Day 11: Genesis 31-33

(The previous post began covering Jacob's time away from Esau. Jacob got married to Leah and Rachel. Jacob and Laban reached an agreement on the terms behind Jacob leaving Laban.)

Genesis 31
¹ And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.
² And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
³ And Jehovah said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

(Laban was not as positive towards Jacob as he was in the past. God told Jacob to leave.)

⁴ And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,
⁵ and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with me.
⁶ And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
⁷ And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

(We did not read about Laban changing Jacob's wages ten times. Apparently, Laban had more judgment coming against him than what we have read.)

⁸ If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstreaked.
⁹ Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
¹⁰ And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceive, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled.

(Jacob gave God the credit for giving him Laban's cattle. Jacob had another dream.)

¹¹ And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here am I.
¹² And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
¹³ I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.

(Jacob explained to his wives the reason for leaving with a long explanation that referenced Justice and God's direction. God was settling the injustices.)

¹⁴ And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?
¹⁵ Are we not accounted by him as foreigners? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite devoured our money.
¹⁶ For all the riches which God hath taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.

(Rachel and Leah wanted to know how this would affect their inheritance.)

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels;
¹⁸ and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan.

(Jacob left with his wives, children, and possessions.)

¹⁹ Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.

(Rachel stole the teraphim from her father. Teraphim meant "idol; image." Rachel stole her father's god.)

²⁰ And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
²¹ So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
²² And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
²³ And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead.

(It took Laban seven days to catch up to Jacob who had a three day head start.)

²⁴ And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said unto him, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

(God went to Laban in a dream in which God warned Laban against speaking good or bad to Jacob. How could Laban talk with Jacob?)

²⁵ And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and Laban with his brethren encamped in the mountain of Gilead.
²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?
²⁷ Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp;
²⁸ and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly.

(Laban asked questions.)

²⁹ It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

(Laban stated facts. Physical first, then spiritual, and he finished with the mental and emotional.)

³⁰ And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

(Laban concluded with a question.)

³¹ And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me by force.
³² With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

(Jacob's experience with Laban caused him to believe Laban would treat him unjustly again. Jacob did not know it was Rachel.)

³³ And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maid-servants; but he found them not. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat upon them. And Laban felt about all the tent, but found them not.
³⁵ And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee; for the manner of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the teraphim.

(Rachel hid the teraphim. She stated she could not rise for her father because she was menstruating.)

³⁶ And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me?
³⁷ Whereas thou hast felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two.

(Jacob felt wronged and asked Laban questions. Then Jacob shared his frustrations.)

³⁸ These twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flocks have I not eaten.
³⁹ That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
⁴⁰ Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
⁴¹ These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.

(Jacob served Laban for twenty years!)

⁴² Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.

(God rebuked Laban because of Justice.)

⁴³ And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne?
⁴⁴ And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

(Laban offered to make a covenant with Jacob. This was the third deal between Jacob and Laban.)

⁴⁵ And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
⁴⁶ And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat there by the heap.
⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

(Jegar-saha-dutha and Galeed both meant "witness heap." Laban used Aramaic and Jacob used Hebrew.)

⁴⁸ And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:
⁴⁹ and Mizpah, for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

(Mizpah meant "watchtower.")

⁵⁰ If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if thou shalt take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
⁵¹ And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set betwixt me and thee.
⁵² This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

(The witness was a reminder meant to prevent them from harming each other.)

⁵³ The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac.
⁵⁴ And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.
⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed and returned unto his place.

(The deal Jacob and Laban made led to peace between them.)




Genesis 32
¹ And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
² And Jacob said when he saw them, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

(Mahanaim meant "two camps.")

³ And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom.

(Jacob saw God's angels and was ready to see Esau.)

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now:
⁵ and I have oxen, and asses, and flocks, and men-servants, and maid-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in thy sight.

(Jacob sent the angels to Esau with a message.)

⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
⁷ Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed: and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies;
⁸ and he said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the company which is left shall escape.

(Jacob was afraid Esau would attack him. Jacob came up with a plan to save half of the people and possessions.)

⁹ And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, who saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good:
¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the lovingkindnesses, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two companies.
¹¹ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the children.
¹² And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

(Jacob reestablished his vow to God.)

¹³ And he lodged there that night, and took of that which he had with him a present for Esau his brother:
¹⁴ two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
¹⁵ thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.
¹⁶ And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

(Jacob prepared a gift for Esau.)

¹⁷ And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
¹⁸ then thou shalt say They are thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, he also is behind us.
¹⁹ And he commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him;
²⁰ and ye shall say, Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me.

(Jacob did not present the entire gift at once. He presented it in waves to soften up Esau.)

²¹ So the present passed over before him: and he himself lodged that night in the company.
²² And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.
²³ And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.
²⁴ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

(Jacob made sure everyone was protected, then wrestled with an angel. Angels take a physical form.)

²⁵ And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him.
²⁶ And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
²⁷ And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

(Jacob's name was changed to Israel because he had striven with God and with men and he prevailed. Israel meant "God prevails." Notice, Abram's name was changed, but Isaac's was not. Also, God changing a person's name allowed God to view the person as separate from the previous person:

-Abram was the one who tried to accomplish God's Covenant in his own strength. Abraham was the one who began the everlasting Covenant with God.

-Isaac was the one offered as a sacrifice to God. Apparently, God did not want to stop seeing Isaac as that person.

-God wanted to see Israel as the person who humbled himself and handled Justice well and different than the person who supplanted. For example, during the prophetic sections of the Bible, God used the name "Jacob" to refer to the sinful nation and the name "Israel" to refer to the righteous nation.)

²⁹ And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

(Peniel meant "facing God.")

³¹ And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh.
³² Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.

(The "sinew of the hip" was the nerve that fastens the thigh bone in its socket.)

(Did the angel not give his name because he had to injure Jacob during the match?)




Genesis 33
¹ And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
² And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

(Jacob made sure Rachel and Joseph were the furthest from harm.)

³ And he himself passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
⁴ And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

(Esau's response to seeing Jacob seemed completely positive.)

⁵ And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are these with thee? And he said, The children whom God hath graciously given thy servant.

(Jacob kept the family together with him. Jacob stated through messengers that he was Esau's servant.)

⁶ Then the handmaids came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
⁷ And Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
⁸ And he said, What meanest thou by all this company which I met? And he said, To find favor in the sight of my lord.
⁹ And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; let that which thou hast be thine.

(Jacob referred to Esau as "my lord." Esau shared his possessions with his brother. Esau could have taken his own Justice out on Jacob but instead he shared with him.)

¹⁰ And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found favor in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand; forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
¹¹ Take, I pray thee, my gift that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

(After urging, Esau agreed to accept a gift from Jacob.)

¹² And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
¹³ And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young: and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.
¹⁴ Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

(Jacob wanted to make sure that those in his care made it to Seir safely.)

¹⁵ And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find favor in the sight of my lord.
¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
¹⁷ And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

(Succoth meant "booths.")

¹⁸ And Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram; and encamped before the city.
¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of money.
²⁰ And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-israel.

(El-elohe-israel meant "the mighty God of Israel.")

(This post documented the events from the time of Jacob's leaving Laban through Jacob's meeting with Esau. It was during this time Jacob's name was changed to Israel.)

Day 12