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Notes: Genesis 28-29

February 4, 2008 by

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

February 3, 2008 by

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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