[Brother V]

Genesis 28-30

Today we'll get to read about:

Jacob's dream

Rachel and Leah

Jacob's sons

Jacob leaving Laban.

So let's begin...

Genesis 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Remember from yesterday, we learned that Rebekah didn't want Jacob to marry a black woman. She'd rather he marry one of her neices, than to marry a negro.

2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother's brother.

Esau hears this (remember he already married 2 girls) so he marries a daughter of Ishmael, his uncle.

Jacob then does as he's told and moves out toward Haran. On his way there, he stops for a night and has a dream.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Haven't we seen that before?

That dust promise was made in Genesis 13:16 to Abram.
The same promise made with stars was made to Isaac in Genesis 26:4.
Now we see it again in Genesis 28:14.

What always happens when this promise is made to someone?

1. They marry a very attractive woman (who is a close relative).
2. That woman is barren.
3. The man has a son, from a woman other than the really attractive wife, who (even though he's the firstborn) doesn't wind up inheriting everything from the father.


Let's see how the promise turns out this time...

After Jacob wakes up, he makes an altar of the stone pillar and annoints it with oil.

18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

This is the first promise of a tithe to the LORD. If it's good enough for Jacob, isn't it good enough for you?

Genesis 29.

Genesis 29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.

These weren't ornamentals, they were just people who lived a little further east than him, in fact, they were his cousins.

4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

Remember, Haran was Lot's father, Abram and Haran were brothers, so Haran's children would be Jacob's (is it second) cousins.

5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.

Just then, a beautiful young girl with sheep shows up.

9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them.

I wonder if the journey has hardened Jacob any, made him any more of a manly man (like his brother). Or if he's still kind of a little sissy momma's boy?

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.

Well, I guess that answers that.

Jacob meets Laban, they have a feast, Jacob offers to work for Laban.

15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

Jacob says, he'll work for 7 years so he can marry Rachel.

Laban agrees.

16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

What is tender eyed?

Most likely, it means that she had a lazy eye, or was cross eyed. It was obviously something that made her not as attractive as she could be. Oh, and Rachel had some knockers.

20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

When you really love someone, working for 7 years for them, just doesn't seem like that long of a time.

21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

Is that really the way you want to talk to the father of the girl you intend to marry?

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.

23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

Jacob didn't notice that it wasn't the girl that he was truly, madly, deeply in love with? *boggle*

25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?

Jacob thought he went to bed with Bo Derek, but he woke up with Bo Didley.

Laban then comes up with a story that the firstborn daughter has to wed before the younger. Then he talks Jacob into working for another 7 years.

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

In addition, Laban gave each wife a handmaid. To Leah he gave Zilpah, to Rachel he gave Bilhah.

30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

Remember the promise checklist?


31 And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

1 and 2 are done.

So now Jacob goes on a fathering spree.

1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Levi


As with many marriages, people think that having a child will bring them closer together.

34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons:

But... that never really works, does it?

4. Judah

You know for hating Leah, he still seems to go in unto her quite a bit.

Genesis 30.

Genesis 30:1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

Jacob claims he's not a miracle worker and can't make her pregnant just like that. So Rachel offers him her handmaid Bilhah in her stead.

4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

5. Dan

But Jacob wasn't done with Bilhah:

7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
6. Naphtali

9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

So now Jacob is routinely going in unto Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and now Zilpah.

10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.

7. Gad

Zilpah has another.

8. Asher

While working the field, Reuben finds some Mandrakes. Which at the time, were believed to be fertility plants, just having them would let you get pregnant...

Rachel, wants the mandrakes, Leah exchanges them for another night with Jacob. (Apparently Jacob was spending most of the nights with Rachel at the time).

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

This is the first mention of prostitution in the Bible (kjv1611). It's a wife purchasing the favors of her husband, from her sister/co-wife.

AND.... Leah gets pregnant... again.

9. Issachar

And... Leah gets pregnant... again.

10. Zebulun

And... Leah gets pregnant... again

but it's a girl.

1a. Dinah

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

Finally.

11. Joseph

After Jacob had 12 children he asks Laban if he can leave.

Laban asks him to stay, but if Jacob won't what does he want when he leaves.

Jacob says, he'll take all the spotted and speckled animals, leaving only the pure ones with Laban (which would be the better ones). Laban agrees.

Jacob separates all the speckled and spotted ones and sends them away with some of his boys.

Then, Jacob devises a plan...

37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

So, drinking water in a trough that has coloured rods, makes ringstraked, speckled and spotted cattle.

41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.


Jacob seems to be kind of a shady character. Remember, this is the same guy who took his brothers birthright for a bowl of soup; took his brothers blessing by dressing up as him. Only breeds the best cattle/sheep/goats to have spots, so he can take them from his uncle.

43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

It would seem that Jacob is the biggest ass of them all.

And that ends the reading for today.

[Seeker]

Jacob didn't notice that it wasn't the girl that he was truly, madly, deeply in love with? *boggle*

That has always been a BIG boggle to me! How the hell would you not know.

It would seem that Jacob is the biggest ass of them all.

But yet the Lord loved Jacob more. *sigh*

[Brother Temperance]

Originally Posted by Brother V

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

Finally.

This raises an interesting theological question. Normally, when we say someone remembers something, it means they've forgotten it. If that something is making someone pregnant while their husband's had ten children with other women in the meantime, that seems to suggest they've forgotten it for quite some time. Can GOD forget things, or is that blasphemy?

[Pastor Billy-Reuben]

God doesn't forget.

Sometimes it can feel like God has forgotten us, when we pray for something for a long time without getting the results we want. We have to remember that things happen according to His plan and on His timetable.

In John Calvin's commentary on this verse, Calvin says "God ... is subject to no forgetfulness, so that, in the lapse of time, he should need to be reminded of what is past. But the Scripture describes the presence and memory of God from the effect produced upon ourselves, because we conceive him to be such as he appears to be by his acts."

In other words, Rachel only felt like God had forgotten about her.

Pastor Billy-Reuben

[repented harlot70]

I am beginning to see the correlation between pretty and barren women.

[Pure_Angel]

This is so intresting, I hope that I will never be barren as Rachel. It must be awful!
Praise Jesus! Praise him!

Yours in Christ
Elisabeth