Jacob’s Deception

November 11, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 27:1 – 28:5 Lesson Passage: Genesis 27:5 – 10, 18, 19, 21 – 29 The bible records a number of incidents of deception. The first occurs in the book of Genesis when the serpent deceived the woman into eating fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent’s deceit was a deliberate attempt to get the woman to undermine the authority of God. This eventually led to sin entering the world through the man who received and ate fruit of the forbidden tree from the woman. It seems as though deception has been part of the human experience since the Garden of Eden. Deception is often used to undermine the authority of someone and thereby achieve an end not intended by the one who has been undermined. Last week’s lesson introduced the rivalry that developed between the twins, Esau and Jacob. This week’s lesson sees that rivalry grow to a dangerous level. Esau developed a hatred for his brother, Jacob, and vowed to kill him after their father’s death. How does a sibling rivalry degenerate to the point of a death wish for one’s sibling? Perhaps Esau accepted that he had acted foolishly when he vowed to give Jacob his birthright in exchange for a meal. But in the matter of the blessing of God that their father would bestow, Esau did not willingly surrender that. It was through the scheming of Jacob and their mother, Rebekah, that the blessing was loss. Isaac was deceived, Jacob benefited, and Esau again suffered loss as a result of the deception. Rebekah overheard Isaac asking Esau to go kill some wild game and fix him some food so that he could pronounce a blessing upon him before his death. While Esau was away hunting, Rebekah developed a plan of deception. It should be noted that the entire plan was contrived by Rebekah although she stayed in the background and allowed Jacob to carry out the malicious scheme. Jacob expressed concern to his mother about her plan—not that he should not do it, but that he might get caught attempting to deceive his daddy! She assured Jacob that he should not worry about being caught. Rebekah had all of the details figured out. All that was required was for Jacob to consent to carry out the plan. Jacob did all according to his mother’s instructions to him. In fact, when it seemed as though Isaac was aware that he was being deceived, Jacob lied twice to allay Isaac’s concern. In the end, Isaac was deceived into thinking that Jacob was his brother Esau. As a result of the scheme, Isaac pronounced the blessing upon Jacob and sealed it with the stipulation that all who cursed Jacob would be cursed and all who blessed him would be blessed. The blessing also made Esau subservient to Jacob. For Esau, this was the last straw. Esau stated that Jacob had been properly named because his behavior was that of “a heel grabber”. Jacob’s name meant that he would be bent on trying to take advantage of someone. He had proven this to be accurate with his actions towards his brother, Esau. Robert C. Hudson October 12, 2018

God’s Blessing

November 25, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 30 Lesson Passage: Genesis 30:22 – 32, 43 As we approach today’s lesson, we note that God had greatly blessed Jacob. By the end of Chapter 30, Jacob had two wives, eleven sons, and one daughter. God had multiplied Jacob since his arrival in Haran as a single young man. Jacob’s stay had not been without controversy. Just as Jacob had lived as a deceiver and con artist, his uncle Laban had deceived him just as he had deceived his brother, Esau. Laban gave Jacob a life lesson in deception. Jacob, the con artist, had met his match. In spite of the deceptions, the increase of Jacob’s family, as well as the increase of Laban’s livestock, gave evidence of God’s presence with Jacob. Nevertheless, God did not keep Jacob from suffering at the hands of his uncle in the same manner in which his brother, Esau, suffered as a result of Jacob’s deceit. Laban was an old deceiver and he pulled all the tricks on Jacob. What Jacob had sown in the flesh, he had now reaped in the flesh. Jacob had sown a little, but he had reaped much. The divine law of “sowing and reaping” was and is in full effect. In today’s text, God began to greatly increase Jacob’s material blessings. Jacob wanted to leave Haran with his family, but his uncle persuaded him to remain. Laban told Jacob that he was aware that he had been blessed by God because of Jacob’s presence. Laban did not want those blessings of God to end, so he asked Jacob to suggest an appropriate wage for his labor while remaining in Haran. Laban was willing to compromise with his nephew, but he was not willing to allow him to leave uncontested. Jacob agreed to stay and suggested that his wages be the offspring of Laban’s flock that were not of a pure white wool. In other words, the less desirable brown and speckled lambs would be Jacob’s and Laban would keep those that were of a pure white wool. Laban agreed to the terms and Jacob separated Laban’s flock by color and markings. Jacob’s initial wages consisted of the sheep and goats in Laban’s flock that were spotted or speckled and the brown lambs. Once those were separated from the flock, Jacob had his sons remove his small flock a distance from Laban’s larger flock. Because this was Jacob’s choice, God greatly multiplied the flock of Jacob by causing the stronger sheep and goats to bear offspring that were brown or speckled. God had promised in a dream that He would be with Jacob and would keep him wherever he went. As noted, Laban had already observed that this was indeed the case. As a result of the hand of God, Jacob became a very wealthy herder. His wealth also included men and women servants and camels and donkeys for transportation. Previously, Laban had seen how he prospered because of Jacob’s presence with him. After Laban negotiated wages with Jacob, he saw how greatly the Lord increased Jacob’s wealth above his. Perhaps the nephew would have the last laugh. Now that they had an understanding as to what belonged to Jacob and what belonged to Laban, the bulk of God’s blessings were bestowed upon Jacob. Robert C. Hudson October 12, 2018

Jacob’s Dream

November 18, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 28:10 – 22 Lesson Passage: Genesis 28:10 – 22 I relish hearing the testimony of those who recount their personal encounter with the Lord. Oftentimes, we are not seeking God at the time of such encounter. This is not to suggest that we are participating in anything unholy at the time. It’s just that we may be pondering our present state of being and where do we go from there. Maybe it’s just one of those times when we are trying to make sense out of life. I believe that there is no better time for a personal encounter with God than when one is deliberately trying to find some life directions for one’s self. In our lesson today, Jacob had, what we believe to be, his first personal encounter with the Lord. The encounter occurred while he was running from his brother, Esau. Jacob had just stolen his brother’s blessing that their father intended for him. Jacob encountered God that night in a dream. God renewed the covenant He made with Abraham and Isaac. This was the blessing that Isaac had intended to pass to Esau but was deceived into passing it to Jacob. That night, God confirmed the blessing that Isaac had bestowed upon Jacob. Just as Isaac had told his son Esau concerning Jacob: I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed. God promised Jacob divine protection and His divine presence wherever he went. The covenant God established with Jacob was a one-sided covenant. God did not ask anything of Jacob nor did He require anything of him on the night that the covenant was confirmed. When Jacob awoke from the dream, he acknowledged that the presence of God was there, and he did not know it. The next morning, Jacob anointed the rock that he had used for a pillow and made a vow. Although God did not require it of him, Jacob vowed to claim God as his God and to follow the pattern established by his grandfather, Abraham, and give God a tenth (tithe) of all that God blesses him with. It is worth noting that the one-sided covenant that was established by God was bestowed upon Jacob while he was yet of questionable character. Indeed, God was going to change Jacob’s character, but the covenant was put into effect before the change of character. God always insures that no flesh can glory in His presence as though we could do something to make ourselves worthy of whatever God chooses to bestow upon us. If Jacob had first “gotten himself together”, then he could have claimed that the blessing of God was received after he had become worthy of it. This was not the case. None of us, born of man and woman, can ever claim to be worthy of a blessing from God. God cleans us up afterwards, but He sends forth the blessings while we are yet in our sins. Put another way, God saves us while we are yet sinners and then He works on us to conform us to the image of His Son. What Jacob vowed to do because of the covenant God made with him is a good reaction to encountering the grace of God. We are not worthy of the blessings of God, but when we receive them, we should act in a way that shows gratitude. Robert C. Hudson October 12, 2018

Siblings’ Rivalry

November 4, 2018 Background Scripture: Genesis 25:19 – 34 Lesson Passage: Genesis 25:19 – 34 A little friendly competition between individuals can be sporting. In fact, much recreation is built around this. However, when friendly competition turns into rivalry, things can quickly spin out of control. In friendly competition, each side tests their wit and skills against the other side. In rivalry, sometimes it becomes a test of wills that can lead to one side seeking to dominate, injure, or destroy the other side. When the rivalry is between siblings, it can degrade into an ongoing family feud that persists long after the original rivals have passed off the scene. I believe this is the case involving the brothers in our lesson text today. Today, we look at the rivalry that developed between the twins, Esau and Jacob. These were the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham, the patriarchs of the Judeo-Christian faith. The scriptures note that Jacob, the second born, was born with a natural inclination to compete against his brother. Jacob was not content to receive whatever inheritance that would fall to him. When their mother, Rebekah, sought the Lord to inquire as to why she was having difficulty during her pregnancy, the Lord told her that she was carrying two nations within her. One of those nations was destined to become subservient to the other. It became obvious early on which of the two coveted the lead role. Jacob wanted what tradition dictated should have been the birthright of Esau. Besides the lion’s share of the inheritance of their father, the blessing of God that He pronounced on Abraham and Isaac was going to pass to the next generation. Tradition and custom dictated that it should have passed to Esau as the firstborn of the twins. Jacob refused to accept the customs and determined that he would get it for himself. In today’s lesson text, Jacob goes after the inheritance birthright. Jacob seized the opportunity when Esau came to him in a moment of desperation. Jacob had finished cooking some stew when Esau came to him in hunger. There was apparently more to Esau’s physical state than simply missing one meal. Esau believed that he was on the verge of starving to death when he asked his brother for some stew. Jacob offered to give him some stew if Esau promised, or made a sacred oath, to give him his birthright in exchange. Obviously, Jacob knew that if Esau were to starve to death, the birthright would naturally belong to him anyway. Therefore, Jacob’s offer was baseless. Esau, on the other hand, did not appear to understand the real value of the birthright. If he had understood its value, he was in the best position to negotiate for whatever he wanted. Their grandfather, Abraham, was a very wealthy man. Abraham had died and almost all of his wealth passed to their father, Isaac. The firstborn heir to this was going to reap a bounty. This was Esau’s by birth. However, because Esau did not appreciate the value of the inheritance, he vowed to give it to his brother in exchange for a meal. Esau would later realize his mistake and bring it up after Jacob succeeded in getting their father to also give him the blessing of God which Isaac intended to give to Esau. Jacob had outwitted Esau and Esau was developing a strong dislike for his brother. This siblings’ rivalry was more than a little friendly competition. Robert C. Hudson October 12, 2018