Genesis 37

After a tremendously long break that clearly has made this journey more than a 2yr plan, I'm getting back into it:

In Genesis 37, it starts out talking about Joseph and how his father loved him more than his other brothers. I cannot imagine what it would be like to feel like your parents loved you more or less than your siblings. I am so thankful that I never felt that growing up, or even now. It seems though that there was definitely not enough communication going on in this family, but in all of it, God had a bigger plan.
Can you imagine plotting to kill your own brother? Joseph's brothers were filled with hatred so much that they wanted him dead. They at least came somewhat to their senses and decided it wasn't such a good plan to kill him, but rather they ended up selling him as a slave. Although they didn't kill him, they still made it look like he was killed- dipping his robe in blood and bringing it to their father. How much deceit! I'm sure they didn't realize that this was all a part of God's plan...
There are so many times where I know I don't see the bigger picture. I tend to focus on the things at hand, or the things right in front of me, and worry about the mountain I am facing- not realizing that I just need to surrender it all and let God lead me through the wilderness. I need to look at things more positively, and see that there is a purpose in my current struggles- maybe the need to draw closer to Him? I KNOW I definitely need more of that...

Genesis 35-36

Not too much going on in these chapters. Rachel dies after giving birth to Benjamin, the last of Jacob's 12 sons. Isaac dies and Esau and Jacob bury him. And then Gen 36 is full of geneology.
On to Genesis 37...

Genesis 33-34

What an awesome chapter on restitution and forgiveness! It is so clear that Esau no longer had any negative feelings towards Jacob for stealing his blessing. Earlier, he wanted to kill him- now we see the two brothers embracing one another! All along it seems that since Jacob stole Esau's blessing, Esau is left empty handed, when in fact God has been working behind the scenes over a long period of time (over 20 years). Jacob was blessed tremendously with livestock/servants/family and now wants to give his possessions to Esau as a matter of reconciliation. Though hesitant at first, Esau accepts the offer from Jacob. I'm sure that was an unexpected blessing for Esau. After all this time he could have grown bitter, but instead his heart was softened and he ended up with more than he needed.

It is amazing how much anger can fill, enough to the point of destruction. Simeon and Levi, brother's of Dinah, were so enraged at what Shechem had done to their sister, that they plundered the city where Shechem lived, killed him and his father, and much more. Rage is a dangerous thing. Getting your thought life under control may not be easy, but the consequences of not controlling those thoughts can lead to actions that you may regret.

Genesis 31-32

I find it encouraging Jacob prays to God, thought it was out of fear of Esau, he acknowledges that he is unworthy of God's faithfulness and provisions to him, and expressing his gratitude towards God. He went directly to the Source that could help him and he did it before involving himself in a potentially bad situation. How many times do we not look to God for help, and get ourselves in a mess, and THEN turn to God? My prayer is that I will continually look to God, the one who knows the outcome of every situation, and that I will constantly rely and depend on Him rather than my own self. I am nothing apart from Him...

Genesis 30

The first thing I realized is the parallel to the story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah was unable to bear children, so she gave her maidservant to Abraham. Now, Rachel couldn't bear children, so she gave her maidservant, Bilhah, to Jacob. AND, Leah was unable to bear anymore children, so she gave Jacob her maidservant, Zilpah, to Jacob. To unravel all of this, Leah has 6 sons, 1 daughter, Bilhah has 2 sons, Zilpah has 2 sons, and Rachel has 1 son (Joseph)-all fathered by Jacob.

I read a little deeper and it says that the above (barrenness and multiple wives) was part of an ancient Near Eastern culture- children born to the substitute, or second, wife were regarded as belonging to the main, or first, wife, so that continuity of the family line was preserved.

It is only at the point when Rachel no longer resented her sister and God "took away her reproach" that was she able to bear a child. I think it is also interesting that Laban ended up getting the spotted/speckled sheep out of his deal with Jacob. This could be because of his earlier deceit (giving Leah to Jacob instead of Rachel). We cannot expect to receive any blessings from God if we are hiding behind deceit, feelings of resentment, bitterness or anger. Until we give everything up to Him, it is only then that we can truly obtain the desires of our hearts.

Genesis 28-29

I think it is interesting that at this point, we don't see Jacob being punished for stealing the blessing from Esau and deceiving his father, but rather God establishes His promises to Abraham through Jacob. I do think though that Jacob came to the realization that God was with him and he didn't even know it. God shows his grace and is merciful even when we don't deserve it and sometimes it can cause us to turn to Him and realize that He is right there with us and that we need Him to depend on Him to carry us through.

I read further that Jacob still didn't fully accept the Lord as His God and this is indicated by him constructing a pillar, not at altar, after the Lord spoke to him. Later in Genesis 35 he goes back to Bethuel to construct an altar, signifying at that point he fully accepted Him as God- a God that was with him not only on earth but in heaven.

It is ironic that Jacob deceived his father by pretending to be Esau (the firstborn) in order to inherit the blessing, and now Laban sends Leah (the firstborn) in to Jacob, pretending to be Rachel. Sometimes what goes around comes around and it sure did with Jacob!

I question though why it is ok to 1) marry your cousin and 2) have multiple wives. Jacob was Rachel (and Leah's) cousin and he ended up marrying them both.

Genesis 27

Even though Rebekah knew that "the older shall serve the younger" (25:23) as the Lord had spoken to her, instead of waiting on the Lord for this to happen she took matters into her own hands and made it so that Jacob would receive the blessing from Isaac instead of Jacob. I wonder what would have happened it Jacob didn't obey his mother? I also wonder why Isaac still gave Jacob the blessing even though he was confused and didn't recognize who he was speaking with (he said it sounded like Jacob's voice, but his hands felt like Esau's). He could have asked him questions, had him speak more, but it seemed like a rushed/quick thing. Maybe he had faith in his son and didn't think that they would deceive him? This says a lot about his sons and their hearts.