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That week one was a doozy, if I do say so myself! Of course, I can't take any credit for it. God wrote the Bible, telling others what was to be included. We will have some busy weeks in here and some weeks that aren't so busy. Last week we discussed the Creation of all that exists, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the beginning of the Jewish people as the chosen people of God, just to name a few topics. Week two won't be a disappointment either. If you recall, we ended up talking about Isaac-heir to the blessing of Abraham. We will skip ahead in his life a bit in day one of this week. If you don't recall the topic, you may be reading too fast, or doing it all in one sitting. I won't tell you how to read this e-mail, daily or weekly, but if none of it sinks in, I do suggest slowing your pace a bit.
When we discuss the building of the original tabernacle, it will quiet down a bit. Learning about just what each tribe contributed has value, but I haven't discerned it yet. Perhaps there are parallels regarding what items were given in equal parts and what was given based on the size of the tribe. Hmm, that could bear some fruit! If you know about this, let me know and you could be our next guest writer! Of course, I will allow writing about virtually any topic, so if you want to write about something before we get there (or after) speak up!
So now, Abraham has an heir to the Covenant he made with God in Isaac and Jacob and Esau are born. It has been prophesied that the younger of the twins (Jacob) will be the master of the older (Esau). But being the firstborn, Esau is expecting to receive his father's blessing. Esau had gained Isaac's favor while Jacob had his mother wanting him to be the better of the two. Sounds like trouble brewing. More of this trouble will be unveiled tomorrow.
| Day 2 |
Esau, the hunter in the family, returned one day from an unsuccessful hunt and was hungry. He must have been pretty hungry to trade his birthright for a bowl of red stew. Did he not understand what he had? His grandfather and father before him had enjoyed great success due to the covenant with God that would pass to his generation. It was foretold that his descendants would be ruled by Jacob's descendants, but still, wasn't he listening to his father and grandfather when they mentioned the covenant? Surely it was brought up!
Here's another questionable transaction by Jacob. His father is nearly blind and ready to die. He asks Esau to go and prepare a meal for him so he may eat and then bless his son, but while Esau is out, Jacob, with the help of his mother, tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing instead. Now maybe this isn't such a bad trick. Esau didn't take the birthright any more seriously than a bowl of stew, but the trickery is still apparent in the theft of the blessing. Anyway, Esau is angry and wants to kill Jacob. So what does Jacob, holder of a covenant with God to have countless descendants do? Runs and hides.
| Day 3 |
So Esau married Ishmael's daughter. It was said that the descendants of Ishmael would have this kind of life: "His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." It was also said of Jacob and Esau that "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." The trouble in Israel today was foretold and is consummated here. Political leaders can try to talk about peace in that dispute until they are blue in the face and nations can try to wipe out one side or the other, but it won't happen because God has laid out the paths for these nations to walk. I said I'd take the Bible literally. Even though it's not always politically correct, it's always correct.
Jacob dreamed of a ladder or stairway from Earth to Heaven and God speaks to him, renewing the covenant. This is the last time it is necessary to do this, as the future generations seem to understand this truth... not that they always fulfilled their part, but that's a later story.
Jacob traveled to Paddan-Aram and met Rachel, daughter of Laban. He loved her and wanted to marry her, so he made an agreement to work for Laban for seven years as dowry for her hand. When the time came, he was the one who was tricked with Rachel's older sister, Leah. To wed Rachel as well, he would have to stay and work and additional seven years. Maybe I'm a bit bitter at his underhanded ways when he tricked his father and brother, but I say it served him right! Besides, I imagine that after seven years, he would know that the younger sister couldn't be married before the older sister.
| Day 4 |
Jacob's 20 years of duty ended and he wanted to be on his way. Due to the prosperity, Laban didn't want him to go, and I can't blame him! He told Jacob to name his price to stay, and Jacob took all of the spotted and striped livestock as his own and his flock multiplied.
Well Laban and his sons saw that Jacob was prospering and their own flocks were not, so God told Jacob that it was time to move on. Laban chased him to make sure nothing was stolen. When they meet, nothing stolen was found, but Rachel had taken some gods from the household. So Laban made a pact with Jacob and left. Now why would Rachel steal those worthless idols?
| Day 5 |
The time had finally come for Jacob to make peace with Esau. He sent messengers to him in hopes of an agreeable meeting and Esau returned with 400 men. Uh oh! Jacob prayed to God asking for deliverance and mentions the covenant between them. Good move Jacob!
That night, Jacob wrestled with God and they went all night to a standstill. Because of this God renamed him Israel. Remember the issue of naming somebody or something? That is perhaps the greatest blessing for Jacob/Israel of all!
Did Esau kill Israel then? No. He responded like a true brother and embraced him. He even refused the peace offering from Israel until it was reworded into a gift and nothing more. It's a shame these two groups of people can't make peace like this now.
Israel's daughter then went among the people of the area and was raped by the ruler, Shechem. Talk about sweet revenge, though! Her brothers didn't even let this dish get cold. They had all the men in the area circumcised and let the pain sink in, then they attacked and killed all of the men and took their belongings. I'm not a violent person, but those brothers sure had a way of looking after their own!
Descendents, descendents, descendents. It seems like a dry subject, but do remember that each name was a person with a real life. Genealogy is an interesting hobby, but if you begin an in-depth project with no guidelines, it can become very difficult and you end up chasing after the wind. God has an immaculate guideline, but for this day's reading, I haven't figured it out yet. Sure, this passage was among others used to prove the prophesies of Jesus, but other than that? I don't know.
Joseph. King of Dreams. No, this isn't an animated movie. This is the true accounting of one of the greatest men ever to live. You will see betrayal, wisdom, compassion, love, and one of the greatest stories of retribution ever told! Does this sound like dry reading? I didn't think so. Let's delve into this story.
Joseph was the favored son of Israel and had been having dreams that alluded to his greatness over the rest of the family. These suggestions and the robe given him by his father created a lot of jealousy from his brothers that turned to hatred. I don't know about you, but I would likely keep these to myself when I had 10 brothers who wanted me dead. When he approached them out among the flocks, they planned to kill him and be done with it. Luckily, he had a couple brothers who were still looking out for him.
- Reuben was planning to rescue him and return him to his father. Why? If he did this openly, he'd be aligned with Joseph and the other nine would likely conspire against him also. I suppose he may have wanted to find greater favor with his father than his brothers, maybe he didn't have the nerve to kill his brother, perhaps it was just his conscience. Whatever his reason, I don't suppose Joseph minded!
- Judah then saved his hide by suggesting they sell Joseph into slavery rather than killing him. I believe his reasons were pretty selfish, though. They could kill Joseph and have nothing or sell him and get some cash out of the deal. And that what was what they did.
Joseph landed on his feet, as he was prone to do, and was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. While there, Potiphar's household prospered because he let Joseph run the show. Potiphar's wife noticed this also and tried to seduce Joseph several times. When he fled the scene, she kept his robe and used it as "evidence" that he was the one seducing her. He found himself in the king's prison. But did this hurt his station? Not really. True to form, he was soon put in charge of the prison and he was running the show there!
Meanwhile, Judah was building his family, but several of his descendents died for their wickedness. Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law, covered her face with a veil and slept with Judah as a prostitute, keeping his seal and its cord, and his staff as a retainer for his payment. That came in handy when he learned that she was a prostitute. He was going to have her killed, but she showed him these retainers to show him that he was as guilty as her.
Weekly LinkThe roots of FamilyLife go back as far as 1951, with the beginning of Campus Crusade for Christ. Its founders, Bill and Vonette Bright, had a great desire to help fulfill Christ's Great Commission --- taking the gospel to every nation. Starting on one college campus with one couple, Campus Crusade has grown into a multifaceted ministry with tens of thousands of full-time and associate staff serving in more than 150 countries. At the heart of FamilyLife is a lay volunteer network of more than 10,000 couples. Many are helping FamilyLife reach families by serving as city ministry directors for a FamilyLife Conference or by leading a HomeBuilders Couples Series study. These volunteers have caught the vision for saving marriages and families. With their help, FamilyLife has developed into the dynamic, relevant organization it is today. What else can I say? If you are associated with a family in any way, this site is for you! |
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Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!