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Notes: Genesis 30

Trinity International Baptist Church, English language Bible study guide for February 5, 2008

Unlike the old chewing gum jingle which promised “double the pleasure, double the fun” when a good flavor was doubled, Jacob’s life is askew when there are two wives in his household.

I. Rachel asks Jacob to have a child with her servant Bilhah (1-8:)

1-2: The envious complaint: “Give me children, or else I die.” The angry response: “Am I in God’s stead?”

3-5: Take my handmaid…and he did

6-8:  Jacob’s sons with Bilhah

  • Dan
  • Naphtali

II. Leah asks Jacob to have a child with her servant Zilpah (9-13:)

9: Take my handmaid…and he did

10-13: Jacob’s sons with Zilpah

  • Gad
  • Asher

III. Rachel bargains for mandrakes, and trades off her man (14-21:)

15:  True or False: Rachel took Leah’s husband

17-21: Jacob’s last three children with Leah

  • Isaachar
  • Zebulon
  • Dinah (a daughter)

IV. Rachel has a child of her own (22-24:)

Jacob’s first son with Rachel

  • Joseph

V. Jacob and Laban conduct an exit interview with salary negotiation (25-36:)

25: The birth of Joseph sparks homesickness in Jacob

26: He asks leave of Uncle Laban, wishing to take his (4) wives and (12) children with him

28: Laban offers to give Jacob for his service

31: Jacob does not want Laban to “give” him anything

32-33: They agree that Jacob will tend Laban’s animals one last time, with the understanding that Jacob is free to take all the animals with spotted or speckled hide.

35-36: Jacob will start with unblemished animals (the blemished animals are culled from the herds and flocks).

VI. A lesson in animal husbandry (37-43:)

37-41: Unusual selective breeding techniques at work

42: Jacob kept the strong animals for himself

 

Meditation Points:

  1. Does God control who can have children and when those children will be born?
  2. Remember the trouble that Sarah started when she urged Abraham to have a child by their servant Hagar? Rachel follows Sarah’s bad example; and not long afterwards, Leah follows too.
  3. Only this time, the animosity in the home was not between the wife and the servant, but rather between the two wives.
  4. Food got Esau into trouble over a birthright, and food got Isaac into trouble over a blessing. Rachel’s craving for fresh fruit gets her into trouble over Jacob
  5. Notice the significance of the various names found in today’s reading.
  6. Laban knows that God has blessed him because Jacob was around.
  7. As Abraham didn’t want anything from the king of Sodom, so Jacob doesn’t want anything given to him by Laban.
  8. Animals in heat surrounded by folks in polka dot dresses don’t bear spotted-skinned offspring.
  9. Was Jacob’s breeding technique inspired or “lucky”?

 

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Notes: Genesis 28-29

Trinity International Baptist Church of Athens, Greece

English language Bible study Guide for February 4, 2008

 

Continuing the narrative of Genesis 27, we find Isaac personally blessing Jacob and sending him to find a wife.

Genesis 28

I.  Jacob’s father blesses him (1-5:)

1: Be careful whom you marry

3-4: Remember your grandfather’s God

II. Jacob’s brother despises him (6-9:)

As though marrying two Hittite women wasn’t enough, Esau adds an Ishmaelite wife.

III. Jacob’s dream, in which God visits him (10-22:)

12:

John 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

13-15: God’s covenant with Abraham now becomes God’s covenant with Jacob

16: Surely the Lord is in this place

19: Bethel-house of God

20: A conditional vow-If God will do this…then I will do this…

  • God must be with me and keep me and feed and clothe me
  • I will, then, accept the Lord as my God and I will give 10% of all of God’s blessing back to the ministry

 

Meditation Points:

  1. Christian parents should do what they can to introduce their children to children who will not be an evil influence
  2. Marrying cousins was not illegal in those days
  3. “Faith of our Fathers” is a wonderful song; but if the only faith you have is that of your fathers, then you have no faith of your own, you have no faith at all
  4. Does not God promise to keep his children today and to be with them forever?
  5. Recognizing the presence of God
  6. A commitment to tithe

 

Genesis 29

I. Jacob meets Rachel (1-11:)

10: Jacob’s gentlemanly ways charm Rachel

II. Jacob meets Rachel’s father (12-20:)

15: Laban invites Jacob to stay and offers him a job with the stipulation that Jacob be paid

18: Jacob offers to work 7 years for Laban provided that Rachel may be his wife after the 7 years

III. Jacob marries Rachel’s sister (21-28:)

23: Laban tricks Jacob

26: Laban makes a lame excuse

27: Laban offers Rachel

IV. Jacob marries Rachel (29-30:)

29: True to his word (this time), Laban allows Jacob to marry Rachel, too

30: Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah

V. Jacob has four sons with Leah (31-35:)

31: Rachel was barren (Remember Sarah and Rebekah)

32-35: Leah’s sons

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Levi
  4. Judah

 

Meditation Points:

  1. Isaac’s bride came because of camels; Jacob’s bride came because of sheep.
  2. Sometimes lying, conniving men can be gentlemen
  3. Laban’s warm welcome is short-lived. Was there bitterness over the loss of Rebekah?
  4. How can you love someone with all your heart when there are two “someone”s?

 

 

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Notes: Genesis 27

English Language Bible Study Guide for February 3, 2008

Jacob steals Esau’s blessing

I.  Isaac desires one good meal before he blesses Esau (1-4:)

1: Isaac was old and he could not see well

2-4: Isaac’s (maybe) last request for a good meal prepared from acquisition to presentation by Esau

 

II. Rebekah plans to pull the wool (literally) over her husband Isaac’s eyes (5-17:)

5: If you recall that Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob, then this event will not appear so strange to you.

8: As with most cons and other recipes for deceit, the steps must be meticulously followed

9-10: Mock venison. Some cooks can make any set of ordinary ingredients taste like a king’s feast

11-12: Jacob is to be the wolf in sheep’s clothing

13-14: With assurance that Rebekah will take the blame if their plot is uncovered, Jacob agrees

15: Why not steal (“borrow”) a set of Esau’s finest clothing for the occasion?

 

III. Jacob executes the plan flawlessly and cons his father (18-29:)

18-19: Jacob blatantly lies and pretends to be Esau. Remember that this is not undercover detective work.

20: When Isaac wonders how Esau could have gone to the field and successfully bagged a deer and returned home to cook it so quickly, Jacob the Pretender casually draws God into the discussion and gives Him credit for the apparent speedy success.

22-27: With dim vision, Isaac hears the sound of Jacob’s voice, but Isaac’s aged hands are fooled by the goatskins wrapped around the boy’s arms and the smell of Esau’s clothing. Jacob lies again, and claims to be Esau

28-29 Isaac bestows the grand blessing upon the liar and cheat who stands before him

 

IV. Esau begs for any kind of blessing that Isaac may yet have for him (30-40:)

30-31: No sooner has Jacob gone from Isaac’s presence when Esau arrives bearing the savory venison as ordered

32-33 Isaac realizes that he has been tricked; but declares that he cannot take back the blessing

34-40: Esau begs for a blessing, any blessing

 

V. When Rebekah learns of Esau’s plan to kill Jacob, she urges Isaac to send Jacob away to find a wife (41-46:)

41: Understandably, Esau hates Jacob for all that he has done to take away both Esau’s birthright and, now, his blessing

42-45: Rebekah, always ready with a plan, tells Jacob to prepare to journey back to her own homeland where he can stay safely with his uncle Laban until Esau has calmed down

46: Rebekah talks Isaac into sending Jacob to Haran to find a wife, lest he marry Hittite women and disgrace his parents as did Esau in his marriages

 

Meditation Points:

  1. 2 Corinthians 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight. Trusting your feelings is always a bad idea–trust God.
  2. Did anyone say “dysfunctional family”?
  3. Why would a mother plot so to deceive her husband?
  4. P.T.Barnum said that you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time. Which kind are you?
  5. Remember this event and you will discern a connection between Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and subsequent history. A spirit of prophecy attends the blessing.
  6. What was so important about the blessing? How does blessing differ from birthright? Together they certainly guarantee that Jacob will be the head of the family after the death of Isaac, and that Jacob will possess all of Isaac’s wealth, and that the promises of God will not be fulfilled in Esau.
  7. Rebekah sent Jacob away for a little while, until things calmed down. Read on to see how long Jacob actually stayed away.

 

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Notes: Genesis 25-26

Genesis 25

I. The end of Abraham’s life (1-11:)

1-2: Following the death of Sarah and the marriage of Isaac, Abraham remarried and had 6 sons

3-4: 7 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren result from two of these sons

5-6: Though he provided gifts for these children of Keturah, Abraham sent them all away and reserved his estate for Isaac

7-8: When Abraham died at the age of 175, he “died in a good old age.”

9-10: Abraham’s death, like many others, reunited long separated sons Isaac and Ishmael who buried their father in the same place that Sarah had been buried 38 years earlier.

11: Isaac, sole heir to Abraham’s estate, remained in the land and enjoyed the blessing of God

 

II. The family of Ishmael (12-18:)

16: Ishmael had 12 sons (13-15:)who lent their names to their towns and castles

17: Ishmael died at the age of 137, which was Abraham’s age when Sarah died

 

III. The family of Isaac (19-28:)

20-24: Isaac prayed for God to enable Rebekah to bear children; and God honored the request with twin boys twenty years after Isaac first took Rebekah to be his wife (26:)

23: God’s prediction concerning the boys carried its significance into the New Testament

Romans 9:10  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Malachi 1:2  I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
3  And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

24-28: From birth the twins were different from each other in complexion, demeanor, and even parental affection

 

IV. Isaac buys Esau’s birthright for a bowl of lentiles (29-34: and 25:34)

30: Esau was hungry

32, 34: Esau despised his birthright

31, 33: Esau was a motivated seller who accepted an offer far below market value for the birthright

Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Meditation Points:

  1. Abraham’s wealth went to one son. Imagine the squabble at the reading of the will.
  2. God had promised Hagar that her son Ishmael would be the father of nations; and so he was.
  3. Husbands should pray for their wives.
  4. When God predicted that “the elder shall serve the younger,” who would have guessed how that would happen?
  5. Two people growing up in the same family can be quite different from each other. Proximity and exposure to the gospel and Christian parents does not guarantee regeneration.
  6. Trouble arises when a parent loves one child above the other, more so when parents are divided in the objects of their affection.
  7. Jesus asked what profit there is if a man should gain the whole world yet lose his soul (Mark 8:36); Esau asked, “What profit shall this birthright do to me?” Worldly men value the things of this world; spiritual men value things of God.

 

Genesis 26

I.  Faced with famine, Isaac determines to go to Egypt; but God stops him (1-5:)

II. Isaac follows his father’s lying footsteps and claims that Rebekah is his sister (6-11)

III. The Philistines ask Isaac to leave (12-25:)

IV. The Philistines ask Isaac to join them in a peace treaty (26-33)

V. Esau brings grief to his parents by marrying two Hittite wives (34-35)

 

Meditation Points:

Romans 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

  1. Isaac was led by God to avoid Egypt
  2. Isaac feared for his life and lied about his wife. Like father, like son.
  3. The Lord blessed Isaac; the Philistines envied him.
  4. The Philistines asked Isaac to leave; but later realized that they wanted God’s man to be their friend.
  5. Sinful sons will always bring grief to believing parents

Proverbs 10:1  The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Proverbs 15:20  A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.

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