A Journey Thru The Bible's First Book

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:3-4 . . Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and
go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as
I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I
die.

The part about "my soul" is a curious statement. The Hebrew word is nephesh
(neh'-fesh) which is a very common word for all creatures great and small in the
Old Testament beginning at Gen 1:20. Nepesh never refers to unconscious life; viz:
it only refers to fauna, never to flora.

But the interesting thing is: man not only is a soul (Gen 2:7) but according to Gen
27:4, Gen 34:2, and a host of other passages, man also has a soul; so it turns out
that nephesh is a bit ambiguous.

A pretty good paraphrase of that portion of the passage would be "that I may bless
you from the core of my being". (viz: the bottom of his heart)

Esau was Isaac's favorite and I don't think he ever did care too much for Jacob. If
he had purposed to bless Jacob, I think it would have been done with a very
grudging spirit. This particular blessing regards Esau's inheritance. He already sold
the patriarchy to Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup. Whether or not Isaac was aware of
the deal the brothers struck, is not said.

What takes place next in chapter 27 is difficult to believe. To think that two adults,
one at least 75 and the other very likely 115 years old, took part in this incredibly
clownish deception. I could understand young, inexperienced kids doing something
so stupid. But it is difficult to understand how supposedly mature adults like
Rebecca and Jacob could ever seriously ponder such a silly scheme.

It is simply moronic that Rebecca would even remotely consider that her crafty little
plan had even the remotest chance of success. Conducted under false pretenses,
and a fake ID; it would only be a matter of hours before the scam was uncovered,
the ill gotten blessing of course retracted, and the perpetrators soundly excoriated .
. unless . . unless there is more to this incident than meets the eye; and there most
certainly is.

Ninety-five years prior to this point in time, God personally selected a vibrant water
girl up in Haran to be Isaac's spouse. The wisdom of that selection is now going to
become apparent as we begin to realize who actually wore the spiritual pants in
Isaac's house. If spirituality were a martial art, Rebecca would be a black belt. Her
discernment regarding heavenly matters is remarkable. Was she really a silly
female? Far from it.

In spite of God's mandate in chapter 25 concerning Jacob, and in spite of the plainly
obvious superiority of Jacob's character, and his spiritual discernment, and his
convictions, and in spite of Esau's blatant indifference to his birthright, and to his
spiritual heritage, and to the mind of God; Isaac was nevertheless apparently
determined to give both the patriarchy and the inheritance to Esau— clearly the
wrong choice; not to mention a direct affront to God. The inheritance was one
thing, but the patriarchy was a whole other matter altogether.

Esau even married impious women from among the pagan Canaanites. A horrible
choice considering the repercussions of such spouses upon the future of Abraham's
covenant. And Esau no doubt made that choice against the counsel and consent of
his parents; proving all the more just how head-strong and self-willed the man
really was. Motivated by the gain of temporal advantage, and the gratification of
carnal appetites; Esau had no spiritual vision at all. Well; Rebecca is fixin' to give
Mr. Isaac, and his secular son Mr. Esau, the wake-up call of their lives!

Esau was a man's man. I think if any of us met him, we would be instantly drawn
by his charisma and virility. And I think that Isaac saw in him the kind of man he
always wished he was himself. But in the coin of heaven, Esau had no more worth
than a dilapidated old shoe.

It's difficult to comprehend how favoritism, on the part of such a presumably
spiritual man as Isaac, could be based upon such a carnal motive as the taste of
venison. But it wasn't just the meal, but rather the way it was obtained.

We get runs of Salmon up here in Oregon's rivers at various times of the year. Last
time I checked; you could buy fresh Coho Salmon in local supermarkets for about
$12 a pound. But no; guys prefer instead to spend all day on a river shivering in
the freezing cold just to catch one Salmon in the wild.

But the river fish means something that the supermarket fish can never mean. Yes,
both are edible and both make great eating and honestly you can't tell the
difference. But one is obtained with a shopping cart. The other by a man's own bare
hands: with fishing tackle, by personal energy combined with risk, skill, and
cunning, i.e. man vs wild. All those are important to a "real" man's feelings of
personal worth.

It was customary in Jacob's day to mark solemn occasions with a feast; like the one
Isaac prepared for Abimelech when they swore an oath together in chapter 26. And
since the blessing Isaac resolved to bestow upon Esau was such an important one,
it seemed appropriate that the solemnities should be marked by a feast of wild
meat provided by Esau's own personal hunting skills.

However, father and son didn't reckon on the God factor, and they surely didn't
reckon on black-ops Rebecca. Their little party is not going to happen because this
sharp gal from up north anticipated this very day and is all set to implement a little
fiesta of her own.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:5a . . Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau.

We might ask: Why was Rebecca so concerned anyway? Didn't God decree the
firstborn's rights to Jacob? Then Jacob will get them anyway; won't he?

Yes. Jacob would eventually end up with the firstborn's rights anyway; but the
problem was: the outgoing patriarch had to impart the blessing and obviously Mr.
Isaac wasn't inclined to do so. It appears to me that Isaac was actually going to
attempt to circumvent God's wishes and I honestly think it was because he was
afraid of alienating his favorite son.

Rebecca wasn't stupid, nor inclined to superstition. I seriously doubt she was silly
enough to believe the words of the blessing themselves held sufficient magic to
confer the firstborn's rights upon Jacob just because he happened to be in the room
and hear them as they were spoken in his direction. After all, it was all done under
false pretenses and a fake ID. No court in the land would uphold anything obtained
by a fraud like that. But her scheme was designed to do something else entirely.

I believe her intent was to wake Isaac up and make him return to his senses. The
man did fear God. That much is beyond question. But he was lax in his patriarchal
duties. Before this is over, he will regret his laxity very, very much.

• Gen 27:5b-7 . .When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring
home, Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I overheard your father speaking to your
brother Esau, saying: Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I
may bless you, with the Lord's approval, before I die.

That's not really what Isaac said. It appears that Rebecca embellished a little and
added "with the Lord's approval." Compare Gen 3:3 where Eve embellished God's
testimony in Gen 2:17 where He didn't forbid them to "touch" the fruit; no, only to
eat it.

• Gen 27:8 . . Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you.

Cool as a vice cop, Rebecca executes Plan A with the step by step precision of a
well arranged sting. I can just visualize her grip upon Jacob's arm, gazing up into
his face with a most intense look, as she gears him up to get started on his part of
the scheme.

• Gen 27:9a . . Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids,

Why two? Well, for one thing: deer produce a much larger quantity of meat than a
little bitty kid. It's true Isaac couldn't possibly eat a whole deer at one sitting, but
Rebecca can only use parts of the kids that best resemble the venison cuts Isaac
prefers. And Esau more than likely cooked up a whole lot more than just one
serving. I think he typically brought his dad a heaping buffet and let him pick out
what he wanted; and anything left over was kept as victuals for the rest of the
house; which of course included Esau himself.

Rebecca is going to have to duplicate that setting as best as she can. And she will
too. After all, who was it taught those two boys how to cook in the first place? None
other than Becky Crocker.

• Gen 27:9b . . and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes.

This is additional evidence that it wasn't merely the flavor of Esau's cooking that
made Isaac love him. Rebecca could duplicate the taste of venison with goat meat
so that you couldn't tell the one from the other.

• Gen 27:10a-11a . .Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless
you before he dies. Jacob answered his mother Rebecca: But....

Jacob straight away sees where his mom is going with this and likes it. However . .
there's just one problem: Rebecca can duplicate Esau's cooking; but how will Jacob
duplicate Esau? They didn't have the benefit of slick Hollywood make-up artists in
those days so how are they going to make Jacob look (or rather, feel) like his
brother?

Well, they have Isaac's poor eyesight to their advantage; so Jacob's appearance
won't have to be all that accurate. But they will need at least one prosthetic: body
hair.

• Gen 27:11b-12 . . my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. If
my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a
curse, not a blessing.

Isaac might get the wrong idea and think that Jacob is poking fun at his bad
eyesight by playing a dumb trick on him. That would hurt the old boy's feelings a
great deal to think that his 75 year-old son thought so little of him as to perpetrate
such a cruel prank; which of course would warrant a curse; because it is not only
cruel to play tricks on the blind, but, even worse, to be cruel to one's parents.

• Gen 27:13 . . But his mother said to him: Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just
do as I say and go fetch them for me.

That's the oldest ploy in the book. It's the very same reasoning the German military
guards used to justify their duties at Auschwitz and Dachau. "You can't blame us"
they said; "We only did what we were told." That seems reasonable enough. After
all, the ones in charge are really responsible; right?

Wrong. The midwives of Ex 1:15-17 could have used the very same excuse; but
didn't. And God commended them for fearing Him. If they had obeyed Pharaoh,
they would have received condemnation instead. Everyone bears their own personal
responsibility and has a duty to raise conscientious objections.

In other words: it is a sin to violate your conscience. Yes, soldiers and minor
children are to obey their superiors-- but to the point of sin? Never! Besides, Jacob
was no minor child. He was a grown man.

But Rebecca needed some leverage to keep Jacob in the game. By playing the "filial
authority" card, she persuaded Jacob to stay on track. Luckily, he wasn't too bright
at the time and failed to appreciate his own personal accountability. After all, the
man was at least 75 years old; not just a little kid.

But then again, I think Jacob the supplanter really wanted to pull this thing off and
just needed a way to appease his own misgivings about it; so it wasn't too difficult
to win him over.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:14-15 . . He got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother
prepared a dish such as his father liked. Rebecca then took the best clothes of her
older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her younger son Jacob put
them on;

The word for "house" is from bayith (bah'-yith) which means: a dwelling (in the
greatest variation of applications), including family.

Does that mean Rebecca lived in a permanent structure? I don't think so. Bayith
doesn't always mean what we think. In Gen 6:14 it implicates the interior of the
ark. At Gen 7:1 it implicates Noah's family, and quite possibly even all their
belongings-- a regular Noah's Family Robinson. At Gen 15:2, bayith implicates
Abraham's entire estate: his tents, his livestock, and his servants.

Some have proposed that Esau's best clothes were special-- for religious
observances --like the garments that priests might wear. But that certainly doesn't
fit Esau's character. I think it was just a nice outfit of some sort, maybe even the
one he got married in. But anyway, they sure didn't get washed often because his
clothes usually smelled like the outdoors-- and that could mean anything from plain
old dirt to wild flowers and meadow grass.

But why were those clothes (viz: his cleanest dirty shirts) in Rebecca's home? I
believe it was because Rebecca anticipated this very day and kept them right there
handy so she could put them on Jacob when the time came. And that is why she
never washed the smell out of them. Jacob of course was very likely a tidy sort of
guy and kept his clothes clean. But Esau was a rugged outdoor type who's clothes
you would expect to have an odor.

• Gen 27:16 . . and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck with the
skins of the kids.

Those hides would still be raw and untreated. So Rebecca had to scrub and scrape
to get all the fat and blood off so they wouldn't have a visceral smell to them. Yuck!
That's reminiscent of scenes from Silence Of The Lambs.

• Gen 27:17 . .Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the bread
that she had prepared.

Yummy. From the kitchen of Becky Crocker; with biscuits and gravy too. Well, this
is as far as Rebecca can go. Now it's all up to Mr. Jacob to pull this off. Good luck
dude. Don't chicken out now. HWUAH! (Navy SEAL cheer)

• Gen 27:18-19a . . He went to his father and said: Father. And he said: Yes, which
of my sons are you? Jacob said to his father: I am Esau, your first-born; I have
done as you told me.

That man makes me proud. No mumbling, no stuttering, no hesitation-- right to it.
Yes; he is a big fat liar. But I love it. You watch. Any day now he'll get a letter in
the mail from CIA recruiters praising his moral flexibility.

NOTE: When Jacob called out to his dad; he used what is known as a "vocative"
which Webster's defines as: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking
out the one addressed. In other words: a vocative is intended to get the attention
of a specific person in a room rather than everybody in the room.

This may seem superfluous, and I guess it isn't germane to the study of Genesis;
but the principle has an important application in Christianity. Compare Rom 8:15
and Gal 4:6 where the Aramaic vocative Abba indicates that the Father's children
don't call out to Him as merely a clan's paterfamilias, but rather, like Jacob did with
Isaac: as one's very own dad.

• Gen 27:19b-20 . . Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your
innermost blessing. Isaac said to his son: How did you succeed so quickly, my son?
And he said: Because the Lord your God granted me good fortune.

What did he say!? My golly that man had chutzpah! He actually dragged the name
of God into the lie. Now Jacob will be condemned to the lower regions for sure; or
will he?

"I say unto you: that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 8:11)

• Gen 27:21-23 . . Isaac said to Jacob: Come closer that I may feel you, my son--
whether you are really my son Esau or not. So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac,
who felt him and wondered: The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the
hands of Esau. He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of
his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

So then, in spite of their twin-ness, there was enough of a difference in the
brothers' voices to be discernable. However, Rebecca somehow attached size-cut
pieces of young goat skin on the backs of Jacob's hands and fingers with some sort
of toupee adhesive so it would feel to Isaac as if it were a man's natural hairs. That
was a pretty good trick; and would probably land her a job as a Hollywood make-up
artist.

• Gen 27:24 . . He asked: Are you truly my son Esau? And when he said: I am,

Some people are of the opinion that Jacob was a mama's boy. Well, maybe he was.
But one thing he had that most mama's boys don't; and it's a level head under
stress. Jacob was as calm and calculating as a test pilot all during this incident.

I tell you, that man amazes me. I bet Rebecca was just outside the door sweating
bullets while all this was going on; hoping and praying that Jacob not lose his cool
and bolt out of the room in a panic. This is just the kind of cool under fire that the
Secret Service looks for; but then, you need a pretty high IQ to work with those
guys.

• Gen 27:25 . . he said: Serve me and let me eat of my son's game that I may give
you my innermost blessing. So he served him and he ate, and he brought him wine
and he drank.

The wine was probably out in the kitchen. When Jacob went back to get it, don't
you think Rebecca hugged him and gave him a great big thumbs up? I do. Those
two were a team! The original Mission Impossible task force.

While Isaac was eating, he and Jacob probably chatted. About what; I don't have a
clue. But Jacob managed to pull it off like a pro. Isaac really thought he was talking
with Esau.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:26-27 . .Then his father Isaac said to him: Come close and kiss me, my
son. And he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and he blessed
him, saying, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields that the Lord has
blessed.

Esau probably always smelled like that and Rebecca took full advantage of it. He
should have washed his clothes once in a while. Good grief the man had two wives.
What the heck did they do all day? Neglect their chores to watch Oprah, Dr. Phil,
Judge Judy, and the Soaps?

I bet if you visited Esau's home the kids were running around in dirty underwear
and snotty noses all the time. You probably had to kick a path to walk and wouldn't
dare sit down because something might stick. Poor Rebecca. What a pair of
daughters-in-law. I bet when they all got together on holidays, Judith and
Basemath sat around on their tushes and gossiped while Rebecca and Jacob did all
the dishes.

• Gen 27:28 . . May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth,
abundance of new grain and wine.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Abel's offering is cheleb (kheh' leb); or
cheleb (khay'-leb) which don't always indicate fleshly fat, but mostly mean the
richest or the choicest parts.

The Hebrew word for the "fat" pertaining to Isaac's blessing is mashman (mash
mawn') which, again, doesn't always indicate fleshly fat; but also richness; e.g. a
rich dish, a fertile field, and or a robust man. In other words; Isaac's blessing is
agricultural.

The benediction, first of all, regards things in nature necessary for prosperity in an
agrarian economy-- rain, fertile soil, and abundant yields. Rain is an especially
precious resource in the country of Israel where today it's confined to just one
season a year lasting only three months. In the old days, they had two rainy
seasons; the early rains and the latter rains.

City slickers hate rain. It's so inconvenient. It gets their hair wet; they have to run
the wipers; it floods their streets and storm drains, their gutters overflow from
clogged downspouts, they can't wear flip-flops-- caring little that the foods
available in the supermarkets and convenience stores are utterly dependent upon
adequate rain. I think that some people actually think their foods are manufactured
in sweat shops rather than grown in the dirt. They just can't make the connection.

• Gen 27:29a . . Let peoples serve you, And nations bow to you;

Jacob's progeny has exercised dominance over many nations in the past, most
especially during Solomon's period. Today they're in a slump. But that benediction
isn't dead yet; no, not by a long sea mile. In the future, Israel will be the seat of
world power and the center for religious studies. You'd never know it to look at
Jacob's condition today; but it's going to happen.

• Gen 27:29b . . Be master over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow to
you.

The magic words! --and the very ones I'm sure Rebecca was anxiously waiting to
hear. His "mother's sons" right then only amounted to (in Isaac's mind) just one:
Mr. Jacob. But Rebecca became a grandma and today her sons can't even be
numbered. Every one of them are supposed to honor Jacob and bow in respect
because he, along with Isaac and Abraham, is a member of the elite league of
senior patriarchs.

The bestowal of the patriarchy upon Jacob was done with God as a witness, who
has, so far, neither interfered nor intervened; nor has He seen fit to alert Isaac to
Jacob's deception, nor said a single word about the whole fraudulent business.

In short, the Almighty God, of all people, is apparently condoning Jacob's funny
business. It seems to me, that the only way to understand this situation is to
conclude that, whatever may be wrong with the stratagem and deception of Jacob
and Rebecca, the sin of Esau and Isaac was infinitely more grievous.

Yes, it's true that God doesn't usually condone lies; and I'm sure Jacob and his
mom well knew it. They were spiritual people; both of them. But I really think that
as bad as deception might be in God's sight, it had become a desperate necessity in
this case to prevent a much worse sin: that of blasphemously presuming to impart
the most holy of God's offices to a man who neither appreciated its depth, nor
would honor it-- and to do so directly in the face of God's commandment against it.

Such an eventuality surely would have incurred God's most severe discipline upon
both Isaac and Esau; and I am convinced that Rebecca felt she must prevent that
occurrence at all costs, even if it meant alienating her husband and infuriating Esau
to the point of seeking Jacob's death.

Isaac, because of the solemn nature of what he was doing, (conveying holy
covenant promises and blessings to a son, who in turn would be responsible for
their transmission and implementation in his own family) was no doubt under the
influence of the power of God that day and was carried along in the scheme even
though he half suspected the son in the room with him wasn't Esau. No. Jacob was
getting that blessing, and there was nothing short of Heaven and Hell themselves
that could prevent it.

The Almighty Himself, who had made His solemn covenant with Abraham, and
renewed it with Isaac, certainly was present in that room during the whole affair.
What would have happened if Esau was instead standing there that day we can only
surmise.

But it seems highly probable that the consequences would have been tragic for both
father and son. The Almighty God's holy promises and covenants are never to be
dispensed as trifles, subject to the whim and preference of self centered mortals
who are swayed to make important decisions simply upon the taste of their favorite
foods.
_

 

[JerryfromMass]

Hello;

Back around 2000 or 2001; I got the daring idea to begin composing a daily, bite
size commentary on the book of Genesis; verse by verse beginning with the
creation of the cosmos to Joseph's coffin in Egypt.

It was a clumsy effort at first but I stuck with it and as time went by, it got pretty
good. On some forums where I've survived opposition long enough to complete the
whole fifty chapters, Genesis has attracted several thousand views.

As of today's date, I'm 76 years old; and an on-going student of the Bible since
1968 via sermons, seminars, lectures, Sunday school classes, radio Bible programs,
and various authors of a number of Bible-related books. Fifty-two years of Bible
under my belt hasn't made me an authority; but they've at least made me
competent enough to tackle Genesis.

Barring emergencies, accidents, vacations, unforeseen circumstances, and/or
insurmountable distractions, database errors, pandemic shut-downs, computer
crashes, black outs, brown outs, deaths in the family, Wall Street Armageddon,
thread hijackers, the dog ate my homework, visiting relatives, ISIS, car repairs,
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, violent political activism, Carrington events, gasoline
prices, medical issues, and/or hard luck and the forces of nature; I'm making an
effort to post something every day including Sundays and holidays.

Some really good stuff is in Genesis: the origin of the cosmos, Adam and Eve, Cain
and Abel, the Flood, tower of Babel, and the origin of the Jews.

Big-name celebrities like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Ishmael, Rebecca,
Jacob and Esau, and Joseph are here.

Not here are Moses vs. Pharaoh and the parting of the Red Sea. That story is in
Exodus; Samson and Delilah are in Judges, David and Goliath are in 1Samuel; and
Ruth and Esther are in books of the Bible named after them.

The author of Genesis is currently unknown; but commonly attributed to Moses.
Seeing as he penned Exodus (Mark 12:26) it's conceivable that Moses also penned
Genesis; but in reality, nobody really knows for sure.

Scholars have estimated the date of its writing at around 1450-1410 BC; a mere
3,400± years ago, which is pretty recent in the grand scheme of Earth's geological
history.

Genesis may in fact be the result of several contributors beginning as far back as
Adam himself; who would certainly know more about the creation than anybody,
and who entertained no doubts whatsoever about the existence of an intelligent
designer since he knew the creator Himself like a next door neighbor.

As time went by, others like Seth and Noah would add their own experiences to the
record, and then Abraham his, Isaac his, Jacob his, and finally Judah or one of his
descendants completing the record with Joseph's burial.

Genesis is quoted more than sixty times in the New Testament; and Christ
authenticated its Divine inspiration by referring to it in his own teachings. (e.g. Matt
19:4-6, Matt 24:37-39, Mk 10:4-9, Luke 11:49-51, Luke 17:26 29 & 32, John
7:21-23, John 8:44 and John 8:56)

BUEN CAMINO
(Pleasant Journey)
_

I often wonder what Eden must have been like before the fall. One question about Eve I often ask gets some people very angry. First, I believe both Adam and Eve were living in blissful harmony with God, so I don't believe Eve was a liar before she was beguiled. Therefore, when Eve told the serpent what God said, I believe she was telling the truth, i.e., that God said of the fruit "neither shall ye touch it." Many respond to that by claiming no where in scripture does it say God said that, and in fact God reminds Adam and Eve after the fall that HE told them not to eat of the fruit. My response to them is: Eve said it. Why would she say it if it wasn't true? Then I ask them who doubt the truth of Eve's statement whether they believe the scripture is a complete record of all of the dialogue God had with Adam and Eve. If not, why doubt that God told them "neither shall ye touch it"?

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:29c . . Cursed be they who curse you, blessed they who bless you.

That the blessing upon Jacob was definitely the same as the blessing given to
Abraham and Isaac is clear from the words spoken here in the final part.

First, Isaac conferred the material aspects of patriarchal life: prosperity. I am sure
that Esau would have loved that part of it. However, there is nothing in the wording
of the blessing to suggest that it included an actual bequeathal of Isaac's assets.
Isaac's closing statement echoes God's own words to Abraham in Gen 12:3

Some have wondered why Isaac didn't include the balance of the Gen 12:2-3
blessing at this time; which goes like this:

"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name
great, and you shall be a blessing . . and all the families of the earth shall bless
themselves by you."

Sad to say, I think Isaac knew very well it would be like blessing a beast. Though
Esau might become a great nation, he would never become a blessing to all the
families of the Earth; nor that they would bless themselves by him.

Yet even knowing that, Isaac was, for all intents and purposes, still determined to
confer the patriarchy upon Esau, the secular son. I hate to say it, but I strongly
suspect Isaac was becoming somewhat deranged; especially because of the feelings
he entertained about his supposedly imminent death.

Anyway, he did pronounce the blessing upon Jacob; and did so under the very
inspiration of God, though Isaac himself was trying to thwart the will of God all the
while he was speaking.

Just so, many years later, the infamous prophet for profit, Balaam, in Numbers 22,
23, and 24, was forced to bless Israel even against his own will.

And in the days of Jesus of Nazareth (John 11:49-52) the high priest spoke
prophetically of the meaning of Jesus' death; though the priest himself did not
understand the real import of what he was saying; nor even put any stock at all in
his own words.

The blessing which, by God's edict, should have gone to Jacob in the first place,
was indeed finally pronounced upon him by his father in spite of Isaac's lack of
willingness to do so. He was tricked into it, yes; but by thunder that shouldn't have
been necessary.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:30-33a . . No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father Isaac--
after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob --than his brother Esau came back from his
hunt. He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father:
Let my father sit up and eat of his son's game, so that you may give me your
innermost blessing. His father Isaac said to him: Who are you? And he said: I am
your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with very violent trembling.

According to Jewish folklore, Isaac's first impulse, upon realizing he blessed the
wrong son, was to retract the benediction from Jacob and give it to the son for
whom it was intended; and would have except at that moment he saw Hell open
beneath his feet, thus signifying that God was very displeased with his intentions;
and if he persisted any longer to bless the wrong boy, he would suffer dire
consequences. I would not be one bit surprised if that were true.

It began to dawn on Isaac what had happened. The truth suddenly came home to
him like a frigid blast of icy wind. In spite of all his intentions, God overruled Isaac,
and he blessed the younger instead of the elder; like he was supposed to do in the
first place.

Furthermore, he realized he had been deceived by his true love Rebecca, and by his
faithful son Jacob, whom he really hadn't appreciated very much up until now. I
think he realized, that they, level-headed and sensible people that they were,
deceived him in order to prevent the head of the house from doing what he very
well knew he had no right to do. And God was in on the whole scheme, and had
blessed Jacob through Isaac in spite of himself to the contrary. Jacob would indeed
be blessed, just as he should have been all along.

• Gen 27:33b . .Who was it then-- he demanded --that hunted game and brought
it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must
remain blessed!

This was clearly the will of God and there was nothing Isaac could do to change it.
He had tried to, but God stopped him. As the impact of these thoughts came over
him, Isaac became very shaken. Emotions of all sorts must have overwhelmed
him-- anger with Jacob, concern for Esau's future, heartbreak over Rebecca's
treachery, resentment at having his own plans thwarted, and shame for having
played the fool in such an important spiritual matter. All those feelings surely
contributed to his trembling.

Isaac quickly realized God had spoken to him in judgment, and that he had incurred
great peril to himself in so ignoring the will of God. He had betrayed the trust of his
father Abraham and had practically destroyed his own home; all because of a carnal
appetite and parental adulation of a favorite son's physical exploits. No wonder the
poor man was shaking so badly.

• Gen 27:34a . .When Esau heard his father's words, he burst into wild and bitter
sobbing,

The word for "sobbing" is wayits'aq which is from tsa' aq (tsaw-ak') and means: to
shriek.

I have a feeling the shriek that wrenched up out of Esau's lungs is the very same
hysterical emotion that millions of damned will feel at The Great White Throne
judgment of Rev 20:11-15 when the grim reality of their fate finally sinks in that
they have lost Heaven forever. It's beyond words.

At the first, Esau entered his dad's room with cheerful anticipation. Then quite
bluntly, Isaac blurts out that someone beat him to it. Watching his dad shivering,
and seeing the look of fear wash over the patriarch's face, the awful truth became
only too apparent and Esau gave vent to his disappointment with a dreadful
scream.

• Gen 27:34b . . and said to his father: Bless me too, Father!

In Esau's mind, his dad really hadn't intended to bless Jacob; and was actually
hoodwinked into it; so surely God couldn't possibly honor the fraudulent blessing.
Isaac could just simply retract his words and bless the older son like he wanted to.
But no. It was far more serious than either Esau or his dad imagined; which by
now, via God's Spirit, Isaac was fully aware.

• Gen 27:34c . . But he answered: Your brother came with guile and took away
your blessing.

That was really only a half truth; no doubt told with the intent to prevent alienating
his eldest son. The fact of the matter is: Isaac couldn't change anything now even if
he wanted to; and he knew it too because by now he was fully reminded of God's
original mandate regarding the two boys even before they were born. Hardly
knowing how to explain his wanton error to Esau, he simply blamed Jacob for it.
But it was Isaac's fault all along. He should never have led Esau to believe he would
get the blessing. So many dads cannot admit they made a mistake in the way they
raised their kids. Isaac was certainly no better.

• Gen 27:36a . . [Esau] said: Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant
me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away
my blessing!

Esau bitterly recalled that Jacob had taken away his birthright-- of course
conveniently forgetting that he saw no value in it and traded his privilege for a
measly bowl of porridge.

• Gen 27:36b-38 . . And he added: Have you not reserved a blessing for me? Isaac
answered, saying to Esau: But I have made him master over you: I have given him
all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain and wine. What, then,
can I still do for you, my son? And Esau said to his father: Have you but one
blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud.

It must have been a strange sight to see such a virile, strong, athletic he-man
screaming like a woman and bawling like a little girl. Agonizingly, he begged his
dad for a blessing of some kind for himself, probably hoping that somehow God,
through his father's intercession, could be persuaded to change His mind. The
portion of the blessing, which no doubt appealed to Esau the most-- that of political
superiority and material security-- had been irrevocably given to Jacob; and all the
blubbering in the world couldn't change the situation now.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:39-40 . . And his father Isaac answered, saying to him: See, your abode
shall be [away from] the fat of the earth and [from] the dew of heaven above. Yet
by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow
restive, you shall break his yoke from your neck.

The words in the brackets don't actually appear in the Hebrew text. But according
to a foot note in the 1985 JPS Tanakh; the meaning of the Hebrew is just what you
see. Jacob's side of the family was granted the best water, fertile soils, and
abundant yields. In contrast, Esau's side of the family would live in regions plagued
with geological shortages of water, arable land, and natural pastures.

Isaac's prediction was fulfilled by the very nature of the rugged region that came to
be known as the land of Edom. The Edomites, in general, lived in violence and
subjection to Israel; remaining essentially independent until David's time, but then
were subjugated permanently after that in spite of frequent rebellions and
temporary partial freedom. Finally, Edom disappeared as a nation by that name:
the little prophecy of Obadiah explains why.

Esau's life of indifference to spiritual matters-- in spite of being born to one of the
most privileged heritages possible --had finally caught up with him and it was too
late even for regrets.

• Gen 27:41 . . Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing
which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself: Let but the mourning
period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

Well, he had a long wait ahead of him. Isaac lived another 45 years.

But isn't it odd how the human spirit desires to kill-- not just desire for harm and
misfortune; but to the gravest extreme?

A few years ago, out here on a highway in Oregon, traffic was slowed. So a man
tried to get ahead of it by driving on the shoulder to pass everyone up. As he went
by a pick-up truck with some men in it, one of them threw a paper cup at him. He
dropped back and fired a gun into the pick-up, killing one of the passengers.

That is so typical of the feelings that overwhelm human beings when they're angry.
They want blood, and no other form of revenge will satisfy. Is it possible that there
is anybody out there who has never wished that somebody would die?

Esau's personality changed dramatically. He went from an indifferent, carefree
outdoor sportsman to a bitter, vindictive neurotic. The thought of his sissy brother
ruling over him-- the superior son who was always admired and idolized for his
strength and prowess --was just too much for Esau to bear.

• Gen 27:42a . . When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebecca,

You know, if criminals would just keep their mouths shut they might get away with
a whole lot more crimes. But no, they just have to tell somebody about it. Esau
must have vented his bitterness to some of the servants who, in turn, leaked it to
Rebecca.

• Gen 27:42b-43a . . she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him: Your
brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now, my son, listen to me.

Again showing herself to be a woman of quick decision, Rebecca called Jacob and
told him exactly what to do. Not wishing for a war between her sons, she thought it
best to send Jacob away for a while.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:43b-45 . . Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay with him a
while, until your brother's fury subsides-- until your brother's anger against you
subsides --and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from
there. Let me not lose you both in one day!

The word for "fury" is from chemah (khay-maw') and/or chema' (khay-maw') which
means: heat. The word for "anger" is from 'aph (af) which means: the nose or
nostril; hence, the face, and occasionally a person; also (from the rapid breathing
in passion) ire.

(chuckle) Ol' Esau was indeed a passionate man. But his was not the lingering
passion of a scented candle, or of a Yule log, which burn slowly for a long time. His
rage burned more like a tumbleweed; a flashing, momentary flame that would soon
pass. Esau might hold a grudge, but he wouldn't go on red faced and breathing
heavy about it for very long.

Moody, introspective people, often stay upset for long periods of time; which really
exasperates the Esau types who usually get over things quickly. The Esau types are
happy to let personal conflicts blow over and then move on. But the moody types
are always wanting to dredge up unresolved hurts and argue about them again and
again for the Nth time until someone finally listens.

Some lawsuits, like the one between President Clinton and Paula Jones, often
cannot be settled out of court because personalities like hers want an admission of
guilt and an apology. Money is out of the question, and an insult to boot, because
people like Paula Jones are never satisfied with anything less than a public hanging.

Knowing Esau's nature, Rebecca figured his rage would pass away quickly and he
would soon return to his typical carefree ways. Unfortunately, it was past twenty
years before Jacob came back home, and there is no record that he ever saw his
mom again.

Rebecca's stratagem was indeed costly, but it could have gone much worse if Jacob
had stayed home. Surely any attempt by Esau to kill Jacob would have resulted in
Esau's death; the Lord protecting Jacob for future use. But I think Rebecca feared
Esau might succeed and then become permanently alienated from the family like
Cain was after killing his brother Abel. So she would, in effect, lose both boys in one
day just as grandma Eve did.

Rebecca-- the bright, discreet lass that she was --no doubt had counted all the
costs of her scheme; and believed the issue was vital enough to require her to do
what she did. As a matter of fact, later events proved that she was correct. Esau
did soon get over his rage, and he prospered quite adequately in a material sense.
Jacob never did really lord it over him, which was probably all Esau really cared
about anyway.

Both boys survived this calamitous event: hubby Isaac too. And Jacob went on to
spawn the people of Israel, thus making a line to Messiah; by whom the Serpent's
head would be crushed, and the entire world blessed beyond measure.

They say all's well that ends well. Maybe. Rebecca's family was fractured, and she
lost the companionship of a really good son. Hers was a sacrifice of the heart. I
would really like to see Rebecca compensated for that some day.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 27:46 . . And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of living because of the
daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these
which are of the daughters of the land, I might as well die.

Abraham purchased a cemetery plot from Heth's clan back in chapter 23.

I think Rebecca was becoming very lonely for the company of daughters-in-law of a
kindred spirit. Christians considering marriage should really give some serious
thought to how their parents feel about a prospective spouse. It's just not fair to
force your choice down their throat with the haughty protest: It's my life!

No man is an island, entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent:
A part of the main.
"John Donne, 1624"

Everything that people do, everything they say, every decision they make; has a
ripple effect.

You know, Isaac really wasn't a bad man. But something happened to him that
made him lose interest in his patriarchal duties. I really do think the man was
having problems with depression; which may have been associated somehow with
his eyesight.

What if you could never again see Orion and the Milky Way, nor a sunset, nor the
colors of the rainbow, nor watch the flight of migrating geese or a buzzing humming
bird, nor see the bees busily collecting their pollen, nor the wind shaking the trees,
nor the fluorescent colors of Autumn foliage, nor the splendor of the Grand Canyon,
nor a spider's web illuminated from behind by morning sunlight, nor the ocean's
waves, nor fireworks on the 4th of July? And what about all the things you haven't
seen yet? Defective eyesight would prevent you from ever seeing the things that
you missed.

There is a well known syndrome that occurs in men called male menopause; and
also known by it's other name: andropause. Although male menopause is related to
the aging process-- with resultant hormonal reductions --men's problems aren't
caused by the very same kinds of changes that occur in women. Women's
menopausal difficulties are chiefly chemical. But with men, it's mostly psychological.

One of the primary symptoms of andropause is depression. Not just bouts of
depression that come and go, but the chronic kind. Every day, every night: feelings
of inadequacy and worthlessness plague men afflicted with chronic depression.
They feel useless, they feel they'll never be any good again, they feel expendable;
and they feel unnecessary. But worse, they feel unlovable; viz: not only do they
feel like no one cares whether they live or die, but they feel it is impossible for
anyone to care about them at all.

It isn't unusual for men to rapidly deteriorate and die during the first eighteen
months of their retirement years. Why? Because their jobs, and their careers, made
their lives meaningful and worthwhile. It gave them a reason to live. It gave them
strong feelings of value, it made them creative and gave them feelings of self worth
and self esteem, and feelings of belonging in a man's world. At career's end, they
feel expended and expendable; actually losing interest in living and it's almost as if
they will themselves to pass away because there's nothing left to live for, and
people begin treating them like children instead of mature adults.

When we're young and spry, we look forward to the future with optimism and
anticipation. But when we're older, there is nothing in life to look forward to
anymore but falling apart and leaving it. All the good stuff is over. And it doesn't
help having our bodies deteriorate along the way.

I really think that Isaac's handicap robbed him of all reasonable optimism; and he
saw no reason to go on living; especially at his age. Because of that, he had no
spirit for patriarchal duties. When the boys brought him food that day, both of them
asked their dad to sit up and eat. Sit up!? What the heck was he doing lying down?
Well, I think he was lying around all day feeling sorry for himself, that's what. Life
had become uninteresting to Isaac, and he was no longer one tough cookie; but
rather, one whipped puppy.

But not so Rebecca. No, No; not that quick-legged aquarian. She was a fighter, she
was a Rocky Balboa. Becky had a head on her shoulders. Ever the strong decisive
woman, she put a bug in Isaac's ear to send Jacob away to find a spouse. Yes, she
was being cunning again; but in the right of it too: as usual. It was a whole lot
better for Jacob to depart with his dad's good will than running away from home
without saying good-bye.

Now that the blessing had actually been dispensed, and it was very clear to Isaac
that Jacob was God's choice to perpetuate Abraham's covenant, there was no
excuse to delay any longer in the matter of finding his son a suitable wife because
men don't live forever, Their children have to take up the flame and carry it
forward. Jacob was a virile man at this point in his life; but that's getting ready to
change. This fact, combined with the immediate danger of another Cain-and-Abel
episode, was more than enough reason for Isaac to send Jacob away.

Rebecca's personal desire for Jacob to have a wife from her own people, one with
whom she could have fellowship rather than the continual friction she experienced
with Esau's Hittite wives, compelled her to convince Isaac that her own life wouldn't
be worth living anymore if Jacob married the same kinds of impious women as his
brother's.

Was Rebecca a good wife? Even though she tricked her husband? And even though
she was strong and decisive? I really believe she was because even in the US Navy,
sometimes a captain needs his first officer to take over and run the ship till he's
better.

"The Lord God said; It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper
for him." (Gen 2:18)

Isaac benefited from his dad Abraham's wisdom; and he had the providence of God
to thank in the selection of his wife. Rebecca really saved the day, and got Isaac
back up on his patriarchal feet. If it wasn't for her, nothing would have turned out
right. She was indeed the perfect mate for that particular man. Unlike Eve who
brought her man down; Becky propped her man up. Some women, infected with
misandry, are pleased when their man goes down.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:1a . . So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed him:

This is the first time, at least on record, that Isaac has shown any real interest in
Jacob's spiritual condition. You just have to wonder if Jacob received any religious
instruction at all from his dad. I would not be surprised if Rebecca has been Jacob's
only tutor up to this point.

Isaac went through a very traumatic experience. I think he was shaken, and it
appears to have succeeded in bringing him back to his senses. Now he renders
upon Jacob the full extent of Abraham's blessing; which he really should have done
a long time ago.

• Gen 28:1b-4 . .You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women.
Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take
a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May El
Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous, so that you become an
assembly of peoples. May He grant the blessing of Abraham to you and your
offspring, that you may possess the land where you are sojourning, which God
assigned to Abraham.

It would have been much wiser of course, if circumstances had permitted, to keep
Jacob at home and dispatch a trusted servant up to Haran to fetch a wife back
down to Canaan like Abraham did for Isaac. But at this point, I guess that option
was out of the question. Isaac's patriarchal laxity is having quite a domino effect
upon Jacob's future. He's going to be tricked into taking two wives, sisters at that,
and squander twenty years of his life indentured to a very crafty, dishonest man.

• Gen 28:5 . .Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the
son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebecca, mother of Jacob and Esau.

I just have to wonder if Isaac would have thought of Laban at all if not for Rebecca
putting a bug in his ear.

Not only was Laban an Aramean, but so were Abraham, Lot, Sarah, and Rebecca.
The boys (Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and Esau) were born in Canaan. So of what
country were they? Canaan wasn't a united sovereignty like the USA. It was a
frontier territory. Along the coast were Philistine colonies; the remainder populated
by many communities scattered all over the place much like Native American
peoples were in America's early days.

I don't know about Ishmael and Esau, but Isaac and Jacob looked ahead to a future
country that they would call home. That country didn't exist just yet in Jacob's day,
but it would eventually, and he would be a somebody there-- Abraham's covenant
guarantees it. Those men haven't missed out on anything. According to the New
Testament's Jesus, they will all return some day and live in that land as citizens in
land promised to Abraham.

"I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their
places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt
8:11)

The writer of Hebrews said, that although those three men were pilgrims in Canaan,
they will one day live inside it as citizens in a town of their own.

"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God." (Heb 11:8-10)

I don't know exactly how much detail those men knew in their day; but that "city
with foundations" is going to be some piece of work. (cf. Rev 21:2-27)

• Gen 28:6-7 . .When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to
Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed him "You shall
not take a wife from among the Canaanite women" and that Jacob had listened to
his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram,

That had to shake Esau up even more. Up to this point, for many, many years, he
had been daddy's little boy. Now, practically overnight, Jacob takes center stage. It
must have been very disturbing and I have no doubt it made Esau feel extremely
insecure; probably for the first time in his life.

Jacob listened to his parents. The difference between Jacob and Esau really shows
in that respect. Esau did pretty much whatever he pleased. But Jacob wasn't like
that. Even at 75 years old he took his parents advice. American kids today are
famous for ignoring their parents guidance; and they usually end up regretting it
too.

His dad was smart all along, but the boy was too immature at the time to see it.
He thought smartness came packaged with youth. In his mind; older people were
expendable, obsolete, and out of touch with reality. But education doesn't
necessarily make one wise: just conceited.

Although Esau was Isaac's favorite, I really don't think he ever disciplined, scolded,
nor lectured his eldest son for anything. I think he let Esau run wild so as to avoid
stressing their relationship. Even though Esau's wives were a misery to Isaac and
Rebecca, apparently no one ever spoke up and said anything about it till now; and
as a result; Esau fell for one of the oldest ruses in the book:

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong;
Gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
( Thomas Paine )
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:8 . . Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac.

Now that Esau no longer enjoyed the status of a pampered athlete, he's a little
more attuned to the opinions of others around him; most especially to the dad who
at one time gave the impression his eldest was so wonderful.

• Gen 28:9a . . So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives
he had,

Some feel that Esau did that to create an alliance with Ishmael; since he too was a
disfavored son. But Ishmael was already deceased by this time. He was at least
fourteen years older than Isaac, who was by this time around 135. Ishmael died at
137; twelve years prior to this chapter. It is much more likely that Esau betrothed a
woman from Ishmael's family in an attempt to redeem his marriages to the Hittite
girls. Ishmael's girls, at least, were kin.

• Gen 28:9b . . Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of
Nebaioth.

Ishmael being long dead; his son Nebaioth made the arrangements for marriage.

You know, life sometimes dealt cruelly with girls in that day. Romance was out of
the question. Even if there was a boy in the neighborhood that took their breath
away, the girls weren't allowed to even date, let alone marry him. They had to
marry a man their dads or their brothers selected-- oftentimes a total stranger and
often someone quite a bit older than themselves. You'll often see it said in the Bible
that so and so loved a particular girl; but hardly ever will you see where she loved
him back.

I believe that Abraham was a conscientious parent and made certain Ishmael
received religious training. By the time Ishmael was evicted at fifteen or so, he had
a pretty good basic knowledge regarding Abraham's god. And his mom Hagar was
familiar with Him too. So it would not surprise me if Mahalath was pretty sound in
the correct beliefs. She was a much better choice than the Hittite girls, and she is
never once said to be a heartbreak to either Isaac or Rebecca. I would like to think
Mahalath was very good company for Rebecca; which would have been a real
comfort to her now that Jacob was gone.

Unfortunately, Mahalath was too little too late. It was like closing the gate after the
horses have run out of the corral. I'm sure Mahalath was okay; but Esau's new wife
could never change God's decree concerning Jacob. Esau lost out: and he lost out
big.

• Gen 28:10 . . Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran.

It's difficult for me to believe that Jacob made the 450 miles trip to Haran all by
himself. He may have, I don't know. I'm not saying he didn't. After all, Hagar was
apparently traveling alone when she ran away from Sarah back in chapter 16. But
that was a very dangerous, foolish thing to do. A lone person in wild country is just
asking for trouble. What if they were to fall and break a leg? Or were attacked by
brigands and/or wild animals?

The route to Haran was used by caravans so Jacob may have traveled along with
one for safety's sake; and if not, then maybe with travelers on foot like himself sort
of like the pilgrims who trek the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

• Gen 28:11a . . He came upon a certain place

According to Gen 28:19, the "certain place" was Bethel. The site started out as Luz;
but later came to be known by the name Jacob gave it. Today it's commonly
believed Bethel was somewhere around Beitin, about twelve miles north of
Jerusalem and maybe two and a half miles northeast of Ramallah. At this point,
Jacob was maybe sixty miles from Beer-sheba-- probably the second or third day of
his journey.

• Gen 28:11b . . and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set.

Travel at night without a car with good electric headlights was not a good idea in
those days. Palestine was once the habitat of bears and lions; and the odds were
against you of getting lost and losing your way in the dark.

• Gen 28:11c . .Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and
lay down in that place.

I doubt the stone was very large. Probably just enough to elevate his head a little
so he wouldn't lie with his cheek right down on flat dirt. That is so uncomfortable.
Try it. Put a towel or something down on the floor and lie down on the side of your
head. It's much more comfortable to stack a few books first and then put the towel
down. He probably did it like that and cushioned the stone with a bag or a coat.

• Gen 28:12a . . He had a dream;

In the book of Genesis, dreams are a common means of communication between
God and humans. Is that still going on? I really don't know. But if it ever happened
to me, I would consider it a nightmare.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:12b . . a ladder was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and
angels of God were going up and down on it.

The word for "ladder" is from cullam (sool-lawm') which is actually a staircase. This
is the one and only place in the entire Old Testament where that specific word is
located so we can't compare it's application in other contexts.

One of the problems with Old Testament Hebrew is that scholars are not quite sure
what some of the ancient words really mean. Cullam could just as easily mean an
elevator or an escalator.

There's something very conspicuous about the staircase in Jacob's dream: there
were no humans on it. So what does that mean? Well . . the staircase was, after all,
merely a figment rather than a physical object. But it has to signify something real
in order to be useful. I would say the dream indicates, at the very least, that
there's an avenue-- a connection --between Heaven and Earth so that mankind
isn't totally isolated from God.

But why show Jacob a stairway to heaven if human beings weren't using it in his
day? I think that the very existence of a pathway to God meant that one day not
only angels, but human beings too would be using it-- because, in reality, that
stairway represents Christ; Jacob's great, great, great grandson. (cf. John 1:45-51)

• Gen 28:13a . . And behold, Yhvh stood above it and said: I am Yhvh; god of
Abraham your father, and the god of Isaac;

On the page of Scripture, this is Jacob's very first close encounter with his father's
god. Till now, Yhvh had been merely data in Jacob's head; something he picked up
in home-school yeshiva.

Exactly why God chose to become personal with Jacob at just that moment in his
life is a mystery. But the moment came not around the dinner table at home with
family; but actually when Jacob stepped away from his family.

It was as if Jacob's own family-- the holiest family on earth at the time; the
keepers of the knowledge of the one true god --was actually hindering Jacob's
spiritual progress; and if anything is to be learned at all from his experience, it's
that his own father, the spiritual head of the house, was the one to blame for it. It
certainly wasn't Rebecca; no, not when it was to her that God revealed the eldest of
the two lads would serve the younger: and I'm really curious why God didn't repeat
His edict to Isaac.

• Gen 28:13b-14 . . the ground on which you are lying I will assign to you and to
your offspring. Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread
out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the
earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants.

Those are essentially the very same promises that God originally made to Abraham.
The most important one, that of blessing to all nations, has been passed on down,
not to all the descendants of Abraham, but only to special ones; beginning with
Isaac, then Jacob, and eventually to Christ. (Gal 3:16)

Not all Hebrews are a blessing to all the families of the earth. Only those Hebrews
who inherited the patriarchy are a blessing because it is through them that
Messiah's line has existed. The other Hebrews really don't count for much in that
respect except that the nation, as a whole, is credited with safe-keeping the Old
Testament. (Rom 3:1-2)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:15 . . Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and
will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you.

Hardly any of those promises were fulfilled in Jacob's lifetime-- his offspring didn't
become as populous as the dust of the earth, nor did they spread out to the east
and the west and to the north and to the south. Nor did all the nations of the earth
bless themselves by Jacob and his descendants. So what gives? How could God
say: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you"

I believe God has continually associated with Jacob to this very day, ever since the
day of their first close encounter at Bethel. That didn't stop with Jacob's demise.
No, their association goes on.

"Now even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised,
when he called the Lord "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." (Luke
20:37-38)

In order to live "to" God (viz: live unto God) it is necessary to be in existence. God
has always been with Jacob, and never left him even once-- all these many years;
better than three-thousand of them by now. And all this whole time Jacob has lived
under God's protection because God promised He would protect Jacob wherever he
went; and in order for that promise to be meaningful, it has to include the afterlife.
(cf. Ps 139:7-10, Matt 16:18)

• Gen 28:16-17a . . Jacob awoke from his sleep and said: Surely the Lord is
present in this place, and I did not know it! Shaken, he said: How awesome is this
place!

Actually Jacob was very frightened. I believe that place gave him the creeps. It isn't
unusual for an encounter with God to unnerve people. Even the very best saints get
shook up by it. Daniel just about fainted when God talked with him (Dan 10:17.
And Moses was very frightened when God descended upon Mt. Sinai. (Heb 12:18
21)

• Gen 28:17b . .This is none other than the house of God, and that is the gateway
to heaven.

The Hebrew word for "house" is somewhat ambiguous. It can indicate one's
dwelling, and it can indicate one's entire estate. For example; Pharaoh's house at
Gen 12:15 consisted of a palace while Abraham's house at Gen 14:14 consisted of
all that he owned and possessed. Jacob apparently assumed (probably correctly)
that the real estate where he met with God was a favorite of His in Canaan; i.e. He
had it staked out for Himself: and who's to argue with that?
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:18a . . Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under
his head and set it up as a pillar

The word for "pillar" is from matstsebah (mats-tsay-baw') which is something
stationed; viz: a column or (memorial stone)by analogy, an idol. All over the
Mojave Desert in California are man-made stone monuments that mark the location
of historical events and/or sites. One of my favorites is the Foot And Walker pass
where Butterfield stagecoach passengers had to disembark and walk because the
slope was too steep for horses to pull the coach with them inside it.

Jacob's pillow stone became a souvenir of his very first close encounter with the
Bible's God. To set it up, he would need something to elevate it and make it
prominent. So he probably gathered more stones into a pile, like a cairn, and then
put his pillow block on the very top as the cap stone.

• Gen 28:18b . . and poured oil on the top of it.

The Bible doesn't say where Jacob got the idea to pour oil on his historical marker;
so we'll just have to take an educated guess at it. It's very likely, considering the
situation, that anointing the pillow stone with oil (probably either an edible, or
medicinal oil rather than a petroleum based lubricant) dedicated it as a memorial to
Jacob's contractual bond between himself and God.

There's reported to be widespread evidence (I haven't seen it for myself) from the
ancient Near East, for the use of oil in international treaty relationships, and in
effectuating business contracts. The practice seems to have been a token of peace,
friendship, and assumed obligation. In Jacob's case, the anointing is connected with
the making of a vow that bound him to specific commitments.

• Gen 28:19 . . He named that site Bethel; but previously the name of the city had
been Luz.

Luz retained it's original name for a long time afterwards. On his way back home
after twenty years with Laban, the name hadn't yet been changed to Bethel (Gen
36:6). Precisely when the site's name was officially changed to Bethel is difficult to
ascertain.

The word for "Bethel" is from Beyth-' El (bayth-ale') which means (what else?)
house of God, i.e. His abode.

According to Jewish folklore, the stone Jacob chose for his pillow was actually one
of the stones Abraham used to construct the altar where he bound Isaac. Jewish
folklore also believes the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to be the site where Abraham
offered his son. Those lore imply that Bethel and the Temple Mount are
geographically the same. But it's highly unlikely. The Temple Mount is in Jerusalem;
and Bethel was about 12 miles to the north. The exact geographic location of the
offering of Isaac is totally unknown at this time.

In the days of Solomon's rule, Israel became divided into a north and a south, sort
of like America's fracture during the Civil War. A king named Jeroboam ruled the
northern part and another king named Rehoboam ruled the southern part. The
northern part was called Israel, and the southern part was called Judah. Jeroboam
became concerned that his subjects in the north might change sides due to the
Temple being located in the south. (1Kgs 12:26-29)

Point being, the Temple Mount was at Jerusalem in Rehoboam's realm; and Bethel
was on Jeroboam's turf in the north; and if the people really wanted to get on God's
bad side, they worshipped in the north.

"Come to Bethel, and transgress" (Amos 4:4)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:20-21 . . Jacob then made a vow, saying: If God remains with me, if He
protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and
clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father's house-- Yhvh shall be my God.

What's he saying? That the Lord has not been his god up to this point? Not
necessarily. It wasn't uncommon in those days for people to worship other gods
right along with Yhvh. This practice was later strictly forbidden by the first of the
Ten Commandments. (Ex 20:1-3)

Jacob's uncle Laban (the very father of his beloved Rachel) was notorious for
polytheism. On the one hand, he recognized Yhvh's divinity (Gen 24:50 and 31:29)
while on the other hand he harbored a collection of patron gods in his home (Gen
31:19 and 31:30). In the ancient Semitic world; patron gods were equivalent to
Catholicism's patron saints-- objects of devotion venerated as special guardians,
protectors, and/or supporters; viz: alternative sources of providence.

Jacob knew about Abraham's god and believed that He existed (Gen 27:20). But that's
merely an educated consent, and nothing personal. It's like knowing and believing who
the current President of the United States is. But so what? Has the President ever come
to your home for coffee or dinner? Have the two of you been to a movie together or to a
picnic? Where was he when you were sick, down and out, and/or feeling helpless,
hopeless, despondent and depressed? See what I'm saying?

Lots of people glibly venerate the Bible's God. But very, very few can honestly say:
The Lord is my friend, He cares about me, He cares about my life, He protects me
and provides for me wherever I go. I am His, and He is mine. We are one; we are
together.

Jacob's vow reflects a personal decision of his own volition to make Yhvh the sole
object of his religious devotion to the exclusion of all the other gods that people
commonly venerated in his day. So we could paraphrase Gen 28:20-21 to read like
this:

"If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and
gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safe to my father's
house-- then Yhvh shall be my only patron."
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 28:22a . . And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God's
abode;

Jacob's pillow stone wasn't really meant to be a dwelling or a container as we
typically think of human habitat or animal cages. It was meant to be a sort of
monitoring device. An 8th century BC Aramaic treaty inscription from Sfire, in
Syria, terms each upright stone on which the treaty is inscribed as an abode of the
gods.

The Hebrew word for "God" is 'elohiym (el-o-heem') which is a plural word meaning
gods of all descriptions; both the good and the bad; and the true and the false. So
that we could translate Gen 28:22a-- "shall be the abode of the gods."

The stone(s) symbolize a divine presence monitoring fulfillment and/or infractions
of the terms of a treaty or a vow. So Jacob's pillar was not only the custodian of his
vow, but was also its regulatory agency taking note whether Jacob and Yhvh keep
their promises to each other. The very same thing turns up again in Gen 31:44-52.

• Gen 28:22b . . and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.

This is probably the very first Biblical instance of the so-called "faith promise".
Though coming from a wealthy family; and heir apparent to his father Isaac's
personal fortune, the fulfillment of this particular vow was contingent, not upon
what Jacob possessed already; but upon God's future providence.

Jacob didn't promise a set dollar figure, but promised a "tithe" which in English
Bibles is commonly translated a tenth; but in reality the Hebrew word 'asar (aw
sar') just means to apportion; which Webster's defines as: to divide and share out
according to a plan; especially to make a proportionate division or distribution of.

The value of a nondescript tithe therefore is left up to individual discretion.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God prefers a whole-hearted giver." (2Cor 9:7)

"And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you
were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the
work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of
it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable
according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." (2Cor 8:10
12)

Jacob was under no obligation to reciprocate and compensate God for the promises.
Their fulfillment was dependent neither upon Jacob's generosity nor his piety.
Fulfillment was dependent solely upon God's own personal integrity.

So why should Jacob dedicate a tithe? Well; like I said, he didn't have to. Jacob's
response was totally spontaneous and voluntary. His tithe was motivated from a
sense of fair play-- reciprocation --rather than a response to Holy mandates. In
other words: Jacob reciprocated God's kindness with kindness of his own.

A faith that gives out of friendship, rather than obligation, is much better than a
religion that mandates a tithe. And the gift should be given where the giver feels
whole-hearted about it; viz: they should have some say in where their offering
goes, and they should be able to feel quite satisfied about it rather than feel as
though their pockets were picked.

So; how was Jacob going to transfer some of his assets into God's account? There
was neither Temple nor synagogue in his day, and certainly no Aaronic priesthood.
Abraham did his business with Melchizedek but there is no record of either Isaac or
Jacob doing business with one of Mel's successors.

When all else fails, a very, very good way to give to God is by helping people less
fortunate than yourself; in other words: pay it forward.

"He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to Yhvh: He will repay him his due."
(Prv 19:17)

There are lots of charities benefiting disadvantaged people. United Way lists quite
few to pick from; and just about every city has at least one gospel-oriented rescue
mission. For sure; those causes are a whole lot more satisfying than just mindlessly
tossing money into a basket passed around on a Sunday morning.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 29:1 . . Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the Easterners.

The geographic region in Turkey where Jacob went wasn't actually east by his
reckoning. It was just about dead north. But the people who populated that region
had roots in the east. Here's another version.

"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the east."

Many of the peoples in and around Haran, although they lived northward from
Canaan, were actually descendants of early pioneers who migrated out west from
the world of Babylon; just as Abraham and his dad Terah had done many years
prior to Jacob's birth. (cf. Gen 11:1-2)

• Gen 29:2a . .There before his eyes was a well in the open.

The balance of Jacob's trip, from Luz to this well, is passed over in silence.
Apparently nothing of significance occurred along the way. If Jacob traveled at, say,
25 miles per day, it would have taken him about eighteen days to reach Haran.

If he stuck to the trade route, he could have stopped in Damascus and took in
some of the local sights and maybe stayed at a "motel" before pushing on. Food
wouldn't really be a problem because there surely were plenty of settlements
and/or vendors along the trade route.

Major highways, like the old US routes 66, and 101, always had lots of merchants
offering overnight accommodations, plus all the goods and services a traveler would
likely need to see them through. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there existed in that
day food cart equivalents of McDonalds and Burger King.

• Gen 29:2b-3 . .Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for the flocks
were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of the well was large. When
all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled from the mouth of the
well and the sheep watered; then the stone would be put back in its place on the
mouth of the well.

Apparently this well wasn't fed by an artesian source but was a variety that kept
itself filled by seepage out of a substrate aquifer. A well like that-- which is more
like a cistern --can become rancid very quickly by bird droppings, dead critters, and
debris if it's not kept covered. Although structuring the watering time created a
rush hour, it was sensible. That way the well wasn't left open for too long a time
and there was less chance of polluting it.

• Gen 29:4a . . Jacob said to them: My friends, where are you from?

Exactly what language Jacob spoke in his greeting isn't said; but during his era;
Akkadian was a common language in Mesopotamia where Laban lived.

I don't think this well is the very same one where Abraham's servant met Rebecca.
For one thing, it's out in the open, not actually connected with any specific town. If
it had been, then Jacob could have assumed the shepherds lived nearby and not
asked them where they were from.

This particular well was within walking distance of pasture land. Any grasses close
in to the towns were likely over-grazed. That's just one of the natural results of
progress and urban sprawl.

• Gen 29:4b-6a . . And they said: We are from Haran. He said to them: Do you
know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said: Yes, we do. He continued: Is he well?

Laban's location, and his state of affairs, would of course be Jacob's primary
concern. After all, he just traveled nearly 500 miles to find him. If the man was
dead or moved away, then the trip was all for nothing; and in those days, there
was no way to call ahead.

• Gen 29:6b . .They answered: Yes, he is; and there is his daughter Rachel, coming
with the flock.

According to Gen 31:1 Laban had sons too, not just daughters. But the boys may
have been too young at the time to go out in the fields alone. So big sister had to
do all the ropin' and brandin' till her little brothers grew a few more hat sizes.

Does that maybe indicate Rachel was a bit of a tomboy? Maybe. Personally; I think
she was. But I don't think she was one of those hard, masculine kinds of tomboys,
like some tough she-male working shoulder to shoulder with roughneck oil drillers,
or packing a 9mm Glock, a nightstick, and a can of pepper spray as a cop, or
putting out fires with a hook and ladder company, or dressed full-out for combat in
Afghanistan.

I think Rachel was one of those women who can survive in a man's world if need
be; yet retain their feminine side too. They still like cosmetics, dinner out,
husbands, family and children, pampering themselves with a trip to the beauty
parlor, and shopping for new shoes and a purse-- but don't mind running a lawn
mower, trimming the hedges, or firing up a leaf blower when they have to.

There's a lot of single moms out there nowadays who haven't much choice but to
wear a man's hat now and again-- not to prove a point, but just to get by.

Herding sheep out in the open is risky for a lone woman. But apparently Rachel
wasn't afraid of any of the local men; who no doubt were motivated by male
chivalry to look out for her; and besides, we're going to see just up ahead that her
dad was not a man to trifle with. Anybody who messed with Rachel would have to
answer to Laban; and he was a man who took nothing lying down.

Jacob is going to fall for this tomboy-ish angel in a very short time; and no
surprise. Men often hook up with women that resemble their moms. That is so
weird because some of those very same guys were brought up by moms from hell.
But that's what they're used to. So, without even thinking about it, they often
gravitate to those very same attributes in a girl.

Well, Rachel and Rebecca were like peas in a pod. They were both confident,
fearless, and decisive: not to mention tens to boot. I think Jacob felt very secure
with women like that.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 29:7 . . He said: It is still broad daylight, too early to round up the animals;
water the flock and take them to pasture.

The Hebrew word for "broad" is gadowl (gaw-dole') which means great (in any
sense). Gadowl is variously translated as high day, the sun is high, early in the day,
and much daylight.

Apparently the usual time for watering flocks was later in the afternoon just prior to
bedding them down for the night.

NOTE: The times of night and day were very important to the ancient people
because the only sources of illumination they had were the Sun, the Moon, and fire.
Stars are too dim to be of any practical use for lighting.

Jacob just blew into the neighborhood and he's already telling strangers what to do!
No doubt an attitude he brought with him from Isaac's ranch. Down there the
servants jumped when Jacob said something. Up here in Haran though, things were
just a wee bit different.

• Gen 29:8 . . But they said: We cannot, until all the flocks are rounded up; then
the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep.

Actually, someone may have owned that well; and set the rules for it's use. In
those days, whoever dug for water usually had the rights to it; somewhat like a
prospector's claim in the gold fields out in 1850s California. Apparently the owner
didn't mind people using the water as long as they respected his feelings about it.
But Jacob had a mind of his own, and seemed to care very little for the property
rights of others.

There's a clash of cultures going on in this scene. Jacob was from the frontier lands
of Canaan where men of mettle did pretty much as they wished. I'm guessing that
Haran was a bit more sophisticated.

And then too; Jacob was a privileged kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I've
seen the kind of superiority complex that kind of upbringing sometimes instills
within children. Well; that's going to change. Jacob is entering the school of hard
knocks, and he's going to learn a thing or two from professor Laban. But when it's
all over, Jacob will be a better man for it.

• Gen 29:9-10 . .While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her
father's flock; for she was a shepherdess. And when Jacob saw Rachel, the
daughter of his uncle Laban, and the flock of his uncle Laban, Jacob went up and
rolled the stone off the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban.

Violating local customs is an insolent thing to do; and almost certainly guaranteed
to get you off on the wrong foot. And besides: fair is fair. The other shepherds were
there ahead of Rachel, and no telling how long they'd been waiting. Word of Jacob's
favoritism, and his disdain for fair play, would surely spread.

Coming from a privileged family; Jacob was accustomed to doing pretty much as he
pleased and answering to no one for it. But arriving in Haran, he was a nobody: a
homeless drifter. Now he's going to learn what it's like to be just another face in the
crowd; and he is also going to learn what it's like to do as you're told. Unkie Laban
is just the bull o' the woods for some long overdue rich-kid attitude adjustment.

• Gen 29:11 . .Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and broke into tears.

Poor Jacob. He'd been under a lot of stress lately; and probably feeling very alone
in the world. His cousin must have seemed to him like an angel of mercy come to
rescue his soul from the abyss. First he helped water her flock; for no apparent
reason to Rachel other than courtesy; which she seemed to accept without any
fuss. But then he impulsively kissed her (on the cheek I hope) and started sobbing.
Rachel must have stared at Jacob like a man gone mad from a brain tumor.

• Gen 29:12 . . Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, that he was
Rebecca's son; and she ran and told her father.

Zoom! Out of there like a bottle rocket (so to speak). Boy that girl sure takes after
auntie Becky. Rachel lit out of there like the critters sent from Jessie the Cowgirl to
fetch Sheriff Woody in Toy Story2.

• Gen 29:13a . . On hearing the news of his sister's son Jacob, Laban ran to greet
him;

I seriously doubt that Laban sprinted. The man was over 100 by now and near the
age of Jacob's mom; maybe even older than her. Isaac and Rebecca were married
twenty years before she became pregnant for the very first time, and Jacob is
around 75 at this point. For a man Laban's age "rushed" and/or "hurried" seems
more reasonable than ran.

• Gen 29:13b . . he embraced him and kissed him,

Foreign customs often offend Americans. I was visiting the home of a Portuguese
man in San Diego a number of years back when his son and daughter-in-law
showed up unexpectedly. Dad and son greeted each other with a hug; and kissed
full on the lips. I just about died; it was so gross. And then he kissed the daughter
in-law full on the lips too. I think you have to grow up in those kinds of customs to
really be comfortable with them.

• Gen 29:13c-14a . . and took him into his house. He told Laban all that had
happened, and Laban said to him; You are truly my bone and flesh.

Adam said pretty much the very same thing about Eve at Gen 2:23 because she
wasn't created from the dust as he had been, but was constructed from already
existing human tissue amputated from his own body. In other words: ol' Laban was
saying "You and I are one and the same" because tricking a father in order to
supplant a brother was just the thing Laban would have thought of himself had he
been in Jacob's shoes.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Gen 29:14b-15 . .When he had stayed with him a month's time, Laban said to
Jacob: Just because you are a kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me,
what shall your wages be?

It's curious that Laban would offer Jacob employment. I'm guessing that Jacob had
offered to help out around Laban's ranch only just long enough for the heat blow
over back home; but Laban became impressed with Jacob's work ethic and wanted
him on permanently. Sometimes good help is very hard to find; and worth paying
for.

• Gen 29:16-17a . . Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was
Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes;

According to Jewish folklore, Leah had weak eyes from crying all the time at the
prospect of being forced to marrying Esau.

The word for "weak" is from rak (rak) which means, variously: tender, soft, weak,
and/or gentle, and quite possibly young and youthful.

So rak doesn't necessarily mean that something is feeble. It can also mean that
something is kind and/or gentle as opposed to harsh and/or cruel. And in this case,
where the beauty of two girls is being compared, I don't think the author of Genesis
meant to convey that Leah's eyesight was weak; only that she had nice eyes, but
little else to offer.

Pity. Leah was a good girl; but just about bankrupt in what really matters to most
guys; and as any woman with assets can vouch; most men think better with their
eyes than with their brains. In other words: when it comes to women, men's brains
switch off and it's all about the view after that: if you know what I mean.

• Gen 29:17b-18a . . Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel;

Duh. Why does that not surprise us? You know, Jacob was fortunate about
something. In those days, a man didn't have to win a woman's heart. He had to win
her custodian's heart. So men could pick out a girl like they might pick out a shirt
or a new car. Girls, through no fault of their own, could easily get stuck with a very
disagreeable man.

But there is something very missing in this story-- Rachel's love for Jacob. The man
was ga-ga over her. But how did she really feel about him?

• Gen 29:18b-19 . . so he answered; I will serve you seven years for your younger
daughter Rachel. Laban said; Better that I give her to you than that I should give
her to an outsider. Stay with me.

Done! And just like that; a girl became engaged. Jacob traded seven years of his
life for Rachel. But it wasn't really about money, and they actually dickered over
wages later. What Jacob actually proposed was a service commitment; like the
contracts musicians sign with recording companies; and professional athletes sign
with big league teams like the Blazers or the Mets; and like the terms of service to
which young men commit themselves to the armed forces.

So Jacob didn't really buy Rachel with money. She was more like a bonus for
signing up as a full-time employee with Laban. And the seven years weren't Laban's
idea. They were Jacob's; and I think he made it so many years because he wanted
to offer Laban a deal so lucrative that he couldn't possibly refuse it.

• Gen 29:20 . . So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him
but a few days because of his love for her.

It's a fact of human experience that men will sell their souls to satisfy their wants.
But I'm guessing there was more to Rachel than just her looks. After seven years
living in such close proximity, Jacob still wanted her. If she had been one of those
tough, thin skinned, defensive, obtuse, chafing and demeaning Tomb Raider kind of
girls, I'm pretty sure Jacob would have lost interest by then. I say "pretty sure"
because there are some men who will live with a witch in spite of the abuse they
endure just so's they can sleep with the woman of their dreams; viz: a trophy wife
rather than a man's best friend forever. In that respect, it turns out that Leah was
the better choice.
_