Day 3: Genesis 25-38

The theme of God's grace continues in Genesis as we see how God responds to Isaac, Jacob and Judah in grace.

Observations on the Chapters:

Genesis 25: Abraham’s other sons are mentioned here; thus the promise that Abraham will be the father of many nations is fulfilled; he is the father of the Midianites, the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. Isaac is given all of Abraham’s possessions, minus the gifts his father gives to the sons of his concubines. Isaac and Ishmael bury their father in the cave which he bought. Ishmael fathers twelve sons in his own right; his descendants settled from Havilah to Shur. The location of Havilah is uncertain, but Shur was the region from the southwest of Palestine on the eastern border of (or within the border of) Egypt; the Israelites will later pass through the wilderness of Shur after crossing the Red Sea. Now Moses turns to Isaac; Rebekah, like Sarah, is barren. Isaac prays for God to open her womb, and God answers his prayer. When the pain of the twin’s movement (and, very likely, in utero “wrestling matches”, she seeks an explanation from God, and is told that the two sons in her womb will be the fathers of two nations. God’s proclamation comes to pass, and Jacob becomes Rebekah’s favored son while Esau the elder is Isaac’s delight. Both sons live up to their names; “Red” Esau despises his birthright for a bowl of red stew, and Jacob demonstrates that he is not only a literal “heel grabber”, but a figurative one as well in the next chapter.

Genesis 26: Isaac goes to Abimelech during a famine, however, he demonstrates that he has inherited his father’s fears; he lies to the men of the land about his relationship to Rebekah. But when Abimelech looks out of his window one day, he spies Isaac engaged intimately with Rebekah, and knows that Isaac has attempted to deceive his citizens. Isaac is called before the king and rebuked him, yet he also showed Isaac mercy by issuing a commandment concerning Isaac and Rebekah. God also shows Isaac grace by giving him a harvest a hundredfold above what he had planted. He becomes so wealthy that the Philistine nobles become jealous, and fill the wells Abraham’s servants had dug. Isaac does not confront them, but has his men dig elsewhere, until they arrive at a place where no one contests his well-rights. Isaac signs a peace treaty with Abimelech and the patriarch and the king separate on good terms. However, Isaac’s problems are not merely external, but internal, within his own family. Esau’s choices of Hittite women for wives have greatly displeased his parents.

Genesis 27: But Jacob is growing old; now he believes it time to give Esau the blessing, convinced that his time is near. Rebekah overhears the conversation and concocts a plan for Jacob to receive the blessing. Two young goats will substitute for the wild game Isaac wanted Esau to fetch for him; their skins will disguise Jacob’s smooth skin. Jacob goes in to Isaac’s tent, lying to his father. Jacob here refers to Yahweh as Isaac’s God; he has not yet learned to worship Yahweh as his God. Jacob not only lies about his identity; he blasphemes. Nonetheless, Jacob was successful in deceiving his father. While God allowed this chain of events to occur, he did not condone it. There was one fatal flaw in Rachel and Jacob’s scheme that is never discussed in Scripture—what happens when Esau returns? Not only does Esau return, but he returns with game, and when he learns what Jacob has done, he is angry enough to kill his brother. Rebekah learns of Esau’s murderous intent and urges Jacob to leave and prompts her husband to give his blessing to Jacob’s departure in order to find a wife from among her relatives.

Genesis 28: Isaac calls Jacob to his tent to bless him and send him on his way to Paddan Aram. When Esau sees that Jacob has been blessed for the purpose of finding a non-Canaanite wife, he goes to his uncle Ishmael and selects one of his cousins for a third wife. The narrative turns back to Jacob, who selects a place at sunset to spend the night, setting a rock by his head. There is no indication in the text that the rock was used as a pillow; more likely, it was placed near his head for protection (a weapon in case he was set upon by robbers). Whatever his intention for the stone, it is altered after he sees an incredible vision—a stairway reaching from earth to heaven; angels traveling up and down the stairway, and God at the top. He does not rebuke Jacob for his deception here, but gives him grace and blessing. Jacob recognizes that God is in that place, and takes the stone and places it upright so it serves as a pillar to commemorate his first vision of God. He names the place Bethel—House of God. He then makes a conditional promise of obedience. “If God will do these things for me, I will serve him”.

Genesis 29: Jacob now arrives at Paddan Aram. He speaks with some shepherds and meets his cousin Rachel at the well. It is important to note how differently this encounter at the well differs from the account of Abraham’s servant. There is no indication that Jacob prays about the sort of woman God has chosen for him, nor does he take time to observe her character. Instead, he rolls the stone away, waters her flocks, and greets her. She runs to tell her father, questions his nephew. Unlike Abraham’s servant, Jacob has no gifts; nothing for a bride price---except labor. Laban noncommittally agrees that it would be better to give her to Jacob than any other man. He knows that Jacob has ignored conventions of the day by asking for the younger daughter before the elder daughter is married, and plots to give his elder daughter to Jacob. Though Leah’s eyes are in some translations described as “weak” (rak), the term rak is never used in a demeaning way in Scripture. Rak is used to describe the calf Abraham selects in Genesis 18:7; Jacob will use it in Genesis 33:13 to describe his own children and the young animals in the flocks, which cannot move at the rigorous pace of adults. A sense of delicacy may be intended here. Furthermore, the word used for the word “eye” (ayin) in Hebrew can also refer to more than the physical eye; it can also depict one’s character (Deut. 7:16; 15:9). God’s choice for Jacob’s wife is Leah, as will be demonstrated in the chapters to come. Laban weds Leah to Jacob, and when Jacob discovers the deception in the morning, he is furious. The end result is that the trickster son who attempted to defy convention married two sisters who would constantly vie for his love and adoration; a competition that would extend to their sons. Leah gives birth to the first four of her seven named children in Scripture—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah and responds appropriately, in faith. Leah recognizes that Reuben was the blessing of the Lord and expresses her desire that her husband would love her; Leah acknowledges that Simeon was the Lord’s blessing in response to her unfavored status with Jacob; Leah expresses hope that Jacob will be joined to her because she has borne him a third son, Levi. Leah bears Judah and consoles herself with the praise of the Lord. Through Judah, the messianic line will be continued. Jacob, however, still loves Rachel more than Leah, and his choice to engage in favoritism sets in motion much of the events in the remainder of the chapters.

Genesis 30: Rachel holds Jacob responsible for her barrenness—but her husband rebukes her, reminding her that God has made her barren, yet he does not, in Scripture, recognize that it is his choice to show favoritism that has prompted God to discipline him in this manner. Rachel, seeking a way to get around God, gives her maidservant to Jacob for a concubine. Jacob goes into Bilhah and has two sons by her—Dan (whose birth prompts Rachel to believe that God has taken her side) and Napthali (whose birth prompts Rachel to crow that she has beaten her sister). In reaction to Rachel’s decision to give her maidservant to Jacob, Leah gives Zilpah to Jacob. She has two sons by her maidservant—Gad and Asher—and is pleased with her good fortunate and happiness. Still the sisters attempt to win the battle for their husband’s love—Rachel exchanges a night with Jacob for mandrakes, an aphrodisiac, and God gives Leah three more children—Issachar, Zebulun (whose birth prompts Leah to wish that Jacob would exalt her) and a daughter, Dinah. God ends Rachel’s barrenness with Joseph’s birth, and she prays that God will give her another son. Jacob also increases the sizes of his flocks and herds, and God blesses Jacob’s flocks and herds, despite his use of superstitious husbandry practices.

Genesis 31: Laban’s sons see that Jacob is growing wealthier and recognize that their father’s fortune (measured in flocks and herds) is not increasing to the same degree. Viewing him as a threat to their inheritance, they grumble against him. Jacob obeys God’s prompting and leaves to return to his home. But before they depart, Rachel steals her father’s idols, demonstrating her lack of faith in God—she is convinced that she needs these carvings of wood or stone to protect her family. She then proves that she is alike in character to Jacob by hiding the idols in her saddlebags, sitting on her camel’s saddle, and apologizing to her father for not rising to show her respect because she is menstruating. Laban fails to find the idols and Jacob rebukes Laban for treating him like a thief. Both men set up a pillar to commemorate their agreement for both men to live at peace with each other. Laban departs after blessing his daughters and grandchildren.

Genesis 32: Jacob again sees angels, and concludes that God is camping at that place. After this encounter, he turns his mind to sending a message to his brother. When Jacob’s servants return with the message that Esau has received Jacob’s message and is on his way with 400 men, Jacob assumes that Esau is on his way to kill Jacob and take his brother’s possessions. He divides his property and family into two camps; that one of the camps, at least, may escape if Esau’s army falls upon the other. He then sends Esau a gift, a bribe in the hopes that Esau will accept the gift and spare his family. After sending the bribe, Jacob sends his family across the ford of Jabbok, and after he gets them to safety, he wrestles with a man until daybreak. When the man sees that Jacob is winning, he touches the socket of his hip, rendering Jacob lame. Despite the injury, Jacob refuses to release his opponent unless his adversary blesses him. His opponent changes his name to Israel, since he has wrestled with God and man and prevailed. Jacob asks for his opponent’s name, but is denied an answer. Jacob realizes he has wrestled with God and names the place Peniel. To honor their ancestor, a tradition arose that his descendants did not eat the sinew attached to the hip, because of what had happened to Jacob.

Genesis 33: Esau appears, and Jacob arranges his family in order of expendability (in his eyes). He greets his brother, and is greeted warmly by his elder brother. Jacob gives his brothers gifts, and after a polite formality of refusal, Esau accepts them. However, when Esau extends hospitality to Jacob, the younger twin reveals how little regard he has for his brother, gives an excuse for his inability to accept his brother’s hospitality, and lies to his brother concerning his intentions to follow him. Instead, Jacob travels to Shechem.

Genesis 34: In Shechem, Dinah seeks to meet the young women of the land; while she was visiting, she was raped by Hamor’s son Shechem; this is especially an outrage because Jacob has previously had at least one business dealing with Hamor and Shechem--. After assaulting her, Shechem keeps her in his house and tells his father to obtain Dinah for him as a wife. Jacob hears the news, but keeps silent; his sons do not learn of the crime until they return home. His sons remind their father that what Hamor has done is not merely an affront to their sister, but an affront to the budding nation of Israel. To Hamor, the sons deceitfully reply that they will give their sister to him after all the males of the city are circumcised; Hamor and Shechem deceitfully reply to the people that they will swallow up Israel as a people, and the Israelites will become one people with the Shechemites—neither side is being forthright with their intentions towards each other. Simeon and Levi kill all the men of the city and plunder it, with Jacob lamenting their gross overreaction to the evil done. Simeon and Levi object that Dinah should not be treated as a prostitute—a reply to which Jacob’s response is not recorded.

Genesis 35: God calls Jacob to return to Bethel, and in preparation to obey God’s call, Jacob has his household get rid of its idols; after this is done, they arrive at Bethel (Rebekah’s nurse Deborah dies on the way). God again repeats blessings to Jacob—he will be the father of “a company of nations”, kings will come from his line. The land God gave to Abraham and Isaac will also be given to Jacob and to his descendants. Jacob offers a drink offering to God in response to his latest encounter with God. While the family is traveling, Rachel goes into labor, but her labor is difficult, and though the midwife consoles her with the news that she has given birth to a son, names him Ben Oni—son of my suffering. Ironically, though Rachel once complained to Jacob “Give me children or I’ll die” (Genesis 30:1), it was in laboring to bring forth her second son that caused her death. Jacob renames him Benjamin—son of my right hand. At this time, Reuben makes clear his intention to be the new leader of the family by sleeping with Bilhah, Jacob’s concubine. Having given the accounts of Jacob’s honored youngest son and disgraced eldest son, the chapter ends with a recounting of all of Jacob’s sons.

Genesis 36: Just as an account of Ishmael’s descendants separated the Abraham and Isaac narratives, so now an account of Esau’s descendants separates the Isaac and Jacob narratives. Although Esau is not included in the covenant promise which God has with Jacob, God blesses him in two ways: children (vv.4-5) and prosperity (vv.6-7); at some points in the narrative, Esau is a more honorable man than Jacob, and departs from Canaan amiably, without any anger or resentment recorded in the narrative.

Genesis 37: Now, the narrative turns to Jacob’s son Joseph. Jacob follows in Isaac’s footsteps and shows favoritism to his son Joseph, even providing him with a special tunic. Joseph has several qualities that make his brothers view him in an unfavorable light—he gives his father a bad report concerning his brothers; he boasts to his brothers that he had a dream in which they bowed down to him, and he boasts to his whole family that he had a dream in which his parents and brothers bowed down to him. His father rebukes him after that later dream, though he takes note of it. After these dreams, Jacob sends Joseph to check on the welfare of Jacob’s flocks and Jacob’s older sons. When they see him, they plan to kill him, but Reuben intervenes—perhaps as a way to return to his father’s good graces after his seduction of Bilhah, though we are not explicitly given a reason for his motivations here, save that he intended to see that Joseph was returned to Jacob. Judah, the son through whom the promise will come, proposes selling Joseph into slavery. The brothers agree to Judah’s idea (while Reuben is absent), and sell Joseph to their Ishmaelite relatives. Joseph is sold to Potiphar and Jacob mourns the loss of his favorite son.

Genesis 38: Moses now turns his attention to Judah, to reveal a pivotal episode in the life of the man through whom the Messianic line will come. Judah leaves his family and marries a Canaanite woman; together they have three sons. In time, he weds his eldest son to a woman named Tamar. God kills the eldest son because Er is evil in His sight. Onan refused to perform his brotherly duty and was killed for failing to do so; wanting to spare his last son Shelah, Judah sends Tamar to her father’s house—failing to fulfill his responsibilities to her, even if he does not give her to his youngest. Tamar takes matters into her own hands and waits for Judah on the side of the road; he takes her for a prostitute and lies with her, and she wisely asks for his staff, cord and seal as collateral until he sends her payment. She keeps both, and it is discovered that she is pregnant. He is about to burn her, but she reveals his seal, cord and staff, prompting him to declare “she is righteous, not I.” Tamar gives birth to Perez—who continues the Messianic line—and Zerah.