CbC Mar. 9-15

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March 9, Sunday

Reading A68 — Genesis 29 — Jacob Tricked in Marriage    Audio: Genesis 29 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Different Strengths — We see strong evidence of the providence of God in this story as we also saw in the earlier story of Abraham’s servant meeting Rebekah at a well near Haran.  She showed up at the perfect time.  Rachel also arrived at a well to meet Jacob at just the right time.  God works in our lives many times to cause us to be in the right place at the right time to set up His successful plan for us.  The providence of God is powerful.  We see another kind of power in this story: Jacob’s strength.  Whereas three shepherds were apparently not physically strong enough to move the covering stone over the mouth of the well, Jacob did it alone.  Maybe Rachel’s beauty gave him an added incentive to try it in front of her.  We also see Jacob’s strong love in this story.  Three times, Jacob’s love for Rachel is mentioned (vv. 18, 20, 30).  He was also strong in endurance.  Whereas Abraham’s servant arrived with camels loaded with expensive gifts for Rebekah and her brother, Jacob seems to have arrived without anything to offer but his willingness to work.  He endured 14 years of work so that he could marry the woman he loved.  The third power we see in this story is that of deception.  Jacob had deceived his father so that he could receive the firstborn son’s blessing, and now, he would experience what it felt like to be deceived.  He apparently never considered how Esau would feel when he learned that Jacob had deceived him.  It ruined their relationship.  Deception is powerful in its ability to divide people.

March 10, Monday

Reading A69 — Genesis 30 — Sons and Flocks of Jacob   Audio: Genesis 30 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Competitive Relationships — In this chapter, we see a considerable amount of competition and manipulation that was driven by selfishness.  The sisters, Leah and Rachel, were competing against each other for Jacob’s loving attention and for bearing his children.  Barren Rachel “envied her sister” (v. 1) and “wrestled with [her] sister” (v. 8), giving Bilhah, her servant, as a wife to Jacob to provide children “on my behalf … through her” (v. 3).  Bilhah did not name her two boys, Rachel did.  She was considered to be the mother.  Leah did the same thing with her servant, Zilpah, naming Zilpah’s two boys (vv. 11, 13).  The sisters competed again over the mandrakes, with Leah claiming that “you have taken away my husband” (v. 15), but the winning prize was the right to sleep with Jacob, bearing two more boys and one daughter (vv. 17, 19, 21).  Finally, “God remembered Rachel” (v. 22) and allowed her to bear her first son, Joseph, giving him a name meaning “may he add,” in anticipation of her future son, Benjamin (v. 24).  The second example of selfish competition and manipulation was between Jacob and Laban as they struggled over sheep and goats (vv. 25-43).  All these selfish, competitive attitudes and actions increased the friction and separation between people.  Although God used their sinfulness toward His plan for Jacob’s good, God could and would have achieved the same positive results if they had been satisfied to just trust in His power and love.  We also should not manipulate people and situations, but we should work, pray, and trust God.

The Sons of Jacob
Order	Leah	Bilhah	Zilpah	Rachel
1	Reuben
2	Simeon
3	Levi
4	Judah
5		Dan
6		Naphtali
7			Gad
8			Asher
9	Issachar
10	Zebulun
11				Joseph
12				Benjamin

March 11, Tuesday

Reading A70 — Genesis 31 — Jacob Leaves Laban      Audio: Genesis 31 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Good Separation — Distrust between Jacob and Laban comes to a climax in this chapter.  Laban’s sons claimed that “Jacob has taken all” (v. 1), and Laban told Jacob that “all that you see is mine” (v. 43).  It was true that it had all come from Laban, but Jacob had worked for it for 20 years.  Jacob’s main claim was that Laban had unfairly changed his wages 10 times (vv. 7, 41).  God was the main factor in settling this dispute by telling Jacob to “Return to the land of your kindred” (v. 3, cf. v. 13) and by warning Laban to “Be careful” (v. 24).  Another reason for their needing to separate was Laban’s apparent worship of multiple gods.  He referred to the idols that Rachel had stolen as “my gods” (v. 30).  When Laban and Jacob met to form a covenant of protection between them, Jacob set up a single-stone pillar as a witness like he did at Bethel before Yahweh, whereas Laban made a heap of rocks, perhaps to represent the multiple gods he worshiped.  God never wanted His people to be closely associated with people who worshiped other gods because of its potential to draw people away from worshiping only Yahweh.  There is only one God, one who is caring and powerful in leading and blessing His people as He did with Jacob.

March 12, Wednesday

Reading A71 — Genesis 32 — Jacob Wrestles with God   Audio: Genesis 32 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Strong But Humble — There are three significant characteristics of Jacob in this chapter’s story.  The first was a negative one, that of fear.  He had fled from Laban because of fear, and now he faced an encounter with his twin, Esau, a man who had vowed to kill him.  Jacob divided his family and belongings into two camps because he was “greatly afraid and distressed” (v. 7).  This probably revealed some lack of faith that God would protect him, even though we read yesterday that God had told him, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you” (31:3).  We have been in those kinds of circumstances many times—venturing out in faith but also struggling with fear.  Jacob was like us.  The second character quality of Jacob in this chapter was his humility.  This threatening situation brought him to his knees in verses 9-12.  He confessed that he was “not worthy” of all God had given him (v. 10).  He had crossed the Jordan River 20 years earlier with only the staff in his hand but was returning with a very large family, servants, and animals.  That should be a good reminder to us also, that when we come to God asking for a need, we should first express our gratitude for what He has already given to us.  The third characteristic we see here is Jacob’s tenacity, which was shown in his wrestling match with one who was at first called only “a man” (v. 24) but was later referred to as God (vv. 28, 30).  His divinity was shown in being able to dislocate Jacob’s hip with a “touch” (v. 25), yet Jacob “prevailed” over this opponent and wouldn’t let go until he received a blessing (v. 26).  Tenacity does not give up.  You have shown tenacity in faithfully reading God’s Word for over two months.  The Lord will bless you, too.

March 13, Thursday

Reading A72 — Genesis 33-34 — Esau and Dinah      Audio: Genesis 33-34 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Double-Crossed — The fearful, but successful, meeting between Jacob and Esau was aided by restraint on Esau’s side and humility from Jacob.  We should remember this when facing a potentially explosive meeting.  Both restraint from the desire to rebuke or punish and a willingness to approach the situation with sincere humility are greatly needed.  There were also considerable efforts to save face as the brothers “bargained” over the gifts offered by Jacob and how they would physically part.  Jacob ended up going to the “city of Shechem” (33:18), which seems to be inhabited primarily by the relatives of Hamor.  Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob was captured and raped by Hamor’s son, Shechem, which led to double-crossing actions by both families.  Shechem begged his father and Jacob for permission to marry Dinah.  She was likely very attractive by inheriting the genes of beautiful Sarah and Rebekah.  Dinah’s brothers conspired to deceive Hamor’s family for the purpose of punishing them (34:13), while Hamor’s family conspired to gain Jacob’s livestock and property (v. 23).  Both sides were wrong, and Jacob rebuked his two sons for what they had done (v. 30).  As my former pastor reminded us often, “It is never right to do wrong, even if it provides an opportunity to do right.”

March 14, Friday

Reading A73 — Genesis 35 — Deaths of Rachel and Isaac   Audio: Genesis 35 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Showing Honor — The importance of Bethel (“house of God”) is elevated in this chapter as God directed Jacob to return to where he saw the vision with the “ladder from heaven” (28:12).  Jacob had set up a pillar there after that encounter and poured oil on it.  This time, God instructed him to build an altar there.  This act of honor to God was preceded by removing all connections with foreign gods in the family and servants.  This action set apart Yahweh as the only God, showing supreme honor.  Jacob, now called Israel, also honored Rachel at her death by setting up a second pillar of stone over her grave (v. 20).  The third expression of honor was shown by the coming together of Jacob and Esau to bury and honor their father who died at the age of 180 (v. 29).  It is good to honor God and people, in that order.  Put God first in your admiration and expressions of respect, and then “Outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10).  Honor helps to remove our natural focus on ourselves.  We need to reach out to God and to shout out to others.

March 15, Saturday

Reading A74 — Genesis 36 — The Descendants of Esau  Audio: Genesis 36 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Edomites and Horites — Genealogical sections in Scripture are often skipped over as being boring and unnecessary, but they are part of God’s Word and, therefore, “profitable,” as Paul wrote later (2 Tim. 3:16).  The lists provided in today’s chapter present two important groups of people who will figure into the future of the people of God, i.e., the people of Israel (Jacob).  The descendants of Esau, who became known as the Edomites, form one of those groups.  There is some confusion here about the wives of Esau.  This chapter lists three of his wives: Adah, Oholibama, and Basemath (36:1-3).  Earlier, however, we were told that he also married Judith (26:34) and Mahalath (28:9).  After Esau was sent away by Isaac, he “settled in the hill country of Seir “ (36:8), among people who were descendants of Seir, a Horite.  Eventually, Esau’s descendants outnumbered and dominated the Horites, so beginning in v. 20, the leaders of those people are listed through the rest of the chapter.  The “hill country of Seir” (v. 8) is south and east of the Dead Sea.  So, wasn’t that interesting?! 🙂 You learned something about both genealogy and geography!