Genesis 30

(1) When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children, she became jealous of her sister. "Give me children, or I'll die!" she exclaimed to Jacob.

   All three of the great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) had wives who had difficulty conceiving. We only see one praying for his wife's problem to be solved - Isaac.

   She did die in giving birth to her second son, Joseph. Instead of going to God about her problem, Rachel is blaming Jacob for her inability to bear children. Jealousy is causing a rift between her and her sister and straining her relationship with Jacob.

   In spite of Rachel's beauty, she also was despondent. Probably, Leah often said, "If I only had my sister's beauty and the love of my husband as she does." And, no doubt, Rachel often said, "If I only had sons like my sister." Beautiful or plain, we all have our problems. Stop looking to how God deals with others and set your eyes on Him!

(2) Jacob flew into a rage. "Am I God?" he asked. "He is the only one able to give you children!"

   Jacob is pointing her to the solution to her problem - which is for God to supply her need! Samuel's mother (Hannah) prayed for a son in the Tabernacle, and God answered her tearful prayer (1 Samuel 1:11). But, Jacob's unsympathetic and doesn't understand Rachel's feelings - like men today. He's also implying that God is keeping her from being pregnant, possibly because something was wrong in her life. This just illustrates one of the many problems with polygamy.

   Can you imagine how vain Rachel was, knowing Jacob worked 14 years with no pay out of love for her, and knowing Jacob would not have worked one day for Leah?

(3) Then Rachel told him, "Sleep with my servant (handmaid), Bilhah, and she will bear children for me."

   Literally "upon my knees": she literally sat this way, so that it would appear as if the child was being born from Rachel as well, and symbolized her adoption or ownership of the child.

   Bilhah was the sole property of Rachel. Therefore, the children borne by her were the property of her mistress. These female slaves, therefore, bore children vicariously for their mistresses. Much like Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in a surrogate-mother type arrangement (Genesis 16), Rachel gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob. She's desperate!

(4) So Rachel gave him Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob slept with her.

(5) Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.

(6) Rachel* named him Dan**, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard*** my request and given me a son."

Rachel*: gave him the name not Bilhah. I wonder how Bilhah felt about that and the whole deal - she had no say in the process at all.

**Dan - Dan is a play on the Hebrew term meaning "to vindicate" or "to judge." Rachel followed Sarah's bad example, and the effect again was detrimental, because Dan is the "snake-in-the-grass" tribe (49:17) from which the counterfeit Messiah will come, and who will not be included in the 144,000 witnesses during the birthpangs of the Messiah. Quite often, Dan is not listed as one of the twelve tribes with Joseph's two sons listed instead of Joseph and Dan.

***heard: This shows that she had been complaining or praying to God about her problem, as well as to Jacob.

(7) Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

   Obviously, Jacob slept with Bilhah more than once!

(8) Rachel named him Naphtali*, for she said, "I have had an intense struggle with my sister, and I am winning!"

*Naphtali means "my struggle or "my wrestling". Relationships in this home have broken down to the point where Rachel will openly acknowledge this "baby competition" between her and her sister by naming the new baby wrestle.

(9) Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, so she gave her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob to be his wife.

   Leah, who has stopped bearing children, figured she could use the same "surrogate mother" method to increase "her" number of children, so she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob just as Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob.

(10) Soon Zilpah presented him with another son.

(11) Leah named him Gad*, for she said, "How fortunate I am!"

*Gad means "good fortune." Jacob's wives are still using their children as pawns in a power struggle within the home. Leah has apparently lost the peace she had when her fourth son was born; she no longer has the peace "praise" brings.

(12) Then Zilpah produced a second son,

(13) and Leah named him Asher*, for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will consider me happy indeed!"

*Asher means "happy." Leah is more concerned about the status the child will bring her ("The other women will consider me happy indeed") than about the Asher.

(14) One day* during the wheat harvest**, Reuben found some mandrakes*** growing in a field and brought the roots to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her.

*day: -- possibly when the "counting of the measure" is complete. Perhaps she thought this was an especially auspicious time to conceive, superstitious as she was.

**wheat harvest in Galilee is in May.

***mandrakes: or “love apples”, a fragrant plant thought to be an aphrodisiac to promote fertility. The name in Hebrew is a dual form of the word for "beloved", i.e., meant to endear the "victim" to oneself. But verse 17 reveals the real source of her success. What these were is utterly unknown. Some translate the word lilies, others jessamine, others citrons, others mushrooms, others figs, and some think the word means flowers, or fine flowers in general. The mandrake plant was considered to be an aphrodisiac. The whole account however is very obscure.

(15) But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrake roots, too?" Rachel said, "I will let him sleep* with you tonight in exchange for the mandrake roots."

   The hostility between Leah and Rachel is as obvious as it is painful. It must have been terrible living in a home where one wife believed the other had stolen her husband from her.

   This confirms the wisdom of God's original plan, as expressed in Genesis 2:24*: one man to be joined to one woman in a one-flesh relationship. "Is it any wonder that this family had a history of strife and bloodshed? Children reflect the atmosphere of the home." (Barnhouse) Later, Leviticus 18:18** forbids the marrying of sisters, and this shows why!

*Genesis 2:22-24: "At last!" Adam exclaimed. "She is part of my own flesh and bone! She will be called `woman,' because she was taken out of a man." This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one".

**Leviticus 18:18: "Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister."

*sleep: Evidently, Jacob usually stayed in Rachel's tent and usually slept with her. Wives had separate tents.

(16) So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrake roots my son has found." So Jacob slept with her.

(17) And God answered her prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to her fifth son.

(18) She named him Issachar*, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife."

*Issachar sounds like a Hebrew term that means "reward."

(19) Then she became pregnant again and had a sixth son.

(20) She named him Zebulun*, for she said, "God has given me good gifts** for my husband. Now he will honor*** me, for I have given him six sons."

*Zebulun probably means "honor." In the pain of her heart, she still waits for her husband to truly love her and live with her, and she hopes the sheer quantity of sons will win his heart to her.

**gifts: Literally, "God has dowered me with a good dowry."

honor me: Leah is still trying to be loved the way Jacob loved Rachel.

(21) Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah*.

*Dinah means "judgment". There were other daughters (Genesis 37:35; 46:7,15), but she is mentioned because she was raped in Genesis Chapter 34 and her brothers, Simeon and Levi, avenged her by killing the rapist and his family.

(22) Then God remembered Rachel's plight and answered her prayers* by giving her a child.

*prayers: After the scolding that Rachel had received from her husband, verse 2, this time she sought God by prayer. Her prayer and faith obtained what her impatience and unbelief had prevented.

(23) She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "God has removed my shame," she said.

   This was years after the mandrakes incident, so they obviously did not help.

(24) And she named him Joseph*, for she said, "May the LORD give me yet another son."

*Joseph means "may he add." Rachel feels she has been "vindicated" by the birth of one son, but longs for more children to continue the competition with her sister Leah. At this point, none would think this eleventh son would end up being the key son used to further God's redemptive purpose through this family. Yet Isaiah 55:8-9 is true: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Joseph becomes a type of Christ as we'll learn later in Genesis. Joseph and Benjamin, Rachel's only biological sons, were Jacob's favorites, because they came from Rachel.

(25) Soon after Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob said to Laban, "I want to go back home*.

*home: Literally "to my country". After 14 years, Jacob still called the Promised Land "my country".

(26) Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them from you, and let me be on my way. You know I have fully paid for them with my service to you."

   Evidently, the 14 years are over and he's paid for his wives.

(27) "Please don't leave me," Laban replied, "for I have learned by divination* that the LORD has blessed me because you are here.

*divination: Laban practiced occult divination. Genesis 31:30 - Laban said, "I know you feel you must go, and you long intensely for your childhood home, but why have you stolen my household gods?" Laban was an idol worshipper! For the first time, Laban acknowledges his great fortune brought to him by having Jacob working for him. Hopefully, we have the same effect on those we work for.

(28) How much do I owe you? Whatever it is, I'll pay it."

(29) Jacob replied, "You know how faithfully I've served you through these many years, and how your flocks and herds have grown.

   Jacob had already served fourteen years; and had gotten nothing extra, though he now had a family of twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter, besides his two wives, and their two hand-maid slaves, and other servants.

(30) You had little indeed before I came, and your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you from everything I do! But now, what about me? When should I provide for my own family?"

   Jacob had arrived there penniless and doesn't want to go back home in the same condition.

(31) "What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything at all. Just do one thing, and I'll go back to work for you.

(32) Let me go out among your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the dark-colored sheep. Give them to me as my wages.

(33) This will make it easy for you to see whether or not I have been honest. If you find in my flock any white sheep or goats that are not speckled, you will know that I have stolen them from you."

   We seem to see a new Jacob here. The hardship was making him softer. Jacob is ready to trust God.

(34) "All right," Laban replied. "It will be as you have said."

   He struck the deal very quickly, perhaps being unable to believe Jacob would make such a ridiculous choice. All he wanted were what Laban considered the mis-breeds, because they were not a solid color.

(35) But that very day Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were speckled and spotted, the females that were speckled and spotted with any white patches, and all the dark-colored sheep. He placed them in the care of his sons,

   Apparently, most of the sheep were white, most of the goats were black and most of the cattle were brown.

(36) and they took them three *days' distance from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for Laban's flock.

*three days - far enough away to ensure Jacob couldn't use these for breeding. This should make it nearly impossible for Jacob to have anything but white sheep and goats! Additionally, Jacob is agreeing to replace or pay for any lost animals. Laban is thrilled because he thinks that Jacob is so dumb that he'll be in debt to Laban for the rest of his life!

   Jacob had agreed to take all the partly-colored for his wages. As he was now only beginning to act upon this agreement, consequently none of the cattle as yet belonged to him; therefore Laban separated from the flock, verse 35, all such cattle as Jacob might afterwards claim in consequence of his bargain, (for as yet he had no right;) therefore, Jacob commenced his service to Laban with a flock that did not contain a single animal of the description of those to which he might be entitled; and the others were sent away under the care of Laban's sons, three days' journey from those of which Jacob had the care. The bargain was entirely in Laban's favor.

   So there would be no mixing of the flocks, Laban's sons took care of all the existing speckled and spotted sheep and goats, keeping them a three-day journey from the main flock. Jacob himself would take care of the solid-colored flock of Laban, as well as their speckled and spotted offspring, which belonged to him.

   In this area, sheep are almost always white. Jacob proposes that he be given all the "defective" sheep, the speckled, spotted or dark colored lamb and any speckled or spotted goats. In the future only these sheep and goats will belong to Jacob. Anytime Laban was concerned that Jacob was cheating him, all he had to do was go to Jacob's pen and see if any white sheep were there. It sounded like a good deal to Laban. So what does he do?

   Laban wasn't holding these animals in escrow for Jacob. He was making sure there were no speckled, spotted or dark colored animals. He was ripping Jacob off once again. Jacob begins his new independence with nothing. Jacob is still the victim.

(37) Now Jacob took fresh shoots from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of the bark to make white streaks on them.

(38) Then he set up these peeled branches beside the watering troughs so Laban's flocks would see them as they came to drink, for that was when they mated.

(39) So when the flocks mated in front of the white-streaked branches, all of their offspring were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

(40) Jacob added them to his own flock, thus separating the lambs from Laban's flock. Then at mating time, he turned the flocks toward the streaked and dark-colored rams in Laban's flock. This is how he built his flock from Laban's.

(41) Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob set up the peeled branches in front of them.

(42) But he didn't do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob's.

   Laban (by divination, verse 27) and Jacob (by magical power of suggestion, vss. 37-342) used pagan superstition to accomplish their purposes. However, by reporting such practices, Moses is not expressing his own belief in their validity, commending their use, or encouraging his readers to adopt them.

   Jacob involves himself in the practice of local superstitions. The reason for his prosperity, however, was a result of the blessing of God, and not related to any of his unscientific breeding techniques or superstitious activities.

   The Bible often records the activities of men without endorsing their actions.

   Look at Genesis 31:9-13. Jacob is trying to convince his wives that it is time for them to leave. He refers to the "flock building exercise" this way, “For if he said the speckled animals were mine, the whole flock began to produce speckled lambs. And when he changed his mind and said I could have the streaked ones, then all the lambs were born streaked. In this way, God has made me wealthy at your father's expense. During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, `Jacob!' And I replied, `Yes, I'm listening!' The angel said, `Look, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you. I am the God you met at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made a vow to serve me. Now leave this country and return to the land you came from.'"

Deuteronomy 32:35 - "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.'"

   Jacob says that the idea about being paid with "defective" animals was God's idea. God was the one that was making it happen. It seems apparent that God told Jacob to do what he did.

Clyde M. Woods says:
   "There seems to be no valid scientific evidence that the procedure Jacob followed would ordinarily work, although ancient peoples had confidence in such devices. Later, Jacob learned that his success was due, not to his ingenious and somewhat questionable devices, but rather to God's providential care which prevented Laban from defrauding him (see Genesis 31:7,9,12)."

   "God blessed Jacob in spite of his superstitious use of the stripped rods of poplar, almond, and chestnut. Jacob's scheme probably depended upon a faulty notion that vivid visual impressions during the act of reproduction determined the traits of the offspring. He may have thought that placing the varying rods in front of mating animals would result in unusually colored animals through some sort of hocus-pocus. God seems to have blessed Jacob in spite of his earthly scheming (Genesis 31:11-12). This fits into a broader scheme that runs throughout Jacob's life."

(43) As a result, Jacob's flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys.

   The ancient Hebrew says, "the man burst out exceedingly exceedingly." God blessed Jacob, but it was not because Jacob was especially good. It was because of the promises God made to Jacob in Bethel (Genesis 28:13-15) and the covenant made to Abraham.

   In the same way, blessing comes from the Lord to us, not because we are great or good, but because of the covenant God has made with us through Jesus, and promises He has given us in His word.

   What are the lessons learned here that we can apply to our own lives?

RESOURCES:

• “BibleGateway.com”


• “Bible.org”


• "Clarke's Commentary - Genesis 30"


• “Gleanings in Genesis”


• "Heartlight’s Search God’s Word"


• “New Living Translation” – Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.


• “New International Biblical Commentary - Genesis” – John E. Hartley – Hendrickson Publishers


• “Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel


• “The Genesis Record” – Henry M. Morris – Baker Book House

Genesis 29

Leah and Rachel


NOTE: Quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.

1 Jacob hurried on*, finally arriving in the land of the east.

*hurried on - literally “lifted up his feet”

   Assured that Jehovah would be with him and protect him and bless him and bring him back safely, Jacob hurried on to Haran. From Beersheba, Isaac’s dwelling-place, to Padan-Aram, his destination, was a distance of something like 550 miles, ON FOOT AND ALONE.

2 He saw in the distance three flocks of sheep lying in an open field beside a well, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.

3 It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone. After watering them, the stone would be rolled back over the mouth of the well.

4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked them, "Where do you live?" "At Haran," they said.

5 "Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?" "Yes, we do," they replied.

6 "How is he?" Jacob asked. "He's well and prosperous. Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."

   This is the same well where Rebekah met Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, who had come to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:11).

   Here is proof that God was guiding Jacob, for he arrived at the well where he met the daughter of the very man Isaac had told him to go to! It was not by “accident” that Jacob arrived at that well, nor was it by “accident” that Rachel came to that well just when she did. There are no “accidents” in a world that is governed by God.

7 "Why don't you water the flocks so they can get back to grazing?" Jacob asked. "They'll be hungry if you stop so early in the day."

   Jacob is trying to send the shepherds away so that he can meet Rachel alone.

8 "We don't roll away the stone and begin the watering until all the flocks and shepherds are here," they replied.

9 As this conversation was going on, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherd.

10 And because she was his cousin, the daughter of his mother's brother, and because the sheep were his uncle's, Jacob went over to the well and rolled away the stone and watered his uncle's flock.

11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and tears came to his eyes.

   The meeting is emotional. In days when families were often out of touch for years such scenes were a regular feature of life when they came together.

12 He explained that he was her cousin on her father's side, her aunt Rebekah's son. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.

13 As soon as Laban heard about Jacob's arrival, he rushed out to meet him and greeted him warmly. Laban then brought him home, and Jacob told him his story.

14 "Just think, my very own flesh and blood!" Laban exclaimed. After Jacob had been there about a month,

15 Laban said to him, "You shouldn't work for me without pay just because we are relatives. How much do you want?"

   Surely, over an entire month, Jacob has told Laban why Isaac sent him there – to marry one of Labans’ daughters! Laban knows that Jacob has not come with expensive marriage gifts, quite unlike Abraham’s servant when he came to get a bride for Isaac. Laban’s hospitality went only so far – now, Jacob is no longer a guest! Laban lets Jacob know that if he remained with him it must be in the capacity of a servant, and raises the question of pay. This must have been a blow to Jacob’s pride.

   Laban is telling Jacob that he’s going to have to earn his wife by a period of servitude, since he has no gifts or money for a dowry. He is asking how long he is prepared to serve as payment for a wife. When Abraham’s servant came he brought rich gifts which were accepted as recompense for the loss of a daughter and sister.

16 Now Laban had two daughters: Leah*, who was the oldest, and her younger sister, Rachel**.

   ;*Leah – Hebrew “weary”

   **Rachel – Hebrew “a ewe” (a female sheep)

17 Leah had pretty eyes*, but Rachel was beautiful in every way, with a lovely face and shapely figure.

   *pretty eyes, or “dull eyes”. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. The point was that while Leah was not unattractive and had “pretty eyes”, she didn’t compare to Rachel, who was perfect.

18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, "I'll work for you seven years if you'll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife."

   Jacob has no dowry to give to Laban for Rachel. Therefore, without consulting the God, he agrees to work for seven years to give Laban the equivalent of a good dowry. Jacob has made his choice of which daughter he wants.

   This seven years was just the period during which, among the Hebrews, a Jewish slave had to serve; in short, he would become a bondsman for Rachel.

   Laban's daughters felt the degradation of being sold:
"There's nothing for us here - none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway. He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us has disappeared." (Genesis 31:14-15)

19 "Agreed!" Laban replied. "I'd rather give her to you than to someone outside the family."

   The offer is accepted and it’s possible that Laban thought that Leah might be married within the seven years to someone else thus clearing the way for Jacob. In that era, they are already nearly “old maids”!

20 So Jacob spent the next seven years working to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. "I have fulfilled my contract," Jacob said to Laban. "Now give me my wife so we can be married."

22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood to celebrate with Jacob at a wedding feast.

23 That night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.

24 And Laban gave Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.

25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning--it was Leah! "What sort of trick is this?" Jacob raged at Laban. "I worked seven years for Rachel. What do you mean by this trickery?"

   I wonder what words were exchanged between Jacob and Leah in the morning! He doesn’t express anger at her, so he must realize that she’s just a pawn in Laban’s hands.

   How is it possible that Jacob did not realize this was Leah when they went to his tent? When did Laban do the switcheroo? Did Rachel and Leah agree to this or did they have no say in it at all? Leah would have been veiled during the wedding feast. The veiled bride was brought to the groom after one week of festivities. Jacob was probably a little “sauced” after a whole week of partying and drinking. When they go to bed it is dark and presumably Leah kept silent. Thus Jacob does not realize until daylight that it’s Leah he’s slept with. And by then it is too late. He is legally committed to Leah and can’t get rid of her.

   As I said earlier, perhaps, Laban had assumed that Leah would be married off within those seven years, but it hadn’t happened, and custom forbade Rachel being married first. In fact, Laban is starting to think he’ll never be able to sell them off. Instead of being open and honest, he foists Leah on Jacob.

   Remember what I said last week, that some Jewish traditions teach that Leah was supposed to marry Esau. But, Esau failed miserably and didn’t get the best that God intended! I know a few people, including myself, who failed to recognize God’s direction and went their own way, ending up with God’s alternate, but inferior, plan. But, I believe that God knew all along what kind of character Esau would exhibit.

   Doesn’t this sound very familiar? Remember how Jacob lied to his father Isaac pretending to be his brother Esau.

   When Jacob realizes what has happened, he is furious and immediately marches in to where Laban is to lay his complaint. The terms of his contract have been broken.

   But Laban has his excuses ready. He is a smooth-tongued liar and confident because he’s in control here. Jacob can do nothing.

   In Jewish weddings today, the groom sees the bride unveiled to confirm she is the correct woman; then he puts the veil on her. This tradition is done to avoid the problem Jacob had.

26 "It's not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn," Laban replied.

   The taking of a second wife was not uncommon then, as was the taking of slave-wives. The marrying by one man of two sisters was later forbidden (Leviticus 18:18).

   Every one in the tribe would know the situation, and they were probably laughing at Jacob behind his back.

   However, Laban gives him with an offer. Let him go through the seven-day wedding feast without trouble, giving Leah her full due, and then he can also marry Rachel. After which, he must work another seven years for the privilege.

27 "Wait until the bridal week is over, and you can have Rachel, too--that is, if you promise to work another seven years for me."

   I found on Jewish sites that Orthodox Jews have a tradition called “Sheva Berachos” - "Seven Blessings’’ - a week-long wedding celebration. The Talmud describes the custom in considerable detail. Rather than going on a “honeymoon” to some exotic locale as soon as their vows are exchanged and their wedding dinner consumed, traditionally observant Jewish couples remain for a week in the community in which they plan to make their lives. During that time, neither bride nor groom will work at their regular jobs so they can spend their days together in rest, privacy, or setting up a new household. In the evenings, however, they are honored at different dinner parties every night, hosted by various members of the community.

   The climax of each night’s banquet is the recitation, over twin cups of wine, of the actual "seven blessings" themselves, repeating a key element of the wedding ceremony. One of the wine glasses is passed around the table to different members of the community who are supposed to sing one of the blessings on the new husband and wife. The final formulation reads, in part, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, mirth, glad song, pleasure, delight, love, brotherhood, peace, and companionship.” At the conclusion of the brief ceremony, the two cups of wine are mixed, and their contents divided into a third cup, making one goblet each for the bride, the groom, and the community member who led the blessings.

28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.

   Leah’s part was not a happy one for she knows it is her sister that Jacob wants, but knew a woman could be married off (or “sold”) by her father, and had no real choice in the matter. Just imagine how difficult it would be to be married to two sisters!

29 And Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.

   Laban provides a handmaid for his daughter from his household. The suggestion is that that is all that she receives. Laban is hard-nosed.

30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her more than Leah. He then stayed and worked the additional seven years.

   Had Jacob got Rachel at first, for whom he had honestly and faithfully served seven years, there is no evidence whatever that he would have taken a second wife.

31 But because Leah was unloved, the LORD let her have a child, while Rachel was childless.

   Having a son was extremely important in Jacob’s day for such a son or sons would inherit the family tribe and wealth and maintain the family name and take care of the parents when they were old and feeble. A man felt he lived on in his sons. They would also eventually strengthen Jacob’s position. So, Leah was delighted when she bears not one but four sons. But Rachel was barren and was devastated.

32 So Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me

   *Reuben means "Look, a son!" It also sounds like the Hebrew for "He has seen my misery."

   The names given by Leah are used to express the pain in her heart by a play on words. She is afflicted, Jehovah has heard that she is unloved, and she feels that her husband is not really one with her. But now that she has borne a full complement of sons - three is the number of completeness - she is confident that Jacob will now love her. She knows how important sons are to him and knows that she has fulfilled her responsibility.

33 She soon became pregnant again and had another son. She named him Simeon*, for she said, "The LORD** heard that I was unloved and has given me another son."

   *Simeon probably means "one who hears."

   **LORD - Note the reference to the LORD (Jehovah). She worships Jacob’s God.

34 Again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Levi*, for she said, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!"

   *Levi sounds like a Hebrew term that means "being attached" or "feeling affection for."

35 Once again she became pregnant and had a son. She named him Judah, for she said, "Now I will praise the LORD!" And then she stopped having children.

   *Judah sounds like the Hebrew term for "praise." It is through the line of Judah that Jesus comes.

   With three sons her confidence had returned. Everyone would be congratulating her. So when a fourth is born she can express praise to Jehovah God. Her husband’s God has been good to her and she acknowledges His goodness in the name of her son.

   What are the lessons learned from this chapter?

RESOURCES:

• “BibleGateway.com”


• “Bible.org”


• “Gleanings in Genesis”


• "Heartlight’s Search God’s Word"


• “New Living Translation” – Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.


• “New International Biblical Commentary - Genesis” – John E. Hartley – Hendrickson Publishers


• “Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel


• “The Genesis Record” – Henry M. Morris – Baker Book House

Genesis 28

Jacob at Bethel

1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, "Do not marry any of these Canaanite women.

   At Rebekah’s urging, this solves the problem of Esau’s threats. Shouldn’t Isaac have already seen to it that both Jacob and Esau avoided marrying local women the way Abraham did with him? After all, his father, Abraham, had seen to it that Isaac did not marry a local woman. Isaac only seems to be going along with his wife and also doesn’t want any more Canaanite daughters-in-law. He seems oblivious as to why Abraham wanted him to marry a relative.

2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram*, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban's daughters.

   Marriage was a secondary reason for Jacob’s departure to Haran. Avoidance of Esau’s threats was the primary reason. Isaac shows a casual attitude toward the spiritual training of his sons. To him these matters must have been of little importance to come as little and as late as they did.

   Although his grandfather's servant had brought his father a wife, Jacob must find his own. Although his grandfather's servant traveled with a caravan that included ten camels, Jacob travels alone. In fact, he travels as a fugitive, hurrying out of the range of his brother's murderous rage.

3 May God Almighty (El Shaddai) bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants become a great assembly of nations!

4 May God pass on to you and your descendants* the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God gave it to Abraham."

* descendants: Singular “seed”, not “seeds”, so this especially looks forward to Messiah. Galatians 3:16: “God gave the promise to Abraham and his child (Greek - seed). And notice that it doesn't say the promise was to his children (Greek – seeds), as if it meant many descendants. But the promise was to his child--and that, of course, means Christ.” The promise of inheriting the Land is again narrowed, for the last time, to Jacob’s descendants alone.

   Here Isaac states blessings of the Abrahamic covenant in very specific terms, unlike in chapter 27. Isaac has finally resigned himself to the fact that God is going to bless Jacob and not Esau.

5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother's brother, the son of Bethuel* the Aramean.

*Bethuel –“ man of God” or “house of God”. The son of Nahor by Milcah; nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah and Laban.

6 Esau heard that his father had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman.

7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram.

8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father despised the local Canaanite women.

9 So he visited his uncle Ishmael's* family and married one of Ishmael's daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife's name was Mahalath**. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son.

*Ishmael's – Remember that Ishmael was Isaac’s half brother, the son of Abraham and Hagar. He is not in the promised line and was sent away from Isaac (Genesis 21).

**Mahalath: From a root meaning "weak, sick, or diseased".

   Esau tried to please his father, but did not check with his father first about what he really wanted. One author suggests that God’s plan may have been for Esau, Isaac’s older son, to marry Leah, Laban’s older daughter and for Jacob to marry Rachel. Esau ended up not getting God’s very best.

   Esau is trying to win the approval of his father. If having a non-Canaanite wife was all that it took to make his father approve him, he would take care of the problem. After all, this woman was not a Canaanite and she was of the family of Abraham. What could make Isaac happier?

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.

   No mention of anyone going with him – no guards, no camels, no friends, no servants, little or no money, just a few clothes and some food.

   What is Jacob thinking about on this long journey on foot? He probably hated leaving his mother. He must have wondered how Laban would react to his arrival. He knew he had nothing to offer Laban as a dowry for a wife. What would his wife be like? Would he be able to return home? Would Esau still want to kill him when he returned?

   Jacob was finally at the end of himself. This was the God-chosen time for God to break into his life, for now Jacob knew how much he needed God in order to be blessed as his father and grandfather had been.

11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep.

   It probably took 2 - 3 days for Jacob to just get this far. His arrival at this place is not just happenstance; God had it all planned.

   Night arrived before Jacob arrived at the city of Luz. The city gates would have been closed for the night, so Jacob, as shepherds customarily did, slept under the stars.

   The Hebrew text of the Bible clearly states that Jacob reached not just "a place" but "the place", referring to a place whose identity is already known to the reader from having been mentioned earlier in the text.

   The place that Jacob reached was the place of encounter with God, the very same place mentioned earlier in the account of Abraham's binding of Isaac. God had said to Abraham: "Take your son Isaac and go to the Land of Moriah and offer him up as an offering on one of the mountains that I will tell you... On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and he saw the place from afar... And they came to the place that God told him" (Genesis 22 vv. 2, 4 & 9).

12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway* (or ladder) that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down on it.

*stairway (or ladder) – Hebrew “sullam”, only found here in the Bible. Was this what the Tower of Babel was imitating?

John 1:51 - “Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man”

John 1:51 tells us that the "ladder" pointed to Christ, who spanned the separation between heaven from earth, and who provided the only way we can draw near to God. Right down to where the fugitive lay, the ladder came, and right up to God Himself the "ladder" reached! (1)

Jesus and Nathaniel (who is also known as Bartholomew)

John 1:45-50: “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Come, be my disciple." Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter's hometown. Philip went off to look for Nathaniel and told him, "We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth." “Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathaniel. "Can anything good come from there?" "Just come and see for yourself," Philip said. As they approached, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man--a true son of Israel." "How do you know about me?" Nathaniel asked. And Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you." Nathaniel replied, "Teacher, you are the Son of God--the King of Israel!" Jesus asked him, "Do you believe all this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this." Then he said, "The truth is, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down upon the Son of Man."

   Nathaniel means” God has given” or “gift of God”. This event in Jacob's life takes on special importance because Jesus appropriated it for Himself while talking to Nathaniel.

   How do men get to heaven? Jesus used this vision of Jacob in His conversation with Nathaniel. Jesus had never met this man before. He saw Nathaniel coming to Him, and said of him, "Here comes an honest man--a true son of Israel" (John 1:47). He is not going to be like Jacob and be deceitful. Jesus declared Nathaniel to be a true son of Abraham, a Jew inwardly in spirit.

   This took Nathaniel completely by surprise. Nathaniel said to Him, "How do you know about me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you."

   What was he doing under the fig tree (a symbol of Israe)? Only God knew he was there! Yet, Jesus saw him. Nathaniel was possibly meditating on Jacob's life and thinking about “the ladder”. It is very likely that Nathaniel had meditated on the Messianic prophecies and prayed for their fulfillment in his time.

   John 1:51 alludes to Genesis 28:12 and Jacob's ladder is replaced in the verse by "the Son of Man." The divine origin and authority of Jesus is suggested by the title "Son of Man." It was the Messianic title that Jesus chose for Himself.

   In Jacob's dream God revealed his angelic host and showed him the throne of heaven and promised Jacob that he and descendants would dwell with the living God.

13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD (Jehovah), and he said, "I am the LORD (Jehovah), the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants.

   This is the first time Jacob has a personal encounter with Jehovah God. Up until now, Jehovah was simply his father’s and grandfather’s God.

14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

   No reference is made to "the stars of heaven”.

15 What's more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised."

Hebrews 13:5 – “…I will never fail you. I will never forsake you."

   In His address to Jacob, the Lord now repeated the promises which He had made before to Abraham and Isaac, with the additional assurance that He would be with him, preserving him wherever he went, and ultimately bringing him back to the land.

   Notice that God does not condemn Jacob for his past actions.

   The blessing had been given by Isaac, and now God confirms the blessing. Isaac may have spoken about God to his sons, but it is apparent that they did not take this message to heart – especially Esau. Here God confirms that He is the God of Abraham and Isaac. He would be the God of Jacob, too.

   God’s covenant promise to Abraham and Isaac was offered to Jacob as well. But, it was not enough to be Abraham’s grandson. Jacob had to establish his own personal relationship with God. God has no grandchildren; each of us must have a personal relationship with him.

16 Then Jacob woke up and said, "Surely the LORD (Jehovah) is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it."

   Highly doubtful that Jacob was able to go back to sleep!

   Abraham had an ongoing conversation with God, but Jacob’s fearful reaction indicates that he did not have such a relationship with God and that he had not sought God’s guidance for dealing with Esau’s threat.

   What had Jacob done to deserve this high honor? What was there in him to merit this privilege? Absolutely nothing! It was God in grace which now met him for the first time and here gave to him and his seed the land on which he had been sleeping.

17 He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God--the gateway to heaven!"
John 14:6 “Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

18 The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.

19 He named the place Bethel--"house of God"--though the name of the nearby village was Luz.

* Bethel – mean "house of God". This word should be always pronounced as two distinct syllables: Beth-El. Bethel was about 10 miles north of Jerusalem and 60 miles north of Beersheba, where Jacob left his family. Bethel is where God changes Jacob’s name to Israel (Genesis 35:6-7). Abraham built his first altar in Canaan here. The Ark of the Covenant was kept here for awhile.

**Luz - means "separation" or “almond tree”.

20 Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing,

21 and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the LORD (Jehovah) my God.

   Jacob is saying, “If you bless me and keep me safe, I’ll worship you; otherwise, if you won’t bless me, then I’ll find another god.” He’s trying to strike a bargain with God! Remember that in Genesis 27:20, Jacob referred to the God of Abraham and of Isaac as “your God.”

22 This memorial pillar* will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth** of everything he gives me."

*The pillar was to serve as a memorial. It marked a place to which he would return to build an altar and worship God.

**tenth – Jacob is penniless at this point, but believes that God is going to richly bless him.

RESOURCES:

• “BibleGateway.com”


• “Bible.org”


• “Gleanings in Genesis”


• “New Living Translation” – Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.


• “New International Biblical Commentary - Genesis” – John E. Hartley – Hendrickson Publishers


• “Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel


• “The Genesis Record” – Henry M. Morris – Baker Book House

Genesis 27

The Mystery of Jacob and Esau
This is a study of a dysfunctional family torn apart by the unequal treatment of sons by the parents where each had a “favorite”.

In spite of Esau’s “despising his birthright”, his marrying Canaanite (Hittite) women, God’s instruction concerning Jacob before he was born, in spite of the plainly obvious superiority of Jacob’s character and convictions over those of Esau, in spite of Jacob’s legalization of his claim to the patriarchal blessing through his purchase of the birthright from Esau, confirmed by Esau’s solemn oath, in spite of Esau’s obvious indifference to his spiritual heritage and to the will of God – in spite of all this, Isaac nevertheless was determined to give the blessing to Esau.

Isaac’s deliberate intent to thwart the purpose of God was motivated primarily by his personal love of Esau.

Isaac is nearly blind and over 100 years old.

1 When Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?"
"Yes, Father?" Esau replied.
2 "I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last.
3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me.
4 Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die."
Such events were normally conducted with a feast to celebrate the “blessing” – normally with family and friends present.

Isaac is old, perhaps dying, and the blessing must quickly be pronounced upon Esau before it’s too late. On the surface, this urgency seems to be well founded. Isaac is old, perhaps 137 years old. His half brother Ishmael died at age 137. But, Genesis 35:28 tells us that it was more than forty years later before he died at the age of 180!

Isaac’s judgment seems to have been impaired by his haste. It was obvious that Isaac wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. He wanted the blessing to go to Esau so that it would be done—finished. Had there not been this sense of haste, Isaac might have insisted that his “other son” be present for the blessing too. Good judgment was suspended in the name of urgency.

Normally the blessing would have been given before the entire family because it was, in reality, an oral will which legally determined the disposition of all that the father possessed. Distribution of family wealth and headship would best be carried out in the presence of all who were concerned. We later find Jacob giving his blessing in the presence of all his sons. The conversation between Isaac and Esau is carried out in secrecy. Neither Jacob nor Rebekah were present, and this was hardly an oversight. Had it not been for the Rebekah ‘s eavesdropping, the entire matter would have been completed with only two parties involved.

Isaac intended to convey his blessings upon Esau to the exclusion of Jacob altogether. This is why Isaac had no blessing left to convey upon Esau.

Here was a premeditated plot to thwart the plan and purpose of God for Jacob. Is it really possible that Isaac was ignorant of the revelation of God to Rebekah? Is it possible that Isaac was ignorant of the sale of Esau’s birthright to his brother?
5 But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game,
Isaac is deliberately concealing his decision from Rebekah – probably because he knows she would oppose it and remind him of God’s promise!
6 she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau
7 to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD's presence before he dies.
8 Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you.
9 Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them.
10Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies."
11"But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is!
12 What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me."
13 “Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats."
Rebekah knew that the blessing was intended for Jacob, and expected he would have it. But she wronged Isaac by having Jacob trick him and lie to him; she wronged Jacob by tempting him to wickedness. She put a stumbling-block in Esau's way, and gave him a pretext for hatred to Jacob. All of this could have been prevented by simply going to Isaac and discussing the problem.
14So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it.
15 Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them.
16 She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck.
17 Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread.
18 Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?"
"Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it--Esau or Jacob?"
Isaac must be puzzled because it doesn’t sound like Esau.
19 Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
20 Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?"
"Because the LORD your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here. I want to touch you to make sure you really are Esau."
22 So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself.
23 But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob.
24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked.
"Yes, of course," Jacob replied.
25 Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said,
26 "Come here and kiss me, my son."
27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the LORD has blessed.
28 May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and good harvests of grain and wine.
God would have been present during this blessing. What would God have done if Isaac had blessed Esau instead – in opposition what God had promised Rebekah?
29 May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed."
The act of giving a "blessing" was a traditional thing, but with the patriarchs in the Bible, their "blessings" were not only the good effect of words but also the assurance that God would bring them to pass. Consequently, the act of the blessing was like a prophecy of God's future dealings with the recipient, and so was a very important matter. It was often spoken by the father near death and was never taken back.

Isaac was acting sinfully in desiring to bless Esau instead of Jacob. Esau did not deserve the blessing - he had despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob. Jacob rightfully owned the birthright, and as such rightfully deserved the blessing (after all, what else is a birthright good for but inheriting a double portion?). But Isaac was refusing to give Jacob the blessing that rightfully belonged to him, so Jacob was compelled to use deception to rescue what Isaac and Esau were trying to steal from him. Moreover, God had already proclaimed that he had chosen Jacob to inherit the blessing, and that Esau would serve Jacob (Genesis 25:23; Romans 9:10-13). But Isaac and Esau didn't care what God wanted; Isaac wanted to rebel against God and to give Jacob's blessing to Esau, and Esau wanted to steal Jacob's blessing. And Isaac wanted to make Jacob serve Esau despite the fact that God had already expressed his will that Esau serve. Esau didn't get cheated; he was a wicked, godless man who got what he deserved (cf. Genesis 25:28-34; 26:34-35; 27:41; Malachi 1:2-3; Hebrews 12:16). It was only by deception that Jacob was able to compel Isaac to do the good that God had commanded.

Romans 9:10-13: … our ancestor Isaac. When he grew up, he married Rebekah, who gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message proves that God chooses according to his own plan, not according to our good or bad works.) She was told, "The descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau."

Malachi 1:2-3: I have loved you deeply," says the LORD. But you retort, "Really? How have you loved us?" And the LORD replies, "I showed my love for you by loving your ancestor Jacob. Yet Esau was Jacob's brother, and I rejected Esau and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau's inheritance into a desert for jackals."

Hebrews 12:16: Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal.
30 As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip.
3 1Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing."
32 But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?"
"Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son."
33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came."
When Isaac discovered that he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau he "trembled uncontrollably." This was the turning point in the incident, the point where, for the first time, light breaks in on this dark scene. It was horror which was awakened in his soul as he now fully realized that he had been pitting himself against the expressed mind of Jehovah. Notice that instead of "cursing" Jacob (as Jacob had feared), now that Isaac discovers how God had graciously overruled his wrong doing, he bowed in self-judgment, and "trembled with a great trembling greatly" (margin). He knew now that God had been securing what He had declared before the sons were born. It is this which the Spirit seizes on in Hebrews 11:20, It was by faith that Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau. He had confidence in what God was going to do in the future.
34 When Esau understood, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "O my father, bless me, too!" he begged.
35 But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has carried away your blessing."
36 Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is *Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my **birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?"
*Jacob means "he grasps the heel"; this can also figuratively mean "he deceives."

**birthright:
1. The physical advantages of the birthright:
a. Contained a double portion of the father's inheritance – Deuteronomy 21:17: He must give the customary double portion to his oldest son, who represents the strength of his father's manhood and who owns the rights of the firstborn son, even though he is the son of the wife his father does not love.
i. The amount would have been very great
ii. For what he eventually received was also great - cf. Genesis 36:6-7: Then Esau took his wives, children, household servants, cattle, and flocks--all the wealth he had gained in the land of Canaan--and moved away from his brother, Jacob. There was not enough land to support them both because of all their cattle and livestock.
b. Offered rule and authority over other members of the family- cf. verse 29.
2. The spiritual advantages of this particular birthright:
a. Patriarch and priest of the house on the death of his father
b. Chief of the chosen family, and heir of the promised blessing
c. Able to invoke the blessing of Abraham, regarding the threefold promise - the chieftainship, rule over the brethren and the entire family Jacob (Genesis 27:29), and the title to the blessing of the promise (Genesis 27:4, 27:29), which included the future possession of Canaan and covenant of fellowship with Jehovah (Genesis 28:4).

Such were the issues at stake when Jacob and Esau bartered over the birthright
37 Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine--what is there left to give?"
38 Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept.
39 His father, Isaac, said to him, "You will live off the land and what it yields,
40 and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free."
Years later, David subdued Edom (2 Samuel 8). After King Ahaz, Edom was never again dominated by Judah. Edom eventually disappeared, absorbed into Ishmael. Therefore, the Arabs are primarily descendants primarily of Ishmael and Esau.

A comparison of the blessings clearly shows that, whereas Jacob’s blessing was God-centered, Esau’s blessing was entirely materialistic, nowhere in his blessing was God’s name invoked. The fullness of God’s salvation plan for the fallen race of Adam was to come through the descendants of Jacob alone.

41 Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob."
4 2But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you.
43 This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran.
Laban is Rebekah’s brother.
44 Stay there with him until your brother's fury is spent.
45 When he forgets what you have done, I will send for you. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women. I'd rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."
Genesis 28
1 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, "Do not marry any of these Canaanite women.
2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban's daughters.
3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants become a great assembly of nations!
4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where we now are foreigners, for God gave it to Abraham."
Isaac passes on the Abrahamic promises to Jacob.
SUMMARY:
All participants were at fault:
• Isaac tried to thwart God’s plan by blessing Esau!
• Esau broke the oath he had made with Jacob.
• Rebekah and Jacob tried to achieve God’s blessing by deception
o Their victory would reap hatred and separation.
o Rebekah never saw Jacob again.
• Jacob didn’t destroy the family; parental preference did.

Jacob would eventually learn that blessings are given by God, not gained by deceit.

How could God love Jacob?
Jacob seems so obviously to be a sly schemer, a liar and deceiver, a man intent only on acquiring his goals by whatever means necessary. He exhibits no ethical scruples. Why would God choose Jacob instead of Esau?

God never criticizes Jacob. Every time God spoke to Jacob, it was in a message of blessing and promise, never one of rebuke or chastisement.

God’s judgment concerning Jacob is given in
• Genesis 32:28: "Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won." (Israel means "God struggles" or "one who struggles with God.")
• Malachi 1:2-3: I have loved you deeply," says the LORD. But you retort, "Really? How have you loved us?" And the LORD replies, "I showed my love for you by loving your ancestor Jacob. Yet Esau was Jacob's brother, and I rejected Esau and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau's inheritance into a desert for jackals."

God’s judgment concerning Esau is given in
• Hebrews 12:16: Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal.

Genesis 26

1 Now a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where *Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

*Abimelech – Not the same guy as in chapters 20 & 21. Means “my father, the king”.

2 The LORD *appeared to him there and said, "Do not go to Egypt.

*appeared – 1st recorded instance of God appearing to Isaac since Abraham was ready to offer him on the altar.

3 Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

4 I will cause your *descendants to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your *descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

*descendants - Hebrew “seed”

Genesis 15:5: Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, "Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that--too many to count!"

5 I will do this because *Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws."

*Abraham – Not because of anything Isaac had done.

6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

The children of godly parents must have faith of their own. The time comes when each one must make a personal covenant with God, and a personal decision to obey God's commands. This was the time when Isaac came to have faith of his own.

While God told Abraham to leave his people and country and God would bless him, Genesis 12:1, all Isaac had to do was to stay and he would be blessed. But he believed God, he obeyed and stayed and God blessed him. Sometimes the place of blessing is just to stay. We should note that he lived in tents as had his father Abraham.

7 And when the men there asked him about Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to admit that she was his wife. He thought they would kill him to get her, because she was very beautiful.

It was the same lie Abraham had told--and for the same selfish reason, to protect himself.

8 But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah.

9 Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?" "Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied.

This time, Abimelech was not fooled. He kept his eyes open and one day he caught Isaac and Rebekah behaving not at all like brother and sister. When confronted, Isaac confessed, and explained his fear, and Abimelech provided protection.

10 "How could you treat us this way!" Abimelech exclaimed. "Someone might have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin."

11 Then Abimelech made a public proclamation: "Anyone who harms this man or his wife will die!"

12 That year Isaac's *crops were tremendous! He harvested a **hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.

*crops – Abraham had not planted crops. Isaac has settled in.

**hundred times - Seed could yield 30 to 60 times the amount of harvested grain, but a hundredfold was unusual.

Jesus’ parable of the Sower: Mark 4:3-9: "Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain. Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted." Then he said, "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

13 He became a rich man, and his wealth only continued to grow.

14 He acquired large flocks of sheep and goats, great herds of cattle, and many servants. Soon the Philistines became jealous of him,

15 and they filled up all of Isaac's wells with earth. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

16 And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country. "Go somewhere else," he said, "for you have become too rich and powerful for us."

17 So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead.

18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them.

19 His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a *gushing spring.

*gushing spring – literally a well of living water!

20 But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "*Argument," because they had argued about it with him.

*Argument - Hebrew “Esek”

21 Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "*Opposition."

*Opposition - Hebrew “Sitnah”

22 Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "*Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive."

*Room Enough - Hebrew “Rehoboth”

23 From there Isaac moved to *Beersheba

* Beersheba - Hebrew “the well of the oath”. Genesis 21:32-34 – Abraham had made a covenant with the Philistines there. This is also where Isaac had lived after the sacrifice on Mount Moriah (22:19).

24 where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."

25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well.

On at least four occasions Abraham expressed his faith and gratitude by building an altar for a sacrificial meal with his family. Isaac had the faith to submit to his father offering him as a sacrifice, and he had the faith to pray for his wife to conceive after twenty years of barrenness. But this is the first record of Isaac building an altar to celebrate God’s care and provision. It may indicate that at the age of at least 80 he was finally willing to respond to the LORD in grateful faith.

26 One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, *Ahuzzath, and also **Phicol, his army commander.

*Ahuzzath & **Phicol are titles, not personal names.

27 "Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way.

28 They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us.

29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!"

30 So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony.

31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn* oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace.

32 That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said.

33 So Isaac named the well "*Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba--"well of the oath."

*Oath - Hebrew “Shibah”, which can mean "oath" or "seven."

34 At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

This verse is really the introduction to the next chapter.

35 But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 25

The Death of Abraham

1 Now Abraham married again. *Keturah was his new wife,

*Keturah – She’s called a concubine in 1 Chronicles 1:32. Means: “incense”.

2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.

4 *Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.

*Midian – Midian’s descendants are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. The Midianites were often allied with the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:25, 27, 28, 36), the Moabites (Numbers 25:1, 6-15) and the Amalekites (Judges 6:3). Midianites took Joseph to Egypt (Genesis 37:28, 36).They lived along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Aqabah.

5 Abraham left everything he owned to his son Isaac.

6 But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the *east, away from Isaac.

*east – i.e., to Arabia.

7 Abraham lived for 175 years,

8 and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death.

9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.

10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites, where he had buried his wife Sarah.

11 After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near *Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.

*Beer-lahairoi in the Negev – the well named by Hagar (Genesis 16:14).

12 This is the *history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.

*history of the descendants of Ishmael – Isaac may have obtained this list from Ishmael when they met for Abraham’s burial.

13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped.

17 Ishmael finally died at the age of 137 and joined his ancestors in death.

18 Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.

This would have been in northern Arabia, along the main caravan route between Egypt and Assyria. Shur is the wilderness just east of the border of Egypt and Havilah (meaning “sandy”) probably refers to all the sandy desert area of northern Arabia.

19 This is the history of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham.

20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban.

Isaac was the only monogamous patriarch.

21 Isaac pleaded with the LORD to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the LORD answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins.

The Jews have a tradition that Isaac took his wife with him to Mount Moriah, where God had promised that he would multiply Abraham's seed (Genesis22:17), and there, in his prayer with her and for her, pleaded the promise made in that very place.

22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked.

23 And the LORD told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the *descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son."

*the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son – In other words, the Messianic line would come through the younger and must inherit the promises of the Abrahamic covenant. Therefore, the younger (Jacob) must receive the father’s inheritance and blessing, as Isaac had from Abraham). Seth, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David were all not first-born sons.

Surely, Rebekah told Isaac, Jacob and Esau about this.

Romans 9:10-13: This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he grew up, he married Rebekah, who gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message proves that God chooses according to his own plan, not according to our good or bad works.) She was told, "The descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." In the words of the Scriptures, "I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau."

Malachi 1:2-3: "I have loved you deeply," says the LORD. But you retort, "Really? How have you loved us?" And the LORD replies, "I showed my love for you by loving your ancestor Jacob. Yet Esau was Jacob's brother, and I rejected Esau and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau's inheritance into a desert for jackals."


24 And when the time came, the twins were born.

25 The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him *Esau.

*Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means "hair." ”. Also called “Edom”, which means “red” or “ruddy”. Esau settled on Mt. Seir (Deuteronomy 2:4-5), which became the home of his descendants, the Edomites, a tribe consistently hostile to the Jews (Herod was an Edomite). Hebrews 12:16 calls Esau “immoral and godless.”

26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him *Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

*Jacob means "he grasps the heel"; this can also figuratively mean "he deceives."

Hosea 12:3-6 Before Jacob was born, he struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him-- the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name!

27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the *kind of person who liked to stay at home.

*kind of person who liked to stay at home – actually, the Hebrew word is tam, which means “perfect” or “complete” – the same word God used to describe Job. Jacob was a shepherd and, therefore, remained close to home in contrast to his roving brother. Jacob went into the family business, so to speak. His aptitude can be seen later when he quickly fetched two kids from his flock for his mother and subsequently when he successfully went to work shepherding Laban's livestock.

28 Isaac loved Esau in particular because of the wild game he brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob.

29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt.

30 Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom--"Red.")

31 Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it."

All of the children shared the inheritance, but the firstborn received a portion twice as big as the others. An example: If there were five children, the inheritance was divided into six parts whereof the firstborn received two and the others one each.

32 "Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"

If Esau was about to die, wouldn't the birthright have gone to Jacob anyway?

33 So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.


Hebrews 12:16-17 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal. And afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears.

Genesis 23

The Burial of Sarah

1 When Sarah was *127 years old,

*127 years old – so, Isaac would have been 37 when his mother died.

Literally, “The lifetime of Sarah consisted of one hundred years, twenty years and seven years. These were the years of Sarah's life.” Abraham wanted a burial plot big enough for himself and his family. He wanted to be buried next to his wife.

2 she *died at Kiriath-arba (now called **Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her.

*died - Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is recorded. The Rabbis teach that Sarah died upon hearing of Isaac’s near death – which is actually not likely. She died not having seen the fulfillment of the promises of the land. Abraham now faces a new trial – to live in a foreign land without his life-time partner.

John 8:51-58 - I assure you, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die! The people said, "Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say that those who obey your teaching will never die! … "Truly, truly, before Abraham was, I am."

Romans 5:12-14 - When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given, they all died anyway--even though they did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to come!

Romans 8:38-39 - And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:13-26 - if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised. After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:54-55- When this happens--when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die--then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"

Revelation 21:4 - He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."

**Hebron – Hebron means confederacy or friendship. Evidently, they had moved from Beersheba back to Hebron where they’d lived before. Abraham had moved back to Canaan from the land of the Philistines.

Some Christians think that grieving the death of a loved one shows a lack of faith and hope in the Lord's promise of eternal life and the resurrection of the body. They forget that God created us to live on this earth forever. They forget that death is an awful intruder that came on the scene only because of sin. They forget that death is the final enemy we face in this life and in this flesh – and, like all enemies, it should be feared. Abraham and Isaac and anyone else who loses a loved one have the right to mourn and weep and be filled with sorrow.

What kept Abraham going? How was he able to handle his grief and pain and sorrow? And, how are we able to handle the grief and pain and sorrow of death? God gave Abraham the faith to believe and act on His promise - the promise of the land that God promised Abraham that would be his someday.

Abraham believes this promise and he acts upon it. Notice what he does: he buys a section of the Promised Land, the field of Machpelah with its trees and cave, as a family burial ground.

Usually, loved ones are buried in the place they call home. Sarah’s home was Haran. After all, that's where their family was living. That's where Abraham's father, Terah, is buried. That's where Abraham's servant goes to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24). That's where Jacob goes when he flees from his brother Esau; that's where he finds the woman he loves and marries (Genesis 29). So you would expect Abraham to have Sarah buried in Haran. But he doesn't. Instead, he wanted Sarah to be buried in Canaan.

The book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham was looking beyond the Promised Land to something else. We are told there that Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. (Hebrews 11:10). We know this as the New Jerusalem, as the new heaven and new earth. So, when Abraham buried Sarah in Canaan, he was looking forward to the glory of God's presence and life everlasting and the resurrection of the body.

When we face the death of a loved one, this future hope or promise of God gives us the strength to keep going. Like Abraham, we can lay our loved one to rest, knowing that there will come a day when we will live forever together.

While Sarah lived 127 years, length of life is not as important as quality of life, and through the Sarah’s and Abraham’s lives, we learn that God wants us to walk before him and be blameless. We are going to die. That is for sure unless He returns first. Our goal is that when we stand before the great white throne, the Master will say Well done, my good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:21).

Notice how Abraham’s life moves from the triumph of the “binding of Isaac” where his faith is tested and found to be good, but it is now even further tested.

Josephus notes that the 'Tree of Mamre' is approximately one half mile (6 furlongs) from Hebron proper.



As was customary in those days, the body of Sarah was placed in a tent all by itself and into that tent goes Abraham alone to weep and mourn. This is the only time we are ever told that Abraham wept. This old man has gone through many, many bitter disappointments and times of heartbreak. He was disappointed when Lot left him. He was heartbroken when Ishmael was sent out. His heart was torn with anguish when he had to offer Isaac upon the mountain.

Even Jesus experienced the pain of the loss of a loved one. He entered into all our human experiences and emotions, and as he stood by the grave of Lazarus he wept, conscious of what death had done in the experience of mankind, and conscious of the pain and trauma of parting.

It is a time of tears for Abraham. The love of his life has gone home. It is not a time of tears for Sarah. She has gone to a better place. It is a place to be happy. For the believer it is a time of joy. For the unbeliever it is not good. Sarah had been living in a tent. She is not living in a tent now! How does Abraham deal with death? How should we deal with death?

3 Then, leaving her body, he went to the *Hittite elders and said,

Esau married Hittite women - despite his mother, Rebecca's opposition. The Hittites are repeatedly mentioned as one of the seven nations dwelling in the land of Canaan, which the children of Israel are commanded to wipe out in the conquest of the land. It turns out that this command was not carried out, as even after the conquest we hear about Hittites living amongst the children of Israel, and also of marriages between the children of Israel and the Hittites. Among King David's soldiers we find Uriah the Hittite, husband of Bathsheba.

4 "Here I am, a *stranger in a foreign land, with no place to bury my wife. Please let me have a piece of land for a burial plot."

*stranger in a foreign land - Abraham did not feel this way just because he came from Ur of the Chaldeans. It was because he recognized his real home was heaven – just as our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). He has no intention of taking her body back to Ur or to Haran – she belongs here in the land of promise to await resurrection. He wants this place not only for her, but for his body and that of his descendants. Abraham may have already decided upon that cave even before Sarah had died – perhaps they’d even discussed it.

5 The Hittites replied to Abraham,

6 "Certainly, for you are an *honored prince among us. It will be a privilege to have you choose the finest of our tombs so you can bury her there."

*honored prince - Literally, "prince of El (God)." Notice the reputation and witness that Abraham had among these people! Later, Jacob is given the name “Israel”, which means prince of El (God).

7 Then Abraham bowed low before them and said,

8 "Since this is how you feel, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar

9 to let me have the *cave of Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I want to pay the full price, of course, whatever is publicly agreed upon, so I may have a permanent burial place for my family."

The Cave of Machpelah is the world's most ancient Jewish site and the second holiest place for the Jewish people, after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah are all buried in the same Cave of Machpelah. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem where she died in childbirth.
The cave was uncovered several years ago beneath the massive building, revealing artifacts from the Early Israelite Period (some 30 centuries ago). The structure was built by Herod.
It is now a mosque.


*Machpelah means double cave,

Abraham wished to bury Sarah in the crypt, and, having learned that it
belonged to Ephron the Hittite, offers to buy it from him. In verse 9,
he asks explicitly for the cave at the edge of Ephron' s field, making
it clear that the cave was all he wanted. Ephron in response offers to
give Abraham both the field and the cave, meaning that he would not
sell one without the other. He then proceeds to remind Abraham of his
poor bargaining position, having to bury his dead, and sets a hefty
asking price (verse 15). Abraham graciously overpays and is now the
owner of both the cave he had wanted and the field which he had
expressed no interest in.

Why is there so little told about Sarah’s death but a lot told about the acquisition of the cave in which to bury her? The time had come for the first act of securing the Promised Land, and Abraham was the instrument in establishing a permanent claim to the land. Abraham paid four hundred silver shekels for the parcel of land. The Field of Machpelah was of incalculable importance in establishing the bond between the future generations and their homeland, as demonstrated by the repeated emphasis on the field, at Abraham's burial and again at Jacob's.

10 Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the elders of the town.

11 "No, sir," he said to Abraham, "please listen to me. I will give you the cave and the field. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead."

12 Abraham bowed again to the people of the land,

13 and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. "No, listen to me," he insisted. "I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there."

14 "Well," Ephron answered,

15 "the land is worth *four hundred pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead."

*four hundred pieces of silver - Hebrew 400 shekels, about 10 pounds in weight. A very high price compared to the ancient records.

This way of negotiating the price is typical of ancient and modern practices in that culture. As a gesture of kindness, the selling party may offer to give the property in question to the buyer, until the buyer insists on paying a price. Ephron, follows the cultural customs of bargaining. First, the seller offers to give the item. Then, when that is refused, the seller suggests a price, which he claims is modest but is really very high. This is understood to be the starting point, and from there the bargaining begins. But, here, Abraham does no haggling.

16 So Abraham paid Ephron the amount he had suggested, four hundred pieces of silver, as was publicly agreed.

17 He bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees nearby.

18 They became Abraham's permanent possession by the agreement made in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.

The text emphasizes this property was Abraham's land by deed, not only by the promise of God. If this was the only piece of land Abraham ever owned in the land promised to him, it shows he was a real man of faith.

19 So Abraham buried Sarah there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is at Hebron.

This is where Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham. Isaac and Rebekah were both buried here. Jacob buried Leah here, and Joseph buried Jacob here. And this was the place Joseph told his descendants to bury him, taking his bones with them when they came into the Promised Land.

20 The field and the cave were sold to Abraham by the Hittites as a permanent burial place.