Genesis 27 – 29
Genesis 27 is a perfect illustration of why parents should not have favorites when it comes to their children. Maybe, to look for the positive, the boys were lucky each had a parent pulling for them. Isaac clearly favored his firstborn; Rebekah clearly favored her younger son.
In a blatant act of deceit and lies, Jacob stole the blessing Isaac intended to give his brother. Isaac must have been very old and blind. He kind of knew something wasn’t right but Jacob and Rebekah did a good job making Jacob not only smell like Esau, but also feel like him.
No one can blame Esau for being angry, but Isaac doesn’t come out looking too well in this episode. If the shoe had been on the other foot and Esau had received his blessing, Jacob would have been left with no blessing. Why would Isaac intend to overlook his younger son in this?
I think Esau goes a little far in blaming Jacob for stealing his birthright; he’s the one who despised it to the point that he exchanged it for a meal.
This chapter also gives us a pretty good look at what might be the first example of witness protection – well, not witness exactly, but getting out of town to avoid a certain confrontation.
Rebekah, who was unusually well-informed about what was going on in her household and “sick of these Hittite women,” convinces Isaac to send Jacob back to where her family lives so he can find a wife there. Isaac sends him away with a prayer that God would pass on to Jacob the blessings he promised to Abraham.
Isn’t it interesting that Esau finally catches on that his parents don’t like the local Canaanite women, so he takes on another wife, Mahalath, daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael?
On his way to Paddan-Aram, God confirms his covenant with Jacob at Bethel, where Jacob saw a stairway with angels ascending and descending. Jacob commits himself to God here and sets up a memorial pillar to become a place for worshiping God. He promises God a tenth of everything God gives him.
When Jacob arrives in Paddan-Aram, it’s another case of love at first sight. Jacob promises to work seven years if Laban will give him Rachel as his wife. Still, Jacob’s love for Rachel was “so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.” He didn’t realize that Laban was a scoundrel.
Imagine how Jacob felt when he discovered the woman that was his wife was Rachel’s older sister Leah. I guess he got a taste of his own medicine – think how he had deceived his father. I’ve always felt kind of sorry for Leah; Jacob loved Rachel much more than Leah. However, if you think that the Lord rewarded Leah in making her the grandmother (many times removed) of the Messiah through her son Judah, maybe it wasn’t so bad. And for a while, Rachel was unable to have children at all.
Tomorrow, it’s Genesis 30 – 31.
Drying Some More Strawberries
This morning, I went to the produce stand and got a couple of more quarts of these wonderful strawberries that are in such abundance around here right notw. They are already cleaned and sliced and in the dehydrator.
I saw on the Internet yesterday that you can actually dry cucumbers. I may try that next or possibly some cranberries. The dried cranberries you buy are filled with extra sugar and are still tart. Imagine what un-sugared dried cranberries will taste like. Talk about pucker power.
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment