And they hated him

Genesis 37: 5-11: “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

At this stage of his life Joseph was just a precocious young man. He was spoilt by his father and though that he could do whatever he wanted to do. He had some dreams and made sure that he told everyone in the family about the dreams because he knew that the dreams showed that he was much better than all the other sons in the family. We know that, later on, these dreams come true but Joseph wasn’t wise to tell everyone about them at the time because that made his brothers hate him even more. However, we can learn that God uses people who are willing to submit themselves to Him in His service, even if they weren’t always perfect in their behaviour. That should be a great encouragement to a person who is just a normal Christian who thinks they don’t have much to offer. The fact is, that no one has much to offer God but God uses anyone who is willing to be used. After all, it is God’s work no ours, all we have to remember is that the glory belongs to God and not to the individual whom God uses in His service. Much later in his life Joseph had the proper attitude to his brothers. In Gen 50: 15-20 (“And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”) He forgave his brothers because he had trusted God and knew that God had worked for good in his life.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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They could not speak peaceably to him

Genesis 37: 3, 4: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

A problem always arises when there is favouritism, real or perceived. This was the beginning of a long difficult period for Joseph, even though he didn’t know it at the time. he was given a special coat, on that meant he couldn’t work out in the fields with the other brothers. As a result of this his brothers hated him. We assume that this didn’t include his full brother Benjamin because he was probably too young to be involved at that stage. His brothers were so angry that they couldn’t even have a decent conversation with Joseph. Sometimes we allow our circumstances to make us so angry that we lose the ability to communicate with anyone at all. This is what happens when people go on a shooting or a bombing spree. They are filled with frustration and anger and feel that they can’t do anything about their situation. When this happens they are overtaken by an irrational urge and end up doing something that shocks everyone who knows them. It is better to turn your mind to prayer for God can make a difference. In Prov 21: 1 (“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”) We learn that the Lord is in control of everything and He can make the impossible happen. He is always working for our good in everything that happens if we love God and have been called according to His purpose (Rom 8: 28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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These are the generations of Jacob

Gen 37: 1, 2: “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

This section brings Jacob’s document to an end. The document belonged to both Jacob and Esau but much more time was given to Esau’s heritage and qualifications to be taken seriously because he didn’t play any more substantive part in the story of Redemption. However, Herod the Great was an Idumean, one of Esau’s descendants and he tried to stop the story of Redemption when he tried to have the Lord Jesus Christ murdered at Bethlehem (see Matt 2: 16 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.”). Jacob wrote about Isaac’s history after Isaac died and then this history is completed by Joseph. He entered the story as soon as Jacob’s document finished and was responsible for the rest of the history that is described in the book of Genesis. Joseph was the only person who could have completed the document accurately as he later had the authority to question his brothers and discover their part in that history.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Another document

Gensis 36: 1-43: “Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: These are the names of Esau’s sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau’s wife. And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife. And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau’s wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife. And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.”

This section acknowledges the fact that Esau was one of Isaac’s children and was thus blessed by God. Even though Esau despised his birthright, the Lord still allowed his descendants to be part of the family of nations and play their part in the history of the region. This concludes the document that was prepared by Jacob and Esau, as we shall see later.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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Reuben went

Genesis 35: 21-29: “And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”

The major problem between Esau and Jacob began because Isaac thought that he was going to die. He wanted to have a nice meal of venison before he died so he promised Esau that he would bless him before he died. However, he didn’t actually die until more than twenty years after the blessing episode. We must be careful to remember the words of James 4: 13-15 (“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”) Our times are in God’s hands and He works according to His plan rather than ours. This passage also contains a summary of Jacob’s family after Rachel’s death.We see that the conflict between the wives and supported by Jacob led to a battleground mentality between the sons. Reuben tried to demonstrate his superiority as the firstborn by demonstrating that he was better than his father but this act led to him losing his place as the firstborn son. This also helps us to understand the conflict that occurred between Joseph and the other sons that we will soon be reading about.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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A drink offering

Genesis 35: 14-20: “And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.”

Jacob completed his offering of worship by giving a drink offering to the Lord. He gave the Lord oil, that is, he offered the Lord something that was precious to him. He reminded himself that the place where he first met God was called Bethel. This does not represent two different traditions being edited together to try and explain the place name for Bethel. Jacob promised the Lord that if the Lord brought him back then the Lord would be his God (see Gen 28: 19-22 “And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 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.”). After all, Jacob poured the oil on the stone that he had previously called Bethel and poured oil on the same stone. He was keeping the promise that he had made all those years before. After this Rachel had her second son and she died soon after the birth. She was aware that a son was born and called him “son of my sorrow”. When Jacob heard that name he changed it to “son of my strength”. This reminds us that people who deny themselves and follow the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour may easily face hardship rather than a life of pleasant prosperity. The Lord Jesus Christ is the 

author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12: 2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”) If we follow Him we may be called upon to follow His example.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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I will give it

Genesis 35: 8-13: “But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.”

Rebekah was Jacob’s mother and her nurse or maid died. We don’t read about Rebekah’s death but we do know where she was buried (see Gen 49: 30, 31 “In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.”) This was a time of weeping as Jacob was a mummy’s boy and the loss of this person who had been with Jacob when he was born was quite painful. However, it was time for Jacob to move on and the Lord appeared to him again. God reminded Jacob of his important place in the history of redemption and that God had changed his name from Jacob to Israel. He was not longer a cheat but someone who was willing to persevere so that he could see God’s blessings. Because Jacob was willing to persevere, God reminded him again of the promises and that they applied, personally, to him as well. Anyone who trusts in God and is willing to keep trusting God throughout their lives will know personal blessing. This doesn’t necessarily mean that person will be rich or famous but that they will know the peace of God in their hearts and minds and they will be content. (compare Phil 4: 7 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” and Phil 4: 11 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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