Genesis
Genesis 29:31−30:24
Highhandedness precludes God’s blessing, but faithful submission to God brings it about.
Jacob now has two wives, Leah, the unloved, and Rachel, the loved (29:31). Though unloved, Leah is the one producing children, one in almost every verse in 29:31–35. The naming of each son is poignant, as she hopes against hope that her husband’s unloving attitude to her will change. But what is significant is that Leah then stopped bearing (29:35; also 30:9). We have to wait
Genesis 29:1−30
God’s blessings do not preclude the possibility of appropriate discipline for misdeeds.
Jacob is fleeing from his brother, Esau, whom he had deceived. We find him here in Haran, the land of his uncle. He happens to arrive at the well where shepherds from Haran congregate. Which also happens to be the place where Rachel, Laban’s daughter, waters her flock. And it also happens that she arrives at that opportune moment. And it happens that Jacob finds the strength to move
Genesis 28:10−22
God’s guaranteed promises call for a response of trusting worship.
Jacob is on the run from his brother who has developed homicidal tendencies after being cheated of his blessing. The deceiver is headed to his uncle’s house. Jacob’s arrival at the “place” is apparently no accident: the verb indicates that Jacob “encountered/struck” the place (28:11). The narrator records what Jacob’s eyes see, with a threefold repeat of “behold!” (28:12, 13, 15), escalating
Genesis 26:34−28:9
Deception to obtain divine blessing, rather than trusting God to secure them, only results in catastrophic fragmentation of the community.
This well known narrative depicts four family members, each in his/her own way manipulating others, engaging in machinations to direct divine blessings into the direction he/she wants.
Isaac’s culpability is clear. His summoning of only one of his two sons, Esau, is a major faux pas, especially since they were twins. And he must have
Genesis 26:1−33
God’s blessings are sure, and obviate any need to secure them by retaliating against opposition.
Isaac finds himself in a famine, God tells him to remain where he is, in Gerar (26:1–3), and Isaac and his descendants are also promised blessing and land.
What happens next is odd: In 26:7–11, Isaac passes off his wife, Rebekah, as his sister, fearing for the safety of his own life from the hoi polloi who might seek to appropriate Rebekah. Was this fear justified?
Genesis 25:19−34
Failing to recognize God’s sovereign distribution of blessing, and despising one’s own blessing, can lead to strife.
The oracle of God in Gen 25:23, announcing the future serving of the younger by the older, explains the conflict between Esau and Jacob—a conflict that begins in the womb, that continues as the twins come out of the womb, and that persists outside the womb for the next several decades. This was a battle for the superiority and eminence that came through
Genesis 24:1−25:18
Mature faith trusts God to accomplish his purposes through his inscrutable design and through human action.
This pericope forms a sort of epilogue to the whole Abraham narrative. The patriarch’s exhortations to his servant regarding his desire for his seed, his son, to marry from among his own, form the last recorded words of Abraham (24:1–9). He twice mentions “Yahweh, the God of heavens” (24:3, 7). In these later days of his life, he is still confident in Yahweh’s
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.