Chapter 27: I have to say that I do not understand why the blessing given by a father is so powerful and irrevocable... I also do not see why Isaac could not just come up with some nice wording or some other good thing to give to Esau... afterall, Isaac does come up with even a 2nd nice blessing for Jacob in Chapter 28 (verse 3-4). The biggest conclusion I came to in this chapter was that we need to remember that just because one of our plans succeeds doesn't mean that God agrees with our way of accomplishing it... we also have to remember that we can not circumnavigate God or somehow trick Him into getting things our way. Just a personal note for me to remember... I hope that I never think about the people we go to minister to the way that Rebekah feels about the Hittites that she lives among (especially the family)- Gen 27:46... I can see the benefit of not marrying unbelievers (don't be unequally yoked [2 Corinthians 6:14] because you will not have a common thread to tie your marriage together and will not agree to raise your family Christ-centered), but aside from that, I hope to never hate the people I am ministering to, but instead allow my life to be a light for them to God's unconditional love... I also hope that I never let bitterness, discouragement, and frustration well up in me at all, but especially to that point.
Chapter 28: So, I kind of alluded to this point in my discussion of Ch 27, but why does Isaac bless Jacob again (verse 3-4) and not call him out on his dishonesty? Maybe out of forgiveness? Figured "water under the bridge"? Out of love and respect for Rebekah? Out of pride, didn't want to admit his mistake? or ???... anyway, I pray that God grant me (us) the strength and courage to admonish our children in love and to never enable them to keep sinning, because if we do not call them out in love, then they will have a harder time coming to repentence, changing their life's path (like Brandon's sermon this weekend), and reconciling with God and lead others to Him... I do not want to hinder them, so I pray that I will not let myself be a barrier or hinderance to them.
I had to appreciate Esau's humanness, because although so spiteful, I have to admit that I have done this (verses:6-9)... when I see it here it is easy to recognize as wrong... I pray that it is that easy for me to recognize in my own life, so that I do not do it, or repent of it right away if I do.
I liked to see God fulfilling His promise (verse:13-15), despite Jacob's ill deeds, because it gives me hope and trust that God is faithful in my life, too... not that I want to try to mess up, but it reminds me that God is merciful and gracious, so I want to praise Him for continuing to hold up His end of the bargain and giving me a second (or even sometimes a 100th) chance to get my end right. Thank You, God! :) I liked how someone once said that Grace is getting the opposite of what we deserve.
In verses 14-15, it is a reminder that God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others... that He blesses us so He can bless other THROUGH us... and that what God calls us to do, He will equip us for and be with us until it is completed... God watches over us and protects us as we do His work... we won't perish until we have finished the work He made us for.
Verse 16-17 made me think about how we should not worship the place, but worship God because He is in every place (in everything, everywhere).
Verse 18-19: Do I set up rememberances of what God has done in my life? How can I be more effective in doing this? More worshipful?
Verse 20-22: Do I say that I trust God WHEN He holds us His end of the bargain?... or Do I JUST trust that He will hold us His end, and never doubt? What do I make God prove to me? What am I withholding until He does?
Chapter 29: I think that it is sweet that Jacob didn't care what people thought (verses 7-11, he did what he felt was best to show his love for Rebekah... It made me think whether I worry too much about how I am being perceived by others, instead of just doing what I know needs to be done to show love to others?... conversely, am I too impulsive in my actions sometimes, and disregard the wisdom of others?... Anyway, I also was like, "awwww", in verse 20, where it says that Jacob worked 7 years to get Rebekah, but it seemed like only days because of his love for her... sweet. :)... I think that I complain too much and that I would probably focused on the negative and not "my love", so I am convicted to try to work on that.
The rest of the chapter frustrated me with all the deception and such, so any wise insights you may have would be much appreciated. :) Although, I did find it interesting that in verse 35, Leah said that "this time I will praise the Lord" and then she stopped having kids... it made me think Was God just looking for her praise above all else?
Chapter 30: My frustration continued here, as it seemed like all these relationships and children were focused on competition not love... there was no love for their spouse, no unconditional love for their children... it was all about trying to win praise, affection, some "battle" or prize (whether real or imaginary)... then, I thought, How often do I try to "compete" with others... to be the best wife, or best mom, or best Christian, or whatever... How often do I bring misery on myself and focus on the wrong thing because of some imaginary "title" or whatever that I JUST HAVE to win? It did crack me up that Rebekah blamed Jacob for her lack of child-having (verse 1)... if everyone else was having kids I don't think it was his fault... but I like how he sets her straight in verse 2, by reminding her that God is in control of all things.... and that he, Jacob, is not God. :)
Verse 16, was like a "Oh, no she didn't" kind of thing when she told Jacob that she had hired him for the night... I'm pretty sure that would not go over big with my husband.
Verse 18 reminded me that I need to be careful to not pat myself on the back for my sinfulness, just because God chooses to bless me in it.
Verses 37-39: I thought it was interesting that putting the branches in the water influenced the color of the sheep babies... any scientific knowledge about this one?
Overall, the biggest thing that I took away from all this was that at some point, we must decide what we truly believe about God, and not stray from what we hold as God's truth just because of the actions of people... because that overarching view of the truth we see as God will ultimately effect how we view all these stories we are reading now, as well as how we view and live our own lives.
Have a wonderful night!
In His Love,
sandJ
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Our oldest daughter, did a little study with this morning and was a little confused, Jacob had many children with Leah and another woman and then had a child with Rachael. She kinda came in and started to listen to the audio during an odd time. I had to explain that Jacob had more than one wife??? I really didn't know what to say.. Her expressions was Huhhhh??? I informed her that was back in the old testament. They had multiple wives than. We are to have one wife now. And a woman is to have one husband. I was not questioned where that is stated in the bible, but will find out before she asks.
ReplyDeleteSo make sure you know too, just in case one of your child decides to ask you.
Look at 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
Good Night,
Sandj
-27 While Rebekah was still pregnant, God told her that she was carrying these 2 boys and that the younger would serve the older, yet, through impatience, and seeming desperation, she helped Jacob deceive Isaac into giving him the blessing. Obviously deception is not God's will, yet things turned out generally the way they were supposed to, and it looks like it happened this way only because of the deception. So the point is, God's in control, if we're sinning or not, and his will is supreme, no matter our actions.
ReplyDelete-27 It also struck me how seriously they took a man's word. Once it was said, no matter what new information was gained, they would not go back on their word.
-28 Jacob's ladder and God sharing the handed down covenant with Jacob, and the first introduction of the idea of giving a tenth of what you get
-29 Wow, working 14 years in order to marry a woman, that's commitment
30 Again, sins repeated through generations - Rachel talking her husband into conceiving a son through her maidservant when she was barren.
-30:22 Good to remember that God opens and closes the womb. Also, a side note, I never realized "Joseph" meant "may he add" and that Rachel named him that asking for another son
-Thanks for all of your notes, I found myself shaking my head and saying "ummhmmm" out loud the whole time (until I realized I was doing it and felt dumb talking to the computer and stopped ;)) Thanks for looking up the references, I have been thinking about the same thing myself, actually. I was always under the impression that polygamy was "okay" in the OT (never understood why, though), and then became "not okay" in the NT. But I was just thinking tonight, what makes me think it was "okay" in the OT? Just because it's there? So is Jacob's deception okay too, since it's there? The point is, nowhere in Scripture does it say it's okay that I know of, it's just there, like other sins are there as well. So, that got me searching on the internet, and don't know if you know this site, answersingenesis, but it's awesome and authentic, but what they had to say about it is here: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/12/01/contradictions-a-man-of-many-wives
Also, a link from that website gave an article about the speckled sheep that is here:
http://www.tektonics.org/lp/oddgenes.html
I don't know anything about that organization, but since answersingenesis had a link to them, I think it could be trusted.
Good night!