DBG - January 13 - Genesis 33-35

In this chapter Jacob prepares to meet his brother, fearing his retribution.

vs. 1 – Jacob again enters a defensive stance as Esau approaches, dividing his party so that if one group was attacked the other might escape.

vs. 2 – You can tell who Jacob valued by the placement here.  The bottom tier are the handmaids he had taken as wives and their kids.  The next tier was Leah and her kids.  The top tier was Rachel and Joseph.

vs. 3 – In this way Jacob exposes himself to danger first.  He bows seven times, far beyond what anyone would consider appropriate. 

vs. 4 – God had softened Esau’s heart for this moment, and he greets Jacob with the tenderest of affection.

vs. 8-11 – Esau at first refuses the gifts Jacob had sent but Jacob implored him to take them.  As wealthy as Jacob is at this point he is still far poorer than Esau.  The clues to this are abundant in this passage, such as Esau being able to led 400 men to meet Jacob yet Jacob could not afford to hire men for a defense.

vs. 12 – Esau here invited Jacob to come with him to his home.  This would make sense if Isaac still dwelt in Hebron as it would not be very far out of the way to see their father.

vs. 13-14 – Jacob makes a good excuse to not follow at this time.  All of his children are under twelve years old and he has the flocks to care for, many of which are also young.  It would be dangerous to press them too hard.  But he does promise to visit at some point in the future.  If he went at this time it is not recorded.

vs. 15 – Esau offers to lend Jacob some of his men to act as a guard.  Jacob was confident in his safety and protection of God now that he knew he did not need to fear his brother.

vs. 17 – Succoth means “booths”.  This place is in the Jordan valley where the Jabbock river enters it. 

vs. 18 – Shalem, meaning “peace”, is likely the Salim that John the Baptist preached at in John 3:23.  It is on the west side of the Jordan and part of the region controlled by the larger city of Shechem, meaning “shoulder”.

vs. 19 – 100 shekels is about $3,000 today.  Though through God’s promise it would all belong to his descendants, for this present time he pays for the right to dwell peacefully in this spot.

vs. Elelohe-Israel means “the mighty God of Israel”

This chapter is one of the darker ones in Scripture, as Jacob’s rascally boys show their darker side.  Like Lot, Jacob had allowed his family to get too close to the Canaanites and their wickedness both hurts them and entices them to evil retribution.

vs. 1 – Dinah, being the only daughter born to Jacob, lacked for female companionship that was near her own age.  She is likely now in her teens.

vs. 2 -  The Hivites are one of the descendants of Canaan in 10:17.  The Bible, history, and  archaeology all agree that the Canaanite peoples were extremely promiscuous, even as part of their religion.  Shechem likely thinks he is doing nothing wrong or unusual in his actions.

vs. 3-7 – Shechem sends his father Hamor to attempt to arrange a marriage with Dinah.  Jacob learns what had already transpired, but his now adult sons were away with the livestock.  Jacob kept his cool, but his sons were enraged when they heard what had happened.

vs. 8-10 – There is a difference between the goals of Shechem and Hamor.  Shechem only desires Dinah for a wife.  Hamor seeks an alliance with Jacob, one that would lead to the blending of their peoples and their possessions. 

vs. 11-12 – Shechem desperately tries to make the situation right in the eyes of Jacob’s family that he might have Dinah.

vs. 13-17 – The wily sons of Jacob were truly sons of their father.  They step in and manipulate the situation to their advantage.  Nothing said here is genuine.  It is a means to an end that we will shortly see.

vs. 19 – Shechem is more than willing to submit to being circumcised if it meant gaining Dinah.  There is more nobility in his self-sacrifice than the others who submitted.  Jacob had no other daughters and they sought only worldly gain, see vs. 23.

vs. 20-24 – The greed that drove these men astounds me in that they so readily agree to submit to circumcision and at least embrace outwardly the religion of another.  Then again, we still see this today as people choose which church to attend based on how it aids their business purposes.

vs. 25-26 – The full plan is finally revealed.  It was never an honest offer made that if these men were circumcised they could have an alliance with Jacob.  Simeon and Levi execute the final stage of the scheme by attacking the weakened men of Shechem.  This was something they could not have done except through trickery.

vs. 27-29 – Not just satisfied with bloodlust, they pillage the town and take anything that was of value, including the people as slaves.

vs. 30 – Jacob reprimands the actions of his sons but it is too late.   Jacob saw the larger picture that his sons could not yet understand.  Jacob and his family were not match for the more numerous and stronger Canaanites.  He, likes his father and grandfather before him, sought to live peaceably among them.  This provocative act could put them in danger and sour any attempts at relations with other Canaanite tribes.

vs. 31 – The sons can only reply that they acted in defense of Dinah’s honor.

This chapter records how God again promises to fulfill God’s covenant with Abraham through Jacob, along with an overview of his family and the death of Isaac.

vs. 1 – This is very shortly after the events of the previous chapter.  He is called to return to the place where God revealed Himself to him as he ran from Esau in 28:10-22.  Jacob understands that is more than just a command to move to a new place but that it is a call to renew his own relationship with God.

vs. 2 – Jacob’s first order for his family is to clean their lives up by removing any idols that remained and to clean up themselves.

vs. 4 – It is strange to me that Jacob does not destroy these token of their old lives and old gods.  Most commentators think that the choice of the tree was because the Canaanites revered that type of tree and would not disturb the bundle hidden there.  My best guess is that this action was something like a funeral service, burying the dead paganism as they turned to the Living God.  We see a similar practice in vs. 8.

vs. 5 – The Canaanites are driven by God to retreat as Jacob and his family moved to Bethel.  It seems that if God had not intervened there may have been opposition from them after the events of the previous chapter.

vs. 6 – Bethel is about 12 miles north of Jerusalem.

vs. 7 – Elbethel means “the God of Bethel”.

vs. 8 – This Deborah (“a bee”) is presumed to be the nurse mentioned in 24:59 that accompanied Jacob’s mother Rebekah from Harah.  There is no record of Rebekah’s death, which is assumed by most to have happened while Jacob was in Haran.  Deborah seems to have been serving in Jacob’s family since that time. 

vs. 8 – Allonbachuth means “oak of weeping”

vs. 10 – God again tells him, as He did in 32:28, that his name will no longer be Jacob (“supplanter”) but Israel (“prince with God”)

vs. 11-12 – The verses again reiterate that the convenant promises first made to Abraham in 12:1-3 and restated many times were to go through Jacob’s descendants.  God chose to only use one of Abraham’s sons and one of Isaac’s son, but the time has come that the nation of Israel to begin.

vs. 14 – This is likely Jacob rebuilding the pillar he had set up in 28:18

vs. 15 – Bethel means “house of God”.

vs. 16 – Ephratah means “fruitful”.  This is the ancient name for the town of Bethlehem.  See Genesis 35:19, Ruth 1:2, and Micah 5:2 for proof of the connection.

vs. 18 – The dying Rachel named her son Benoni, meaning “son of my sorrow”, but Jacob named him Benjamin, meaning “son of my right hand”.

vs. 19 – Rachel is not buried in the family tomb at Machpelah.

vs. 20 – This monument was well known even in the days that Moses wrote Genesis and is mentioned in 1 Samuel 10:2.  There is a site about a mile north of Bethlehem today that is claimed to be the Rachel’s tomb.  The current structure there was built by the Ottomans in the 1600’s.

vs. 21 – Edar means “flock”, which makes this the “tower of the flock”.  It is referenced again in Micah 4:8.  It was near Bethlehem going toward Hebron.

vs. 22 – The crime of Reuben, defiling Jacob’s wife who had been Rachel’s maid so shortly after Rachel’s death must have been excruciating for Jacob to bear.  Just as in the case of crimes of Simeon and Levi in avenging Dinah in the previous chapter, there is no record of any repercussion against Reuben here.  When Jacob blesses his sons in chapter 49, he does not grant the birthright to Reuben, Simeon, or Levi.  We find some explanation as to who received the birthright in I Chronicles 5:2, where Judah, the fourth son, is made the ruling tribe but Joseph received the double portion.  Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim become full tribes as Joseph’s double portion is split between them.

vs. 22-26 – Here is the record of the sons of Jacob through his four wives.  We saw most of this information in greater detail in chapters 29 and 30.

vs. 27 – Jacob visits his father who is still dwelling near the family tomb at Hebron.

vs. 28 – Isaac dies at 180 years old.  Much of his life is overshadowed by his father and this sons.

vs. 29 – It is beautiful to see the reconciliation continuing between Joseph and Esau.

As we read about these patriarchs of the nation of Israel, we must wonder why in the world God would use such men for His purpose.  But that is just the reason He does.  Israel did not arise because of the greatness of its fathers.  In fact, Israel prospered much of the time in spite of its heritage.  When we look at Israel we see not the glory of a powerful people, but the glory of the almighty God at work in their history.

Today’s hymn, “Back to Bethel” was written by B.B. McKinney in 1931.  It is inspired by Jacob’s return to Bethel and his re-dedication to serve God.  It is a common theme in sermons and song.

Back to the Bible, the true Living Word,
Sweetest old story that ever was heard;
Back to the joy-life my soul longs to know,
Bethel is calling, and I must go. [Chorus]

Back to the beautiful path I once trod,
Back to the church and the people of God.
Out of the cold world of sin and its woe,
Bethel is calling, and I must go. [Chorus]

Back to the giving of money and time,
Back to the life of contentment sublime,
Back to protection the world cannot know,
Bethel is calling, and I must go. [Chorus]

Back to the prayer-life in Christ I once knew,
Back to its beautiful life-cleansing dew,
Back to help others to conquer each foe,
Bethel is calling, and I must go. [Chorus]

Chorus:
Back to Bethel I must go,
Back where the rivers of sweet waters flow,
Back to the true life my soul longs to know,
Bethel is calling, and I must go.