by Peter Wallace | Apr 25, 2017 | Family Worship, Genesis
Reading Genesis 32-36 in Family Worship
Genesis 25:19-37:1 (The Generations of Isaac)
This week we are looking at part three of the “Generations of Isaac.” The “Generations of Isaac” can be seen in three basic movements:
Genesis 25:19-28:22 — Jacob and Esau
Genesis 29:1-31:55 — Jacob in Paddan-Aram
Genesis 32:1-37:1 — Jacob and Esau
Genesis 32
Jacob now returns to the Promised Land — well aware that his brother Esau may still harbor resentment against him. So he sends a message to Esau, using language calculated to appease him (referring to Esau as “my lord”). In the same way, he offers gifts and presents “to my lord Esau.”
Why is Jacob doing this? He has purchased the birthright and obtained the blessing of Isaac — so he would have the “right” to insist that Esau bow to him. But as we saw at the beginning of the Jacob narrative, Jacob is a blameless man. He does not seek earthly glory. He does not insist upon his “rights.” He seeks the blessing of Yahweh — a blessing which will only bear fruit for future generations.
You see this in Jacob’s prayer in verses 9-12 — and again in Jacob’s wrestling with God. Sure, God has given him material blessings, but he is willing to forego those in order that the blessing of God may come to pass. And so the LORD blesses him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
But Esau is coming with 400 men. Abraham had 318 trained servants. Esau has 400. In other words, it would appear that the servants of Abraham and Isaac are now serving Esau. Jacob may have received the birthright and the blessing, but Esau controls all the property of Isaac.
What is happening in Genesis 32? Jacob is renouncing his right to Isaac’s stuff. After all, that was never what this was about. What Jacob wants is the blessing.
Genesis 33
And instead of coming in wrath, Esau runs to meet Jacob (when you think of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, you cannot help but see in Esau the example of a wise older brother who runs to meet his long-lost younger brother). And further, Esau makes it clear that he has renounced the Promised Land — as he has settled in Seir (south of the Dead Sea).
So the brothers come to a mutually acceptable compromise. Esau takes the material possessions of Isaac to Seir. Jacob gets the Promise. And because Jacob is the Seed of Abraham, Jacob does what his grandfather did: Jacob builds an altar to the LORD and called it “God is the God of Israel.”
Genesis 34
But that does not mean that everything goes smoothly for Jacob. If you choose to follow the way of Abraham — if you seek the blessing of the God of Abraham — then you can expect trouble.
And trouble comes in the worst of ways: the rape of his daughter, Dinah.
Genesis 34 is one of the most difficult chapters in the book of Genesis. It’s hard to find the “good guy” here (besides Dinah!). Shechem is a rapist. Jacob seems remarkably passive and willing to allow him to get away with it. Levi and Simeon are somewhat heroic in avenging the honor of their sister — but they receive their father’s curse because of their actions.
We want to see the silver lining — what is the “happy ending”? But Genesis 34 is not that sort of story. At the end of the story, Dinah is defiled, Hamor and Shechem are dead, Simeon and Levi are disinherited, and Jacob stinks in the nostrils of the Canaanites.
But notice what the text does do: the text does not blame Dinah (scripture does not blame the victim). Rather, the blame is placed on Shechem — the son of the prince. Rape is fundamentally about the use of sex as a means to increase wealth and power (the basic logic of Shechem and his father, Hamor, is that they can use this rape as a means of extorting a marriage that will bring all of Jacob’s wealth under their control). And the text clearly expresses the outrage of her brothers over the heinousness of the act.
But the language of Genesis 34 goes a step further. Shechem “sees” Dinah and “takes” her — just as Eve “saw” the fruit and “took” it — just as the sons of God “saw” the daughters of men and “took” them. This is what the seed of the serpent does: it sees and it takes.
Likewise, it’s important to see what Hamor and Shechem are offering Jacob and his sons. In the marriage treaty they are offered property rights. They can skip the 400 years of waiting for God to give them the land! If they accept this marriage treaty, they can become landowners in the Promised Land. All they have to do is overlook the rape of their daughter/sister. (And in light of the seeing/taking language, we are probably supposed to hear echoes of the serpent here as well — and a preview of the temptation of our Lord to “skip” the cross).
So the sons of Jacob propose a solution: if the people of Hamor are all circumcised, then we will join with them. It is possible that Jacob went along with this under the idea that if the people of Hamor are circumcised, then they would be accepting the Abrahamic Covenant, and thus the blessing of Abraham would come upon them. But Levi and Simeon had no such idea! They wanted Shechem to pay — and in the member with which he sinned! After all, Shechem has cursed the Seed of Abraham in how he treated Dinah — therefore he will now receive the covenant curse.
In one sense, Genesis 34 seems to portray the action of Levi and Simeon favorably: they defended the honor of their sister. The only problem is that Jacob disagrees with this — and in Genesis 49, Jacob’s blessing of his sons will explicitly curse them for their actions at Shechem, disinheriting them and giving them no independent portion in the Promised Land.
So what do we do with this chapter? Well, what does God say? Nothing. God is silent. This is what happens when God is silent. When God is silent, Dinah is raped, Jacob is paralyzed, the people of Shechem are brutally murdered, and Simeon and Levi are disinherited. When God is silent, even our Lord Jesus will cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” What we need is for God to speak.
Genesis 35-36
And God finally speaks in chapter 35 — calling Jacob to return to Bethel (where the LORD had appeared to Jacob back in chapter 28). And God renews his covenant and promise there at Bethel.
The language used of “put away the foreign gods” is language taken over into the baptismal liturgy of the Christian church — renouncing the world, the flesh, and the devil. You cannot serve two masters. Notice that Jacob does not melt down the gold and sell it. You should not seek to profit from your idolatry (in the same way that the magic books of the Ephesian Christians were burned in the fire).
Rachel then dies in childbirth as she gives birth to her second son, Benjamin.
Reuben then sleeps with one of his father’s concubines (so that the three oldest sons of Jacob are now compromised — leaving Judah as the oldest son without a serious black mark against his character.
Then Isaac dies.
And chapter 36 consists of the genealogy of the chiefs of Edom (the heirs of Esau) — a great opportunity to have fun with a “repeat-after-me” with the kids! (Oholibamah has always been a favorite of ours…)
by Peter Wallace | Apr 25, 2017 | Family Worship, Genesis
Reading Genesis 29-31 in Family Worship
Genesis 25:19-37:1 (The Generations of Isaac)
This week we are looking at part two of the “Generations of Isaac.” The “Generations of Isaac” can be seen in three basic movements:
Genesis 25:19-28:22 — Jacob and Esau
Genesis 29:1-31:55 — Jacob in Paddan-Aram
Genesis 32:1-37:1 — Jacob and Esau
Genesis 29:1-30
Once again, if you hang out at a well, you are likely to find a wife (or two, in this case!). It is interesting to compare the case of Jacob with that of Isaac. In Isaac’s case, Abraham sent his servant with lots of gifts — and so Laban sent his sister Rebekah away with him almost immediately. In Jacob’s case, he arrives alone and empty-handed — and so Laban requires him to work for his bride.
Why is this? If Jacob has the birthright and the blessing of Isaac, then he is arguably just as wealthy as Isaac. In a couple of chapters, when we return to the Promised Land, we will discover that Esau has all of Isaac’s stuff. This causes us to reconsider what is going on in Jacob “deceiving” his way into the birthright and the blessing. Jacob never receives any material benefit from obtaining the birthright and blessing. But then again, that wasn’t the reason why he wanted the birthright and blessing. He wanted the birthright and blessing because he was a blameless man — an upright man who desired to be the heir of the Promise. When he goes to his uncle Laban, Jacob goes empty-handed without any guarantee of material possessions. If he was going to inherit all of Isaac’s property, he could have brought the sorts of gifts that Abraham’s servant had brought — but all he can bring is the Promise that he is the Seed of Abraham. [You can hear Laban’s response: “Yes, but how are you going to support my daughter?”]
And then, of course, Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Leah first — suggesting that perhaps Laban had had some trouble finding a suitor for her. Certainly this offers some delicious irony: Jacob had supplanted his older brother, the firstborn. Now he runs into the same hurdle again — this time on the distaff side — and so he is forced to marry the older sister first!
Later, in Leviticus 18, God will forbid Israelites to take two sisters as wives. (Polygamy is only forbidden in the New Testament). But the history of Leah and Rachel certainly provides a practical objection to the practice!
Genesis 29:31-30:24
Over the course of 7 years Jacob’s two wives and two concubines produce 11 sons and afterward at least 1 daughter — I say “at least” one daughter because Dinah is only named because she will have a role later in the narrative. This is not particularly a prejudice against women — because the only men who are named are also those who play a part in the narrative. Laban apparently had sons — but none of them are named in the story — only his daughters.
(And yes, it is quite possible for four women to bear 11 sons in 7 years. If you assume 13 months in between births from one woman, but that the concubines are bearing simultaneously — and that Leah and Rachel were both pregnant together with Leah’s last son and Rachel’s first — you can easily make the chronology work!)
But talk about domestic dysfunction! The domestic squabbles between the sisters take center stage — but so that no one may doubt who drives the narrative: “When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” One sister is loved — but barren; the other sister is fruitful — but hated. Each wants what the other has. But God will use even this squabble to produce the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Genesis 30:25-43
Now it only gets worse. Jacob has now worked 14 years for Laban — but Laban wants to manipulate Jacob and “tap into” the blessing of Yahweh. Instead, the LORD blesses Jacob. Don’t think that Jacob engages in “magic” here. Every Israelite breeder knew full well that this trick could not be reproduced. It only works if God blesses. It is the equivalent of Gideon’s fleece. “If you give me the offspring of these sheep and goats, then I will know that you are with me.”
Genesis 31
So over the course of the next six years, Laban apparently changed Jacob’s wages ten times — and every time he changed them, God providentially overrode Laban’s schemes. But as a result, Laban’s unnamed sons started to grumble against Jacob. When the LORD called him to return to the Promised Land, Jacob willingly obeyed. “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.”
Rachel and Leah both agree — but Rachel steals her father’s household gods (we don’t know much about this – probably figurines representing various deities). As you read this chapter, pay attention to how people talk about “God.” Laban talks about “the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father” — while Jacob speaks of “the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac” — yet both will refer to him as “Yahweh” (the LORD). So, did Nahor and Laban worship the same God as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Probably. The worship practices of Nahor and Laban seem problematic (they should not have these graven images), but then again, how much had God actually revealed regarding worship and life? Tthe Ten Commandments have not yet been given, and we have almost no knowledge of any special revelation given in between the days of Noah and the days of Abraham. Imagine, if you will, what it would mean to “worship the LORD” in those days! Had God revealed anything in the few thousand years between Noah and Abraham? If so, we have no record of it!
For this reason, I would suggest that we not judge Laban too harshly. He has very little revelation to work with — and when God appears to him and warns him, he obeys. Honestly, he does better with the very little revelation he had than most people who have the whole of the scriptures in front of them!
One of my favorite scenes, though, is when Rachel is squatting over the household gods. The text, after all, comes from someone who already knows that household gods are idols. What is she doing with them? Bleeding all over them. It’s a fitting picture.
But we close with Jacob and Laban making a covenant — and celebrating a covenant meal — over the pillar of witness at Mizpah. And so, for all of the friction between Jacob and Laban over the previous 20 years, they conclude by making peace.
by Peter Wallace | Feb 18, 2017 | Family Worship, Genesis
Reading Genesis 25-28 in Family Worship
Genesis 25:19-37:1 (The Generations of Isaac)
Why do we hear so little about Isaac? No sooner does the story of Abraham end (the Generations of Terah), then we move on to the story of Jacob (the Generations of Isaac). There is no section called “the generations of Abraham.” Why? Because Isaac faces very little conflict — very few challenges to the land and the seed. Isaac serves as a picture of the resurrected son of God (remember Genesis 22, where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son?), and Isaac lives a peaceful life in the Land of Promise.
The “Generations of Isaac” can be seen in three basic movements:
1) Genesis 25:19-28:22 — Jacob and Esau
2) Genesis 29:1-31:55 — Jacob in Paddan-Aram
3) Genesis 32:1-37:1 — Jacob and Esau
Genesis 25:19-34
The generations of Isaac begin with Isaac praying for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer. God quickly grants the prayer of the resurrected son! But Rebekah can feel the children struggling inside her, and so she inquires of the LORD, and the LORD tells her that there are two nations in her womb — and “the older shall serve the younger.”
If you would understand the story of Jacob and Esau, then you need to pay attention to Rebekah. She knows what God has promised — and she acts on those promises. Before the twins were born, God chooses the younger brother as the heir of the promises. While ancient cultures prized the firstborn, God regularly chooses the younger brother in order to demonstrate his purposes in election.
Also, pay attention to Jacob. Our modern translators often have a negative view of Jacob — but I will suggest that the book of Genesis does not.
We see this in verse 27, which calls Esau a “skillful hunter,” and Jacob “a quiet man.” The word translated “quiet man” is the same word used of Noah (6:9) and Abraham (17:1) — where it was translated “blameless.” The text connects Jacob with Noah and Abraham as the sort of man who believes God’s promises and acts accordingly.
Thus when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew in verses 29-34, we should see Jacob as a blameless man whose heart desires God’s promise — and Esau as a worldly man whose God is his belly.
Song: Psalm 26, 101
Genesis 26
The story of Isaac and Abimelech sounds eerily familiar. Rather than go to Egypt during the famine, Isaac goes to Abimelech. God tells Isaac to remain in the Promised Land (he is the only one of the patriarchs who never leaves the Promised Land). But Isaac takes the same strategy as Abraham in calling his wife “my sister” — which nearly gets him in trouble. And again God protects the Promised Seed, and blesses Isaac with provision in the Promised Land (the wells of verses 12-25), with the result that the blessing of Isaac results in the blessing of the nations (Abimelech and the covenant with Isaac).
But Esau. Verses 34-35 make it clear that Esau’s Hittite wives make life “bitter” for Isaac and Rebekah, because they demonstrate that Esau does not believe the promise. What’s the point of a promise that says that you get to suffer, and only after hundreds of years, your descendants get the land? What’s in it for me? Esau thinks that these Hittite women offer a whole lot more — and in terms of this life, he may have a point. Remember that as you read about Jacob: he has his heart set on a blessing that will give him nothing personally. As Paul will say in 1 Corinthians 15, “If it is only for this life that we have hope, we are the most miserable of men.”
Song: PHSS 209 “Hail, O Daystar”; PHSS 212 “O Christ, Redeemer of Our Race”
Genesis 27
The story of the Blessing of Jacob shows us how Rebekah and Jacob believe the promises of God. Did Isaac know about God’s promise to Rebekah? (“The older shall serve the younger”). If so, then perhaps the symbolism of verse 1 (“his eyes were dim”) refers to his spiritual condition. Certainly we know that Isaac is wrong to seek to bless Esau — and especially since Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, which means that Jacob is now the firstborn son.
So when your husband flagrantly disobeys God and when your brother breaks his sworn oath, what should you do? Maybe in small things you humbly submit — but when the blessing of God is at stake, you take action. Rebekah believes God’s promises and acts accordingly. Jacob seeks the promised inheritance and acts accordingly. You could even say that in one sense he speaks the truth when he says, “I am Esau your firstborn” — since Esau had surrendered the birthright.
Isaac’s blessing of Jacob speaks of the richness of God’s blessing — of plenty of grain and wine. God’s blessing includes abundant life.
At the end of the book of Genesis Jacob will bless all twelve sons. So why does Isaac say that he has only one blessing to give? The blessing of the firstborn conveys the covenant blessing — the blessing of the Land and the Seed. And when you look at the blessing of the 12 sons in Genesis 49, only the blessing of Joseph uses the language of the blessing of God. The other 11 receive similar blessings to the one that Isaac gives to Esau. They are ordinary parental blessings — not the covenant blessing of the LORD.
Song: PHSS 162 “The Tender Love”; PHSS 205 “Sound a Trumpet in Zion”; PHSS 210 “How Like a Cypress Evergreen”
Genesis 28
Having alienated Esau, Rebekah persuades Isaac to send Jacob to Paddan-Aram, to her family, where Jacob can find a wife. She points out that they do not want Jacob to marry one of the Canaanite women, and so Isaac sends Jacob to marry one of the daughters of Laban (Jacob will be first cousins with Rachel and Leah). Esau recognizes that his intermarriage with the Hittites has alienated his parents, so he adds an Ishmaelite wife (his first cousin on his father’s side).
Jacob, meanwhile, has a vision of a ladder reaching to heaven, and the voice of the LORD speaks to him, renewing the promise of the Land, the Seed, and the Blessing to the Nations — and renewing the promise of God’s presence. And so Jacob calls the place “Bethel” — which means, “House of God.” This is also the first reference to the tithe as an act of religious devotion.
PHSS 203 “O God of Bethel”
