Genesis 35

Jacob Returns to Bethel

⁽¹⁾ God (Elohim) said to Jacob, "Now move on to Bethel* and settle** there. Build an altar there to worship me--the God (El) who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau."

*Bethel means "House of God (El). It was there that Jacob came to know God in a personal kind of way - God was no longer going to simply be the God of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. Bethel is the place where Jacob saw the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder connecting heaven and earth. It was there that Jacob became a new person. When and where did you become a "new person" after meeting God? My encounter was at a country Methodist Church where a missionary preached about being made "white as snow".

**Settle: Hebrew "yashab" - dwell, remain, dwell, inhabit, remain.

    Jacob had forgotten Beth-el, but God hadn't.  Beth-el was about thirty miles south of Shechem and was an ascent from a low to a highland country.

   God had seen that Jacob had been ready to compromise at Shechem.

   Jacob's early vow at Bethel [Genesis 28:20-22], in a great crisis of his life, remained unperformed: Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, and if he will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the LORD my God. This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me."  Probably at least thirty years had passed since Jacob had had that vision of the" ladder," and now God reminds him of the pledge which he had failed to follow through on. God had performed His part, but Jacob had failed. God had preserved him and had brought him back safely to the land of Canaan; but now that Jacob had been in the land at least seven years, he had not gone up to Bethel.

⁽²⁾ So Jacob told everyone in his household, "Destroy your idols*, wash yourselves, and put on clean clothing.

*Idols: Hebrew, "gods of the stranger," of foreign nations. Strange gods, the "seraphim" (compare Genesis 31:30), as well, perhaps, as other idols acquired among the Shechemite spoil--earrings of various forms, sizes, and materials, which are universally worn in the East, and, then as now, connected with incantation and idolatry (compare Hosea 2:13). The decided tone which Jacob now assumed was the probable cause of the alacrity with which those favorite objects of superstition were surrendered. What idols do we have in our lives? An idol is anything we put before God.

   Not only had Jacob failed to go to Bethel, but, what was worse, while Jehovah had been his personal God, his household was defiled by idols. Rebecca’s stolen "teraphim" had proven a snare to the family. At the time Laban overtook them Jacob seems to have known nothing about these gods; later, however, he was evidently aware of their presence, but not until aroused by the Lord appearing to him did he exert his parental authority and have them put away. It is striking to note that though God Himself said nothing, directly, about the "teraphim" yet, the immediate effect of His words was to stir Jacob’s conscience about them "Then Jacob said unto his household and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments" (Gen. 35:2). These words show that Jacob was aware of the corrupt practices of his family, and had only too long connived at them.

⁽³⁾ We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has stayed with me wherever I have gone."

   Jacob is aware of the solemnity of this moment. He is traveling back to where he had seen Heaven and earth meet, where he had made a solemn covenant with God, a place he could never forget. And this causes him to take a new look at the family tribe. The distinction between ‘his household’ and ‘those who were with him’ is interesting. His household, which would be those with whom he left Paddan-aram, would include his servants and retainers and would be quite large, but clearly others have joined up with them resulting in an even larger group, including the remnants of Shechem. But this solemn moment must be prepared for. All is not well. Many are secretly worshipping strange gods, superstition is rife, loyalty to Yahweh is in abeyance. These strange gods may indeed include the teraphim stolen by Rachel which she may have begun to worship, although she may well have been doing so only in secret without Jacob’s knowledge. But they cannot go to that sacred place with these abominations (the name later given to idols). There can be no idols in Beth-el. There must be a new dedication. So they are to put away these gods (it is not enough to stop heeding them, they must be got rid of). Then they are to ritually purify themselves, including changing their clothes, in preparation for the journey to Bethel. We have no hint of the method of ritual purification but it may well have included ritual washing and a period of abstinence from sexual activity, removing the ‘earthiness’ so that they can be fit to approach Bethel and God. The washing is to remove ‘earthiness’. The re-clothing suggests a presentation of themselves before God having rid themselves of the past (such semi-nomadic men did not regularly wash or change their clothing. Indeed the passion for cleanliness is a modern virtue). All would be aware that this was a life-changing moment. As they did, it is good for us too to take time to re-examine our lives and rid ourselves of those things that have begun to hinder our walk with God. Then we too may have deeper experience of God. The final purpose is to go to Bethel, where the God Who has continually watched over him had appeared to him, as they would all know, and to build an altar where he had erected the pillar. Shechem no longer holds a welcome for them so that a new sanctuary is required. And Jacob recognizes that this is a call to return back to what Yahweh had intended for him from birth as previously confirmed at Bethel.

⁽⁴⁾ So they gave Jacob all their idols and their earrings*, and he buried them beneath the tree near Shechem.

*Earrings: It is not just the old gods that are buried. The earrings are buried too. Why the earrings? These are women's wealth. Even today in many parts of the world woman's jewelry is her bank account, inheritance, and indicator of her status. Following the Exodus, earrings provided enough precious metal to make the golden calf. Earrings were often worn as good luck charms to ward off evil.

   These would include small images, amulets, and other superstitious objects, which included earrings, which had idolatrous religious connections, and which would have been bought from passing merchants. These were collected together and buried under an oak in Shechem. Such trees were often connected with important events. They represented outstanding landmarks. Thus when they left Shechem they left their past behind them. It reminds us that God cannot be approached casually. If we would approach Him all hindrances must be removed.

⁽⁵⁾ When they set out again, terror from God came over the people in all the towns of that area, and no one attacked them.

   There was every reason to apprehend that a storm of indignation would burst from all quarters upon Jacob's family, and that the Canaanite tribes would have formed one united plan of revenge. But a supernatural panic seized them; and thus, for the sake of the "heir of the promise," the protecting shield of Providence was specially held over his family.

⁽⁶⁾ Finally, they arrived at Luz* (now called Bethel) in Canaan.

*Luz was the name of the city in the area in which Jacob had erected the pillar on his first visit. Later it was changed to Bethel and a compiler’s note added here.

⁽⁷⁾ Jacob built an altar there and named it El-bethel*, because God had appeared to him there at Bethel when he was fleeing from Esau.

*El-bethel means "the God of the house of God."

   Previously Jacob had erected a pillar as a personal witness to his personal covenant with God. He had named its site Bethel. Now he erects an altar as a place of worship for his family tribe. And he calls the site of the altar ‘El-Bethel’ which means ‘the God of Bethel’. This was in memory of the fact that he had named the place where the pillar was Beth-el (house of God) when God had revealed Himself to him there. This is a public naming, with full solemnities of sacrifice and worship, in contrast to the previous private naming. Now the name is generally recognized in the tribe and not just personal.

⁽⁸⁾ Soon after this, Rebecca's* old nurse, Deborah**, died. She was buried beneath the oak tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called the "Oak of Weeping.***"

*Rebecca: We hear no more of Rebecca from the time Jacob left home in Genesis 27:45, not even of her death!

**Deborah may have come with a message, or she may, on Rebecca's death, have joined his household. It is interesting that Rebecca's death is not mentioned in Scripture, only the place of her burial is mentioned in Genesis 49:31. As a matter of fact, after she counsels Jacob in Genesis 27, there is not another mention of Jacob's mother. Yet here there is great sorrow at the passing of her nurse. It seems strange that such a seemingly insignificant person such as a nurse, should be mentioned, when the person she brought up, is passed by unnoticed! The nurse in an Eastern family was considered a very important person, someone held in high esteem. In Syria a nurse is regarded more like is a second parent. She always accompanies the bride to her husband's house, and ever after remains there an honored member of the family. It is probable, that Deborah came to join Jacob and his family after the death of his mother. This was the woman who helped raise him and proved a blessing to his own family. If Deborah was fifty years old when she came to Canaan with Rebecca, she had lived to the great age of a hundred and eighty. Old nurses, like her, were, not only honored, but loved as mothers. Without doubt, her death moved Jacob to tears.

***Oak of Weeping: Hebrew "Allon-bacuth".

   This event seems to have taken place before the solemnities were commenced. Deborah (Hebrew, a "bee"), supposing her to have been fifty years on coming to Canaan, had attained the great age of a hundred eighty. When she was removed from Isaac's household to Jacob's, is unknown. But it probably was on his return from Mesopotamia; and she would have been of invaluable service to his young family. Old nurses, like her, were not only honored, but loved as mothers; and, accordingly, her death was the occasion of great lamentation. She was buried under the oak--hence called "the terebinth of tears" (compare 1 Kings 13:14). God was pleased to make a new appearance to him after the solemn rites of devotion were over. By this manifestation of His presence, God testified His acceptance of Jacob's sacrifice and renewed the promise of the blessings guaranteed to Abraham and Isaac [Genesis 35:11,12]; and the patriarch observed the ceremony with which he had formerly consecrated the place, comprising a sacramental cup, along with the oil that he poured on the pillar, and reimposing the memorable name [Genesis 35:14]. The whole scene was in accordance with the character of the patriarchal dispensation, in which the great truths of religion were exhibited to the senses, and "the world's gray fathers" taught in a manner suited to the weakness of an infantile condition.

   The ceremony was marred by a sad event, the death of Rebecca’s nurse. It is probable that Rebecca had sent her nurse to keep a motherly eye on Jacob on his flight to Paddan-aram as she could not do so herself. Thus she had been with him many years. It was the end of an era. (Alternately Rebecca may have come with her nurse to see Jacob on his return to Canaan). She had watched over Jacob these many years and now he has returned to Bethel her work is done She has done what God required. The writer probably saw it as the final evidence of the end of the past and a new beginning. It may be that the death of such a faithful retainer at such a time was seen as somehow a fitting offering to God for she was buried under an oak tree ‘below Bethel’. The place was thus called Allon-Bacuth - ‘the oak of weeping’, an indication of the sorrow that accompanied her departure. Possibly it became for the people a place where they could weep when they were enduring sorrow.

⁽⁹⁾ God appeared to Jacob once again when he arrived at Bethel after traveling from Paddan-aram. God blessed him

   God appeared to Jacob again.’ The ‘again’ refers back to the previous theophany at Bethel before he left Canaan (28.10-22). This is now God’s renewal of that covenant on his return to the promised land at the place where he had first made His promises to him. Thus the writer is very much aware of Jacob’s experience then and what went on (compare verses 1 and 7). He is aware that part of the site has already been called Beth-el. ‘When he came from Paddan-aram.’ The writer wants us to have the whole context. This is not just another step in the journey, it is in direct relation to his leaving Paddan-aram to return to the promised land. It is the confirmation of the return of God’s chosen one from the far country. ‘And blessed him’. This sums up what follows. Thus Jacob’s obedience to God and detailed preparations for the pilgrimage to Bethel to build the altar to His name is rewarded with a vivid experience of the divine, a great theophany, accompanied by great promises. This is the definitive experience. In it is summed up all that has gone before. In it is summed up all his hopes for the future. Both the name Israel and the name Bethel are as it were reconsecrated in recognition of the uniqueness of this occasion.

⁽¹⁰⁾ and said, "Your name is no longer Jacob*; you will now be called Israel**."

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

**Israel means "God struggles" or "one who struggles with God."

   The idea of him as Israel has become faded. It is almost forgotten. The old Jacob had reasserted itself. Thus at this crucial renewing of the covenant at Bethel the change of name is renewed and emphasis ed. It is emphasizing that what happened at Penuel is now to come into fruition. He is to be Israel. A change of name in ancient days was seen as having deep significance. This is why at this crucial moment in the life of Jacob and of the tribe God emphasizes his changed name. He must remember that he is no longer Jacob, but Israel. The past is behind him. The old Jacob is behind him. This is a new beginning. He is the one with whom God has striven and through whom He will carry out his purposes (Israel means ‘God strives’). We may see here an implied rebuke against Jacob’s long stay in Succoth and Shechem. He had previously been given the new name of Israel preparatory to returning to the family tribe. But he had not done so, he had delayed. Now it is necessary for him to be renamed after the period of backsliding. It is a salutary thought that had he previously been faithful the shame of Shechem would not have occurred. This change of name is emphasis ed later in the following verses. Once his twelfth son has been born and the full complement of sons made up he will journey on as Israel (35.21). This also coincides with the death of Rachel. It is as though with her death, with the great hold she had had on him, he is now free to be what God wants him to be.

⁽¹¹⁾ Then God said, "I am God Almighty (El Shaddai)*. Multiply and fill the earth! Become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!

*God Almighty (El Shaddai): The Septuagint translates it as ‘the Almighty’. I can also mean "the all-sufficient or all-bountiful God". God only reveals Himself under this title twice, to Abraham in connection with the greater covenant and to Jacob here, and in both cases there is stress on a change of name for the recipient. To receive a covenant from El Shaddai means a whole new direction in life. So Jacob is confirmed as the inheritor of the greater covenant. Whenever God is mentioned under the name of El Shaddai it is in relation to many nations, not just to the family tribe. To Abraham in chapter 17 ‘you shall be the father of a multitude of nations (hamon goyim)’, and Ishmael is a part of that covenant, to Isaac as he blesses Jacob in 28.3 ‘that you may be a company of peoples’ (liqhal ‘amim), and again to Jacob in 48.4 reference is made to ‘a company of peoples’ (liqhal ‘amim). It is in recognition of this fact that Jacob speaks of El Shaddai when he sends his sons back to Egypt to obtain the release of Simeon and entrusts them with Benjamin (43.14). It is Yahweh as El Shaddai, the sovereign God over the whole world, who has the power to prevail over the great governor of Egypt. This may also be why Isaac used this title of Yahweh when he sent his son into a foreign land.

⁽¹²⁾ And I will pass on to you the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants.

   Jacob is not just inheriting the promises related to the family tribe but those which relate to God’s worldwide purposes. However, as always, this includes these local promises, thus he will bear both a nation and a company of nations. His direct descendants will be kings and his seed will inherit the promised land. These promises relate closely to those mentioned by Isaac in 28.3-4 in the context of El Shaddai. To be fruitful and multiply, to be a company of peoples, and to receive the blessing of Abraham in the inheritance of the land. Thus God confirms that he is speaking to him as the God of Isaac. Less directly they also relate to the promises made when he first came to Bethel, for there too he was promised that he and his seed would receive the land (28.13), that he would multiply greatly and especially that through him and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (28.14). 'Be fruitful and multiply.' This has more the sons of Jacob in mind than Jacob himself. But their sons would be his sons, and their seed his seed. He would proudly look on further generations and finally they would become an innumerable multitude. ‘A nation and a company of nations.’ His family tribe would become a nation. But this would not be all, for a company of nations would also come from him. And later Israel was to be a company of nations, for it was to include not only his descendants but large numbers of peoples of other nations who joined themselves with Israel (e.g. Exodus 12.38), and even further on peoples from all nations would gladly form the true Israel, the ‘Israel of God’ (Galatians 6.16 with 3.29; Ephesians 2.11-19). ‘Kings shall be descended from you (come from your loins).’ Nationhood would result in kingship, and those kings would be his own descendants. Indeed from him would come the greatest King of all. And he and his seed would inherit the land. We cannot fully appreciate what it meant to a sojourner (alien and non-landowner), a wanderer, a landless person who must trust to the good nature of others and whatever bargains he could arrange and pay for in one way or another, to become the possessor of land. And here the promise to Abraham and Isaac is confirmed to Jacob. He and his seed will one day possess the whole land. We note here that the promises are unconditional. At these great moments God does not lay down any terms. He is sovereign and will bring about His purposes. The only hint that response is required comes in the reference to Jacob’s change of name to Israel and its significance. But even this was part of God’s sovereign purpose and Jacob was the recipient. And this is recognized especially in the fact that Jacob makes no response as he had done previously at Bethel (28.20-22). This is not a time for man to make his promises and bargains. This is a moment of receiving in awesome silence.

⁽¹³⁾ Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob.

   This is confirmation that here was a physical manifestation of God. Once God had finished re-establishing His covenant with Jacob He ‘goes up’, a recognition that He is leaving the world for His own realm. For ‘went up’ compare 17.22; Judges 13.20.

   The presence of God was indicated in some visible form and His acceptance of the sacrifice shown by the miraculous descent of fire from heaven, consuming it on the altar.

⁽¹⁴⁾ Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. He then poured wine over it as an offering* to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.

offering: First mention of a "drink offering" in the Bible. Always "poured out", not drunk. Detailed in Leviticus 28.

   This is the second pillar that Jacob has set up. The first commemorated his first vision when he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ramp as they went about their heavenly business in the world, and was assured of God’s presence with him and watch over him and his participation in the covenant (27:18). It was set up in the place where he slept. This one commemorates an even greater occasion, the awesome visible manifestation of God in renewal of that covenant now that he is back in the land of promise. Again the pillar is witness to the covenant that has been made. It is set up at the very site of the theophany. As we have seen earlier, Jacob was a great one for requiring evidence of covenants (26.33). ‘And he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.’ The first pillar was set apart to God by the pouring of oil on it and it marked God’s visit and presence, but there was no thought there of an offering. It was a reminder of what had happened and of the covenant made. Here the offering comes first. Jacob pours out a drink offering to God, and only then does he sanctify it to God. It is a recognition of God’s continued presence.

⁽¹⁵⁾ Jacob called the place Bethel--"house of God"--because God had spoken to him there.

   The sequel of Jacob’s return to Bethel is very beautiful, but we cannot here dwell much upon the details. God appeared unto Jacob again, reaffirmed that he should be called by his new name Israel, revealed Himself as the "Almighty" or "All-Sufficient One," bade him to be "fruitful and multiply," assuring him that "a nation and a company of nations should be of him, and kings should come out of his loins;" and, finally, ratifying the gift of the land unto his fathers, unto himself, and unto his sons (Gen. 35:11, 12). That Jacob was now fully restored to communion with God is seen from the fact that he now once more "set up a pillar" in the place where he had talked with God and poured oil thereon (Gen. 35:14, and cf. Genesis 28:18).

   The previous naming had been in private (28.19) and was of the spot where he had had his vision. It was an extremely personal thing and was accompanied by a personal response. Now the naming is more public and covers a wider area where the altar has been set up. We cannot doubt that the whole tribe was involved. Thus the wider site becomes more widely recognized as ‘Beth-el’, the house of God. Later the name will be transferred to the neighboring city of Luz as well. The confirmation before all of the name he has previously given it establishes the new name. It is seen as sacredly connected to the important ceremony that has just taken place in the sanctifying of the altar. That had been named El-Bethel (God of the house of God) because of the previous naming. Now the vivid theophany has confirmed the whole place as Beth-el, the ‘dwelling place’ of God. Now that he and his tribe are reconsecrated he begins the final part of his journey back to the mother tribe, to Isaac, via Ephrath (later to be Bethlehem) and the Tower of Eder.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Leaving Bethel, they traveled on toward Ephrath* (that is, Bethlehem). But Rachel's pains of childbirth began while they were still some distance away.

*Ephrath: Hebrew - "fertility".

   There can be no doubt that much enjoyment was experienced at Beth-el, and that in the religious observances solemnized, as well as in the vivid recollections of the glorious vision seen there, the affections of the patriarch were powerfully animated and that he left the place a better and more devoted servant of God. When the solemnities were over, Jacob, with his family, pursued a route directly southward, and they reached Ephrath, when they were plunged into mourning by the death of Rachel, who sank in childbirth, leaving a posthumous son [Genesis 35:18]. A very affecting death, considering how ardently the mind of Rachel had been set on offspring (compare Genesis 30:1).

⁽¹⁷⁾ After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, "Don't be afraid--you have another son!"

⁽¹⁸⁾ Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named him Ben-oni*; the baby's father, however, called him Benjamin**.

*Ben-oni means "son of my sorrow". A type of Christ - His first coming.

**Benjamin means "son of my right hand." A type of Christ - His second coming.

⁽¹⁹⁾ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem*).

*Bethlehem means "house of bread."

   Jacob (like you and I) had to face the cold, stark reality of death. The cold, icy fingers of death reached into his family and snatched his life's love, his life-long companion, his beloved wife Rachel. No sooner had he buried his precious wife but
be went to visit his father and he died too.

   Rachel had passionately said, "Give me children, or else I die"; and now that she had children, she died! The death of the body is but the departure of the soul to the world of spirits. When shall we learn that it is God alone who really knows what is best for his people, and that in all worldly affairs the safest path for the Christian is to say from the heart, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good. Here alone is our safety and our comfort, to know no will but his. Her dying lips called her newborn son Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow; and many a son proves to be the heaviness of her that bare him. Children are enough the sorrow of their mothers; they should, therefore, when they grow up, study to be their joy, and so, if possible, to make them some amends. But Jacob, because he would not renew the sorrowful remembrance of the mother's death every time he called his son, changed his name to Benjamin, the son of my right hand: that is, very dear to me; the support of my age, like the staff in my right hand. - Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

   Job's Question -- If a Man Die Shall He Live? (Job 14:14 King James Version). Job 19:25: But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the earth at last. Job knows he will live on after death and meet God! Job's question is the greatest facing every human being. All earth's two billion souls are vitally concerned in its answer! Is there life after death? What is waiting for you out yonder just beyond the grave? Where will YOU BE WHEN YOUR HEART STOPS BEATING? Where will you be a million years from now?What will be your condition THIRTY SECONDS AFTER THE BREATH LEAVES YOUR BODY? Exodus 3:6. "I AM the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." Though they have long been dead they Are alive for God says "I AM" not "I WAS." He is the God of the Living not the Dead!

   Think about it. Jacob has lost his mother Recheck, Deborah, a childhood figure in his life, and now he suffers the loss of his true love, his beloved Rachel.

⁽²⁰⁾ Jacob set up a stone monument over her grave, and it can be seen there to this day.

   The spot still marked out as the grave of Rachel exactly agrees with the Scriptural record, being about a mile from Bethlehem. Anciently it was surmounted by a pyramid of stones, but the present tomb is a Mohammedan erection.

⁽²¹⁾ Jacob* then traveled on and camped beyond the tower of Eder**.

*Jacob: Hebrew "Israel". We see Jacob’s new name applied to him in an historical record for the first time. He has come home as a new man. It is not Jacob who is coming home, but Israel. The contrast with "Jacob" in the previous verse may well deliberately indicate that the death of Rachel brings in a new era. In some way he is a better man for being free from her influence. But this final step in the journey is mentioned also for another reason. A reason of shame.

*Tower of Eder means "cattle tower."

⁽²²⁾ While he was there, Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and someone told Jacob* about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:

*Jacob: Hebrew "Israel"

   The homecoming is marred. Israel may be coming home a new man but there is still sin in the camp. His son Reuben commits a great sin, and the news reaches his father. It is a sin that Israel never forgets even on his deathbed (49:4) for it would bring great shame on him. As the oldest son, Reuben stood to receive a double portion of the family inheritance and a place of leadership among his people. Reuben probably thought he had gotten away with his sin. Jacob took away Reuben's double portion and gave it to Joseph because of this sin - at his deathbed. It would seem that Reuben takes advantage of Bilhah’s new insecurity, for now that her mistress is dead she may well have lost status and be vulnerable and in no position to deal with the advances of her husband’s eldest son. The significant use of Jacob’s new name ‘Israel’ stresses the final success of his period away. He is a changed man. The sin of Reuben warns against over exuberance. ‘Israel heard of it.’ The total lack of comment or of any indication of Israel’s reaction speaks volumes. The writer is aware of Israel’s shame and in deference to his master pulls a veil over the incident. It is enough that all will pass the same judgment and be appalled. It had to be mentioned because of the appalling nature of the sin, for it would co lour the whole of Reuben’s future. But it was passed over without comment because of deep sensitivity for Israel. The record finishes with a genealogy of Jacob’s sons, followed by the final homecoming and the death of Isaac. Such genealogies were commonly included in written records at that time and here it is especially pertinent. Jacob had left as a young man with only a staff to call his own, he comes home as the leader of a confederation of sub-tribes.

⁽²³⁾ The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

⁽²⁴⁾ The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

⁽²⁵⁾ The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

⁽²⁶⁾ The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob at Paddan-aram.

⁽²⁷⁾ So Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham had also lived.

   At last Jacob is home. He has come to take up his now rightful place as heir to the family tribe and the covenant promises. He is now in the line of Abraham and Isaac. For Mamre see 13.18; 14.13; 18.1. Kiriatharba means ‘city of four’, possibly of four parts. It was as an annotator tells us the later city of Hebron. Compare for its use Joshua 14.15; 15.54; 20.7; Judges 1.10.

⁽²⁸⁾ Isaac lived for 180 years,

⁽²⁹⁾ and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. Then his sons, Esau and Jacob*, buried him.

*sons, Esau and Jacob: The last time they are mentioned together.

   Jacob and Esau stand together at the grave of their father and as they do, they are very different men. Life has changed them. They are no longer fighting for dominance. They have nothing to prove. Things that were once so important, are no longer important.

   The age and death of Isaac are recorded, though he died not till after Joseph was sold into Egypt. Isaac lived about forty years after he had made his will, chap. 27:2. We shall not die an hour the sooner, but much the better, for timely setting our hearts and houses in order. Particular notice is taken of the agreement of Esau and Jacob at their father's funeral, to show how God had wonderfully changed Esau's mind. It is awful to behold relations, sometimes for a little of this world's goods, disputing over the graves of their friends, while they are near going to the grave themselves. - Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

   Meanwhile, after the return of Jacob their wealth of possessions and cattle and herds was so great that Esau eventually removes permanently, with all he possesses, to his well established base in Mount Seir (36.6). His visits to his family home will now be far fewer and less protracted. Previously he has shared his time between assisting his father in times of necessity, lambing, sheep shearing, harvest and so on, and leading his band of warriors. Now that can be left to Jacob. But he remained in touch with his family and when his father died he came to join Jacob, and they buried him together. These words may well have been added as a postscript to the previous covenant record.

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Okay, if 2 Timothy 3:16 is right that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.", what lessons are here for us?

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On-Line Sources

• BibleGateway.com


• Bible.org


• Bible Translations and Searches


• Chuck Missler


• Gleanings in Genesis


• Hope of Israel


• Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible


• Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel

Off-Line Sources

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


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


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

Genesis 34

The Rape of Dinah

⁽¹⁾ One day Dinah*, Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area.

*Dinah: Means "Judged" or "Vindicated". She was full sister of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and the half-sister of Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin.

   According to Josephus, she had gone to take part in a feast of the Shechemites; but it is highly probable that she had been frequently mixing in that society and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain 12 to 15 year old girl, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to produce the strong attachment that Shechem had for her. She went to see, yet that was not all, she went to be seen too; she went to see the daughters of the land, but, it may be, with some thoughts of the sons of the land too. We too must be careful to be "in the world, but not part of it". Unattached young women were considered fair game in cities of the time, in which promiscuity was not only common but a part of the very religious system itself. She was bored with her Jewish heritage and wanted to experience the world. She had spiritual training and was probably a believer, but she had failed to prepare for the approaching crisis. She was a naive "country girl" and was easy prey for a worldly "city boy". Shechem saw her, deceived her, and sexually abused her. Shechem was a typical wild, promiscuous teen boy - approximately 16 years old. Descended from a Hamor (Chamor), which means donkey, he was the son of a donkey - a jackass.

⁽²⁾ But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped* her.

*raped: Hebrew - "humbled her".

Deuteronomy 22:28-29: If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver (about 1.25 pounds ) to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.

⁽³⁾ But Shechem's love for Dinah was strong, and he tried to win her affection.

⁽⁴⁾ He even spoke to his father about it. "Get this girl for me," he demanded. "I want to marry her."

   This proves that the consent of parents was required for marriage in those times.

⁽⁵⁾ Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned.

   Evidently, Jacob has learned patience. Jacob, as a father and a good man, must have been deeply distressed, but thought he could do little. In the case of a family by different wives, it is not the father, but the full brothers, on whom the protection of the daughters devolves--they are the guardians of a sister's welfare and the avengers of her wrongs. It was for this reason that Simeon and Levi, the two brothers of Dinah by Leah , appear the chief actors in this episode; and though Jacob and Hamor would have probably brought about a resolution of the affair, the hasty arrival of these enraged brothers introduced a new element into the negotiations. The expected response would be anger or rage; but Jacob remained silent. He appears too indifferent or confused to act decisively. When the leader does not act decisively, the younger zealots will, and often with disastrous results. This whole situation shows what happens when the father or husband is weak - like Eli was with his sons resulting in God's judgment. The father/husband is to be the head of the home, the leader, the family priest.

⁽⁶⁾ Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem's father, came out to discuss the matter with Jacob.

⁽⁷⁾ He arrived just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob's family*, a thing that should never have been done.

*Jacob's family: Hebrew - "in Israel."

⁽⁸⁾ Hamor told Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her.

   Hamor and Shechem neither express regret nor restore Dinah to her family; and this great error was the true cause of the negotiations ending in so unhappy a manner. Shechem seems to show no remorse nor seems to feel that he did anything wrong - after all "everyone else is doing it".

⁽⁹⁾ We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men.

⁽¹⁰⁾ And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us."

⁽¹¹⁾ Then Shechem addressed Dinah's father and brothers. "Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife," he begged. "I will give whatever you require.

   The consideration of the proposal for marriage belonged to Jacob, and he certainly showed great weakness in yielding so much to the fiery impetuosity of his sons. The sequel shows the unhappy consequences of that concession.

⁽¹²⁾ No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it--only give me the girl as my wife."

   The gift refers to the presents made at betrothal, both to the bride elect and her relations (compare Genesis 24:53), the dowry to a suitable settlement upon her.

⁽¹³⁾ But Dinah's brothers deceived* Shechem and Hamor because of what Shechem had done to their sister.

*deceived: Jacob's old deceitful nature and the meaning of his name comes back on him. He's passed this nature on to his sons.

⁽¹⁴⁾ They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you aren't circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you!

⁽¹⁵⁾ But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised* like we are,

*circumcised: Genesis 179-14: "Your part of the agreement," God told Abraham, "is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised; the flesh of his foreskin must be cut off. This will be a sign that you and they have accepted this covenant. Every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family, but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will thus bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Anyone who refuses to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for violating the covenant."

   The honor of their family consisted in having the sign of the covenant. Circumcision was the external rite which showed that they descended from Abraham and were part of the Abrahamic covenant with Jehovah God. But that outward rite could not make the Shechemites true Israelites. Nothing is said of their teaching the people to worship the true God, but only of their insisting on their being circumcised; and it is evident that they did not seek to convert Shechem, but only made a show of religion--a cloak to cover their diabolical design. Hypocrisy and deceit, in all cases vicious, are infinitely more so when accompanied with a show of religion; and here the sons of Jacob, under the pretense of conscientious scruples, conceal a scheme of treachery as cruel and diabolical as was, perhaps, ever perpetrated.

⁽¹⁶⁾ we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people.

   Could they really do this - to intermarry?

⁽¹⁷⁾ Otherwise we will take her* and be on our way."

*take her - She's still at Shechem's house - voluntarily?

⁽¹⁸⁾ Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed,

⁽¹⁹⁾ and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family,

⁽²⁰⁾ and he appeared with his father before the town leader* to present this proposal.

*before the town leader - literally, "at the city gate", where official business was conducted - as with Boaz negotiating over Ruth. That was the place where every public communication was made; and in the ready obsequious submission of the people to this measure we see an evidence either of the extraordinary affection for the governing family, or of the abject despotism of the East, where the will of a chief is an absolute command.

⁽²¹⁾ "Those men are our friends," they said. "Let's invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them.

   Who is really behind all this? - Satan! If Jacob went along with this proposal, Israel as a nation would have disappeared, as have so many other peoples, and the line of Messiah would have been destroyed - leaving Satan victorious over God.

⁽²²⁾ But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are.

⁽²³⁾ But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours*. Come, let's agree to this so they will settle here among us."

*become ours - There was a financial advantage to do this - Jacob's family would be absorbed and they would be richer and stronger.

⁽²⁴⁾ So all the men agreed and were circumcised.

⁽²⁵⁾ But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there,

⁽²⁶⁾ including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem's house and returned to their camp.

⁽²⁷⁾ Then all of Jacob's sons plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there.

⁽²⁸⁾ They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys--everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields.

⁽²⁹⁾ They also took all the women and children and wealth of every kind.

⁽³⁰⁾ Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, "You have made me stink among all the people of this land--among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!"

   This atrocious outrage perpetrated on the defenseless citizens and their families made the cup of Jacob's affliction overflow. We may wonder that, in speaking of it to his sons, he did not represent it as a heinous sin, an atrocious violation of the laws of God and man, but dwelt solely on the present consequences. It was probably because that was the only view likely to rouse the cold-blooded apathy, the hardened consciences of those ruffian sons. Nothing but the restraining power of God saved him and his family from the united vengeance of the people (compare Genesis 35:5). All his sons had not been engaged in the massacre. Joseph was a boy, Benjamin not yet born. If all the Shechemites were put to death for the offense of their chief's son, what wonder if the natives should extend their hatred to all the family of Jacob; and who probably equalled, in number, the inhabitants of that village.

⁽³¹⁾ "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" they retorted angrily.

   Jacob's sons are complaining that Jacob had done absolutely nothing to resolve the problem and had left it in the hands of his sons. Where was Israel, the strong prince who had power with God, when action was needed? How should this problem have been solved? How could it have been prevented in the first place? Because of their sin, Jacob cursed Simeon and Levi with his dying breath in Genesis 49:5-7: "Simeon and Levi are two of a kind--men of violence. O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel." The Tribe of Simeon received land within the territory of Judah and served as itinerant teachers in Israel, traveling from place to place to earn a living. The Tribe of Levi received a few Cities of Refuge spread out over Israel, and relied for their sustenance on the priestly gifts that the Children of Israel gave them.

----------------------------------------------------

Okay, if 2 Timothy 3:16 is right that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.", what lessons are here for us?

----------------------------------------------------

On-Line Sources

• BibleGateway.com


• Bible.org


• Bible Translations and Searches


• Chuck Missler


• Gleanings in Genesis


• Hope of Israel


• Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel

Off-Line Sources

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


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


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

Genesis 33

⁽¹⁾ Then, in the distance, Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men.

⁽²⁾ Jacob now arranged his family into a column, with his two concubines and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

   Jacob had barely passed over the brook Jabbok and caught up with his family when he saw his brother approaching accompanied by four hundred men (armed?). Limping from his wrestling bout with the Lord, Jacob was powerless before Esau's group. He had just enough time before Esau came up to arrange his family, placing his different children with their respective mothers, and putting those in the rear that he loved the most. Jacob still feared whether Esau might do what he'd threatened to do twenty years before - kill Jacob.

⁽³⁾ Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed low seven times before him.

   Perhaps less afraid because of the blessing from God and his being renamed "Israel", Jacob moved past his family to greet Esau - not the original plan. Jacob was anxious to let Esau understand that he intended to make no claim of preeminence because of the prophecy to Rebecca, his mother, and because of the blessing by Isaac, Jacob's father.

⁽⁴⁾ Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him affectionately and kissed him. Both of them were in tears.

   Had God not intervened, Esau probably would have still been angry. But, Jacob had prayed earnestly to God and had pleaded His promise to keep in safe. Esau had buried all his anger and receives his brother not only with forgiveness but with brotherly love. God made Esau not only not an enemy, but a friend. Like Jacob, we need to leave our enemies in God's hands.

⁽⁵⁾ Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, "Who are these people with you?" "These are the children God* has graciously given to me," Jacob replied.

*God - giving the credit to God, not his own shrewdness.

⁽⁶⁾ Then the concubines came forward with their children and bowed low before him.

⁽⁷⁾ Next Leah came with her children, and they bowed down. Finally, Rachel and Joseph came and made their bows.

⁽⁸⁾ "And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?" Esau asked. Jacob replied, "They are gifts, my lord, to ensure your goodwill."

   Esau is referring to the groups of cattle which had been sent on to him earlier as a present. Note that here he terms Esau "my lord." Jacob still has two groups of flocks and herds that he's keeping for himself.

⁽⁹⁾ "Brother, I have plenty*," Esau answered. "Keep what you have."

*plenty: Hebrew "rab". Translated "I have enough" in the King James version. Contrast this with what Jacob says in verse 11, where the Hebrew word "kol" is translated "enough" in the King James, but is more properly translated "I have EVERYTHING".

    Jacob had devoted a lot thought to the problem how he could best pacify Esau, but it was unnecessary. God had preceded Jacob and had already pacified Esau!

⁽¹⁰⁾ "No, please accept them," Jacob said, "for what a relief it is to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the smile of God*!

*God: While Jacob never saw "the face of God", seeing the face of Esau and his smile was, to him, like seeing the face of God. Jacob recognizes in the smile that God has prepared Esau for this meeting. Notice that Esau doesn't bring up the past, the way we would probably be tempted to do. Like Paul, we must "forget the past and press forward" Failure to "forget and forgive" can lead to physical and emotional harm to ourselves.

⁽¹¹⁾ Please take my gifts, for God has been very generous to me. I have more than enough*." Jacob continued to insist, so Esau finally accepted them.

*enough: Hebrew word "kol" is translated "enough" in the King James, but is more properly translated "I have EVERYTHING". Jacob is not just thinking of his wealth, not just his wives and children, but all of God's blessings on him. His "cup runneth over" because God has blessed him beyond measure.

⁽¹²⁾ "Well, let's be going," Esau said. "I will stay with you and lead the way."

   Esau is offering to lead the way and provide protection - back to Seir.

⁽¹³⁾ But Jacob replied, "You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, they may die.

⁽¹⁴⁾ So go on ahead of us. We will follow at our own pace and meet you at Seir."

   Now that Esau had accepted his present, Jacob was anxious for them to separate again. Esau might change his mind after a few days and Jacob wished to be far away should that happen. However, he could not afford to offend his brother, so Jacob, at once, begins to frame excuses as to why they should journey separately. Jacob is headed for Canaan not Seir.

⁽¹⁵⁾ "Well," Esau said, "at least let me leave some of my men to guide and protect you." "There is no reason for you to be so kind to me," Jacob insisted.

   This was probably to afford protection for Jacob and his herds while passing through a wild and dangerous country. What a contrast to the way Jacob and Laban parted ways - no need for a boundary stone to be set up. God can fully reconcile us with former enemies and erase bitterness and hatred, if we let Him and put Him in charge of the situation. Wouldn't we have asked about our mother and father, were we in Jacob's shoes? Why does Jacob not ask? Perhaps Esau tells him, but that's not mentioned, possibly because writer, Moses, is keeping the focus on Jacob. Isaac is probably completely incapacitated and living in Hebron. Rebecca is probably dead by now. I can't believe that Jacob doesn't ask about them.

⁽¹⁶⁾ So Esau started back to Seir* that same day.

   Jacob doesn't see Esau again until they get together to bury Isaac.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Meanwhile, Jacob and his household traveled on to Succoth*. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his flocks and herds. That is why the place was named Succoth*

*Succoth means "shelters". Joshua 13:27, Judges 8:5-16. East of the Jordan and probably north of the Jabbok, in a plain where there was pasture for the flocks and where they could rest awhile to regain their strength. These shelters would have been crude reed-grass huts.

   Not only was Jacob distrustful of his brother but he lied unto him. Instead of making for Seir, the appointed meeting-place, he went in another direction entirely. Even after the unexpected cordiality which Esau had displayed, Jacob couldn't believe that God had permanently subdued his brother’s anger. Succoth was in the opposite direction of Seir where Jacob had told Esau he was coming. While the text does not inform us of Jacob’s reasons for such a move, several could be suggested. First, Jacob may not have been eager to face his father. Also, Jacob may not have been too excited about spending much time in close proximity to Esau, who was obviously well able to protect his own interests. Furthermore, Jacob had made a vow to pay a tithe to God at Bethel (28:22). Perhaps he was not eager to do this now that God had greatly prospered him. Finally, and perhaps most likely, the pasture was vastly superior in the Jordan Valley where Succoth was located, while Bethel was in the mountains. Succoth was a common name, so we can't be absolutely positive where this was. Most likely, it is not far from Peniel. Jacob probably stayed there one or two seasons to replenish his flocks, severely depleted by giving so many to Esau.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Then they arrived safely* at Shechem**, in Canaan, and they set up camp just outside the town.

*safely: indicates that God had fulfilled the condition in
Genesis 28:21 of Jacob's vow about making Him his God.

**Shechem: Also known as Nablus. Now, after an unspecified time but probably two seasons, Jacob has finally crossed the Jordan. This was Abraham's first stopping place in Canaan (Genesis 12:6). Located between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal and north of Jerusalem, Shechem is preeminent in the biblical record, beginning with God's promise of the land to Abraham. Later Jacob would return here with his family and settle shortly. The twelve tribes gathered on these two hills to recite God's Law and the blessings and curses that accompanied obedience and disobedience. This is the burial site of Joseph, situated on the edge of the ancient city of Shechem. Jacob purchased the land in Shechem and when he died he handed it down to his son Joseph (Genesis 48:22). Joseph requested not to be buried in Egypt, so his body was taken to Shechem for burial.

⁽¹⁹⁾ Jacob bought the land he camped on from the family of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver*.

*a hundred pieces of silver: Hebrew 100 kesitahs; the value or weight of the kesitah is no longer known.

   This demonstrated his faith that the nation of Israel would one day occupy that land. Jacob's well is in the area. This is where, in John 4:6, Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman.

⁽²⁰⁾ And there he built an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel*.

*El-Elohe-Israel means "The strong God (is) the God of Israel."

   Jacob viewed God as the God of all grace as evidenced in verses 5 and 11, and to Him he erects an altar, dedicating it to God, the God of Israel, referring particularly to the change of his own name. Jacob calls God this because it was by the power of His grace and goodness He had rescued, defended, blessed, and supported him from his youth up until now. The erecting of altars with particular names appears in other places. For example, in Exodus 17:15, Moses calls his altar "Yahweh Nissii", "Jehovah is my banner."

----------------------------------------------------

Okay, if 2 Timothy 3:16 is right that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.", what lessons are here for us?

----------------------------------------------------

On-Line Sources

• BibleGateway.com


• Bible.org


• Bible Places - Shechem


• Bible Translations and Searches


• Chuck Missler


• Gleanings in Genesis


• Hope of Israel


• Scriptures for the Whole House of Israel

Off-Line Sources

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


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


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

Genesis 32

Jabbok River

Mahamaim

Penuel

⁽¹⁾ Jacob also went on his way*, and the angels** of God met*** him.

way: This way or road led away from Laban, his paganism, and the place where he had acquired his wealth, and toward the land promised him by God.

**angels of God: "angels" is sometimes translated "messengers", its real meaning. The phrase "angels of God" occurs twice in Genesis: here and 28:12 where Jacob had the dream of "the angels" going up and down on the ladder to heaven. Just as Joshua saw angels before entering the promised land (Joshua 5:13-15), angels greet Jacob upon his return to the land.

***met: It is not that the angels "appeared" to him, but they "met" him. Jacob is returning from his long exile, returning to the land given to his fathers by Jehovah. God sent these messengers of His in advance to welcome his servant home, and to express to him His goodwill. On his journey out from Canaan to Padan-Aram the Lord Himself met Jacob and gave him a vision of the angels; and here, now that he is on his way back from Padan-Aram to Canaan, the angels met him, followed immediately afterwards by the Lord appearing to him.

⁽²⁾ When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp* of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim**.

*camp: "host" or "army".

**Mahanaim means two camps or a double camp.

   Jacob had just escaped from one "camp" of his enemies (Laban and his brethren—Genesis 31:22, 23), and another was now advancing to meet him, namely, Esau with his four hundred men. It would seem, then, there was one host of these "angels" of God, but divided into two companies, probably encompassing him both before and behind much like when the Pillar of Cloud went before Israel by day and the Pillar of Fire protected their rear by night.

⁽³⁾ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau
in the land of Seir*, the country of Edom**.

*Seir means "the hairy one".

**Edom is southeast of the Dead Sea, the area settled by the
descendants of Esau. On the way from Gilead to Hebron, where he had left his
father, Jacob would not have to pass through Seir. The messengers must have
told him that his brother was there, and though he had been able to put his
fears of Esau out of his mind for twenty years, he now knew he had to again
face what he had done to him.

   Jacob had heard nothing of his brother Esau, except where he was now settled. Remembering Esau's angry threat, Jacob was apprehensive about meeting him again. So, he sent messengers ahead to sound find out whether Esau was still wanting to kill him.

⁽⁴⁾ He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying* with Laban and have remained there till now.

*staying - Lived as a stranger as Abraham had lived as a stranger in the promised land. Nothing is said of the reason why he had fled to Padan-Aram—all reference to his outwitting of Esau is carefully passed over. Rebecca, Jacob's mother (and Esau's) ahd told Jacob she'd send for him when Esau's anger had cooled and he was no longer threatening to kill Jacob. But, Jacob never received
a message from Rebecca so either she had died or Esau was still angry and threatening to kill Jacob.

⁽⁵⁾ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.'"

   He thought Esau would respect him more if he mentioned his possessions, since Esau was that kind of man. Yet he is also making it clear to Esau that he has plenty, and is not out to get anything more from him.

   Jacob wants Esau to understand that he had not come to claim the double portion, nor even to seek a division of their father’s inheritance because God had given him plenty of this world’s goods.

⁽⁶⁾ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet* you, and **four hundred men are with him."

*meet: a different word from that in verse 1. Here it has more of the sense of a surprise, and running up against a wall.

**400 men: When Jacob heard that Esau was coming with 400 men, what else could he expect but that he wanted to kill him?

   It must have come upon Jacob as a terrible shock to learn that his brother was already acquainted with his movements. It could only be about two weeks at most since Jacob had secretly left his Laban. How could Esau have learned of it at all? Was his thirst for revenge upon his brother so great that he had had him watched all these years? Was there some spy of his in the employ of Laban, who had now secretly communicated with Esau? Someone must have informed him, and the fact that Esau was now advancing upon him was disquieting news indeed.

⁽⁷⁾ In great fear* and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups**, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.

*In great fear and distress: a guilty conscience needs no accusing

**groups - camps, from the same root as Mahanaim (the "double
camp" in verse 2). It has a military nuance to it in Hebrew as in English.

   There seemed no time to be lost, so Jacob quickly divided his people and his flocks into two bands, so that if Esau came up with one and smote it, the other at least might escape. Then, he went to prayer.

⁽⁸⁾ He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group*, the group* that is left may escape."

*group - camp

⁽⁹⁾ Then Jacob prayed, "O God* of my father Abraham, God* of my father Isaac, O LORD**, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,'

*God: Elohim

** LORD: Jehovah

   What did Jacob do to prepare for his meeting? He prayed and he prepared gifts for Esau. This prayer is significant because it is only the second recorded prayer in the Bible. The first was Abraham's intercessory prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah. So this is the first recorded prayer for personal needs. Let's look at the parts of the prayer more closely:

(1) He acknowledges God (verse 9).

(2) He reminds God of His promise to him. The Scriptures contain many promises given to believers in general, and it is our individual privilege to plead them before God in particular, the more so when we encounter difficulties. Jacob pleaded a definite promise; so must we. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read, "My gracious favor is all you need.." Again, we read in Philippians 4:19, "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs..."

(3) He states his unworthiness for all the previous blessings God showered on him (verse 10).

(4) He admits to God his fear and distress (verse 11). There's
no point pretending to be strong in front of God, He knows anyway!

(5) He presents his request, "Save me".

(6) Finally, he ends off his prayer by referring the situation back to God and claiming on His promises, showing his trust in Him (verse 12). God had promised to make Jacob’s seed as the sand of the sea, but if his wife and children were slain how then could God’s promise be fulfilled!

As the first recorded prayer for personal needs, this makes a good model for what our prayers for ourselves should sound like. Besides praying, Jacob also prepared gifts in an attempt to pacify Esau. Taking Jacob's example, we see that prayer is accompanied by action.

"God helps those who help themselves" is not biblical, but the concept is reiterated that after one prays, acknowledging the need for His intervention, we take whatever steps we can to show that we trust Him to act. God would not divide the Red Sea until Moses set foot in, nor did Jericho's walls fall down until Joshua and the nation marched around it. While careful not to rush ahead of God, once He says to move, start the process, however inadequate our resources, and He will ensure our success. How can we expect Him to fight for us if we are not serious about moving forward toward the goal? Here Jacob finally recognizes Him as Jehovah; invoking him as the Elohim of another is no longer adequate, as He is in a true crisis.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups*.

*groups - camps

⁽¹¹⁾ Save me*, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers** with their children.

*Save me: Now he states the purpose of his prayer - he's scared to death of Esau and has nowhere else to turn but to God.

**mothers is singular, yet he had four mothers with him. His heart was inclined only to one wife.

⁽¹²⁾ But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'"

   If the mother and children are killed, where will these descendants come from?

⁽¹³⁾ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau:

⁽¹⁴⁾ two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams,

⁽¹⁵⁾ thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

⁽¹⁶⁾ He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep some space* between the herds."

*space: So that they would arrive in wave after wave of gifts and soften Esau’s heart, if possible.

⁽¹⁷⁾ He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front* of you?'

⁽¹⁸⁾ then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.' "

⁽¹⁹⁾ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.

⁽²⁰⁾ And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.' "For he thought, "I will pacify* him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me."

*pacify: literally, "cover", the same word used for atonement offerings in the Temple. Jacob was always expecting to be punished for what he did, and now he expects that judgment to fall on his family as well. His thought was that maybe he just deserved whatever might happen to him, not recognizing that it was God’s choice that removed the birthright from Esau. The text reads literally, "I will see his face, and perhaps he will lift up my face" (nasa' panim).

⁽²¹⁾ So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

⁽²²⁾ That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok*.

*Jabbok signifies “emptying out” - appropriate name, for it emphasizes the fact that Jacob was “left alone.” The Jabbok flows westward through Gilead into the Jordan halfway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Later it would be the northern border of the lands of Moab and then of Ammon. Here, he left his old self behind and gained a new identity (verse 28).

Jabbok River

⁽²³⁾ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.

   He removed from himself everything that mattered to him, and spent one final night in a foreign land. Now, Jacob is all alone with his thoughts and fears.

   This passage introduces us to the most important crisis in the life of Jacob. The book of Genesis presents Jacob in two characters, as he is exhibited to us as Jacob and as Israel; the one looking at the natural man, and the other at the spiritual man, the one telling of how Divine grace him and the other of what Divine grace made him.

⁽²⁴⁾ So Jacob was left alone, and a man* wrestled with him till daybreak.

*man: He refers to this "man" as God in verse 30.

   Anyone else find this part strange? A man wrestling with God? Well, after investigating several commentaries, I found that the interpretation that made the most sense argued that this is a metaphor for our struggles. God(in the form of a man in this passage) tests us.

   He was alone, yet he wrestled with someone. How could this be? The numerical value of "alone" in Hebrew is 613 - the number of commandments in the Torah, God’s word. So he was wrestling with Christ, the living Word that would later become flesh, but often appeared in the form of a man prior to this. n 48:16, this “man” is called an angel, and Jesus was often called the “Angel of God”. He was also wrestling with himself. In God's judgment, Jacob's struggle was with his own decptive, cunning, self-serving ways rather than with Esau. He had to come to terms with what he truly believed: what kind of man was he, now that he was all alone against the world unless he would have faith that this God was really who He said He was? Was he really the right one to receive the birthright? Was he really ready to be the leader of a nation? He was wrestling with the spirit of his twin Esau, the philosophy of caring only for one's belly, which now threatened him in a very real way as everything hung in the balance. Would he become like him? Or would he remain Jacob? Neither. He would become a third option. All of this took place in the spirit realm, whether or not anyone else was physically present. And all of these aspects of his wrestling are really one and the same.

   "And there wrestled a man with him." In Hosea 12:4, this "man" is termed "the angel"; that is, we take it; "the Angel of the Covenant," or, in other words, the Lord Jesus Himself. It was the same One who appeared unto Abraham just before the destruction of Sodom. In Genesis 18:2 we read of "three men," but later in the chapter one of them is spoken of as" the Lord." (Genesis 5:13). So here in Genesis 32, at the close of the conflict between this "Man" and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face." (Genesis 32:30).

   "And there wrestled a Man with him." Jacob was not wrestling with this Man to obtain a blessing; instead, the Man was wrestling with Jacob to gain some object from him. As to what this object is the best of the commentators are agreed—it was to reduce Jacob to a sense of his nothingness, to cause him to see what a poor, helpless and worthless creature he was; it was to teach us through him the all important lesson that in recognized weakness lies our strength.

   Hosea 12:3-4: "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."

⁽²⁵⁾ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched* the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

*touched: struck, violently gripped, wrenched.

   Why do you think "the man" allowed Jacob to prevail? Why did he merely wound Jacob? This wounding is a reminder of the damage that he could have done. He merely touched Jacob's hip and it was "wrenched", so he certainly could have done more. The wound allowed Jacob to remember this encounter with humility. Although he overcame the man, it was the man who allowed him to and not by his own doing. Likewise, when we've gone through our trials, we often become prideful because we have overcome. But let us not get proud but remember that we have overcome because the Lord allowed us to. Jacob was now brought to the end of his own resources. One swift stroke from the Divine hand and he was rendered utterly powerless. And this is the purpose God has before Him in His dealings with us. One of the principal designs of our gracious heavenly Father in the ordering of our path, in the appointing of our testings and trials, in the discipline of His love, is to bring us to the end of ourselves, to show us our own powerlessness, to teach us to have no confidence in the flesh, that His strength may be perfected in our conscious and realized weakness.

⁽²⁶⁾ Then the man said, "Let me go*, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless** me."

*Let Me go: literally, "send Me away". Jacob knew he could not see His face and live. Yet He wanted to receive the blessing the legitimate way this time.

**Bless: means to bend the knee to, so until Jacob “knuckled under” and confessed what he was really like, he could not be sent into the Land. But the angel also blessed him.

   Here we see the object of the Heavenly Wrestler accomplished. No longer could Jacob wrestle; all he could do was cling. The mysterious Stranger brought Jacob to the point where he had to lean his entire weight on Him! Up to this point, Jacob had sought to order his own life, planning, scheming and devising; but now he was "left alone" he is shown what a perfectly helpless creature he was in himself. This was a new era in the history of the supplanting, planning, Jacob. Up to this point he had held fast by his own ways and means, But, it was not until "his hip was wrenched" that Jacob said this; and, it is not until we fully realize our own helplessness and nothingness that we are brought to cling to God and really seek His blessing, for note, not only did Jacob say "I will not let you go," but he added "unless you bless me."

⁽²⁷⁾ The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.

   Did God not know his name - of course he did! He was reminding Jacob of his name and its meaning. This is the first time he is recorded as ever using his own name (of which he may have been ashamed). Even his mother never used it in the recorded text.

⁽²⁸⁾ Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel*, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

*Israel means "He who struggles with God" or "God fights", "Striving (persistently exerting oneself) with God" or "One who has overcome and become a prince with God". The name "Jacob" is used the rest of the Bible with few exceptions - because Jacob is his name in the flesh and Israel is his name in the spirit. He continues to primarily live "in the flesh".

   Out of some forty Hebrew names compounded with ‘El’ or ‘Jah,’ God is always the Doer of what the verb means. Thus, Hiel=God liveth; Daniel=God judgeth; Gabriel=God is my strength." Israel would, therefore, be "God commandeth."

   It is after this that Jacob is given the name Israel. Name changes are very significant in their culture - it accords a new phase in one's life. It is from the trial of wrestling with God that Jacob (which means the deceiver) becomes Israel, God's chosen. Hence, we must persevere in our trials because through them we will be transformed. We are already "more than conquerers".

   It is interesting to see that God gives people new names at times in the Bible, and the names are reflective of their new lives with God. Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. Jacob becomes Israel. Simon becomes Peter.

   Revelation 2:17: "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. We will be given new names too!

⁽²⁹⁾ Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.

⁽³⁰⁾ So Jacob called the place Peniel*, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

*Peniel means "the face of God".

⁽³¹⁾ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel*, and he was limping** because of his hip.

*Peniel - Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel.

**limping - Every day, his limping would remind him that he was to depend upon God rather than himself.

⁽³²⁾ Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon* attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.

*tendon: This is the sciatic muscle. Orthodox Jews still refuse to eat the tnedon of the hindquarter of animals, as a reminder of what God did to Jacob. This is a vivid reminder that our walk, too, has been changed.

----------------------------------------------------
Bible Reference Sources and Sites

• BibleGateway.com


• Bible.org


• Bible Translations and Searches


• BiblePlaces.com


• Chuck Missler

Genesis 31

Jacob Heads Back for Home (the Promised Land)

⁽¹⁾ But Jacob soon learned that Laban's sons* were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" they said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father's expense."

*sons: 1st time Laban's sons are mentioned. How old are they?

⁽²⁾ And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban's attitude toward him.

⁽³⁾ Then the LORD* said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you**."

*LORD: Jehovah

**I will be with you: Probably said to allay his fear of going back to confront Esau.

   It was now time for Jacob to begin the establishment of the promised nation in the promised land. Jacob has been living "in the world" for 20 years and it was time to get out!

⁽⁴⁾ Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching the flocks,

   Someone might overhear them and report it back to Laban. Jacob needs to explain his actions to them because they might want to stay.

⁽⁵⁾ so he could talk things over with them. "Your father has turned against me and is not treating me like he used to," he told them. "But the God of my father* has been with me.

*God of my father: Still not his own personal God.

⁽⁶⁾ You know how hard I have worked for your father,

⁽⁷⁾ but he has tricked me, breaking his wage agreement with me again and again*. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.

*again and again - 10 times in the original. Archaeologists have found ancient contracts between an owner and a shepher. These contracts were usually renegotiated at the end of each season. Laban changed the contract whenever he saw that the terms were in Jacob's favor. In one case, when he saw all the flocks gave birth to speckled young, which were to go to Jacob, he changed the contract to Jacob getting streaked young instead (verse 8).

⁽⁸⁾ 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.

⁽⁹⁾ In this way, God has made me wealthy at your father's expense.

   Laban had frequently altered his original agreement with Jacob. In every case, however, God kept blessing Jacob. No matter what Laban had tried to do to him, God had protected and prospered him. During all this time, Jacob had continued to serve Laban to the very best of his ability. Jacob made no claim that it was by his own ability that he'd acquired such wealth; he gave all the credit to the God of his father, because his prosperity was entirely due to God.

⁽¹⁰⁾ During the mating season, I had a dream and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

⁽¹¹⁾ Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, `Jacob!' And I replied, `Yes, I'm listening!'

⁽¹²⁾ 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.

⁽¹³⁾ 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.'"

*Bethel - Genesis 28:11-22

⁽¹⁴⁾ Rachel and Leah said, "That's fine with us! There's nothing for us here--none of our father's wealth will come to us anyway.

⁽¹⁵⁾ He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. He sold us, and what he received for us* has disappeared.

*received for us: 14 years of Jacob's labor.

   Now, the anger and humiliation that Rachel and Leah had experienced from their father's manipulation of Jacob about the marriages spilled out. Laban thought he'd pulled a "fast one" on Jacob, but now Laban will pay the price for his deception. Laban cut himself off from his daughters long before they cut themselves off from him - after they leave, he'll never see them or his grandchildren again!

⁽¹⁶⁾ The riches God has given you from our father are legally ours and our children's to begin with. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you."

⁽¹⁷⁾ So Jacob put his wives and children on camels.

⁽¹⁸⁾ He drove the flocks in front of him--all the livestock he had acquired at Paddan-aram--and set out on his journey to the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived.

   Jacob is "sneaking off" because he knows that Laban wouldn't allow him to leave with his wealth. Twenty years earlier, Jacob had arrived penniless, now he leaves a wealthy man with a large family.

   The time had come for Jacob to take over the patriarchal responsibility associated with God's promises. He possessed both the birthright and the blessing; and they entailed great responsibilities, as well as privileges, which it was now time to fulfill.

⁽¹⁹⁾ At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing* his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods** and took them with her.

*shearing: Evidently, Jacob had alread sheared his sheep in preparation for his leaving.

**household gods: Rachel had stolen the household gods (teraphim). What the teraphim were is not known for certain. To some, they were a sort of images devoted to superstitious purposes, not considered as gods, but as representatives of certain Divine attributes. Rachel knows about Jacob's God, but she isn't giving up her old gods, "just in case". It is also possible, as impled in some of the Nuzu tablets excavated around 1930, that the teraphim were associated with the inheritance and property rights of their owner. If so, Rachel may have stolen them with the thought that possessing them would somehow help validate the legitimacy of her husband's title to the flocks he had acquired while serving Laban and represent the inheritance she had a right to expect.

⁽²⁰⁾ They set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving.

⁽²¹⁾ Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the territory of Gilead*.

*Mount Gilead is a mountainous region est of the Jordan River. Its northern edges are nearly 300 miles from Harna; so, a long journey stretched ahead of them. It is possible, of course, that Jacob had already worked his flocks around to the south as far as possible to have a head start.



⁽²²⁾ Laban didn't learn of their flight for three days.

⁽²³⁾ But when he did, he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with them seven days later in the hill country of Gilead.

   A day's journey was usually reckoned at about 30 miles, for men traveling unencumbered. However, with flocks, this would beonly 15-20 miles per day. Laban and those with him covered 300 miles in only 7 days, covering over 48 miles per day - he was definitely in "hot pursuit"! Laban and his sons had no intention of letting Jacob take all his flocks to Canaan, and were determined to forcibly take them from Jacob. Quite likely, they intended to kill Jacob if he tried to resist them.

⁽²⁴⁾ But the previous night God had appeared to Laban in a dream. "Be careful about what you say to Jacob!" he was told.

   God full well know Laban's intent to steal everything from Jacob and kill him, so He's warning Laban that Jacob is under His protection and following His direction. For someone who did not know the God of Isaac and Jacob, this had to have been sobering.

⁽²⁵⁾ So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob's.

⁽²⁶⁾ "What do you mean by sneaking off like this?" Laban demanded. "Are my daughters prisoners*, the plunder of war, that you have stolen them away like this?

*prisoners: He's clueless about how Leah and Rachel feel about him.

⁽²⁷⁾ Why did you slip away secretly? I would have given you a farewell party*, with joyful singing accompanied by tambourines and harps.

*party: He would never have given a farewell party because he would never have allowed them to leave.

⁽²⁸⁾ Why didn't you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly!

   Of course, Jacob and his wives knew that Laban was lying through his teeth!

⁽²⁹⁾ I could destroy you, but the God* of your father appeared to me last night and told me, `Be careful about what you say to Jacob!'

*the God of your father - Laban does not acknowledge that Jehovah is Jacob's God.

⁽³⁰⁾ I know you feel you must go, and you long intensely for your childhood home, but why have you stolen my household gods?"

   Laban is now trying to excuse his pursuit of Jacob by expressing his concern that his household gods had been stolen. He seems to be more attached to his "gods" than to his daughters - what kind of father is this?

⁽³¹⁾ "I rushed away because I was afraid," Jacob answered. "I said to myself, 'He'll take his daughters from me by force.'

⁽³²⁾ But as for your household gods, let the person who has taken them die*! If you find anything that belongs to you, I swear before all these relatives of ours, I will give it back without question." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had taken them.

*die: This statement had to have frightened Rachel since she was guilty of the crime. The laws of Hammurabi cite the penalty of temple gods as a capital crime. Jacob also knew perfectly well that no one could claim he had any of Laban's unblemished animals with him.

⁽³³⁾ Laban went first into Jacob's tent to search there, then into Leah's, and then he searched the tents of the two concubines, but he didn't find the gods. Finally, he went into Rachel's tent.

⁽³⁴⁾ Rachel had taken the household gods and had stuffed them into her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. So although Laban searched all the tents, he couldn't find them.

   These household gods must have been extremely small for her to simply sit on them to hide them. Moreover, think what a terrible thing it would be for a woman having her period sitting on some gods - they're not very strong, are they? Per Leviticus 15:19-23, everything that came in contact with a woman during her period became religiously polluted.

⁽³⁵⁾ "Forgive my not getting up, Father," Rachel explained. "I'm having my monthly period." So despite his thorough search, Laban didn't find them.

⁽³⁶⁾ Then Jacob became very angry. "What did you find?" he demanded of Laban. "What is my crime? You have chased me as though I were a criminal.

   Jacob finally explodes from all the anger that has built up over the 20 years of Laban's trickery.

⁽³⁷⁾ You have searched through everything I own. Now show me what you have found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them decide who is the real owner!

   Let all his relatives be a witness to Jacob's character versus Laban's.

⁽³⁸⁾ "Twenty years I have been with you, and all that time I cared for your sheep and goats so they produced healthy offspring. In all those years I never touched a single ram of yours for food.

⁽³⁹⁾ If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, did I show them to you and ask you to reduce the count of your flock? No, I took the loss! You made me pay for every animal stolen from the flocks, whether the loss was my fault or not.

⁽⁴⁰⁾ I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.

⁽⁴¹⁾ Yes, twenty years--fourteen of them earning your two daughters, and six years to get the flock. And you have reduced my wages ten times!

⁽⁴²⁾ In fact, except for the grace of God--the God* of my grandfather Abraham, the awe-inspiring God** of my father, Isaac--you would have sent me off without a penny to my name. But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and vindicated me."

*awe-inspiring God of my grandfather Abraham - Literally, "Fear of his father Isaac". As opposed to Laban's powerless household gods. He's bluntly telling Laban that he, Jacob, serves the true God (Jehovah) and Laban doesn't.

**God of my father, Isaac - But, is He Jacob's god yet? He is the "God of Abraham and the God of Isaac". Eventually, He would be called the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob".

⁽⁴³⁾ Then Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my* daughters, and these children are my* grandchildren, and these flocks and all that you have--all are mine*. But what can I do now to my own daughters and grandchildren?

*my / all are mine - Laban is saying that Jacob is entitled to nothing, but won't take them away because of his daughters and grandchildren. Laban doesn't deny the charges and quickly changes the subject.

⁽⁴⁴⁾ Come now, and we will make a peace treaty, you and I, and we will live by its terms."

⁽⁴⁵⁾ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument.

⁽⁴⁶⁾ He also told his men to gather stones and pile them up in a heap. Jacob and Laban then sat down beside the pile of stones to share a meal.

⁽⁴⁷⁾ They named it "Witness Pile," which is Jegar-sahadutha* in Laban's language and Galeed** in Jacob's.

*Jegar-sahadutha means "witness pile" in Aramaic.

**Galeed means "witness pile" in Hebrew.

⁽⁴⁸⁾ "This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of our agreement," Laban said.

⁽⁴⁹⁾ This place was also called Mizpah*, for Laban said, "May the LORD** keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this treaty when we are out of each other's sight.

*Mizpah means "watchtower."

**LORD - Jehovah. Laban is implying that Jacob was the one who needed watching by Jacob's God.

⁽⁵⁰⁾ I won't know about it if you are harsh to my daughters or if you take other wives*, but God will see it.

*other wives: The only wife Jacob had wanted was Rachel! Leah was foisted on Jacob by Laban's trickery.

⁽⁵¹⁾ This heap of stones and this pillar

⁽⁵²⁾ stand between us as a witness of our vows. I will not cross this line to harm you, and you will not cross it to harm me.

   Is Laban worried that Jacob will return someday for revenge?
Romans 12:19 - Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written,"I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord.
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.'

⁽⁵³⁾ I call on the God of our ancestors--the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God* of my grandfather Nahor--to punish either one of us who harms the other." So Jacob took an oath before the awesome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line.

*God of my grandfather Nahor, - "Elohim" as opposed to the God Isaac and Abraham worshipped! Nahor's god was probably an idol. Nahor was Abraham's brother - both were sons of Terah, but of different mothers, if you recall from Genesis 11:27.

⁽⁵⁴⁾ Then Jacob presented a sacrifice to God and invited everyone to a feast. Afterward they spent the night there in the hills.

⁽⁵⁵⁾ Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his daughters and grandchildren and blessed them. Then he returned home.

   Laban realizes that he's really messed up and that his daughters and grandchildren know what a scondrel he is. He thinks that this will overcome their feelings toward him. He will never see them again. Notice that he does not give a blessing to Jacob or say anything "nice" to him.

   Laban is an example of a worldly, covetous man, one who knows about the tru God and to whom a thorough witness has been given. He had seen the reality of God in the life of Jacob. He had even enjoyed some of the benefits of having a son-in-law who was being blessed by the true God.

   Is there a Laban in your life? How are you dealing with it?

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