Wrestling with God

Genesis 32:22-32

22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”  But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”  27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”  He said, “Jacob.”  28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”  29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”  And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.  30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.

Jacob went ahead after earlier sending many gifts to appease his estranged brother Esau.  It was still night, and so he sent his family and servants across the river first.  When he was alone, Jacob encountered a mysterious man who wrestled with him as if to delay or stop him from crossing over to join the rest.  As dawn broke and the man could not beat, he touched Jacob‘s hip and dislocated it.  He wrestled on despite the injury and its crippling pain.  The man then told him to let him go as the sun rose, but Jacob did some we see as odd, he asked for a blessing from the unknown one wrestling him.  The man asked his name, then changed it from Jacob to Israel, from “supplanter” to “God prevails.”  Then Jacob realized that he wrested with God concerning taking over the birthright from Esau he was about to see again to God having the victory in His life and future for His people through Jacob-Israel.  Therefore Jacob named that spot Penuel, meaning “facing God,” for her then realized he had been wrestling with God and His will for his life.  He limped across the river then to join the others as a changed and renamed man.  Even the Jews later made a custom of not eating the hip muscle of animals due to this encounter of Israel’s resistance to their God.  We can likewise learn as we wrestle with God’s will to accept our renaming in Christ (Revelation 3:12) as His followers and imitators, being now fruitful for God and not contending with others for significance or inheritance.  We serve each other instead of gaining the upper hand, and remember that the victory is Christ’s. 

Trust in God and Reconciliation

Genesis 32:1-21 

1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God's camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ” 6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”  9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
   13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” 19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Jacob was returning to the elder brother who gave up his birthright and blamed Jacob for the deceit initiated by their mother for Isaac’s blessing.  He feared a violent response, then God sent two angelic messengers in God’s camp whom Jacob then sent ahead to Esau offering gifts of appeasement and reconciliation.  He still prepared for battle on hearing that four hundred men accompanied his estranged and angry brother.  He prayed God’s promises as if he had to remind Him that Jacob’s descendants would multiply to fill the earth as the son of promise.  He then sent three waves of his clocks as presents to Esau ahead of him to lessen his brother’s anger and stave off a possible attack.  He trusted God, but made plans of his own as well to make up for his unbelief.  He then sent all these ahead while he camped for the night.  Jacob gives us an example of the plea to help our unbelief when faced with a life-threatening situation (Mark 9:24) “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 

Covenant of Peace Between Men Before God

Genesis 31:43-55 

43 And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44 Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
    45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49 also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 50 If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”
    51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Laban persisted in calling all that Jacob had as his own still, no matter that he had given his daughters in marriage and the flock as earned wages to Jacob.  But he also wanted to end the dispute with a covenant agreement of peace as witnessed before God for its seriousness and lasting effect.  Jacob built a pile of stones as a lasting reminder that God is the enforcer of their agreement not to continue to harm each other.  Laban and Jacob would not cross that border to harm each other.  It was God who would witness and judge if either broke that oath.  They swore by God and Jacob specifically also swore by the fear of God which Isaac his father had lived by in addition to Abraham and his sons.  Jacob offered a sacrifice and they shared a meal, setting a precedent for the future (Psalm 22:25-26).  The next day after the peace was made and they shared together, Laban retuned home and left Jacob and his family in peace.  We also can agree before God in Christ to love peaceably and resolve differences with Him as witness and the one who watches over us and our vows.  How much more now that we are in Him! 

When We are Mistreated and Cheated

Genesis 31:22-42 

22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24 But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”  25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.  26 And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27 Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28 And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30 And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?”  31 Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32 With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
    33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.  36 Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39 That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41 Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

After Jacob left because of Laban’s deception and broken promises, along with Laban’s sons envying Jacob’s prosperity, Laban caught up with them.  But God warned Laban in a dream not to harm Jacob, to “speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”  He first confronted Jacob as to why he seemingly stole away his daughters as if spoil from a battle instead of letting him say goodbye, then recounted God’s warning.  Of course, every time before that Jacob wanted to leave Laban found ways to keep him, so it is no wonder he left.  He also asked why Jacob stole his idols as well as his daughters, and Jacob let him search for the idols which Rachel cleverly hid for herself.  Jacob angrily reminded Laban how he had labored for twenty years and made Laban prosper as well, and how he looked after what was Laban’s, being accountable for loss.  Fourteen years he worked for his wives (the original agreement was for seven for Rachel, but he was deceived into working for both), and another six years for the flock, with wages changing ten times as agreements were not honored.  Jacob fell back on his fear of God and reliance on His grace in affliction to endure it all, a good example to us when mistreated and cheated.  There is much in what happened here to both encourage and warn us; warning to deal fairly with others, and encouraging when we trust God’s goodness in His sovereign grace towards us. 

God’s Hand to Deliver from Deception and Greed

Genesis 31:1-21 

1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5 and said to them, “I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 And you know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. 9 So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.  10 “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11 Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”
    14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16 For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”  17 Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's. 20 And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

Jacob prospered under God’s hand while Laban’s tried to deceive and profit from the labor of Jacob’s for him.  The Lord told him to go back home, and to reassure him that He was with and for him.  God gave both direction and assurance.  God showed Jacob in a dream how He saw all that Laban did to deceive Jacob to get rich, and how God had directed Jacob to prosper instead with the unique method of coloring the flock to increase Jacob instead with the strongest and most animals.  God then warned and commanded Jacob it was time to go.  Even Laban’s daughters whom Jacob had married saw the greed of their father and that their inheritance was what Jacob now owned.  They readily agreed to leave.  Ah, but Rachel stole her father’s household idols when he was out, probably to get one more thing out of spite for all that had been taken from her.  She did not see how the Lord thought of these things, however.  They all left without a word and took all across the river back toward Gilead.  We see God’s hand vindicated Jacob in his seemingly deceptive deeds, but against Laban’s true deception for gain.  

Examples of Deception to Avoid

Genesis 30:25-43 

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”  27 And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” 28 Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
    29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. 30 For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”  31 So he said, “What shall I give you?”  And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: 32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. 33 So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”  34 And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” 35 So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
    37 Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. 38 And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock.  41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. 43 Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Deception breeds deception when God is not forefront in the decisions we make.  Here Jacob worked long and hard for a wife, ending up being deceived with the sister he did not choose, then worked longer for the younger whom he really wanted.  The taking of not just two wives, but also their servants as wives just to bear children ended up creating more strife.  Their father then changed the terms again for Jacob to continue laboring for his profit, until Jacob deceived him in return by finding a way to gain all the strongest of Laban’s flocks.  The way he arranged to take what appeared to be blemished and imperfect animals which were really the strongest is quite brilliant, but we are called to be honest and not to use deception and lies in return for how we are mistreated.  Jacob did, God allowed and forgave, and the nation of Israel would result.  Yet how would it have gone without all the deceit and broken promises?  We are called to learn from the examples here, not to repeat the mistakes we are shown.  Jesus made this clear in His teaching, summing much of it up at His discourse on the mount near Galilee (Matthew 5:1-7:28).  

Strife Bred of Envy and Competition

Genesis 30:1-24

1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”  2 And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”  3 So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” 4 Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.. 7 And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
    9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. 10 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. 12 And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.  14 Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”  15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?”  And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes.”  16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.  17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. 19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.  22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”

The competition between the two wives of Jacob increased as children were born, the younger sister Rachel became jealous with envy for her older sister because she herself had no children to make her husband want her more.  She even demanded children from Jacob who reminded her that he was not God to be able to make her fruitful.  Rachel’s desperation led her to give her servant as a third wife to her husband to bring children by proxy to make Rachel be more favored (as she thought).  She viewed this as a wrestling match which she won somehow by doing this which was not God’s command for two alone to become one.  Then the older sister wife stopped having children and followed suit by giving her servant as a fourth wife to their husband, and more children. This led to further rivalry and conflict.  Yet out of all these things against God’s commands, He used for good to create the twelve sons who would become the tribes of Israel.  We also know of at least one daughter, Dinah.  The last to be born was Joseph, who later would be sold off to Egypt and deliver Israel from bondage and servitude to sin. 

Faithfulness and Fruitfulness

Genesis 29:31-35 

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

Jacob loved Rachel more than his first wife Leah because he chose Rachel but was fooled into taking the older and less attractive first.  But God answered the lack of love towards Leah with children, not giving Rachel offspring until later.  In this chapter we see the birth of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; each was named for her struggles, such as affliction, being loved, attachment, and praise to the Lord, as she sought her husband’s heart through giving him offspring.  Then she stopped bearing children as a dramatic pause in the story.  We see here how circumstances led to desperation for love, as well as God’s compassion and mercy to provide what others cannot or will not.  He is faithful and makes us fruitful in His calling and plans. 

Deception, Daughters, Desire, and Design

Genesis 29:15-30 

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.  18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”  19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.  21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”  26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”  28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

Jacob’s uncle demanded him to work for his daughter Rachel due to his desire for that daughter he loved.  He chose the more beautiful of the two, and offered to work seven years for her as wife.  The years flew by as if days due to his love and desire for Rachel.  When the time came, then, he demanded her as his wife by their agreement, but Laban got him drunk and deceived Jacob by slipping the older (firstborn) into the wedding tent.  The deception turned to a demand for yet another seven years labor for the younger daughter he was originally promised.  When he took her as wife, Jacob loved Rachel the most still, yet still had to work off the demands of Laban for having her over the next seven years. The deception of Laban over his daughters played off Jacob’s desire for the one woman he loved, and led to having two wives which was never God’s intent, for it is written, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), and “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31).”  God clearly designed and intended one man and one wife, not multiple wives, to become one in flesh (marriage).  Anytime that design is altered, there is only trouble and its consequences to follow. 

Seeking in the Lord to Find

Genesis 29:1-14 

1 So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2 And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth. 3 Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth. 4 And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?”  And they said, “We are from Haran.”  5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”  And they said, “We know him.”  6 So he said to them, “Is he well?”  And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.”  7 Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”  8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.”  
    9 Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.  11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father.  13 Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

Jacob kept traveling after seeing the stairway to heaven until he stopped at a well, much like the one his father’s servant did when finding his mother Rebekah.  This well was capped with a large rock so that they had to wait until all gathered before someone rolled the stone away.  Those by the well told Jacob that they knew his relative Laban, and then that his daughter Rachel was coming with her sheep just then.  Jacob was moved when seeing her and hearing who she was, and rolled the stone away himself to give water to his uncle Laban’s flock which she brought.  He rejoiced to see her and told her he was family so that she could go home to spread the good news.  Laban welcomed his nephew and so he stayed a whole there. This shows again how seeking a spouse must be in God’s family, not of the world, and how God Leads those honoring Him in this.  There are similarities and differences with how Isaac found a wife from this spot and how Jacob is about to, yet the common things which matter are seeking to be equally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14) and led by God.  This is the example God provides for single people in the Lord.

Door to Heaven in God’s House

Genesis 28:10-22 

10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
    16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”  18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Jacob rested one night on his journey and was shown a dream with a door to enter heaven up a ladder from God’s house.  The angels traveled up and down from heaven to earth, and God spoke from above it all to Jacob.  He began with who He is as the God of the living (Matthew 22:32), including Abraham and Isaac who were dead yet alive.  The Lord reiterated the promise of both the land and descendants of blessing to Jacob as Je had to his father and father’s father.  God had to remind each of His unshakable will of promise and blessing, for they were of His choice for and of them to certainly bring it all to fruition.  He also promised that He would be with Jacob everywhere he journeyed, just as our Lord also promises us (Matthew 28:20).  We can certainly trust the eternal and omnipotent God of the living who never die!  Jacob then erected an altar of worship and named the place the House of God whom He had met there in what appeared to be a dream.  He vowed solemnly that if God brought him safely home as promised that he would make the Lord his God in heart and life.  He consecrated what he had to God, promising a tenth as a title of worship.  We see how God preserves us by His covenant promises even to unending life beyond death, and how he alone deserves worship with all we possess and are.  These things have been written for our example. For us, Jesus the Messiah is the door we enter and our bodies become the house He lives in forever.

Spiritual Birthright

Genesis 28:1-9

1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.
    3 “May God Almighty bless you,
    And make you fruitful and multiply you,
    That you may be an assembly of peoples;
    4 And give you the blessing of Abraham,
    To you and your descendants with you,
    That you may inherit the land
    In which you are a stranger,
    Which God gave to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.  6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

After Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac and took the birthright despised and rejected by Esau, after Rebekah feared for her sons and planned to send the younger away, we come to this point.  Isaac agreed that Jacob must marry one of God’s people (to be equally yoked and not drawn after false gods), and commanded he go to his mother’s father for a wife from Laban’s (Genesis 24:29) daughters.  This is the place where Isaac’s servant found Rebekah as his wife.  Isaac then sent him with a blessing for God to prosper his journey and continue the promise of Abraham for God’s inheritance by trusting Him (faith).  Jacob departed for continuing the blessings, but Esau continued his cosmic rebellion against God by the sin of marriage to one not of God’s people and blessings.  He took from a daughter of Ishmael, the son of no promise, just worldly prosperity.  We must also beware of seeking to go outside God’s people and commands to follow by faith for His promised fruitfulness.  Our birthright in Christ demands no less than our all in following as His disciples. 

Consequences of Despising God’s Blessing

Genesis 27:30-46 

30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me.”  32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”  So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”  33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
    34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”  35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”  36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”  37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”  38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.  39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
    “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,
    And of the dew of heaven from above.
    40 By your sword you shall live,
    And you shall serve your brother;
    And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
    That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”  42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, 45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”  46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob finished receiving Isaac’s blessings and just left when Esau came back with a fresh meal from his hunting as promised, only to discover the blessing had been given to his younger brother and could not be retracted.  He pleaded for the blessing but learned that the deception of the supplanter had grabbed it as he had his heel at birth, though he had actually given up his birthright already for a similar bowl of stew (Genesis 25:31-34).  His rash promise cost him everything he wanted; now he reaped the consequences as God allowed Rebekah to move Jacob as an assurance of that agreement.  All Isaac could do to bless Esau now was to offer material blessings along with fighting and subservience until he can break free from his brother’s dominance.  This of course led him to hate his brother and plan to kill him to take the blessing sooner, but he waited for his father to die first.  Rebekah heard of the plan and sent Jacob off to Laban in Haran until Esau cooled off.  She did not want to lose them both, one to murder and the other to the hate.  She also was concerned that Jacob May marry outside of God’s people, and used that as the reason for sending him away.  On one hand we see deception, but we also see how God enforced Esau’s rash oath because he despised God’s blessing through Abraham to Isaac offered to him; he sold this birthright long before this time. 

God’s Plans in Spite of Ours

Genesis 27:18-29

18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”  And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”  19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”  20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”  21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.  24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”  He said, “I am.”  25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
    “Surely, the smell of my son
    Is like the smell of a field
    Which the Lord has blessed.
    28 Therefore may God give you
    Of the dew of heaven,
    Of the fatness of the earth,
    And plenty of grain and wine.
    29 Let peoples serve you,
    And nations bow down to you.
    Be master over your brethren,
    And let your mother's sons bow down to you.
    Cursed be everyone who curses you,
    And blessed be those who bless you!”

As Rebekah and Jacob’s plan to gain the inheritance for the younger and favored son continued, Jacob brought the stew to Isaac his father and announced himself as Esau the firstborn as if he had just killed some game and quickly prepared the favorite dish.  Then he added to the deception by saying it was God who gave him the quick kill of success.  He went from simple deception to maligning God’s name.  Isaac heard the voice of Esau but was fooled by the scent and goat hair imitating Esau by Jacob the supplanter (Genesis 25:26).  After hos father ate and drank, he smelled Esau and inadvertently blessed Jacob in his place.  He promised God’s prosperity, his son’s rule, and blessings for all who blessed Jacob in return (as well as curses on those opposing him with cursing).  The deception begun by Rebekah and carried out by Jacob set the nation of Israel in motion for the future.  God sovereignly used this to work His will to make a chosen people for Himself.  The reasons why we can guess at, but we know He does not abide lies, yet is merciful to use us in spite of our sin. There is hope for us all with the assurance of His plans over ours. 

Taking the Curse for Blessing

Genesis 27:1-17 

1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.”  2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
    5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”  11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”  13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

Isaac was nearing death and could no longer see, so he called the firstborn son to give him a last wish before blessing him to inherit his blessings.  He sent Esau out to hunt and make him a last meal of fresh meat.  Isaac’s wife was listening and had other plans for her favorite, the younger Jacob who would later be called Israel.  The deception to follow was used by God to bring about a nation, which puzzles us from our limited view outside of God’s sovereign work and plans.  We must remember that God did not tell Rebekah or Jacob to do these things, yet He worked to bring them to pass.  We truly only see the mere edges of His ways (Job 26:14).  Jacob was instructed by his mother to get two young goats for her to make Isaac’s favorite stew as a pretense for Esau’s work, and so they prepared the deception for Isaac.  She even answered Jacob’s concerns for his father feeling his smooth skin so unlike his rough and hairy brother’s by using the goat skins on his neck and hands to ensure the deception worked.  He was given Esau’s clothes to wear to top off the act as convincing.  She then handed him the food and sent him in with the call to obey as she took on the curse for the deception.  In a different way Christ took on our sin and our curse to earn our blessings before our Heavenly Father, but it was not by deception, but complete righteousness. 

Fear Not, but Trust and Obey

Genesis 26:19-35

19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”   23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
    26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”  28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”  30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.  32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.  34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

After leaving the Philistines and digging out the old wells, they found more water essential to living there.  But these locals claimed the water of this and the next well.  The third well was not contested.  Then the Lord came to Isaac to reassure His presence and blessings of promise as to Abraham.  “Do not fear,” He said.  “I am with you,” He continued.  He promised again to less and make Isaac fruitful for the sake of Abraham (because of his father’s faith to take God at His word, and for his descendants).  After all this, the king of the Philistines who asked him to leave them because of God’s work in Isaac, this king came to make an agreement out of this fear to not attack each other.  He wanted safety and knew that Isaac was a man of integrity, so he wanted him to make that covenant for protection.  As they feasted to commemorate this treaty, Isaac’s servants found more water as a blessing from God.  But then in this prosperity Isaac married two more wives outside his people who would become a snare of trouble, a “grief of mind” to both Isaac and Rebekah.  We also see how perseverance is needed for God’s blessings, but also how our responsibility to follow in trust that obeys is critical to avoiding further snares and troubles.  

Lessons of Honestly and Trust

Genesis 26:1-18 

1 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
    6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”  Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’”  10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
    12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”  17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

After Esau rejected what God offered, Isaac was ready to go to Egypt when another famine came as when his father did the same.  But God told him to stay and inherit the promises to Abraham for the land to be, right where he already was as led by God.  He was promised to be a great nation and have descendants of faith and obedience of His father Abraham (Galatians 3:6, 9 and Romans 4:3, 20-22), as many as the stars in the heavens!  He obeyed and stayed.  Then Isaac repeated a mistake of his father, pretending his wife was his sister (this time it was not so) because he was afraid for his life due to her beauty.  The king of the Philistines found out before anyone touched her and confronted Isaac concerning his deceit, and did not send him away as his father, but warned everyone to leave her alone or incur God’s wrath and the king’s.  Isaac then was able to stay and reaped well from his crops and herds, gaining envy from the Philistines as a result.  The king finally told him to leave with the unrest, and Isaac traveled to where Abraham had dug wells before, unstopping them and calling them by the names inspired by God as given by his father.  From these events we can learn to trust God without deceiving others, trusting His certain promises, and looking forward to our heavenly country as we live where He puts us now with contentment.  These are lessons of honesty and faith. 

Do Not Despise God’s Gifts

Genesis 25:29-34 

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.  31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”  32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”  33 Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”  So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

The brothers born for conflict find the tipping point when Jacob made stew and Esau came in hungry from the field, likely after hunting all day.  He was tired and would do anything for a bowl of Jacob’s stew.  Jacob the supplanter told his brother he could have it at the price of the firstborn, the birthright of inheritance.  This inheritance was not just material, but also spiritual with a father’s blessings.  Esau worries more about his self-serving appetite in the here and now than a future blessing, willingly and gladly agreeing.  He even took a an oath to give it up to Jacob.  This is how much he despised God’s gift of blessing and preferred the single meal over the immense gifts from God’s hand that do not grow old (Hebrews 12:16-17).   Do we ever look down on God’s grace in His gift of salvation to the point of failing to value it above all else?  This example is a warning to desire better, that is, heavenly things.  

God’s Choices and Plan

Genesis 25:12-28 

12 Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.
    19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
    23 And the Lord said to her:
    “Two nations are in your womb,
    Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
    One people shall be stronger than the other,
    And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.  27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The genealogies of Ishmael and Isaac are given, but Ishmael’s is shorter because the lineage of God’s promise is through Isaac.  Ishmael had twelve sons as princes and lived to be one hundred and thirty seven.  Isaac, however, had problems having children with Rebekah much like Abraham and Sarah did.  Yet God answered Isaac at a much younger age to give them twins; but the twins would be at odds with each other as brothers and later as nations.  The older and stronger would end up serving the younger brother, which went against the culture and expectations.  The red hairy strong man was Esau the hunter, and the younger indoor type Jacob grabbed his brother’s heel as he was being delivered, showing how Jacob would take hold of the kingdom and birthright of the older.  The father Isaac favored the hunter, but their mother loved Jacob the mild more.  This helped set things in motion which God foretold as He had planned.  These are God’s choices and plan.  His ways and thoughts are not ours. 

God’s Promised Faithfulness

Genesis 25:1-11 

1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
    7 This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

After the death of Sarah and the marriage of his son of promise, Abraham remarried and had six more children, who in turn had at least ten grandchildren.  But Abraham did not split up all he had to give to these, but to Isaac as the one the promises for God’s descendants was given to; neither the firstborn son of a bondwoman nor these from a new wife had that right given by God.  Before he died, Abraham wisely sent them all away from Isaac to the east to avoid immediate trouble.  But finally he died at a good age of one hundred and seventy-five.  He was full of years, meaning not only the number of his age, but the fulfillment in them by God’s working and his faithfulness to his Lord.  He was buried in the one piece of the promised land of God which he had bought at a price for Sarah years before.  God then continued His blessings on Isaac as promised.  He is faithful. 

Wonderful Provision of Promise

Genesis 24:52-67

52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.  54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”  55 But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”  56 And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”  57 So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”  And she said, “I will go.”  59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
    “Our sister, may you become
    The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
    And may your descendants possess
    The gates of those who hate them.”
61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.  62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65 for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”  The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.  66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. 

Given approval for Rebekah to go to Isaac to become his wife, the servant of Abraham turned to worship God and bowed down before Him at the news of such grace.  He gave her the jewelry and also gifts to her family, then stayed the night.  The family wanted to keep her there longer with him as a guest, but they asked Rebekah if she wanted to stay longer, and she preferred to go.  The family blessed her with wishes of fruitfulness and descendants who would amount to something good.  They went to Isaac’s house and she covered herself with a veil until the wedding that night.  Isaac took Rebekah into his mother’s tent to consummate the marriage, giving him added comfort for her recent loss.  God had answered Abraham’s desire to see his son wed to one of God’s people, and how wonderfully He provided.  It was a wonderful provision of promise. 

Willing to Follow as Led by God

Genesis 24:32-51

32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”  And he said, “Speak on.”  34 So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has. 37 Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38 but you shall go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40 But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house. 41 You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’ 42 “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44 and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.’ 45 “But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47 Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son. 49 Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

Abraham’s servant would not eat when shown hospitality until he told the whole story of why and how he came to the family of Nahor, brother of Abraham. He was to find a wife for Isaac before he died, but not of the Canaanites, and the journey led him to the well where a test revealed God’s sovereign hand in finding Rebekah.  If he could not find such a wife from God’s people, he would have been free from the oath to find one, but God supplied the direction to His choice for Isaac.  He had plans already laid out.  The servant conveyed how God led him in the way of truth to her, but the choice was still given to her family to let her go or not. He was ready to continue on to the right or left as God led (Isaiah 30:21) if they were not willing.  They recognized this as being from God and consented to let her go to be married to Isaac after hearing God’s work.  We must also be willing to follow as led. 

Sovereignty in Our Calling

Genesis 24:22-31

22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?”  24 So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”  26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.” 28 So the young woman ran and told her mother's household these things.  29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.” 

After the man Isaac sent found Rebekah according to the fleece test with the water for both himself and the ten camels, he waited for the camels to all finish.  Then he brought out the jewelry of promise as an engagement gift, conditional of course on the proposal’s acceptance by her and her family.  When he asked who she was and found out that she was a relative of Abraham, he bowed down presumably to pray and thank God as he worshipped Him for finding her by such odd means.  God had led him to find the right one by odd means, which is a demonstration of His sovereign work of grace and mercy.  Now Isaac would not have a wife outside of God’s people and Abraham would see that before he died.  Rebekah went to tell her mother and family, and her brother Laban heard the tale and went to the man from Abraham to offer blessings and hospitality.  We can learn from this to let God guide our efforts, seek His honor and glory in what we pursue, and show hospitality and grace to His people in going about our Father’s business. Acknowledge His sovereignty in our work.

God so Wonderfully Leads Us

Genesis 24:1-21 

1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”  6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
    10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. 12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”  15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”  18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

Abraham was getting old and wanted to ensure his son Isaac married within his people before Abraham died.  He was a hundred years old when Isaac was born, and did not have much time left, but was not able to travel to where his people lived to look for a suitable wife for Isaac.  It is written here that he was sent to to God’s promised land of which He said, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ and “He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.”  The servant swore to do so and left with wealth to make a deal for the suitable woman God would lead him to locate.  In the city of Abraham’s brother Nahor the servant stopped at a well and asked God to bring the right one by a fleece of sorts to confirm her.  He would ask for a drink, and if she were God’s chosen, that woman would also offer to give water to his camels also (he had brought ten).  Before he was even done asking God this sign, Rebekah came, the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother, one of his people as required and desired.  She was very beautiful and gracious to give him the water and enough for the ten camels until they all had enough.  Still the man quietly wondered if this was the one God had brought as asked, and if she and her family would agree to the marriage.  He doubted because God had answered immediately and precisely.  We also find ourselves unable at times to believe God’s faithfulness in answers to prayer and His guidance, and must trust as He so wonderfully leads us. 

A Foothold in the Promised Land

Genesis 23 

1 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”  5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”  7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”  10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”  12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”  14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.” 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.  17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.  19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

Sarah lived to be 127 years old, and when she died Abraham still did not own the land in Canaan which God had given to him.  He wept for his bride, then found a place to bury her in a cave he did not own, and began bargaining for it.  The sons of Heth offered any place he wanted at no cost (2 Samuel 24:24), but he insisted on paying the full market value for the cave for a tomb.  They sold him the field and trees with the cave after negotiating the price between nothing and Abraham’s offer.  He had to buy more than just the cave he wanted and the trees to maintain, but he then owned land as God promised.  This same cave would later serve as his own tomb (Genesis 25:9-10).  He had a foothold in the promised land.  We also have a promised country (Hebrews 11:16-17) to come in eternity, and the price has been fully paid. 

God Works All Things for Good

Genesis 22:20-24 

20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” 23 And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

How God works!  Abraham’s brother’s lineage is given here to show how the granddaughter of Nahor would become Abraham’s daughter-in-law later by God’s hand (Genesis 24).  Yes, Rebekah would be chosen for Isaac as his wife by a revealed will of God in such an unpredictable way, and so the lineage is first clearly spelled out here so we see the thread woven into their lives later.  The lesson here is that God wonderfully leads each of us down a fruitful road, even when there are numerous hardships and trials.  He truly does have a wonderful plan for His chosen, just not the easy and carefree way we wish for or expect.  He works sovereignly for His glory and we taste His goodness in the love behind it all. We can trust that He does work all things for good (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 8:28) to His called ones who love Him for His grace.