In The Word Wednesday: Genesis 33

Hello Everybody!

My what a week(or two) I had! First a diverticulitis attack that put me in the ER and on my back for almost a week then a bout of Gout, another week off my feet. Pain killers kept me from being able to focus to much on studying go I will try to get back in the swing here.

Today I read Genesis 33. Jacob meets Esau and finds that inhe is happy to see him. Not angry and wanting to kill or harm him as he had thought. In fact Esau doesn't wish to accept the gifts from Jacob, but Jacob insists. Esau wants to accompany Jacob back home but Jacob is skeptical and lingers back when Esau insists on leaving troops to protect Jacob, he still refuses. Jacob is weary of Esau's offer.
In the end Esau went to Seir and Jacob went to Sukkoth. Then the Bible states:

18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,[b] he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver,[c]he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.[d]

Why didn't Jacob return to his father's land? I feel he was still afraid of Esau. Maybe he felt Esau's welcome was not genuine. So Jacob's deceit is still haunting him. If he hadn't deceived Esau in the first place then he would have no reason to fear his brother. 

This rivalry is present till this day between Israel and  Islam today. Brother's yet enemy's. It is also present here in our own country among our own families. When we truly learn to Love as God Loves,

Forgive as God Forgives, then we can have true healing. Until then we will have division.

I thank God for His unfailing Love and Forgiveness!

Have a Blessed Week Friends!

Deb B

The Crafting Fool

In the Word Wednesday: Genesis 31-32

Hello Everyone,

Good Morning!

What a beautiful sun-shining day! (so far, rain is in the forecast) Waking up to sunshine is a delight, yes?

I love Wednesday mornings as I have set them aside, as best as I can, to study God's Word. I am learning and enjoying the learn as well. I would enjoy any comments you would care to share also, so share away.

Today I continue in chapter 31 of  Genesis.  Jacob notices that Laban's attitude has changed toward him. As it well may be that Jacob is getting all the prime stock of herd and gaining much wealth. Then the Lord tells Jacob to return to his fathers and relatives. God tells him .... 31:3...... "I will be with you."

Jacob states his case for leaving to his wives Leah and Rachel, explaining how he has been cheated by their father and how God has protected him. He reveals that he had a dream where God told him to go back to his native land. Then Leah and Rachel agree to take what they have and leave.

Rachel steals the household idols of her father.  Maybe Rachel is so angry at her father for the treatment he has given them, she may want to continue to worship the idols she was raised to worship, or maybe she wants to change her father's heart to Jacob's God, it does not say.

When Laban finds that they have left without saying goodbye, he goes after them. While in pursuit, he has a vision from God, telling him not to say anything "good and bad" to Jacob. Odd that God goes to Laban when he didn't worship God. Maybe God wanted to make it perfectly clear that He was protecting Jacob, and that Jacob had something to say and Laban was to just listen.

Laban does go and accuse Jacob of taking his possessions and  stealing the idols. Jacob tells him he may search his belongings and if he finds the idols, he may kill whom ever has them. Jacob did not know that Rachel had taken them.

Rachel thought to put them in her camel's saddle and sat on them, when asked to stand she said she could not because she had her period. In this way she was able to conceal the idols and not be caught.

Jacob became angry with Laban because he had found no crime. He goes off on Laban about how he was treated for the last twenty years. Laban still believes that the daughters, their children, their servants and the flocks are his but he can do nothing about it at this point so he is willing to make a covenant with Jacob.

45: So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.[b]
48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah,[c] because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”

Jacob then made a sacrifice and took the oath. Then in the morning Laban left for home after kissing his daughters and grandchildren goodbye. 

Thoughts:

I wonder if it would have been different if God hadn't appeared to Laban? God surely wanted Laban to know He was protecting Jacob. He wanted Laban to hear out Jacob. And for once Laban acknowledged Jacob's God, making an oath with Jacob to his God. 

Twenty years of servitude to prove to Laban God has control. To us an eternity. To God a small moment in time. 

Chapter 32

Jacob goes on his way and Angels of God meet him. The Bible does not say at this point what the angels may say or do, only that Jacob recognizes they are angels and declares that he is in the camp of God. 

He then sends message ahead to Esau informing him that he is returning home. Esau returns a message stating he will meet him with 400 men! Now Jacob is worried. So he divides his group into two just in case he is attacked. Then he prayed.

Funny how we seem to act first, pray second. Why do we do that? Our nature I guess. 

After praying an excellent prayer, verse 9-12,  Jacob selects a great gift of much livestock for his brother and sends them ahead with his servants, to meet Esau on his way. He sends them each in their own herd, camels, rams, etc. So they come in waves to Esau. 

Now Jacob was the last to continue the journey toward Esau, he was spending the night in camp, but a man wrestled him until daybreak. Not being able to over take Jacob he touched his hip socket. This gave Jacob pain. The man wanted to be let go as it was daybreak.

26: But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f]because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob wanted to know the man's name but the man would not tell him. Jacob then said he had saw God face to face and lived.

Because of this struggle the Israelite's do not eat the tendon attached to the hip socket.

Thoughts:

 How can you be alone yet wrestle with another? Was Jacob wrestling with God in the flesh or the spirit? 

I believe Jacob was wrestling with God in the spirit. God was trying to teach Jacob that He was going to protect him from Esau. Teaching him that God was in control. 

Why did God inflict an injury on Jacob? Was it because Jacob thought he was more powerful? Was it because Jacob would not give into the "man's" will? It seems as though at the end of the struggle Jacob was aware that he was wrestling with God, so was he being defiant to God and God was teaching him that He was stronger then Jacob? Or was He yet again protecting Jacob for his future? This time from Esau. If Jacob is "lame", will Esau feel a threat? 

POINT:

A good point to point out is that this time Jacob's blessing came from earning it instead of deceiving to get it. God made him earn it! Humbled him and made him stronger in his faith by making him weaker in body. 

Sometimes we must be broken to be built back up!

Well these are today's thoughts. Let me know what you think. Next week I hope to move forward with the next chapter, so see you then! 

Deb B

The Crafting Fool

Have a Blessed Week!!

Genesis 31-32

Throwback Thursday: Father's Day Card with Nailed It Stamp Set

Hello Everybody!

Just got my hubby's Father's Day Card completed! I love this stamp set and it suits him so much.
He is handy with tools, actually does for a living. So this set "nails it"!
This card was inspired by a pinterest card by Karina Chin.
I love the weathered metal look of the foil.

Hope you enjoy today's card. Thanks for popping by!

The Crafting Fool

Deb B

In the Word Wednesday: Genesis 30

Hello Everybody!

Today I read in Genesis 30 about Rachel and Leah's struggles. 

Rachel's desire to have a child and Leah's desire to have Jacob's affection. 

They make a deal over some mandrakes. Mandrakes were thought to promote pregnancy in barren woman, so when Rachel heard that Leah's son found them, she wanted some. She offered Leah a night with Jacob as a trade. 

Leah desired Jacob's affection more then anything, Rachel wanted a child more then anything, win win for both of them. 

Also it may have served as a bridge between the two sisters, maybe even giving them some healing. They are coming to understand each others needs or desires at least. 

But they both know full well God's plan and they still chose to manipulate His timing. 

I believe we are like that still today. I know that I can be. I am very impatient. I want things done on my time, often not thinking about whether it is God's time or not. 

So I see history repeating itself. Each generation, from the beginning to the present repeating the same mistakes. 

Thankfully we have an awesome forgiving God and He is patient with us. He keeps His promises.

He also listens to us. In this case He listened to these two women's pleas. 

He gave Leah more children, two more sons and a daughter, and finally Rachel a son. 

This son was Joseph.

Joseph later plays a key role in the Bible and the future of his people. 

God's promises kept.

God's Grace shown once again.

Now we move on to Jacob's struggle. He wants to separate from Laban.

He asks Laban to released with his possessions and household, to move on with his life.

Laban asks what he wants in return to stay.

Jacob knows of Laban's manipulative ways, considering how he tricked him concerning Rachel.

He makes a deal with Laban saying: 

Genesis 30:31

....“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”

They then separated the flock and moved them 3 days away from Laban's flocks.

Jacob then tended Laban's flocks while his son's tended his. 

While Jacob tended Laban's flocks he placed twigs he had removed bark from, making stripes, in the troughs where they were watered. 

When they mated he had them face the twigs, in doing so the offspring were speckled or spotted and dark colored.

I don't know if God told Jacob to do this, or if this was just a old way of doing things, but it worked for Jacob, so he continued to do it with all of the strong flock.

Then all of the offspring that were spotted, speckled or dark colored became his, as agreed. 

All the strong flock were becoming his flock and all the weak were becoming Laban's flock.

43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Divine intervention? A way for Jacob to be released from Laban's hold? A way to honor His promise to prosper Jacob and his offspring? I believe so. 

I seem to come back to the same conclusion.

God's faithfulness is exceedingly wonderful! 

He is kind and merciful, even when we have a hard time waiting for it! 

In Lamentations 3:23-24 Jeremiah reminds us:

23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! 24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”…

Thanks for coming by today and reading along with me!

 I have run out of time to create today so maybe tomorrow? We will see....

Have a blessed week!

Deb B

The Crafting Fool