If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
Genesis 35-36
Genesis 35:1-15
I suppose it makes sense to think about God's timing. God leads Jacob to a place of commitment, formally renaming him and reaffirming the covenant He made with Abraham. But why now? They had been in the land some years already. If God had done this earlier, maybe the massacre at Shechem would have been avoided. On the other hand, with God leading Jacob this way now, after Shechem, it certainly isn't a reward for Jacob's seeking and devotion to Him. Whatever the lesson here, I'm sure it applies to us as disciples, and it gives some insight into God's dealing with fallen humanity.
My sense is this. Before we are willing to follow God, we have to be made to be willing. Sometimes He just makes things happen to move us, but more often than not, he allows life to bring us to a place of readiness. That readiness could be anything from boredom to joy to utter desperation. Looking at Jacob's life, he has a new start in Canaan and everything is fresh. He doesn't seem very devoted to God at all and appears to be showing no leadership to his family. But life was good. Note that they all had idols. They were becoming like the people around them. And then there is the dysfunctional family life they have lived. The point being, they already knew how to truly worship God, but had no need because they were sufficient and were happy the way they were.
The events in Jacob's life leading up to this time were not "caused" by God. This was just "life on earth" taking its normal, fallen course. This could have been a storm or an earthquake. God simply allowed them to have their way, to see their need, to realize that life without Him was futile, to see that He was the only real "security on earth." Just like with us, the just and the unjust, experience the same good and bad events on earth, and the Lord uses all of these to show our hearts, to form our hearts and, in the case of those who love Christ, to be a witness in that same disaster that we ourselves have experienced, giving visual proof of the life of Christ and the love of God.
Back to Jacob & Co. But now following the disaster in Shechem, would they turn to Him? Unfortunately, you don't see that happening. Now they really are in danger because of what the boys did. So God takes the initiative, I think, to save them, and to give them an opportunity to get serious with Him. This might have been a "teachable" moment.
Note that Jacob was ready to go.
I wonder why he didn't destroy their gods/idols. This might indicate a lack of devotion on his part with the thought of coming back to these. Just like people I know, well, ok, just like me if I don't want to give something up.
God put the fear of them, as protection, into the hearts of the neighbors. This would have not only saved Israel (Jacob & Co.) from attack, but they would have been totally ostracized from everyone, possibly keeping the influence of Canaan from entering deeper into their clan.
Interesting, that it mentions the death of Rebekah's nurse/maid. This is the woman who had been with her since Rebekah left her father's house to join Isaac. Since it mentions her death, and later, the death of Isaac, it is safe to assume that Rebekah was already dead, probably before Jacob returned from Laban. If so, it means that Rebekah and Jacob never saw each other again after their trickery with Isaac. Self inflicted punishment?
God faithfully confirms the covenant here. Note that there are no conditions mentioned. His working to save mankind, to fulfill the promise given to Adam and Eve, to Noah and to work through Abraham are firmly set on His faithfulness, not ours. There are some pretty notable people of faith in that line, but His working to save us, is not dependent on our faith. As Paul & the Spirit say to Timothy, "When we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." Jacob certainly had faith in the promise, but there is no reflection of God elsewhere in his life that I can see. The fact that Jacob is named Israel does, however, denote his tenacity and endurance in pursuing the promise. He might have created a little "hell on earth" for himself due to his lack of following God personally, "in spirit and in truth," but he still had faith and he still fought. And so he was named Israel.
This place was the same place Jacob had seen the angels ascending and descending on his way to Laban. Bethel means "house of God." This sacrifice looks like the same kind of sacrifice Jacob had offered years earlier.
Genesis 35:16-29
After the "mountaintop," life comes crashing in again on Israel.
Get a Bible map and you can see Bethel, where the sacrifice took place and then Rachel dies near Bethlehem. Because they had so much stuff, livestock, etc…, this wouldn't have been a day trip.
Notice that Jacob changes the baby's name. Your Bible will probably have a note telling how he changed it.
Notice also, that Rachel is buried along the way, not in the family grave. Her burial place will later be where the shepherds were told of Jesus' birth, and it is the region where Herod killed all the children.
Verse 22 is a very sad story with huge ramifications.
First, Reuben, the firstborn of the unloved wife, sleeping with the maid of the loved wife (who incidentally was the mother of two of his brothers, Dan and Naphtali) was a dominant and aggressive act. I don't think they fell into "forbidden love," like you see in the movies. This was the Alpha dog telling the other dogs he was the boss. Rape is a strong word, but I think this is what it was -my take on this. Imagine the animosity this would have created in the family between the Leah and Rachel sides.
Second, Jacob "hears" about it. There should have been immediate justice of some kind.
Third, Reuben, as the firstborn, has just lost his birthright. Jacob reveals this later at the end of Genesis when he dies. Of his first 3 sons he now has a "####" (whatever you want to call Reuben) and two murderers. Nice family. This will mean that the birthright will now skip past Reuben, Simeon and Levi to…… And we get a whole chapter devoted to him later.
Isaac dies and this creates a few questions and a cause/effect event into the next chapter.
I find it interesting that Isaac lives longer than Abraham and still, we have very little information on him.
Jacob apparently didn't spend much time with Isaac. Was it because they both had huge amounts of animals or was it because of the bad air between them, or both? Who knows, but it is interesting.
With Isaac's death, all that he owned would now go to Jacob, the animals, the workers, the money, the whole shebang.
Chapter 36
The fact that both Esau and Jacob are now "super rich," and can no longer live in the land together gives me the idea that Jacob must have shared some of it with Esau. Again, I'm impressed with Esau. He moves and leaves Canaan when he could have fought.
The wrapping up of Esau's history means, among other things, that the history in Genesis is about to switch gears.
Matthew 12:1-21
Matthew is showing the increased opposition Jesus encountered from the religious leaders. The man with the withered hand was probably a "set up." Chronologically, just before Matthew 12 comes John 5, if you're interested to see the fight that led up to this. Matthew is showing the official point where the Pharisees said, "We really need to kill Him." In John 5, John explains this need to kill Jesus in a more complete way.
When you read the prophesy that Jesus fulfilled, you wonder, as disciples, imitators and slaves of Jesus, how we think we have the right to be the opposite of what is written here. Do we bash the government and everything else we don't like, and forget that we are bringing a message of hope to lost and desperate people? Those who listen will be saved and those who reject the message are not our concern. We follow our Lord and bring them His message of life and hope.
Psalm 15
The question here is this, "Who do you let get close to you and dwell in the safety of your care." Jacob was invited, but had other interests. For us as disciples, it is more than living an "outwardly righteous" life. This is where we get fooled and think that if we are not "bad" people, we must be "good" people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus says that this person who gets close to God is the one who hears His words and does them. That person is the true follower. The focus is living with Jesus and that itself will clean up the behavior, but cleaning up the behavior does not mean living with Jesus. Jesus isn't fooled. Many Christians are simply outwardly righteous people who bear no fruit in the harvest, but have some faith, and like church, and listen to music and get religiously emotional. The commands are commands of discipleship and following in the harvest, like the Great Commission.
John 14:21-23 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Actually, God makes his "tent" around the disciple.
Proverbs 3:21-26
These are great words, but for us as disciples, there is something else to "not lose sight" of. God's redemptive plan, His mission to us, frames this life and this world and all our reality. What Christ has done for us makes us someone in Christ, an ambassador, a disciple, a witness, a missionary. Life for us is not about being "wise" and staying out of trouble. Life for us is being "wise" in the wisdom of Christ and the reality of this world we are called to reach.
I'm writing these comments to and for those at New Song who are following a One Year Bible and involved in a discipleship cell. We're meeting weekly and discussing the texts, not necessarily my comments. We're growing together, learning to become and make disciples who make disciples. We will all be leading others in this process and training them to do likewise.
The comments I'm writing are in no way exhaustive, but meant to give some leading thoughts on how the text applies to us as disciples and to encourage and stimulate our growth in reading the Bible, with the effect that we will grow as disciples and encourage the growth of others as disciples growing in the word. If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible, in fact, no one in our church reads the version I do, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
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