once you lay it down, that it's not uncommon for God to turn around and give it back to you.

Yet you can never lay it down, expecting that this will be the case.

When you lay it down, it must be for good in your heart.

RAMS HORN:

The shofar, usually made of a ram’s horn, is nowadays blown on Rosh Hashanah and at the  conclusion of Yom Kippur. It is also blown at morning service during the month preceding the new year: and it has been sounded on special occasions such as the recapture of the western or wailing wall by Israeli troops in 1967. Rabbi Abbahu “Why do we sound the horn of a Ram? Because the Holy one, blessed be He, said” Blow me a ram’s horn that I may remember unto you the binding of Isaac the son of Abraham, and I shall account it unto you far a binding of yourselves before me. [13]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."

*:14 Jehovahjireh*

Heb., Yahweh yireh, meaning "the LORD will see to it" or "the LORD will provide."

            15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son --  17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

            20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 "Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 "Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah

*22:20-24.* Reports came from the East that the family of *Nahor,* Abraham’s brother (cf. 11:27-29), was expanding. Among those born was *Rebekah,* the future wife of Isaac (cf. 24:15, 67). She was a daughter of *Bethuel,* the youngest of Nahor’s eight sons by *Milcah* (Nahor’s niece). (See the chart “Terah’s Family”near 11:27-32.) This record is included here even though one would expect it closer to chapter 24. But it serves as a tie-in with chapter 23, which records Sarah’s death and burial. In burying Sarah, *Abraham* ignored his ancestry, not going back to Paddan Aram for her burial.[14]

*:15-19 Summarize*

After Abraham's display of obedience, the angel of the LORD appears to Abraham, and reassures him that He still has an agreement with Abraham, and will totally bless him.

*:20-24 Summarize*

Abraham gets some news from the home country, that his brother Nahor has had kids and grandkids, in particular, a young girl named Rebekah.

Genesis 23:1-20

Sarah had been a good wife to Abraham and a good mother to Isaac. Yes, she had her faults, as we all do; but God called her a princess (Gen. 17:15) and listed her with the heroes and  heroines of faith (Heb. 11:11). The Apostle Peter named her as a good example for Christian wives to follow (1 Peter 3:1–6), and Paul used her to illustrate the grace of God in the life of the believer (Gal. 4:21–31).**[15]**

1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; /these were /the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that /is, /Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

/Abraham’s tears (Gen. 23:1–2)./ How often in my pastoral ministry I have heard well-meaning but ignorant people say to grieving friends or relatives, “Now, don’t cry!” That is very poor counsel, for God made us with the ability to weep; and He expects us to cry. Even Jesus wept (John 11:35). Grieving is one of God’s gifts to help heal broken hearts when people we love are taken from us in death. Paul did not tell the Thessalonian Christians not to weep; he cautioned them not to sorrow “as others who have no hope” (1 Thes. 4:13–18). The grief of a believer should be different from that of an unbeliever.

Abraham loved his wife, and her death was a painful experience for him. He showed his love and his grief by his weeping. These are the first recorded tears in the Bible, and tears will not end until God wipes them away in glory (Rev. 21:4). Even though he was a man of faith, Abraham did not feel that his tears were an evidence of unbelief.[16]

*23:1-4.* Abraham’s purchase of a burial cave “near Mamre” (v. 19; cf. 13:18; 14:13; 18:1) was occasioned by the death of *Sarah,* who* lived to be 127.* (Isaac was 37 at the time, 17:17.) This was the first indication that a transition was underway. After mourning for his *wife* at *Hebron* (23:2) *Abraham *bargained for a portion of land with *a burial site.*[17]

 3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 "I /am /a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight." 5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 "Hear us, my lord: You /are /a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead." 7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, "If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 "that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which /is /at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you."

there is lots of places I am sure he could have buried his dead, but this was part of the promise that one day his descendants would possess.

In this *cave* was buried not only *Sarah* but also Abraham (25:9), Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah (49:29-31; 50:13).[18]

10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that /is /in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!" 12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If you /will give it, /please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take /it /from me and I will bury my dead there." 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 "My lord, listen to me; the land /is worth /four hundred shekels of silver. What /is /that between you and me? So bury your dead." 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

            17 So the field of Ephron which /was /in Machpelah, which /was /before Mamre, the field and the cave which /was /in it, and all the trees that /were /in the field, which /were /within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that /is, /Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that /is /in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

In this legal transaction *Abraham *wanted to purchase only *the cave* owned by *Ephron* (23:9), but Ephron wanted to sell the whole *field.* When *Ephron* said he would *give *the field and *the cave* (three times in v. 11), he did not mean it was free. This was bedouin bargaining—giving for giving. Though *Abraham *did not want the whole *field,* he was willing to take it (vv. 12-13) at a high price (*400 shekels of silver*) to get the cave (vv. 15-16). The transaction was then finalized *in the presence of all the Hittites* at the city *gate,* the place of legal and business dealings (cf. 19:1).[19]

Genesis 24:1-67

Abraham was now 140 years old (Gen. 21:5; 25:20) and would live another 35 years (25:7). His great concern was that, before he died, he would find a wife for his only son Isaac. Only then could God fulfill His covenant promises to bless Abraham with many descendants and give them Canaan for their inheritance (12:1–3; 13:14–17; 15:18; 21:12). In those days, the parents made the marriage arrangements. A man and woman got married and then learned to love each other (24:67).

Sarah was dead not Abraham turns his attention to His son,

Matchmaker, Matchmaker,

 the Jewish law said..

A third party with the advantage of experience, age, and wisdom would be more objective, free of prejudice, free from emotional factors. Hence the choice would present a better guarantee of mutual understanding for the couple’s future.[20]

            1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh,

this we learn from a earlier chapter is Eliezer , this was an allusion to the circumcised organ, the promise, the seed. Ect. it was a sacrate oath that he was taking,

The symbolic gesture may have implied a cures of sterility on the offender. Assyrians placed the hand on the breast; Greeks , on the knee, Arabs, under the armpit or on the belt. The custom of swearing while placing ones hand on some object persists into our time. Place your hand on the bible.

3 "and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 "but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac." 5 And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?" 6 But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 "The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 "And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

Abraham was trying to prevent Isaac from marrying into the idolatry prevalent among the Canaanites. However Abraham’s family were also idol worshipers, according to :

Joshua 24:2 2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Your fathers, /including /Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. (NKJV)

there was other reason the Canaanites were notoriously sinful and practiced abominable customs in there idol worship.

            10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods /were in /his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw /water. /12 Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 "Behold, /here /I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 "Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink' -- /let /her /be the one /You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."

so much , a bride price was given to the father.

Watering ten camels is no easy job! After a long trek, a thirsty camel might drink as much as forty gallons of water; and Rebekah had to draw all that water by hand.[21]

The camel is considered “The ship of the desert” they could go for days without drinking because they stored enough water for such purposes. When it was time to dire, it was time to drink. There were 10 camels in Eliezer’s Caravan.

            15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the *young woman* /was /very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." 18 So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw /water /for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw /water, /and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

There are a few points to be make concerning this verse, VESRE 16 -  First notice her age. This means a teen age.. munk notes “ other sources indicate that Rebekah was fourteen years old at that time”

however for reasons largely unclear, it is the standard Rabbinic Tradition to place Rebekah at about three years old.. no way..

 No man has known her, this is to make sure the point is clear.

            22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten /shekels /of gold, 23 and said, "Whose daughter /are /you? Tell me, please, is there room /in /your father's house for us to lodge?" 24 So she said to him, "I /am /the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor." 25 Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge." 26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD. 27 And he said, "Blessed /be /the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother's household these things.

            29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name /was /Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when *he saw the nose ring*, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels."

“ and saw the ring” it appears from the text that Laban was mainly  interested, at first, in the possible financial gain he might secure judging from the apparent wealth of this servant’s master.

            32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who /were /with him. 33  /Food /was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told about my errand." And he said, "Speak on." 34 So he said, "I /am /Abraham's servant. 35 "The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 "And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. 37 "Now my master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 'but you shall go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.' 39 "And I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' 40 "But he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house. 41 'You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give /her /to you, then you will be released from my oath.'

            42 And this day I came to the well and said, 'O LORD God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 'behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw /water, /and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink," 44 'and she says to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also," -- /let /her /be /the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'

            45 But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew /water. /And I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' 46 "And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her /shoulder, /and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 "Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter /are /you?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 "And I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son. 49 "Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left."

Her parents and friends could have given Rebekah many arguments for waiting or even for saying no. “You have never seen the man!” “Maybe the servant is a fraud!” “It’s nearly 500 miles to where Isaac lives. That’s a long trip!” “You may never see your family again!” But she was determined to make the long, difficult journey and become the wife of a man she knew only by hearsay.[22]

            50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 "Here /is /Rebekah before you; take /her /and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the LORD has spoken."

            52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he worshiped the LORD, /bowing himself /to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave /them /to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 And he and the men who /were /with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master." 55 But her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us /a few /days, at least ten; after that she may go." 56 And he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since the LORD has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master." 57 So they said, "We will call the young woman and ask her personally." 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go." 59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: "Our sister, /may /you /become The mother of /thousands of ten thousands; And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them."

Camels traveled about 25 miles a day and could cover 60 miles if they had to, while the average pedestrian walked  about 20 miles a day. A train of 10 camels with its attendants and guards could easily make the trip from Hebron to Mesopotamia and back (about 900 miles) in less than 2 months. The servant was the kind of man who permitted no delay and was anxious to complete his task successfully.  Certainly Abraham and Isaac were both praying for him and his mission, and their prayers were answered.

            61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed. 62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And Isaac went out to *meditate* in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels /were /coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, "Who /is /this man walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It /is /my master." So she took a veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's /death./

/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

Meditate:

Isaac was in great sorrow over his mothers death.

Psalm 102:1

            1 A Prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his *complaint* before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, And let my cry come to You. (NKJV)

Same word..

Ps 44:25~/Lam 3:20 - forms of the same word is used soul that is downcast in sorrow. Isaac was in deep grief.

* *

Wooing The Bride - Chuck smith

* *

* Intro. In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have seen beautiful*

* pictures of the heavenly Father and the Son. We saw how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, and Isaac was obedient unto death. Now in the story of the servant being sent to a far country to win a bride foe Isaac, we see the beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit wooing the bride for Christ.*

* *

* I. Eliezer as a type of the Holy Spirit.*

* A. His name means God my help.*

* 1. One of the names for the Holy Spirit in the New*

* Testment is paracletus which means along side to help. It is translated comforter, this Hebrew name*

* Eliezer could also be translated comforter. For*

* anyone who helps in a time of need is a comforter. B. We do not see his name mentioned in this chapter, we must*

* go back to chapter 15 to know what his name is.*

* 1. When the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of this*

* story, He deliberately ommitted the name of the servant in this chapter. For the servant has come not*

* to testify of his glory, but the glory of kingdom of*

* Abraham, of which his son is heir.*

* 2. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would not testify of*

* Himself, but would glorify Me.*

* 3. Significant that his name is left out of the record*

* here.*

* 4. I must question those who constantly seek to promote*

* the Holy Spirit, when He does not seek to promote Himself.*

* C. The mission of the servant was to woo a bride for the son,*

* even as the mission of the Holy Spirit is to woo from this earth a bride for the Son.*

* *

* II. The witness of the servant.*

* A. My master is great.*

* 1. He is blessed with an abundance of all things.*

* 2. His possessions are vast. B. He has a son, to whom he has given everything.*

* 1. All that belongs to the father, also belongs to the*

* son whom he has appointed heir of all things.*

* 2. Their was no bride suitable for the son in that land,*

* I have been sent here to get a bride for the son. C. When the consent was given for Rebekah to become the*

* bride, he gave to her gold and silver jewelry and clothes.*

* 1. Even so, as we consent to become the bride of Jesus*

* Christ, the Holy Spirit bestows upon us His gifts. a. These are only a sampling of the glories of the*

* the things of the coming Kingdom. b. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise*

* which is an ernest of our inheritance.*

* c. The most beautiful experiences of my life are*

* those times when the Holy Spirit moves upon my*

* heart and gives to me fortastes of the Kingdom.*

* d. There is such joy, peace, love. Oh to stay*

* forever here, doubt and fear and care resign,*

* while He wispers in my ear, I am His and He is*

* mine.*

* 2. He clothes us in new clothes.*

* a. We remove the filthy rags of our own*

* righteousness and are clothed in fine white linen, pure and clean.*

* b. Paul in Php 3*

* *

* III. Looking at the bride.*

* A. She was very beautiful. Vs. 16.*

* 1. Jesus sees you as very beautiful.*

* 2. Hard for us to sometimes conceive when we feel so*

* ugly. a. Some pretty of face, with ugly dispositions. b. Satan is always saying, you're so ugly how*

* could you ever expect the Lord to love you?*

* 3. How could I possibly be beautiful to Him?*

* a. Love is blind. Is that a scripture? No b. Love covers a multitude of sins.*

* c. His love for you is so great, He doesn't see*

* the flaws. B. She was gracious, giving not only a drink to the servant*

* but offering to draw water for the ten camels, each having a capacity of twenty gallons.*

* C. She made her commitment to go. Vs. 58*

* 1. It always comes down finally to this, are you willing*

* to go?*

* 2. You have heard the stories of the glory of His*

* Kingdom. The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof and all those who dwell therein.*

* 3. The Holy Spirit invites you to become the bride of*

* Christ, leave your attachment to this world now to follow Him.*

* a. Note how the family urged that their might be a*

* delay of ten days.*

* b. The servant urged for immediate separation.*

* c. It was then the question was put to Rebekah,*

* "Will you go?"*

* *

Genesis 25:1-34

1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name /was /Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian /were /Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these /were /the children of Keturah.

When *Abraham *married *Keturah *is unknown, but the verb *took *and the adjective *another* suggest it was after Sarah’s death. (Actually *Keturah* was a concubine, 1 Chron. 1:32.)

1 Chronicles 1:32

            32 Now the sons born to Keturah, Abraham's concubine, /were /Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan /were /Sheba and Dedan. (NKJV)

CONCUBINE A secondary wife. The taking of concubines dates back at least to the patriarchal period. Both Abraham and Nahor had concubines (Gen. 22:24; 25:6; 1 Chron. 1:32). Concubines were generally taken by tribal chiefs, kings, and other wealthy men. Gideon had a concubine (Judg. 8:31). Saul had at least one concubine, named Rizpah (2 Sam. 3:7; 21:11). David had many (2 Sam. 5:13), but Solomon took the practice to its extreme, having 300 concubines, in addition to his 700 royal wives (1 Kings 11:3). Deuteronomy 17:17 forbid kings to take so many wives.

    The concubines (and wives) of chiefs and kings were symbols of their virility and power. Having intercourse with the concubine of the ruler was an act of rebellion. When Absalom revolted against his father, David, he "went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel" (2 Sam. 16:22) on the palace roof. When David returned to the palace, the ten concubines involved were sent away to live the rest of their lives in isolation (2 Sam. 20:3).

    A concubine, whether purchased (Ex. 21:7-11; Lev. 25:44-46) or won in battle (Num. 31:18), was entitled to some legal protection (Ex. 21:7-12; Deut. 21:10-14), but was her husband's property. A barren woman might offer her maid to her husband hoping she would conceive (Gen. 16:1ff.; 30:1ff.).

    Although the taking of concubines was not totally prohibited, monogamous marriage was more common and seems to be the biblical ideal (Gen. 2:24; Mark 10:6-9).

    See Marriage; Servant.

 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

nothing was to interfere with the inherence that Isaac was to receive.

            7 This /is /the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full /of years, /and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which /is /before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

The phrase “gathered to his people” (Gen. 25:8) does not mean “buried with the family”; for Sarah’s body was the only one in the family tomb. This is the first occurrence of this phrase in the Bible; and it means to go to the realm of the dead, referring to the destiny of the spirit, not the body (James 2:26). The Old Testament word for the realm of the dead is /sheol; /the New Testament equivalent is /hades./ It is the temporary “home” of the spirits of the dead awaiting the resurrection (Rev. 20:11–15).

The permanent home for the saved is heaven; and for the lost, it is hell. Luke 16:19–31 indicates that sheol-hades has two sections to it, separated by a great gulf; and that the saved are in a place of blessing while the lost are in a place of  pain. It is likely that Jesus emptied the paradise portion of sheol-hades when He returned to heaven in glory (Eph. 4:8–10). The punishment portion of hades will be emptied at the resurrection that precedes the judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11–15). For the lost, hades is the jail, while hell is the penitentiary.

One day, you will be “gathered to your people.” If God’s people were your people in life, then you will be with them after death in the home that Jesus is now preparing (John 14:1–6). If the Christian family is not your “people,” then you will be with the crowd that is going to hell; and it is described in Revelation 21:8, 27. You had better make the right choice, because eternity is forever.

This is not refereed to the buried in the cave of Machpelah, where he was buried. Bu the location of departed spirit. Called Abraham’s bosom. Luke 16

            12 Now this /is /the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these /were /the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These /were /the sons of Ishmael and these /were /their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These /were /the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which /is /east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

/ /

*25:12-18.* Ishmael too was a *son *of Abraham, so God told what became of him and his line (*the account* [t_oÆled_oÆt_]* of . . . Ishmael*) before returning to the chosen line, the succession of Isaac. Ishmael had 12 *sons,* as God had predicted (17:20), and died at the age of *137. *His sons lived in the Arabian peninsula *from Havilah* (in north-central Arabia) *to Shur* (between Beersheba and *Egypt*). The Ishmaelites *lived in hostility toward all their brothers,* a fulfillment of God’s words to Hagar (16:12). Arabian peninsula *from Havilah* (in north-central Arabia) *to Shur* (between Beersheba and *Egypt*). The Ishmaelites *lived in hostility toward all their brothers,* a fulfillment of God’s words to Hagar (16:12).

            19 This /is /the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

This account of the births of Esau and Jacob is a fitting introduction to the following chapters, for their struggle for supremacy manifested itself even before their births (cf. Hosea 12:3).

Hosea 12:3 3  He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. (NKJV)

*Rebekah,* Isaac’s wife, was also his cousin (cf. 24:15). Similarly Nahor had married his niece (11:29). Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah thus tied him to Abraham’s native country and family, and to the Arameans in northwest Mesopotamia (cf. 24:10), later known as Syria.

 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she /was /barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

what can be passed over here at this point is that he prayed and waited 20 years, she was barren for all those years.

 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If /all is /well, why /am I like /this?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her: "Two nations /are /in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; /One /people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger."

vs 22 there is more said that we see here in the Heberw the question is being asked if so , why do I exist. “what good is life if I have to suffer like this”

this STRUGGLED in the Hebrew means “ the children crushed, thrust, or struck one another within her”

did this ever prove to be a prophetic rumble in the mothers stomach, the twins have been fighting ever since . as one person said “ it started before it started” the result was that Rebekah , too , like Isaac, was driven to the Lord.

24 So when her days were fulfilled /for her /to give birth, indeed /there were /twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. /He was /like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac /was /sixty years old when she bore them.

            27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate /of his /game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The second twin was born *grasping Esau’s heel* (v. 26). In view of the oracle the parents had received (v. 23) it seemed appropriate to give this child a name that would preserve the memory of this event. The name *Jacob *(yaÔaáqoµb_, meaning “may He [God] protect”) was selected because of its connection in sound and sense to the noun “heel” (Ôaµqeµb_). The verb Ôaµqab_ means “to watch from behind.” But as with Esau, so Jacob’s name would take on a different sense later in life as his deceptive nature became evident. His name also meant “one who grabs the heel” or “one who trips up.” So the twins’ births had great significance for later events in their lives.

            29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he /was /weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red /stew, /for I /am /weary." Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." 32 And Esau said, "Look, I /am /about to die; so what /is /this birthright to me?" 33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised /his /birthright.

this birthright. First it signified that the possessor of it usually the first male to be born  was considered the family priest. As such , he was the one who would facilitate the relationship between family members and the Lord, usually by performing the sacrifices necessary in order to relate to the Lord, by rejection the birthright, Esau may have been demonstrating that he did not possess a personal relationship with the Lord, nor did he care to help others draw closer to the Holy one.

Second the receiver of the birthright was the immediate inheritor of all that his father possessed. Moreover, in him was the continuation of his fathers spiritual heritage. ( Thomas Jefferson changed this law here in America )

Though *Jacob *was not righteous, he was not in this instance deceptive. He was open and obvious, but he was unscrupulous. He must be given credit for knowing what was of value and going after it. *Esau,* however, was totally “godless” (“profane,” kjv; Heb. 12:16.)

Hebrews 12:16-17 16 lest there /be /any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. (NKJV)

Gen.26

a famine struck the land, Isaac was told by the Lord not to flee to Egypt , but to remain in the land, thus, instead of going to Egypt he moves his family to Gerar, a city of the philistines.

            1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 "Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 "And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

*26:1-5.* Some have supposed that this story of *Isaac *in *Gerar* with* Abimelech* was confused in tradition with the occasions when *Abraham* was in *Egypt* (12:10-20) and in Gerar with Abimelech (chap. 20). But the repetition of motifs is deliberate; it shows that the blessing was passed on to Abraham’s descendants. Isaac’s parallels to *Abraham* here are numerous: (a) *a famine *(cf. 12:10); (b) a plan to go to Egypt (cf. 12:11); (c) the stay in Gerar (cf. 20:1); (d) out of fear calling his wife his “sister” (cf. 12:12-13; 20:2, 11); (e) the wife’s beauty (12:11, 14); (f) Abimelech’s concern about committing adultery (20:4-7); and (g) Abimelech’s rebuke (20:9-10). The Abimelech in 26:1 was probably not the same Abimelech as in chapter 20, for the events were about 90 years apart. It is not impossible that Abimelech was a title (like Pharaoh or Caesar), for Achish (1 Sam. 21:10) was also known as Abimelech (cf. title to Ps. 34). Similarly, Phicol (Gen. 26:26) might be a title, though there is no evidence for this. Or Phicol may simply be a namesake of the earlier Phicol (21:22, 32).

            6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold." 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, 'She is my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of her.' " 10 And Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us." 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death."

            12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we."

            17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. 19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

Again wells provide a dominant motif: they are tangible evidence of divine blessing (cf. Abraham’s dispute with the Philistines over a well, 21:25, 30). No matter where *Isaac* dug, and no matter how often *the Philistines* stopped up *the wells,* he *reopened* old dirt-filled wells (26:17). God’s blessing on Isaac could not be hindered.

Driven away by the Philistines, Isaac *encamped in the Valley of Gerar,* and continued his search for water. He faced opposition there too; the Gerarites claimed that *the water* from two of the three wells Isaac dug was theirs. The names he gave the three wells reflect not only his struggle but also his triumph: *Esek* (“dispute”) and *Sitnah* (“opposition”) reflect the conflict over two wells, and *Rehoboth* (“room”) represents the *room* provided by *the Lord*. Isaac refused to fight back. He continued to relinquish one well after another until the Philistines in frustration let him alone.

            23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

            26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?" 28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 'that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.' " 30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." 33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

            34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

/ /

*26:34-35.* Esau’s marriages to two *Hittite *women (*Judith *and *Basemath*) were a *grief *to his parents. This note demonstrates how unfit Esau was for God’s blessing, and how foolish was Isaac’s later attempt to bless *Esau* (27:1-40). Esau later married a third wife, Mahalath (28:9).

================================================================

* *

#Genesis 26:6,7 - "Like Father, Like Son "-Chuck Smith

* *

* I. The sin of Isaac, lying about his wife.*

* A. The cause of his sin.*

* 1. Dwelling in Gerar.*

* a. God had commanded him to sojourn which means*

* to remain temporarily. b. Issac began to settle down and make roots.*

* c. Many times we are led to sin because we are in*

* a place where God does not want us.*

* /1/ If you have a problem with alcohol, you*

* should not go into a bar to buy a coke.*

* 2. Lack of faith, he did not believe that God could*

* sustain him in a hostile enviorment. a. Whenever God would indentify Himself, it was*

* usually the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. b. These three were the patriarchs, the fathers*

* of the nation.*

* c. None of them had complete faith in God. They*

* each failed to pass all the tests.*

* d. Yet God owned them and was willing to indentify*

* Himself as their God.*

* 3. He was following a pattern that was set by his*

* father. a. In this same place almost one hundred years*

* earlier, his father told the same lie about his wife Sarah.*

* b. He had no doubt heard what his father had done,*

* and was following the very same pattern. B. The effect of his sin.*

* 1. It must have been humiliating to his wife, and*

* exposed her to the advances by the men of Gerar.*

* 2. It brought him into rebuke from the pagan king who*

* discovered the truth. a. How sad when men of God fail, and bring a*

* rebuke from the world for their actions. b. It is sad that even the world has higher*

* standards than some who claim to be preachers*

* of God's truth.*

* c. Nathan said to David that he had given cause for*

* the enemies of God to blaspheme.*

* 3. He continuing in a pattern of lying deception, set*

* the pattern for the next generation. a. He will later be deceived by his own son Jacob*

* who will feign to be his brother Issac so that he might receive the blessing.*

* *

* II. The trajic conquences of sin, it often does not stop with you*

* but is carried on into the next generation.*

* A. The Bible tells us that no man lives unto himself.*

* 1. What you do has an effect on others.*

* 2. So often a person is deceived into thinking that he*

* is only hurting himself by his sin. I've had people tell me that.*

* a. Often their wife was being hurt, their parents*

* were being hurt.*

* b. Too often the greatest damage is being done to*

* the children.*

* c. How trajic to see the thousands of children*

* being hurt and damaged as the result of divorce. B. Dad's, you are roll models.  You have sons that are*

* observing you far more closely than you realize for they are learning from you how to be a man.*

* 1. Those flaws in your character are apt to be seen in*

* your son later on.*

*  2. You are setting the pattern for the next generation.*

* 3. That old do as I say, just doesn't make it for they*

* will one day do as you do. C. Dad, do you love that boy of yours? Are you concerned for*

* his future?*

* 1. If for God's sake you are not willing to live the*

* right kind of life, then at least for your son's sake shape up.*

* 2. He is learning from you how to be a husband;a father;*

* a man. D. In this story we see what is later in the scripture*

* declared to be true, that is that the sins of the parents are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations.*

* 1. Has your sin brought true happiness and joy to your*

* life?  If you will be honest you will confess it has created misery, pain and sorrow.*

* 2. Do you want your son to experience that same misery*

* and pain?*

* 3. Issac committed the same sin of his dad, and he*

* reaped the same humiliating conquences. And so it goes from generation to generation.*

* 4. Often your son will take your sin one step farther.*

* In our story, the dad told just a half lie when he said of his wife, she is my sister, for she was a*

* half sister.  Issac carried it out to a full lie.*

* a. Sons often have an ambition to out do their*

* dads.*

* b. Dads also have an ambition that one day their*

* sons will out do them.*

* c. Their is a strange perversity of nature, that*

* they will follow your evil traits far more*

* readily than good traits.*

* d. Issac was very unlike his dad in many ways, but*

* he copied him as a clone in the path of*

* deception.*

* *

* III. The lessons of the story.*

* A. Not only that we need for our childrens sake to live Godly*

* lives, for what is true for the dads, is also true for the moms.*

* B. We all need the grace of God in order to stand against the*

* pressures of the world.*

* 1. Abraham was a man of faith, a man of action. When the*

* King later came to him he was willing to confront him over the issues of the well.*

* 2. Issac was more mild in his manners, a meditative man*

* not willing to face issues, but would just move on and let things go, rather than have a confrontation.*

* 3. Both the man of faith and the man of meditation*

* failed under pressure.*

* 4. But for the strength and the help of God we also*

* shall fail.*

Genesis 29:1-35

            1 So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2 And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there /were /three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone /was /on the well's mouth. 3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth.

            4 And Jacob said to them, "My brethren, where /are /you from?" And they said, "We /are /from Haran." 5 Then he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him." 6 So he said to them, "Is he well?" And they said, "/He is /well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep." 7 Then he said, "Look, /it is /still high day; /it is /not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed /them." /8 But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep."

it just so happened, this is not a quanceadince but a divine appointment.

*29:1-6.* The structure and the content of this passage reflect the significance of the Bethel experience. *Jacob *had been fleeing from Esau; now he was looking for a bride. This change in purpose was due to God’s promise given him at Bethel. His quest now was the fulfillment of part of that promise, namely, the seed, while Jacob was outside the land. Moreover, Jacob’s spirit was now magnanimous and unselfish. He had a new outlook.

Significantly Jacob’s meeting of Rachel parallels his father’s meeting of Rebekah (chap. 24). Certainly Laban, Rebekah’s brother, would have remembered how God had led Eliezer. Yet this narrative, unlike chapter 24, does not emphasize divine leadership; but it is implied. Here was a man who received a marvelous vision. He knew God’s plan to bless him and lead him. So Jacob hastened on his mission (*continued on his journey* is lit., “picked up his feet”). He “happened” onto a spot where *a well *was located; it “happened” to be near *Haran,* where *Laban *lived (29:5), and Laban’s *daughter Rachel* just “happened” to be coming to the well (v. 6). This timing was the work of the loving sovereign God who was leading all the way (cf. 24:27). The fact that the meeting took place at a well is significant because a well was often associated with God’s blessing (cf. 16:13-14; 21:19; 26:19-25, 33).

*29:7-14.* When Jacob *watered Laban’s* flocks, a note of anticipation was there: subsequent chapters (30-31) show how *Laban* and his flocks prospered in Jacob’s presence (cf. 12:2-3). In contrast with Laban’s lazy shepherds (29:7-8) *Jacob* was generous, zealous, and industrious (v. 10). He had a mission, a quest. That burning goal implanted by previous experience drove him to succeed.

some have seen him as showing off, watch me move this heavy stone.

            9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he /was /her father's relative and that he /was /Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father.

Kissing of relatives (vv. 11, 13) was a proper greeting. In calling *Jacob *his *own flesh and blood* (v. 14), *Laban *possibly was adopting *Jacob, *his nephew, as a son.

            13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, "Surely you /are /my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month.

            15 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you /are /my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what /should /your wages /be?" /16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder /was /Leah, and the name of the younger /was /Rachel. 17 Leah's eyes /were /*delicate*, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter." 19 And Laban said, "/It is /better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me." 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed /only /a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

*29:15-30.* Jacob’s joyful prospect of marrying *Rachel *turned, by Laban’s deception, into a nightmare. In *Laban . . . Jacob* met his match and also his means of discipline. *Jacob* had deceived his own brother and father, and now was deceived by his mother’s brother! Twenty years (31:38) of drudgery, affliction, and deception lay ahead. Through *Laban* he received his own medicine of duplicity. But Jacob’s tenacity shows that he counted these as minor setbacks. God took him, developed his character, turned the fruits of his deception into blessing, and built the promised seed, the nation of Israel.

Jacob’s plan was to *work . . . seven years *to have *Rachel* as his wife. Those *seven years *of work passed quickly for Jacob *because of his love for her* (29:20). Interestingly the wives of each of the first three patriarchs were beautiful: Sarah (12:11), Rebekah (24:15-16), and Rachel (29:17).

Tender, can mean weak, which in this case would mean weak eyes, but it could also rendered tender, delicate or soft. The Targum Onkelow understands it in the senses of beautiful, thus it appears to be saying that Leah had beautiful, soft eyes.

Midrash which “refers them to the form of her body and the beauty of the face” while R. Chaim Ben Attar holds that one of the terms signifies beauty, the other the char of the personality. Thus the text seems to be saying that Leah had wonderful eyes, while Rachel was beautiful in other places that Leah may not have been , such as face , body and personality,

Weak eyes, it seems preferable to translate this as ‘tender dyes’ for the contrast in not between ugliness but beauty but between tow types of attraction.

            21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give /me /my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I -may go in to her." 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah /as /a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it /was /Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you *deceived* me?" 26 And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 "Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."

How did it happen, it is difficult to tell. Many commentators, both evangelical and Jewish ,suggest that since it was dark and Leah was heavily veiled, the exchange could easily have taken place, especially if Leah used Rachel’s perfume. Moreover the JPS says, “the episode is intelligible only on the presumption that Leah word a veil”

this was a lame excuse, because surely after seven years of labor, Jacob and Laban would have had plenty of time to discuss this issue and come to some kind of agreement, It was clearly a deception on Laban’s part, in fact the text indicated this specifically in Chapter 29:25 Jacob was for once the victim of deception instead of the deceiver. Laban won the first round in the battle of the wits.

Deceived Me Jacob uses the same Hebrew word that Isaac used when he complained about being deceived Gen. 27:35

28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then /Jacob /also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

When the time came for the wedding *feast* (vv. 21-22), hearts were merry and spirits high. But in the night *Leah, *Rachel’s older sister, was substituted. This was a masterpiece of shameless treachery—unloved *Leah* given to a man in love with *Rachel.*

Jacob’s anger was to no avail. Now, as the object of trickery, he would understand how Esau felt. *Laban* offered a technicality of local custom: *it is not* right to marry *the younger . . . before the older. *Those words must have pierced *Jacob*! In his earlier days he, the younger, had deceptively pretended before his father to be the older brother (chap. 27). If social convention were to be set aside, it should be by God, not by deception. Laban’s stinging words were left without any comment; the event was simply God’s decree against *Jacob.*

The Bible demonstrates over and over the principle that what a man sows he reaps (Gal. 6:7). Some have called this irony or poetic justice, but it is more than that. It is divine retribution in which there is often a measure-for-measure turn of affairs. God orders the affairs of people to set things right. With *Jacob* this deception was perfectly fitted; it was divine punishment to bring his own craftiness before his eyes. He had deceptively presented himself to his father under the guise of Esau the firstborn; now *Leah* the firstborn was deceptively introduced to him under the guise of *Rachel* the younger! After his initial reaction Jacob recognized the deception for what it was and accepted it. *He finished out *the *bridal week *(Gen. 29:27; cf. *week *in v. 28) at the end of which he was given *Rachel* (two wives in seven days). (Each daughter was given a *servant girl* as a wedding gift, a custom common in that society. *Leah* was given *Zilpah*, v. 24, and *Rachel* received *Bilhah*, v. 29; cf. 30:4-13.) Then Jacob *worked . . . another seven years,* which he owed *Laban* in return for *Rachel* (29:30; cf. 31:38, 41).

Unfortunately *Jacob *was not the only believer who needed a *Laban* to discipline him.

            31 When the LORD saw that Leah /was /unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel /was /barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me." 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I /am /unloved, He has therefore given me this /son /also." And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

*29:31-35.* In his family relationships Jacob still sowed some bitter seeds. He was cool to *Leah,* his unwanted wife; God, as well as Leah, was aware of it. *Rachel,* like Sarah and Rebekah before her, *was barren* (v. 31; cf. 16:1; 25:21).

Leah’s first four sons were born in rapid succession; and this must be contrasted with the long waits of the earlier fathers. The story of these births is sad, but in them, as in the chapter as a whole, God is recognized as the One who gives life in spite of human efforts.

Leah named her firstborn *Reuben*(reÕuÆb_eµn), indicating that *the Lord* had *seen* her *misery *(raµÕaÆh beÔoµnyéÆ). Another wordplay joins it: *Now at last my husband will become attached to *(yeÕeðhaµb_anéÆ) *me. *This naming showed her hope but also her consolation and faith. Jacob never saw her affliction, but God did (cf. “Beer Lahai Roi,” lit., “the well of the living One who sees me,” 16:14; 24:62; 25:11).

*Simeon* was so named *because the Lord heard *(sûaµmaÔ) *that* Leah was* not loved. *“God heard” was her testimony in faith to His provision (cf. “Ishmael,” which means “God hears,” 16:15).

*Levi* was named for her hope that her husband would become attached (yillaµweh) to her, but it was not to be. Comes from the word ‘my heart’ Leah though that since she gave him three sons, she would have won over Jacob’s heart

*Judah* was her consolation; she would be satisfied to *praise* (ÕoÆd_eh) *the Lord*,  for Judah means “let Him be praised.” Leah exhibited genuine faith during her great affliction.[23]

The name contains the sacred name for God the LORD it is also the name from which we get the word  Jew. Judah means to praise the LORD,

* *

Gen  29:15-25" - Sowing and Reaping – Chuck smith

* *

* I. It is a law that God has established in nature.*

*      A. We see it demonstrated year after year.*

*           1. In April I saw them planting the lima beans, I see*

*              now the lima bean plants cut and drying. They will*

*              soon be thrashing them.*

*           2. They planted lima beans, they are reaping lima beans.*

*           3. We would be shocked if it were different.*

*                a. If when they planted the lima beans, they*

*                   harvested string beans, scientist from all over*

*                   the world would come to observe the phenomena.*

*                b. What if when you planted your pansy seeds,*

*                   cucumber plants came up?*

*      B. It is a necessary law to keep order.*

*           1. As with our pansy garden, we can see the confusion if*

*              this law had not been established by God.*

*           2. We sometimes think that the law only applies to the*

*              plant life, or the realm of the physical universe.*

*           3. The Bible affirms that it is also true in the*

*              spiritual realm. "Even as I have seen, they that*

*              plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same"*

*              "#Job 4:8"*

* *

* II  Be not deceived, God is not mocked, whatsoever a man soweth,*

*     that shall he also reap.*

*      A. If we sow to the flesh, we will reap of the flesh, but if*

*         we sow to the spirit, then we will reap of the spirit.*

*           1. You should take great care what you allow to be sown*

*              in your mind.*

*           2. If you think you can escape this law, you are only*

*              deceiving yourself.  "Be not deceived"*

*           3. That is why movies and T.V. are such corrupting*

*              forces in our society today.  They are constantly*

*              planting corruption and filth into the minds of those*

*              foolish enough to watch the junk they portray.*

*           4. In the same token, the study of the Bible will always*

*              bring forth good fruit in your life.*

*           5. Jesus likened it to a seed being planted in your*

*              life.*

*      B. God's word gives us many examples of this truth.*

*           1. Pharaoh ordered that they drown all the babies of the*

*              Israelites, he ended up being drowned.*

*           2. Korah caused a split in the people of Israel, God*

*              split the earth and swallowed him alive into the pit.*

*           3. When Adoni-bezek had his thumbs and great twos cut*

*              off he remarked, "Seventy kings ate at my table who*

*              had their thumbs and great toes cut off by me, as I*

*              have done, so God has done to me."*

*           4. Paul the apostle stood by and encouraged those who*

*              were stoning Steven, he later was stoned.*

* *

* III. The story of Jacob a classic example.*

*      A. He deceived his father, now he is being deceived by his*

*         father-in-law.*

*           1. He took advantage of the fact that his father could*

*              not see and pretended to be his brother.*

*           2. Laban took advantage of the darkness and the veil so*

*              that Jacob could not see, and Leah pretended to be*

*              her sister.*

*                a. In Israel today, the father takes back the veil*

*                   before the groom takes the bride, to preclude*

*                   anymore of the bait and switch games.*

*      B. He deceived his father into thinking he was the elder*

*         brother in order to gain the birthright.*

*           1. Leah pretended to be the younger sister in order to*

*              become his wife.*

*           2. In both cases there are the customs concerning the*

*              firstborn.*

*                a. It was the custom for the elder son to receive*

*                   the blessing and the birthright.*

*                b. It was the custom according to Laban, that the*

*                   elder sister had to be married first.*

*           3. Jacob had to learn to respect the rights of the*

*              firstborn.*

*      C. Later we see Rachel deceiving her father concerning the*

*         family idols which she took when they left.*

*      D. Jacob's deception pretending to be his brother was set up*

*         by his mother. Leah's deception pretending to be her*

*         younger sister was set up by her father.*

*      E. Jacob used the skins of goats upon his hands and neck to*

*         deceive his father.  Later his sons put the blood of a*

*         goat upon the coat of their brother Joseph to deceive*

*         Jacob into believing that Joseph was dead.*

* *

* IV. God's justice is not always swift.*

*      A. The Bible tells us He is longsuffering concerning us.*

*           1. The fact that God does not always strike in swift*

*              retribution, causes some to think that they got by*

*              with their evil.*

*           2. Jacob having fled from the wrath of his brother had*

*              come to his mothers house, where he fell in love with*

*              his cousin.*

*                a. He had left his sin far behind, he had escaped*

*                   from his brother, only good has been happening*

*                   to me.  I got by with my evil.*

*                b. Be not deceived, God is not mocked, though seven*

*                   years have passed, wait till the morning light*

*                   and the veil is removed.*

*      B. People are often deceived because of God's patience and*

*         longsuffering.*

*           1. They sometimes think that they have gotten by with*

*              their evil.*

*                a. This is the case in the world today, because God*

*                   has not been swift to judge, the homosexual*

*                   community became very brazen in their parading*

*                   and flaunting of their perverted life style.*

*                   In one of their parades they carried a sign God*

*                   is Gay. Now by their promiscuous practices*

*                   they have brought a horrible plague upon the*

*                   world, that threatens our whole society.*

*                b. This may be the case in your life, you may think*

*                   that you have escaped detection, that you got*

*                   by, not so.*

*           2. Even worse is the deception that they somehow believe*

*              that God condones their actions.*

*     *

* *

* *

* C. Sooner or later you must pay for your sins.*

*           1. Better sooner than later.*

*           2. Better that you forsake your sin now and ask Jesus to*

*              blot it out.*

*           3. Glorious to know that He loved us so much that He*

*              took the responsibility and penalty for us.*

Genesis 30:1-43

( Picture of Patriarchal Family Tree )

1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" 2 And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "/Am /I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" 3 So she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear /a child /on my knees, that I also may have children by her." 4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

* *

*30:1-8.* Rachel’s sons through *Bilhah* do not reflect the faith Leah had. *Rachel *felt wronged over her barrenness. Her effort to have *children* through her *maidservant* reflects Sarah’s similar attempt with Hagar (16:1-4). The names of the two sons born to Bilhah reflected Rachel’s bitter struggle and feeling of victory.

The expression “bear on my knees” refers to the rite of adoption whereby the newly born child is placed on the lap of the adopting woman to indicate that she had legally borne the child[24]

The name *Dan *is explained by the word daµnannéÆ, *God has vindicated me, *that is, He now had corrected Rachel’s wrong, her barrenness. Personal name meaning, "judge." 1. First son born to Jacob by Rachel's maid Bilhah

7 And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, /and /indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

 The name* Naphtali* reflected her *great struggle *(nap_tuÆleÆ) which, she said, “I fought” (nip_taltéÆ) *with my sister* (30:8). Personal name meaning, "wrestler." Sixth son of Jacob and second son by his concubine Bilhah

            9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. 10 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" So she called his name Gad. 12 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher.

*30:9-13.* *Leah* responded by offering *Jacob *her *maidservant Zilpah,* to whom *Gad *(*fortune*) and *Asher *(“blessing”) were born. *Leah* saw that with God’s help she was prospering.

*GAD* - Personal name meaning, "good fortune." 1. The seventh son of Jacob and the progenitor of the tribe of Gad

*Asher* - Personal, tribal, and place name meaning, "fortune," "happiness." 1. Eighth son of Jacob, born of Zilpah, the concubine

            14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me /some /of your son's mandrakes." 15 But she said to her, "/Is it /a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." 16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night.

MANDRAKE A small, perennial plant (Mandragora officinarum) native to the Middle East. Although not grown for food, its root and berries are edible. The Ancient Near East viewed it as an aphrodisiac and fertility drug. It is often called love apple or devil's apple. According to Genesis 30:14-16, a barren Rachel bargained with Reuben (Leah's oldest son) for some mandrakes which he had found. Leah, however, produced the children (Gen. 30:17-21). Only when God "remembered Rachel" did she bear Joseph (30:24). Thus Israel learned that God controlled fertility; superstition and human manipulation cannot supply what God chooses not to

*mandrake* /(Mandragora officinarium),/ a plant of the nightshade family that spreads large spinach-shaped leaves in a rosette pattern. The flowers that form in the middle of the rosettes later become yellow-red fruits resembling tomatoes. Although considered a delicacy, it has an unusual smell and taste (Song of Sol. 7:13). The fruit of the mandrake may have produced strange effects since it was used medicinally as a narcotic or purgative. The woody root, resembling a human figure, supposedly indicated the plant’s magical properties. Sometimes called a ‘love apple,’ it was purported to be an aphrodisiac and enhancer of fertility. Mandrakes were found in the wheat fields by Reuben and were the indirect cause of the birth of Zebulun (Gen. 30:14-20).*     *P.L.C. **[25]**

Its small, yellow, tomato like fruit ripens during March and April. Chemical analysis shows it to contains emetic, purgative, and narcotic substances, which explains its widespread medicinal use in ancient times.  Because the fruit exudes a distinctive and heady fragrance, and its sturdy forked or intertwined root has Torsolike features, the mandrake appears as a widely diffused folkloristic motif associated with aphrodisiac powers. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sex, was given the epithet “lady of the Mandrake”

Song of Solomon 7:13

13 The mandrakes give off a fragrance,

And at our gates /are/ pleasant /fruits,/

All manner, new and old,

Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

[26]

*30:14-21.* *Reuben*, Jacob’s firstborn, *found some mandrake plants,* supposedly aphrodisiacs, and *Rachel* felt they would work for her (vv. 14-15). Thus Leah *hired *Jacob with the plants and had a son *Issachar. *Issachar is explained by sŒekartéÆkaµ (“my hire,” kjv). The name of Leah’s *sixth son. . . . Zebulun,* has the double significance of dowry or “gift” as well as “honor”; *Leah said God *gave her Zebulun as a *gift *and her *husband *would *treat *her *with honor.* Thus Leah’s hopes never left her. Then *Dinah, *a* daughter,* was born to her.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar. 19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 And Leah said, "God has endowed me /with /a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

*Issachar* - from two word ‘ there is reward’  Leah apparently thought it was meritorious to give Zilpah to Jacob in order to have more children, thus when she bore a fifth son, she thought it was the Lord rewarding her.

*Zebulun* - Personal and tribal name probably meaning, "elevated dwelling." Jacob's tenth son and sixth by Leah

*Dinah* - Jacob had only one Daughter, Leah was her mother, Personal name meaning, "justice" or "artistically formed." The daughter of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 30:21). According to Genesis 34, she was sexually assaulted by a man named Shechem, who wished to marry her. Simeon and Levi, her brothers, took revenge by killing the male residents of the city of Shechem

            22 Then God remembered Rachel, and *God listened to her and opened her womb*. 23 And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach." 24 So she called his name Joseph, and said, "The LORD shall add to me another son."

*30:22-24.* Finally *Rachel* gave birth to *Joseph* (yoÆseµp_) but not by the mandrakes. This shows that births are given by God, not manipulated by people. Joseph’s name, like Zebulun’s, had a double meaning. She *said, God has taken away *(Õaµsap_) *my disgrace;* and *she* prayed that He would *add *(yoµseµp_) *another son.* Finally Rachel was jubilant, looking in faith for a second child from God.

This passage (29:31-30:24) is a combination of small narratives, accenting the puns on Jacob’s sons’ names. Each name was interpreted by Leah or Rachel to reflect concrete family conditions at the price of the pious substance which they had as testimonies to God as the Giver of Life.

Certainly the passage shows how God prospered Jacob and started to make from him a great nation. All Israelites could thus look back and see their ancestry in Jacob and in the conflict of the women. As brothers the sons of Jacob, who became “Israel,” were not to become envious like their mothers.

To Israel these narratives were more than interesting little stories. The rivalry that appears here explains much of the tribal rivalry that followed. But Genesis is clear: God chose the despised mother, Leah, and exalted her to be the first mother. The kingly tribe of Judah and the priestly tribe of Levi trace back to her, in spite of Jacob’s love for Rachel and her son Joseph.

            25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 "Give /me /my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you." 27 And Laban said to him, "Please /stay, /if I have found favor in your eyes, /for /I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake." 28 Then he said, "Name me your wages, and I will give /it." /

29 So /Jacob /said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 "For what you had before I /came was /little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?" 31 So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: 32 "Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and /these /shall be my wages. 33 "So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that /is /not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if /it is /with me." 34 And Laban said, "Oh, that it were according to your word!" 35 So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had /some /white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave /them /into the hand of his sons. 36 Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

            37 Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which /was /in the rods. 38 And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock. 41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put /them /in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. 43 Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Clearly, as Jacob later admitted (31:7-12), God intervened to fulfill the expectations Jacob had in the *branches. The peeled branches,* placed in *the watering troughs,* appeared to make his animals reproductive as they mated in front of the troughs. In addition, *Jacob* used selective breeding by mating *the stronger *animals for himself and *the weak *female goats and sheep for *Laban. *But this was not the only time God’s part in Jacob’s success was much greater than it seemed to an observer.

So *Jacob* was greatly prospered (30:43) in fulfillment of God’s promise at Bethel, and at the expense of Laban, who now received in part the recompense due him. A fascinating struggle developed between Jacob and Laban. Laban’s injustice and artifice preceded Jacob’s project, just as Isaac’s attempt to bless Esau had earlier prompted Jacob’s deception. In both cases the attempt to defraud Jacob was actually overcome by Jacob. Afterward, however, *Jacob* viewed his real gain as divine blessing, though he had to accept the effects (fear and danger) of his craftiness.[27]

There is several suggestions of why he pealed the bark in this way:

1- he used striped rods at breeding time, acting on the ‘common belief that a vivid sight during pregnancy or conception would leave its mark on the embryo” this is quite common interpretation of Jacob’s action though not the only one nor, perhaps the best one.

2-the stripped rods did not act visual stimulus, but rather were placed in the water and possibly acted as fertility stimulant, it is possible that certain chemicals in the wood of these trees peeled rods of which were actually in the water which the flocks came to drink were capable somehow of affecting the animal, if nothing else water treated thus may have serves as an aphrodisiac and fertility promoter among the cattle. At least one such chemical substance found in these trees has been used for such a purpose on both ancient and modern times.

3- once the animals were actively producing, the principle know as Mendelian genetic took over. That is, even though all of Jacobs animals were at first solid colors, some of them contained latent genes which when they reproduced caused their babies to have multiple colors. Jacob merely used his smarts and then selectively bred those multiple colored one to produced even more.

God humored and blessed Jacob even when he acted according to superstition. How patient out lord is with us, performing His own good pleasure despite how we act and think.

Genesis 31:9

9 “So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given /them/ to me.[28]

Genesis 31:1-55

Now /Jacob/ heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.”2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it /was/ not /favorable/ toward him as before.

*31:1-16.* Jacob left for Canaan for two interrelated reasons. First, animosity by *Laban’s sons* was growing against Jacob, and *Laban’s* mood was dangerous (vv. 1-2). *Perhaps God stirred up the nest. *Second, God told *Jacob* to return to his own *land* (v. 3). Here was a divine call to leave for the land of promise.

*Jacob *gave a marvelous speech to his two wives, who met him at his request *out* in *the fields *(vv. 4-16). But this was more than self-defense. He wanted to take with him a willing family, so he attested to God’s leading and provision. He now must keep the vow he made at *Bethel* (28:20-22). The response of both women was in faith as well (31:14-16). Laban had exploited his daughters’ *wealth* and had lost their good will. So they were willing to leave their father.

God does stir things up sometimes, he will make it uncomfortable to says, as a eagle with her young.

Deuteronomy 32:11

11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,

Hovers over its young,

Spreading out its wings, taking them up,

Carrying them on its wings,

[29]

3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock,5 and said to them, “I see your father’s countenance, that it /is/ not /favorable/ toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me.6 “And you know that with all my might I have served your father.7 “Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.8 “If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked.9 “So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given /them/ to me.

10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks /were/ streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted.11 “Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’12 “And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks /are/ streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.13 ‘I /am/ the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar /and/ where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?15 “Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.16 “For all these riches which God has taken from our father are /really/ ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

It is biblical principle that when joined to Christ we are automatically separated from the world, if we attempt to live in the old inheritance, we can have no true Joy, Rachel and Leah, having been joined to Jacob, were henceforth to be blessed by the God of Jacob. There was nothing for them in the old life, no value in the old inheritance, the sooner the believe recognizes this and lives accordingly, the sooner he will experience true Joy, the strength of Gods people.

Nehemiah 8:10

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for /this/ day /is/ holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”[30]

Since you are saved and joined to Christ, appraise the world and ask “is there yet any portion for me?” if you think there is you are mistaken,

17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels.18 And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s.20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee.21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

*31:17-21.* So the flight ensued, but it was more risky than *Jacob* had hoped because *Rachel stole* Laban’s *household gods* (lit., “teraphim,” figurines of deities). This shows the pagan influence in Laban’s family. A wordplay shows Rachel to be a true “Jacob,” for there were parallel thefts: he stole away and she stole the gods. Perhaps she told herself she deserved them since *Laban* had turned the tables on her in the name of custom and had deprived her of her right to marry first. Whatever the reason, her hardheaded self-interest almost brought disaster. To have the teraphim may have meant the right to inheritance (it did mean this according to the Nuzi tablets of the 15th century b.c.); it certainly meant Laban was without what he thought was his protection.

This is why Laban pursued Jacob. It was one thing for Jacob to take his flocks and family; but his gods too? Perhaps Jacob would try to steal back to Haran someday and claim all of Laban’s estate. (Failing to find the gods, Laban later, vv. 43-53, made a treaty to keep this troublesome man out of his territory.)

Archaeologist found thousands of clay tablets at the site of the ancient city of Nuzi, located in upper Mesopotamia. About 300 miles east of Haran, Abraham’s home. The contents of these cuneiform tablets reveal much of the everyday life of this region in the middle of the second millennium BC.

  Evidently the possession of the household idols implied the leadership of the family. Since Laban had sons of his own when Jacob departed for Canaan, they alond had the right to have their fathers gods. And the theft of the teraphim by Rachel was a serious offense.

May it be that she saw a opportunity to pay him back by some deception of her own, Knowing that the possession of the family idols implied family leadership and inheritance, she stealthily swiped them for herself.

Josephus  told us the custom even as late as the time of Christ

“ among all the people in that country to have object of worship in their house and to take them along when going abroad”

22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives /taken/ with the sword?27 “Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?28 “And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in /so/ doing.29 “It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’30 “And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, /but/ why did you steal my gods?”31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’32 “With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take /it/ with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

*31:22-35.* In the *seven*-day pursuit to *Gilead, * east of the Jordan River, just as *Laban *was catching up with *Jacob,* he was warned by God *in a dream* not to speak* good or bad *to *Jacob. *Without this decisive act of God *Jacob *might not have brought anything home with him.

In the controversy between *Jacob *and *Laban *legal jargon was used to describe their civil suit. In the first “strife” (réÆb_; cf. v. 36) or accusation *Laban *claimed that *Jacob* had robbed him (vv. 26-27, 30)—but he presented himself as a hurt father (v. 28) and a baffled avenger (v. 29). When *Laban* demanded that *Jacob *return the teraphim (*gods*), Jacob put the death penalty on *Rachel* unknowingly (v. 32).

But *Laban* was then deceived by *Rachel* (vv. 33-35). She put the idols in *her camel’s saddle *and sat on the saddle *in *her *tent.* Apparently *Laban* never dreamed that a woman would dare take a chance to contaminate the idols. But what a blow this was to the teraphim—they became “nothing gods,” for a woman who claimed to be unclean sat on them (vv. 34-35; cf. Lev. 15:20).

Leviticus 15:20

20 ‘Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean.[31]

33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find /them/. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find /them/.35 And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women /is/ with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What /is/ my trespass? What /is/ my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?37 “Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set /it/ here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!38 “These twenty years I /have/ /been/ with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.39 “That which was torn /by/ /beasts/ I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, /whether/ stolen by day or stolen by night.40 “/There/ I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.41 “Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.42 “Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked /you/ last night.”

43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “/These/ daughters /are/ my daughters, and /these/ children /are/ my children, and /this/ flock /is/ my flock; all that you see /is/ mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?44 “Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up /as/ a pillar.46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.48 And Laban said, “This heap /is/ a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed,49 also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.50 “If you afflict my daughters, or if you take /other/ wives besides my daughters, /although/ no man /is/ with us—see, God /is/ witness between you and me!”

*31:43-55.* *Laban* suggested they *make a covenant* (i.e., a treaty) for a boundary *between* them (vv. 44, 52). *Laban *instigated it, for *Jacob *neither needed it nor cared for it!

*Jacob *set up a tall* stone* and then *piled* a *heap *of *stones *around it.* Laban called* them by the Aramaic name *Jegar Sahadutha,* but *Jacob called *them the Hebrew *Galeed. Laban* explained that the name means a *heap *of *witness* but he added the Hebrew name *Mizpah *(“watchtower”), entrusting God to *watch* over them. The stipulations were that Jacob would not harm Laban’s *daughters* (v. 50) and that Jacob and Laban would stay apart (v. 52).

In expressing the stipulations of the agreement, *Laban* used many words to cover up his untrustworthiness. The undependable man was trying to convey that Jacob was a slippery character who had to be bound by a whole series of stipulations. Laban tried to terrify Jacob as though he were ungodly and needed to be threatened. He even appropriated the heap of stones (*/this/* *heap and . . . this pillar* */I/* *have set up,* v. 51, italics added), the monument Jacob had made.

Both the boundary settlement and the wives’ rights show that Laban and Jacob wanted to confirm the status quo. But the treaty also marked a break with the East for the family of Israel. This border treaty marked out the frontier *in the hill country* of Gilead.

In their last confrontation God appeared to Jacob (v. 3) and to Laban (v. 24) in dreams for the purpose of separating them. The entire event was complicated by earthly, selfish interests, such as Rachel’s theft of the idols and Laban’s self-seeking animosity. Interestingly at the end God Himself was invoked to watch between them (v. 49).

This account later had great significance for Israel: God would deliver and protect Israel as He brought them back to the land from Egypt. Here Israel would see God’s victory over idols and idolaters, God’s use of dreams for deliverance and protection, and the boundary by which God would keep His people apart from her enemies. All this became important for later Israelite-Aramean relations (Laban was an Aramean, or Syrian, 25:20).[32]

JEGAR-SAHADUTHA (Jee' gahr-say huh dew' thuh) Aramaic place name meaning, "stone marker." Aramaic equivalent of Galeed. See Galeed.

GALEED (Gal' ih ehd) Place name meaning, "pile for witness." Place where Jacob and his father-in-law Laban made a formal agreement or covenant determining the boundary line between their peoples and agreeing not to harm one another (Gen. 31:43-52). The place was also called Sahadutah and Mizpah. The heap of stones marking Galeed was in Gilead, north of the Jabbok River. See Mizpah.

MIZPAH, MIZPEH (Mihz' pahh, Mihz' pehh) Place name or common noun meaning, "watchtower" or "lookout." A name commonly used in Palestine to refer to places used to provide security. The name appears in two different forms, Mizpah and Mizpeh, with the same basic meaning.

    The name Mizpah was used for at least two different sites in the Transjordan, one located in the territory of Gilead, the other in Moab. In Gilead, Laban and Jacob made a covenant (Gen. 31:25-55), set up a pillar, and named it Mitzap (Gen. 31:49). Mizpah was also the name of the hometown of Jephthah, the Gileadite (Judg. 11). While the location of Mizpah of Gilead is not known, it was most likely located in the northern part of Gilead, perhaps a site like Ramoth-gilead. See Ramoth-gilead. The location of Mizpeh in Moab has not been identified. In biblical history, this was the site to which David took his parents (1 Sam. 22:3-5) when Saul sought his life.

    At least two sites and one region west of the Jordan were named Mizpah. The account of Joshua's encounter with Jabin, king of Hazor (Josh. 11) refers to "the land of Mizpah" (v. 3) and "the valley of Mizpeh" (v. 8), a region in north Palestine, the location of which is unknown. A second Mizpeh west of the Jordan was located in the tribal territory of Judah (Josh. 15:38). While the exact location is unknown, this Mizpeh may have been near Lachish.

    The town of Mizpeh located in the territory of Benjamin (Josh. 18:26) seems to be the most important of the Mizpeh's in the Old Testament. In spite of the numerous references to this important Old Testament site, its location is still debated. Two major sites have been suggested as possible locations: Nebi Samwil, located about five miles north of Jerusalem, and tell en-Nasbeh, located about eight miles north of Jerusalem. While a major excavation has never been done at Nebi Samwil, the stories of Samuel seem to fit this location. On the other hand, tell en-Nasbeh has been excavated, and the archaeological data fits well the history of Mizpeh of Benjamin.

    The important role of Mizpah played in Old Testament history is reflected in the many events associated with the site. Mizpah was a rallying point for Israel as they gathered against the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 20). Samuel gathered Israel to Mizpah for prayer in the light of the Philistine threat (1 Sam. 7:5-11). Mizpah was a major site at which legal decisions were made (1 Sam. 7:15-17). One of the most interesting chapters in the history of Mizpah took place after the Fall of Jerusalem. With Jerusalem in shambles following the Babylonian attack in 587 B.C., Mizpah became the administrative center of this Babylonian province. At Mizpah Gedaliah, who had been appointed governor of the province, sought to encourage those who had remained behind (Jer. 40).

    See Watchtower; Samuel; Jephthah; Gedaliah.

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is /this/ pillar, which I have placed between you and me.52 “This heap /is/ a witness, and /this/ pillar /is/ a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.53 “The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain.55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

/ /

Genesis 32:1-32

When God’s work is involved, the conflict is spiritual, not physical. This was true for Jacob, it was true for Israel, and it is true today. No human effort can be sufficient for these things. The source of defense and the means of victory come from God’s ministering angels.

So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This /is/ God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.4 And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.5 “I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

He had first seen these angels at Bethel (chap. 28), and they should have been a reminder to Jacob that God was in control. He named the place “the two camps” (his own camp and the camp or army of angels), but he failed to put his faith in God who had promised years before to protect him. Believers today may claim Heb. 1:14 and Ps. 91:11–13 as they are walking in the will of God. Alas, Jacob started trusting himself and his own schemes again! He tried to appease Esau with gifts. He divided his company into two bands (v. 7) and ignored the protecting army of angels. Then, after taking these steps in carnal confidence, he asked for God’s help! Had he forgotten the way God had protected him from Laban? (31:24)/*[33]*/

6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men /are/ with him.”7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that /were/ with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:10 “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.11 “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me /and/ the mother with the children.12 “For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

*32:9-12.* Out of fear *Jacob prayed *to be delivered. Doubtless he recalled Esau’s threat to kill him (27:41). Jacob still would fear, but he would see that God would deliver him from his *brother. *In fact Jacob’s deep fear shows up in every section of this passage, even in his prayer.

Jacob addressed God as the *God of my father Abraham* and *of my father Isaac,* and reminded *God* of His command for him to return to his *country* and of His promise to bless him. God wants people to remind Him of His word when they pray. This is a motivation to faith. Jacob then confessed his unworthiness of God’s *kindness and faithfulness* and material blessings. He had the correct attitude in prayer—total dependency on God. Jacob petitioned God to be delivered from *Esau* because the younger twin was scared. Then he repeated the promise God had made to him about his *descendants *becoming as numberless as *the sand of the sea* (cf. 22:17). All this should have built Jacob’s confidence, but his guilt and fear completely controlled him at this point.

13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.16 Then he delivered /them/ to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose /are/ these in front of you?’18 “then you shall say, ‘They /are/ your servant Jacob’s. It /is/ a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also /is/ behind us.’ ”19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;20 “and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob /is/ behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

To appease *Esau, * Jacob took a portion of his blessing and prepared *a gift* (minh\aÆh) for *Esau. *A minh\aÆh was often given to a superior to gain his favor. *Jacob* sent *Esau . . . goats, *sheep, *camels, *cattle, and *donkeys*—550 animals in all, not counting the *young *camels! He thought these five herds sent separately would impress Esau and *pacify him* (v. 20). Jacob had to learn later, however, that God would have delivered him without such *gifts. *So too the nation would need to learn that deliverance comes by faith in God, and not by giving tribute to the enemy.

22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

It is when we get alone with God that good things begin to happen. Christ came to wrestle with Jacob, and the struggle lasted all night. Keep in mind that Jacob was not wrestling to get a blessing from God; rather, he was defending himself and refusing to yield. The Lord wanted to break Jacob and bring him to the place where he would honestly say, “Not I, but Christ” (Gal. 2:20). All night long, Jacob defended himself and refused to surrender or even admit that he had sinned. Then God weakened Jacob, and the wrestler could only cling! Now instead of scheming for a blessing or bargaining for a blessing, he asked God for the blessing—and he received it./*[34]*/

Before Jacob entered the land of promise, he was met by God who both crippled and blessed him. This event was an important turning point in the patriarch’s life.

To understand the purpose of the account several features must be noted. First, the wrestling occurred when Jacob was at the threshold of the land of promise, for the Jabbok River in Gilead flows into the Jordan River from the eastern frontier (vv. 22-24). Second, Jacob became and was named Israel (v. 28). His new name was not merely linked to the narrative; it is explained by it. Third, the account is linked to a place name, Peniel, given by Jacob in response to his being named (v. 30). Fourth, the story includes a dietary restriction for the people of Israel (v. 32). This taboo then became a custom in Israel, but was not made part of the Mosaic Law. Orthodox Jews still refuse to eat the tendon of the hindquarter of animals.

The emphasis of the narrative is certainly on the wrestling; but its purpose was the changing of Jacob into Israel. One cannot ignore the context of Jacob’s life here. The connection is strengthened by the plays on the names. At the outset (vv. 22, 24) are yaÔaáqoµb_ (“Jacob”), the man; yabboµq (“Jabbok”), the place; and yeµÕaµb_eµq (“he wrestled”), the match. These attract the Hebrew reader’s attention immediately, because of the similarity of the consonants y, q, and b in the words. Before Jacob (yaÔaáqoµb_) could cross the Jabbok (yabboµq) to the land of blessing, he had to wrestle (yeµÕaµb_eµq). He was to try once more to trip up an adversary, for at this point he was met by Someone wishing to have a private encounter with him, and he was forced to fight.

* *

* *

*32:22-25.* Before *Jacob* could cross *the Jabbok River after his family, servants, and possessions. . . . a Man *attacked and fought *with him.* No details of the fight were given, for it was just the preamble to the most important part, the dialogue. Yet the fight was real and physical.

The word ÕéÆsû (“a Man”) reveals nothing about His identity. But this is fitting, for the “Man” later refused to reveal Himself directly (v. 29).

The fact that the match lasted *till daybreak* is significant. For the darkness symbolized Jacob’s situation. Fear and uncertainty seized him. If Jacob had perceived that he was to fight God, he would never have engaged in the fight, let alone have continued all night.

On the other hand the fact that the wrestling lasted till daybreak suggests a long, decisive bout. In fact the Assailant did not defeat *Jacob* till He resorted to something extraordinary.

At last the Assailant *touched* Jacob *so that his hip* went out of joint. The point is clear: the Assailant gave Himself the advantage. Jacob, the deceitful fighter, was crippled by a supernatural blow. In a word, like so many of his rivals, Jacob now encountered Someone he could not defeat.

Hosea 12:2-6

2 “The Lord also /brings/ a charge against Judah,

And will punish Jacob according to his ways;

According to his deeds He will recompense him.

3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb,

And in his strength he struggled with God.

4 Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed;

He wept, and sought favor from Him.

He found Him /in/ Bethel,

And there He spoke to us—

5 That is, the Lord God of hosts.

The Lord /is/ His memorable name.

6 So you, by /the/ /help/ /of/ your God, return;

Observe mercy and justice,

And wait on your God continually.

[35]

27 So He said to him, “What /is/ your name?” He said, “Jacob.”28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell /me/ Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why /is/ it /that/ you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which /is/ on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

*32:26-29.* Nevertheless, though crippled and unable to win, *Jacob *clung to his Assailant for a blessing. Then both the identity of the Assailant and the significance of the fight dawned on Jacob. Once he realized who his Assailant was (v. 28) *Jacob *held on resolutely, pleading for a blessing. It is significant that in response to Jacob’s request for a blessing *the Man asked . . . What is your name? *When one remembers that in the Old Testament one’s name is linked to his nature, the point becomes clear: Jacob’s pattern of life had to be radically changed! In saying his name, *Jacob *had to reveal his whole nature. Here the “heel-catcher” was caught, and had to confess his true nature before he could be *blessed.*

The blessing took the form of a new name—*Israel**.* This name probably means “God fights,” as the popular etymology signifies. The explanation was then given that *Jacob* had fought* with God and with men.* It is easy to comprehend his having fought with men but that he fought “with God” is more difficult to understand. Throughout Jacob’s entire life he had been dragging God’s blessing out under all circumstances for his own use, under “his own steam.” He was too self-willed and too proud to let the blessing be given to him.

So “God fights” was now his name. This meant, first, that God chose, because of the patriarch’s stubbornness and pride, to fight against him. Second, it meant that God would fight for Israel.

Jacob’s new name would remind him and others of this fight in which he had *overcome. *These words were full of hope to the Israelites. If one could contend successfully with God, he could then win the battle with man. Thus the name “God fights” and the explanation that Jacob had “overcome” obtained the significance of a promise for the nation’s forthcoming struggles.

*32:30-32.* *Jacob* named* the place Peniel* (“face of God”) *because* he had seen *God face to face* and had been *spared.* As before (28:19; 31:47; 32:2), he named the place to commemorate the event. However, “no one has ever seen God” (John 1:18). For an explanation of this alleged contradiction see comments on Exodus 33:11, 20; John 1:18.

*John 1:18.* The statement *No one has ever seen God *(cf. 1 John 4:12) may seem to raise a problem. Did not Isaiah say, “My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty”? (Isa. 6:5) God in His essence is invisible (1 Tim. 1:17). He is One “whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). But John 1:18 means, “no one has ever seen God’s essential nature.” God may be seen in a theophany or anthropomorphism but His inner essence or nature is disclosed only in Jesus.[36]

God had come as close to Jacob as possible—He had laid hands on him. The idea is not *and yet* he was spared, but rather “/and/” his life was spared. He had prayed for deliverance (Gen. 32:11), using naµs\al (“Save me”), the same word he used later (naµs\al “spared,” v. 30). Jacob’s prayer for deliverance was answered by God in this face-to-face encounter and blessing.

When God touched the strongest sinew of the wrestler, it shriveled, and with it Jacob’s persistent self-confidence also shriveled. His carnal weapons were lame and useless; they failed him in his contest with God. What he had surmised for the past 20 years now dawned on him: he was in the hands of the One against whom it is useless to struggle. After this crippling touch, Jacob’s struggle took a new direction. Now crippled in his natural strength he became bold in faith.

Jacob was not the only one whom God encountered in this manner. Moses was met by God when he had not yet complied completely with God’s will (Ex. 4:24). Jacob’s encounter was at the frontier of the land promised to the seed of Abraham. God, the real “Proprietor” of the land, opposed his entering as “Jacob.” In his self-will and his own strength he could never enter the land.

The point of the story for the new nation of Israel that would come from Egypt into the land of promise is clear: Israel’s ultimate victory would come not by the usual ways by which nations gain power, but through the power of the divine blessing. Self-sufficiency is incompatible with the work of God in any age. Faith alone overcomes the world.[37]

Jacob’s name changed, the one that caught to rule his life because the one under authority of God, A prince under Gods rulership .

Out of the 40 Hebrew compound names with El - Ya- God is always the doer of what the verb means

Dan-el - God Judges

Ezek - el - God strengths

Samul - el - God hears

Nathan - el - God gives

Isra - el - God rules or commands

A forever reminder to those who were to dear the names that God is in control, he never lost control.

there are three ways this even is remembered,

Jacobs name changed  

The place is named Peniel -

The abstention from eating the hindquarters of animals by observant Jewish people

* *

* III. God's problem.  Here is a man He wants to bless, He desires*

*      to make him one of the patriarchs of the nation.  From his*

*      line, He wants to bring His Son into the world. God can not*

*      use him, or do for him what He desires as long as he is such*

*      a self-reliant conniver.*

*      A. God must somehow break him down, where he will trust in*

*         God completely, and not in his own schemes.*

*           1. You would think that the present set of circumstances*

*              would have accomplished that, but not so, as the*

*              servants start out toward Esau strategically spaced*

*              we see old heal catcher at work.*

*           2. It is at this point in the loneliness of the night*

*              that the Lord came to him and began to wrestle with*

*              him all night long.*

*                a. If ever their were a time that you need a good*

*                   nights sleep to face the great pressures of the*

*                   coming day, this was it.*

*                b. But instead a wrestling match that lasted all*

*                   night.*

*                c. Now I know that wrestling can be very*

*                   exhausting.  15 minutes can leave you weak and*

*                   tired.*

*                d. Jacob would not give up, he would not surrender.*

*           3. As the new day had begun to dawn, and Jacob would*

*              still not surrender to the Lord, the Lord touched his*

*              hip and crippled him.*

*                a. This was it, the last straw, so to speak, Jacob*

*                   was now defeated, it is more that he can handle,*

*                   and he begins to weep.*

*                b. The Lord said, "Let me go, the new day is dawning."*

*                    Jacob crying replied, "Don't go without blessing me."*

*                c. Crippled, broken, defeated, crying, he is now in*

*                   the place where God can do his work in his life.*

*                d. What is your name?  Heel catcher. Your name*

*                   shall no more be heel catcher, but ruled by God.*

*           4. You have wrestled with God and prevailed.  How did he*

*              prevail in his struggle with God? Through prayer and*

*              tears.*

*                a. You say, I don't see anywhere in the text that*

*                   Jacob was crying.  For this insight you must*

*                   turn to Hosea's commentary on this passage and*

*                   in "#Hos 12:4", he tells us that he struggled with the*

*                   the angel of the Lord, and prevailed, he wept*

*                   and sought favor from Him *

*                b. Many see Jacob's statement of I will not let you*

*                   go unless you bless me as a demand from a*

*                   position of strength.  Not so, it was the prayer*

*                   of a man who had been crippled, and is now*

*                   broken.*

*                c. In the early morning light as Jacob goes back*

*                   across the stream toward his wives and children,*

*                   they probably asked, "Heel catcher, what's*

*                   wrong, why are you limping?" I believe he*

*                   responded, "Don't call me heel catcher, call me*

*                   Israel, ruled by God."*

*      B. Did God have to cripple him?*

*           1. In Jacob's case yes.  There was so much that God had*

*              yet in store for him, and he was not able to receive*

*              it yet.*

*           2. Does God have to cripple you?  It all depends, what*

*              will it take to bring you to the end of yourself and*

*              to a complete trust in him.*

*           3. Did Jonah have to spend three miserable days and*

*              nights in the belly of the whale.  No, had he gone*

*              directly to Ninevah, he would have never met the*

*              whale.*

*           4. When God cripples a man, it is always for the purpose*

*              that He might crown him.*

Genesis 33:1-20

Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.3 Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who /are/ these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.8 Then Esau said, “What /do/ you /mean/ /by/ all this company which I met?” And he said, “/These/ /are/ to find favor in the sight of my lord.”9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.11 “Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took /it/.

*33:1-7.* *Jacob* still showed weakness and fear when he met *Esau. *He lined up his *children* and wives in order of their importance to him, with *Rachel and Joseph in the rear,* the safest place.

The contrasts between the two brothers, as they met after 20 years, are interesting.

Jacob *bowed down to the ground seven times* in homage (v. 3), thus halting on his way toward Esau. *Esau,* however, eagerly *ran to meet Jacob and embraced him . . . kissed him,* and *they* both *wept.* What a change is made when “God fights” in His way. In talking with Esau, Jacob constantly referred to himself as *your servant* or “his servant” (vv. 5, 14) and to his brother as “my lord” (vv. 8, 13-15) whereas *Esau* simply called *Jacob* “my brother” (v. 9). This contrasts with their father’s blessing when Isaac made Jacob Esau’s lord (27:29). Jacob definitely approached Esau cautiously and humbly, in an effort to ward off any possible retaliatory spirit.

12 Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children /are/ weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing /are/ with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.14 “Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

15 And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you /some/ of the people who /are/ with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

*Jacob* cleverly avoided traveling with *Esau.* He led Esau to think of his young *children* and *young* animals, and that he would meet with Esau at *Seir.* But Jacob headed in the opposite direction—north *to Succoth,* east of the Jordan river and north of the Jabbok River, instead of south to *Seir*! He may have been wise to avoid Edom, but he did not need to deceive his brother again.

Thus miracles were worked in Jacob and Esau. In *Jacob,* God brought about a spirit of humility and generosity. *Esau* was changed from seeking revenge to desiring reconciliation. These changes were proof that God had delivered Jacob in answer to his prayer (32:11).

18 Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which /is/ in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.19 And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.20 Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

* *

*"#Gen  33:1-4"*

* *

*                           " Sweeting Up a Sour Relationship"*

* *

* Intro. In "#Gen  27:41" we read, "So Esau hated Jacob, and said in*

*        his heart, I will kill my brother Jacob." Here is a case*

*        of a relationship that has really gone sour. Brothers can*

*        have a lot of fighting and quarreling, but there is a bond*

*        that can unite them against an outside foe. The closest of*

*        relationships can go sour. Love once lost, can it ever be*

*        restored? "I just don't love him any more" is a phrase*

*        heard often in counseling sessions. Is that the end?*

* *

* I. The steps of restoration.*

*      A. Jacob prayed. He asked God to change his brothers attitude*

*         toward him.*

*           1. Through the prayer it seems that the one that was*

*              really changed was Jacob.*

*                a. Jacob was the one always taking, never giving.*

*                   After his prayer, we find him giving to his*

*                   brother a large herd of animals.*

*           2. They say that prayer changes things, and often I am*

*              the one who is changed.*

*                a. In prayer God will reveal to me the problems in*

*                   my own life, that have contributed to the sour*

*                   relationship.*

*                b. Through prayer, God begins to remold my own*

*                   attitude or characteristics.*

*           3. These are the things that God lead him to do towards*

*              his brother.*

* *

* II. Blessed  him, by giving to him.*

*      A. Jacob took from his flock and gave to Esau goats, rams,*

*         camels, cows and donkeys.*

*           1. Often times the reason why the relationship has gone*

*              sour, is that you have not been giving anything to*

*              it.*

*                a. You have not been giving of yourself, your time*

*                   or your substance.*

*                b. The one you love has only been getting left-*

*                   overs. You have been giving so much to your job,*

*                   your physical fitness routine, your friends, you*

*                   have nothing left to give, when you get home.*

*           2. Learn to bless that person you love.  Seek ways to*

*              bless them.*

*                a. Gifts of flowers.*

*                b. Suggest dinner out at their favorite restaurant.*

*                c. Give them money to buy a new outfit.*

*                d. You notice that I am coming at this issue from a*

*                   man's standpoint, that is because I am a man.*

* *

* III. Next he edified his brother. Your servant, Jacob, lord Esau.*

*      A. To edify means to build up, so much of what we do tends to*

*         tear down a relationship.*

*           1. Here is where I have a terrible personal fault. I*

*              never comment on the condition  of the house unless*

*              there is something out of order.*

*                a. I don't say, my everything is so neat, I notice*

*                   you rearranged the family room, I like it.*

*                b. It's so nice to come home each evening to such*

*                   a clean lovely home.*

*                c. I noticed there is a bad spot on the hallway*

*                   carpet.*

*           2. Tell them how beautiful they are, that you love them,*

*              that they look great.*

*                a. Words that a wife is constantly looking for are*

*                   the words "I love you" Too many fellows take the*

*                   attitude, I told her that when I married her,*

*                   and if ever that should change, I'll let her*

*                   know.*

*                b. When she says, do I look alright, she is really*

*                   saying, notice me, and tell my I am beautiful.*

*      B. Don't expect immediate phenomenal results.  It took you*

*         years to tear the relationship down, and it might take*

*         months to rebuild it.  They may not respond immediately.*

*           1. So often when you suggest the program of rebuilding,*

*              they will respond, but I did that yesterday, and it*

*              didn't work.*

*           2. It is not something that you do until it works, it is*

*              a whole change that you continue in.*

* *

* III. Jacob shared with his brother.  He sent a message of what God*

*      had done for him, during the years that he had been at their*

*      Uncle Laban's house.*

*      A. An important ingredient to a good relationship is sharing.*

*           1. There are two sides to intimate sharing, the one is*

*              opening up and revealing all, the other is listening*

*              uncritically and sympathetically.*

*           2. One way to stop intimate sharing is to criticize or*

*              rebuke.*

*           3. Let us say that your husband has come home from the*

*              office after one of those days, he would like to*

*              forget. He turns on the T.V.*

* *

* IV. In the text we are told that he fell on his neck and kissed*

*     him. The next requirement for a good relationship is touch.*

*      A. It is very important that we learn to touch in non-sexual*

*         ways.*

*           1. The goodbye are so often just a peck on the cheek,*

*              and the hello's a call from the other room.*

*           2. That's not the way you courted her, and won her.*

*           3. Tell me you don't like someone playing with your hair*

*              or rubbing the back of your neck when you are driving*

*           4. Tell me you don't like someone scooting over close to*

*              you on the couch and saying I love you.*

*           5. Tell me you don't like someone reaching out and*

*              taking your hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.*

*      B. These are the very things that created the warm loving*

*         relationship in the first place.  Not to be neglected once*

*         the relationship has blossomed into marriage.*

*           1. Jesus said to the church at Ephesus, you have left*

*              your first love.*

*           2. To restore it, He said, "Do thy first works over"*

Genesis 34:1-31

Dinah ., possibly in need of female companionship from girls her own age. The text describes her as a teenager. “Young women” possible 13-14 years of age as some commentator suggest.

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.3 His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

*Dinah* Jacob’s only* daughter* (30:21), *went out to visit the women of the land. *This action loosened a stone that caused a landslide. Jacob had made a commercial connection with Shechem (33:19), but Dinah’s step toward social interaction had serious complications. Avoidance of the Canaanites would have been much safer.

*Shechem . . . the ruler of that area,* lay with her and *violated *(ÔaµnaÆh, “to afflict, oppress”), that is, raped *her.* After a woman was debased in this way, she had no expectancy of ever having a valid marriage. *Shechem,* however, *loved the girl* and wanted her to be his *wife*[38]

4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”5 And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.6 Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard /it;/ and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

Such a sexual evil was infamous, incriminating a whole community, something *that should not be done.* While the sons *were filled with grief and fury,* Jacob was passive and could not pull things together. Perhaps if Dinah were his daughter by Rachel rather than by Leah, he would have acted differently.[39]

8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.9 “And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.10 “So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”11 Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.12 “Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

The Canaanites approached with a proposal. Old *Hamor,* Shechem’s father, made a diplomatic speech: great advantages would be gained by both sides from an agreement to *intermarry* (vv. 8-10). He poignantly offered Israel* the land* (v. 10). But God, not the Canaanites, would give it. Hamor’s later appeal to his fellow citizens showed that he was deceptive all along, hoping only to take over Jacob’s possessions (v. 23). No good would come to Israel from trusting the defiling Canaanites. *Shechem* then offered to pay Jacob and Dinah’s *brothers *whatever *price for the bride *they suggested, trying to buy his way out of trouble.[40]

13 But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.14 And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that /would/ /be/ a reproach to us.15 “But on this /condition/ we will consent to you: If you will become as we /are,/ if every male of you is circumcised,16 “then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.17 “But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

18 And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.19 So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He /was/ more honorable than all the household of his father.20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying:21 “These men /are/ at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land /is/ large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters.22 “Only on this /condition/ will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they /are/ circumcised.23 “/Will/ not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs /be/ ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”24 And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

But the Canaanites accepted the proposal and had *every male* in town *circumcised,* not only so that *Shechem *could have *Dinah* but also so that they could subtly acquire all the Israelites’ *livestock *and other *property.*[41]

25 Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out.27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled.28 They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what /was/ in the city and what /was/ in the field,29 and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that /was/ in the houses.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I /am/ few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

Later the nation of Israel was instructed to avoid defilement with the Canaanites. Israel’s foreign policy was to destroy them completely before they could defile the Israelites (Deut. 20:16-18).

In this story the instinct of *Simeon and Levi* was correct, but because of their unbridled passion they were later passed over in Jacob’s blessing (Gen. 49:5-7). Moreover, a deceptive covenant was not to be dangled before the pagans. On occasion, however, God used a Simeon and a Levi, and a Jehu (2 Kings 10:11-14, 17-31), as His instruments of judgment.[42]

Genesis 35:1-29

Two themes run through chapter 35: completion and correction. It is a story of completion because Jacob was back home in the land of promise, with all his family and all his wealth; victory was won, the goal achieved, and the promise fulfilled. But it is also a story of correction, for the family had not completely held to the walk of faith: idols had to be buried and Reuben had to be dealt with./*[43]*/

Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who /were/ with him, “Put away the foreign gods that /are/ among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.3 “Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.”4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which /were/ in their hands, and the earrings which /were/ in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which /was/ by Shechem.

The first 15 verses record Jacob’s return to *Bethel**,* about 15 miles south of Shechem, as the completion of his vows. Those vows, made earlier at Bethel, included making Yahweh his God, making Bethel God’s house, and pledging to tithe to God (28:20-22). God called Jacob to return to the land (28:13-15; 31:3), but his pilgrimage took a long time. God had to remind Jacob of his forgotten vows. Apparently his indifference to those vows provided the occasion for Dinah’s defilement by Shechem (chap. 34). Jacob should have traveled on to Beersheba, his parents’ home (28:10), without stopping at Shechem.[44]

After burying the idols (and earrings, apparently associated with the idols in some way, possibly as fetishes) at *Shechem . . . Jacob *and his family *set out* for Bethel. People in surrounding *towns,* apparently having heard of the massacre at Shechem (Gen. 34:25-29), feared Jacob.[45]

5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that /were/ all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.6 So Jacob came to Luz (that /is,/ Bethel), which /is/ in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who /were/ with him.7 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

The naming *Allon Bacuth* (“oak of weeping”) commemorated the weeping over this old nurse, buried under an *oak *tree.[46]

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.10 And God said to him, “Your name /is/ Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.11 Also God said to him: “I /am/ *God Almighty*. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.12 “The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.”13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

VS 11 - El- Shaddai - this is the same name by which God identified Himself to Abraham when he also confirmed the covenant to him in Chapter 17:1. It means ‘the Almighty” or ‘ the breasted one”  As the Almighty, it reflects the fact that God is fully able to carry out the promises he must made, no matter what any powerful nation may attempt to thwart the fulfillment of  those promise, As breasted one, God was fully able to make Israel fruitful and take car of the multitude of descendants which He was promising to Jacob.

16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored /in/ /childbirth,/ and she had hard labor.17 Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.”18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that /is,/ Bethlehem).20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which /is/ the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

The name *she *gave the child, *Ben-Oni* (“son of my sorrow”) would not do for the lad. Jacob renamed *him Benjamin *(“son of my right hand”). Jacob turned this occasion of sorrow into triumph and victorious prospects. In addition, he wanted to give a good name to the child who was the answer to Rachel’s prayer (30:24) for a second son (the name Joseph, yoÆseµp_, is from yaµsap_, “to add”).[47]

This section also signifies that Israel, once in the land, would continue to flourish under God’s blessing. *Jacob set up a stone pillar* (cf. his other pillars: 28:18; 31:45-47; 35:14) over her grave between Bethel and *Bethlehem**. *(*Ephrath* was an older name for Bethlehem; cf. “Bethlehem Ephrathah,” Micah 5:2. Also cf. Ruth 4:11; 1 Chron. 2:50-51.)[48]

21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard /about/ /it/.

The t_oÆled_oÆt_ (“account”) of Isaac draws to a close in verses 21-29 with several short reports. The first describes Reuben’s breach of Jacob’s family by incest with *Bilhah,* Jacob’s *concubine *and Rachel’s servant by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali (30:3-8). Reuben’s transgression took place near *Migdal Eder* between Bethlehem and Hebron. It is possible that *Reuben, *Jacob’s eldest, was trying to replace his father as patriarch prematurely by this pagan procedure. But in so doing, he /lost/ his inheritance (his birthright; cf. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1-2). This act was noted by Jacob who in Genesis 35:21-22 was twice called *Israel**. *(Cf. 32:28; 35:10. And note his silence when he heard of the rape of his daughter Dinah, 34:5.)[49]

The Mishnah says that this verse is to be read from the Torah in Public but not to be translated, the accentuation caused verse 22-23 to be read as one, so as to pass quickly over passage.

1 Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:23 the sons of Leah /were/ Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;24 the sons of Rachel /were/ Joseph and Benjamin;25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, /were/ Dan and Naphtali;26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, /were/ Gad and Asher. These /were/ the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that /is,/ Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, /being/ old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

In the events of chapter 35, Jacob learned that while his return to Canaan was a completion of promises, he could not be complacent for it was also a new beginning. Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac all died, marking the end of an era. Reuben relinquished his right to inherit a blessing (cf. 49:3-4); sin was dealt with. Idols had to be buried and everyone had to be consecrated in order for Jacob’s vow at Bethel to be completed. The nation had to be complete with 12 sons (tribes) in the land. During this great transition faith in God had to be revitalized so that His covenant could be carried forward. For this reason this chapter emphasized Jacob’s vows and God’s promise.[50]

----

[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[3]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[4]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[6]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[7]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[8]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[9] Holman bible Dict.

[10]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[11]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). /Thru the Bible commentary/. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (Vol. 1, Page 9-91). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[12]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[13] From the Talmud, quoted from .. The Torah , a Modern Commentary, Pg. 152 - there is other quoted on this topic as well

[14]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[15]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[16]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[17]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[18]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[19]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[20] Shadhan

[21]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[22]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Obedient/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.

[23]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[24]

[25]Achtemier, Paul J., Th.D., /Harper’s Bible Dictionary/, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.) 1985.

[26]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[27]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[28]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[29]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[30]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[31]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[32]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[33]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament/, (Moody Press: The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament) Chicago.

[34]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament/, (Moody Press: The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament) Chicago.

[35]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

[36]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[37]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[38]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[39]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[40]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[41]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[42]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[43]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[44]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[45]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[46]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[47]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[48]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[49]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.

[50]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.