Sermon - AudioGen 32-34 - Audio
Gen 32-34 - Daily Reading
Daily Insights - Please Comment
Opening Prayer asking to understand and apply the Story to our lives
Almighty God, in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your Word; and give me grace that I may clearly understand and freely choose the way of your wisdom; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Genesis 32
- 32.1: This is the end of the patriarch’s connection with Abraham’s extended family. No more will Abraham’s family go back to their original home.
- 32.3: Esau has been busy nation building for the past 20 years. He has forced out the people’s of the land and built a large and powerful force. He has also gained great wealth by plundering the peoples. It is interesting to note that the people not blessed by God are the first to establish a nation. It will be hundreds of years until Israel actually becomes a nation with a homeland.
- 32.4ff: In a series of actions we see Jacob acting in ways that speak of his being subservient to Esau. He sends gifts, he bows down before Esau (seven times, which is what an inferior does in that culture in the presence of someone who is superior), he speaks to Esau as a servant and so on. Perhaps one of the most interesting things that happens is when Jacob speaks of the gift (33.10) that he desires to give Esau. The word gift can also be translated blessing. Jacob says, “I want to give you a blessing and I will bow down before you” i.e. Jacob is giving back the blessing he stole from his brother. Esau accepts and in doing so ends the old rivalry.
- 32.8ff: a mature prayer compared with his bargaining prayer when he first crossed the river to go to Laban’s.
- 32.22-32: There is much discussion about whom Jacob wrestled that night. Most Christian commentators hold that it was God, but Jewish commentators hold that it was the guardian angel of Esau. The inability of the angel to defeat Jacob spoke of days ahead that Edom would not be able to defeat Israel. Given the fact that Jacob speaks of seeing the face of God in a later verse it seems most likely that Jacob does indeed wrestle with God.
- 32.28: Israel means “God rules”, often in popular language it is said to mean “he who struggles with God.
- 33.10: this encounter has echoes of sinners encountering God and finding a face of kindness because of the work of Christ on the cross.
- •33.18-20: Jacob/Israel celebrates the faithfulness of God in bringing him safely into the land after many dangers (i.e. Laban, Esau, and a dangerous journey over many miles). He sets up an altar and gives God yet another name (isn’t it interesting how many names God is given in the book of Genesis). This time the name is El Elohe Israel which probably means “mighty is the God of Israel” a fitting title for the God who has brought him safely home.
- The language (Hebrews words used) at the beginning of Dinah’s story indicate that she is like a teenager who has snuck out at night to visit the friends her parents had forbidden her to see.
- Simon and Levi are introduced as her full brothers here to explain their actions on Dinah’s behalf.
- 34.1: “women (literally “daughters”) of the land. In other places in Genesis these women are considered to be off limits.
- 34.2: saw, took, violated—reflects the severity of the attack.
- 34.3: drawn, loved, spoke—reflects that he has now deeply fallen for Dinah.
- 34.7: Grief—every other time this word is used in the Bible is it used of God’s reaction to human wickedness.
- 34.13: Dinah is still being held at Shechem’s place. The brothers have no way to get her back because Hamor has more power than they do. In this society the responsibility for defending a sister falls to the brothers.
- 34.26ff: Simeon and Levi will lose their inheritance in the land of Israel after the exile because of their actions..
6 comments:
Easu is quite a study. What does it all say?
He fought with his brother in the womb, and when he was born he was not only red but had fur.
The story of the purchased birthright shows me he had limited ability to think, he was more like a wild animal that just reacts to the stimuli of the moment - the future does not exist, he never gave the ramifications of his actions a thought.
At the blessing. Jacob wore goat skins on his arms to mimic Easu. We had goats, their coat is a bit longer than a Labrador Retriever. This is not a guy with hair on his arms, this guy has a pelt! He smelled funny too v:27.
Today Larry tells us he is a violent warlord and Jacob's actions tells me he is easily conned.
Altogether I get a picture of some animalistic throwback, has got to live out in the wild, short on logic, has fur, smells bad and is violent. Not the sort that God would use to build the nation that his plans required. And the Hittite wives? What kind of a girl would go for this guy?
Isaac is all proud of his fur-bearing, studly, hard-fighting, outdoorsy jock of a son and has little use for Jacob who tends the family business and gets good grades. Rebecca knows.
Are there wider applications? Surely none of this was lost on the Rabbi's as most of them probably knew what a goat felt like.
Tim J. mentioned previous ownership of goats. Can he (or anyone else) explain Jacob's method of breeding spotted, striped, and speckled livestock in chapter 30? Is this method based more on the natural order of things or divine intervention?
Hi Tim A,
Jacob's method of breeding was based on what we would call an old wives tale. The idea was that you putted striped branches in front of animals in heat to cause them to bear such offspring. While Jacob made these attempts to increase his wealth he later acknowledges that the true source of his wealth comes from God. Genesis 31.8 "If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. 10 In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. "
Tarkem....your question is interesting....it seems to me that God used both, "the natural order of things, and divine intervention".
Solid colored animals can still be genetic carriers of the spots. So when bred together will produce some spotted ones and some solid ones, and the solid ones will again carry the spotting gene.
But the thing with the sticks must have been God honoring Jacob's efforts as the later verses that Larry used point out. I have never seen sticks control genetics.
It’s amazing how quickly we can read past the first verse without even blinking an eye. Jacob sees the Angels and he recognizes them as such and so names the place “God’s Camp”. I mean come on! Jacob is walking along and there are Angels? Angels! Was this so common for people in OT times to have such experiences and even more common for us that we don’t stop to think about how incredible this is? I wonder how much my own walk would be greatly encouraged if I had an Angel to greet me too! Sure would go a long way to affirming direction in life. So what’s the thought out there? Has anyone seen an Angel recently?
Rich,
First, in chapter 28 after his dream Jacob calls the place "Bethel," meaning the "house of God." This is because he believed that God was present in that place. This time it is angels that reveal themselves to Jacob. His response is to say that this is "God's camp." His response is much like the first one in Gen 28, except the naming of the place is very different. He calls this place "Mahanaim" meaning, 2 camps. "It's possible that Jacob is alluding to God's camp and Jacob's camp." - ESV Study
Second, by the response that we see from people in the OT whenever they encounter an angel I don't think it was a regular occurrence for most. Jacob seems to be a pretty stubborn guy and is in need of more "divine intervention" in order to continue on or to have faith. It is thought that the placement of these angels for Jacob was to strengthen and increase his faith. Esau was going to come to him shortly after that and Jacob had no idea what to expect, but this little encounter proved that God was with him and was watching over him.
I do think that angels can still reveal themselves today. You can see this even in Acts 5 with the apostles "escape" from prison, and in Acts 27 in the ship with Paul. Angels are seen as messengers and "beings" that carry out the message or work of God on His behalf.
At Pentecost we were given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In John 16 Jesus promises and tells us about the Holy Spirit that is coming upon His death. I believe that this is now how God chooses to communicate and direct His people in His will. I have had God "speak to me" through the reading of the Word, prayer and meditation time, regular daily events, and through being in community with other believers. This is not to say that seeing an angel isn't possible. However, remember that angels don't always have "good" messages to deliver (Sodom).
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