Monthly Archives: September 2011

Isaac Blesses Jacob (Gen 27)

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Bible Summary:

Old and blind Isaac sends his eldest son Esau out to hunt for a tasty dinner after which Isaac will give him his blessing.  Isaac’s wife Rebecca overhears and helps their younger son Jacob disguise himself as Esau so he can receive the blessing instead.  She even agrees to accept any curse if the deceit is discovered.

Isaac does not believe Jacob is Esau, so tests him in several ways.  With Rebecca’s help, Jacob passes all the tests and Isaac gives him his final blessing.

Esau returns and discovers he has been cheated out of his blessing.  Esau cries and pleads for any blessing from Isaac.  Isaac says the blessing is final and forever, that Esau is now Jacob slave along with all their other relatives, and that Esau will “live by the sword, be his brother slave, rebel, and break away from his control.”

Esau hates Jacob and plots to kill him when their father dies.  Rebecca overhears the plan and tells Jacob to live with her brother Laban far away until Esau cools off.

My Thoughts:

Is Deceit Good? Okay, on the surface, this story is right out of a Hollywood film, with favoritism, deceit, lies, mother and brother against father and brother, and revenge.  It makes for a captivating story, but what is the lesson?  Is deceit really good?  It seems to work well for Jacob.  Do you need to be cunning and do whatever it takes, even against your brother, so you can get ahead?

Following God’s Will:  Rebecca is the instigator in this story. She listens to other peoples’ conversations and guides Jacob into deceiving father and brother even though he knows it is wrong.  However, maybe Rebecca is just following God’s will. In Genesis 25, she is told by God that “the older will serve the younger”. Maybe this is why she takes extra care of Jacob and makes sure he receives the power God intended.

Verbal Contracts are Binding: Isaac sticks by his word even though he gave the blessing to the wrong person through deception.  Maybe Esau should have stuck to his word and told his father about selling his birthright to Jacob.

You know, if our word was our bond today, then we would not have hundred page legal documents for every transaction between people.  Of course, no one likes to get deceived either!

Family can be tough: Boy, you thought your family was bad.  No matter how bad things are, you can always find someone else in a worse situation, like Esau.  Be thankful for your blessings.

Self-Help Tip: I think Rebecca has a great tip for Jacob to leave until Esau cools off.  This can also work the other way: if you are angry, you can go to another room or leave until you cool off.

NOTE: no matter how much I try to be objective, I still don’t like the deceit, especially against family members, in this story!

Isaac Survives a Famine (Gen 26)

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Bible Summary:

Another famine hits Canaan. The Lord tells Isaac not to go to Egypt but stay in the lands near Canaan that He promised Abraham, so Isaac moves to the land of Philistines.

Isaac tells everyone Rebecca is his sister for fear they will kill him for his beautiful wife. King Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebecca making love, so challenges Isaac about the lie. Isaac tells the king of his fear, so Abimelech warns his people not to mistreat them or be put to death.

Isaac becomes a farmer, reaps a hundred times as much as he sows, and becomes a very rich man. The Philistines become jealous and fill Isaac’s wells, plus King Abimelech asks Isaac to leave.

Isaac moves twice and digs new wells. Each time the shepherds of the area quarrel over the water, so Isaac moves on. With no dispute after the third move, Isaac stays and names the well “Freedom”.

Isaac then leaves for Beersheba. God appears and tells Isaac not to fear because He is with him. Abimelech shows up with an advisor and army commander to make a peace agreement since Isaac was close to God. They celebrate with a feast.

My Thoughts:

Wife as Sister Again: Isaac pulls the same stunt as Abraham did to Abimelech in Genesis 20 by telling everyone his wife is his sister. Maybe the fear of being killed for his wife is real since they are foreigners. Things were a lot different back then.

Isaac Rich Again: I guess Isaac must have lost his inheritance during the famine, likely spent on the only remaining food, since this story says he becomes rich in the new lands. Farming seems somewhat of a break from shepherding for Isaac, though he still has sheep per the quarreling over the wells. Farming is a natural response to famine though.

Do Not Fear: God says, “Do not be afraid; I am with you.”  God is always with us, each and every one of us.  I love the poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson.  It helps me remember that God is there, even when things are not going well.

Abraham’s Immediate Descendants (Gen 25)

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Bible Summary:

After Sarah died, Abraham married again and had six more children.  He gave them presents and sent them east, away from Isaac.  Abraham died at 175.  Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave next to Sarah.

Ishmael had twelve sons who were ancestors of twelve tribes that lived east of Egypt but away from Isaac’s descendants. He lived to 137.

Isaac was forty when he married Rebecca.  She became pregnant with twins that fought each other in the womb.  She asked the Lord why and he said two rival nations were within her.  The twins, Esau and Jacob, were born.

Esau became a hunter who loved the outdoors.  Jacob was quiet and stayed at home. Isaac preferred Esau and the food he brought home.  Rebecca preferred Jacob.

One day Esau returned home famished and demanded some soup from Jacob. Jacob agreed in exchange for Esau’s vow to give him the first-born rights.  Esau agreed, ate the bread and soup, and left, which was all he cared for his birthright.

My Thoughts:

Carelessness: I believe Esau is the main point of this story.  Esau’s carefree ways are in stark contrast to Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob’s concerns with preparing for a vast nation of descendants.  Esau is more interested in hunting, which as we learned during Cain and Able is not the family business of tending sheep, and is willing to give up his birth-right for some bread and a bowl of soup.  I am sure the storytellers of old emphasized how Esau’s carelessness cost him greatly.

Borrowed Future: This story rings true today.  Most people are more interested in a bigger house, a better car, and the latest technology than caring for future generations. The politicians have run the United States and many other “developed” countries into a hole.  They care more about trading favors and “what’s in it for me” than truly solving our countries’ ills.

The U.S. National Debt is quickly approaching $15 trillion (see National Debt Clock.  Note: click the World Debt button there for other countries), which does not include coming Social Security and Medicare shortfalls.  Who’s going to pay for this debt?  Not the people that used it.  They are dead, retired, or soon retiring now.  The federal debt really started to grow around 1980 (see Debt Graph) – about the time the carefree hippies of the sixties reached their forties and started running things.  Hmm?

Sorry for getting off the Bible.

A Wife for Isaac (Gen 24)

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Bible Summary:

Abraham wants to find a wife for his son Isaac from his own people back in northern Mesopotamia.  He sends a servant, but tells him under no circumstance is Isaac to go there since God promised them the land of Canaan.

The servant takes ten camels, stops at a well outside the city, and prays to God to let the woman that offers him and his camels water to become Isaac’s wife.  Rebecca, a beautiful virgin and second cousin to Isaac, fulfills the water offer.  The servant gives her gold jewelry.  She says they can stay at her father’s place and leaves to tell him.

Rebecca’s brother Laban returns to bring the servant to their home.  The servant tells Rebecca’s family about Abraham, how Sarah died, and that Isaac is to inherit great wealth. Rebecca’s father Bethuel and Laban say Rebecca can go since God decided the matter. The servant gives expensive gifts to Rebecca, Laban, and her mother.  Laban and their mother ask if Rebecca can stay home for 7-10 days before leaving, but the servant wants to leave immediately, so they ask Rebecca and she agrees to leave right away.

Rebecca’s family gives her a blessing, “May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendents conquer the cities of their enemies.”

Upon the servant’s return to Canaan, Isaac meets them in a field.  Rebecca covers her face with a scarf.  The servant retells everything to Isaac.  Isaac takes Rebecca into his mother’s old tent and she becomes his wife.  Isaac loves Rebecca and is comforted for the loss of his mother.

My Thoughts:

The First Princess Fairy Tale: The king, Abraham, wants a nice princess for his son. Isaac.  The king searches for said princess in a land of his ancestors far, far, away. Rebecca does the right thing, serving others, to be worthy of being a true princess.  She and her family are glad to join such a rich family.  Her mother and brother want her to stay just a little longer, but alas she agrees to leave forthwith to be with her betrothed.  Isaac takes his princess to his mother’s old castle and makes her, Rebecca, his wife.  Isaac loves Rebecca.  The end.

Kind of sounds like Cinderella and many of the other princess stories, doesn’t it?  I think this one from about 4,000 years ago was likely first!

Foreshadowing: This is a great story.  I am sure the “conquer the cities of their enemies” is foretelling some future events.  The suspense is killing me.

Money: This story shows that the pursuit of money has been around for thousands of years.  Money can buy nice things, but not always happiness.  The real challenge of money is to know when you have enough.  Most people continue to strive for more and never stop to “smell the roses” until it is too late: a health problem surfaces, they become too old to enjoy it, or they lose the one they wanted to share it with.  Be sure to enjoy life and your family along the way.

Abraham Buries Sarah (Gen 23)

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Bible Summary:

Abraham mourned Sarah’s death at age 127.  He asked the Hittites three times to sell him, a foreigner, some land to bury his wife.  Each time they offered to “give” him the land.  On the last response, a high ranking Hittite mentioned the land was only worth 400 pieces of silver anyway, so Abraham paid him that amount and the land became his.

My Thoughts:

Ownership: I believe Abraham wanted to own the land to ensure his beloved wife’s burial site would be safe for generations to come.  He knew they or future generation could not renege on the “gift” if he bought the land.

Foreigner: Even more than thirty years after moving there, Abraham was still considered a foreigner in Canaan (modern day Israel).  It is so hard to accept new people.  They are “different” in how they dress, what they eat, and how they act.  We fear they will take over our area, that they will change things.

I know in America we were all new at some point in our family’s past, except maybe the Native Americans.  This newness fades after we live in the same neighborhood, become friends, and “they” become “us” over years.  Please remember this the next time someone “different” moves in next door.  Introduce yourself so you can speed up this “getting to us” process.  The world would be at peace if we all realized we are “us” and there is no “them”.

God’s Ultimate Test for Abraham (Gen 22)

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Bible Summary:

God demands the ultimate test of Abraham, the sacrifice of his son Isaac.  Abraham takes Isaac on a three day journey to the mountains.  Isaac asks where the lamb is for the sacrifice.  Abraham says God will provide one and then a little later ties Isaac to an altar and goes after him with a knife.  An angel of the Lord stops Abraham and provides him a ram to sacrifice instead.   From heaven, God tells Abraham he will richly reward him for his obedience with “as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.”

My Thoughts:

Loyalty: I guess God needed to test Abraham’s loyalty since he didn’t believe Isaac could be born to him and Sarah at such an advanced age (Gen 17 & Gen 18).  Being a parent, I find it amazing that Abraham could even try to go through with killing his own son.  But, Abraham proved true to God.

Belief: The Jewish people “believe” they are the chosen ones of God because of stories like this, which helps them “act” like chosen ones.  In reality, we are all chosen ones, no matter who you are!  I challenge you to believe you are a chosen one of God and act like it. You will be surprise how your life will improve.

STOP: Do NOT try to kill your child based on this Bible story.  Please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 if you need help.

Isaac is Born (Gen 21)

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Bible Summary:

In her nineties, Sarah gives birth to a son for Abraham as God said would happen. Abraham circumcises his son Isaac as God commanded.  Sarah tells Abraham to send the slave Hagar and his son by her Ishmael away without any of his wealth.  God tells Abraham not to worry about Ishmael, since he will father a great nation too.  Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, but God watches out for them in the desert.  Ishmael grows into a skillful hunter and Hagar gets him an Egyptian wife.

My Thoughts:

Fulfilling Promises: God fulfills his promise to Abraham by giving him a son by his wife. Abraham reciprocates by circumcising Isaac.  I am sure this is the point where Abraham and Sarah finally believe in God and his promise that they will have many descendants. No more laughing disbelief from them.

God Cares for Ishmael: Even though Ishmael is out of favor with the chosen family of Abraham, God still cares for him.  The Old Testament is a story passed down over many centuries by one line of people, so they will naturally show themselves in a better light. However, God loves and cares for us all just the same.

Abraham deceives Abimelech (Gen 20)

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Text Summary:

Abraham moves to the southern part of Canaan (modern Israel).  Fearing he will be killed for Sarah, Abraham tells everyone she is his sister, which is true by their father but not mothers.  King Abimelech has Sarah brought to him.

In a dream, God tells Abimelech he is going to die for taking a married woman.  Abimelech tells God he is innocent, since he never went near Sarah.  God says he kept Abimelech from sinning with Sarah, but he needs to give her back to her prophet husband who will pray for him so he and all his people will live.

Abimelech gives Sarah back, plus sheep, cattle, slaves, land and 1,000 pieces of silver. Abraham prays to God to allow Abimelech’s wife and slave girls to be fertile again.

My Thoughts:

A Scam?  Okay, it might be sacrilegious to question the actions of Abraham, the father of half the current world’s religions, but doesn’t this seem like a scam?  Abraham lies about his wife being his sister, a king takes her in, God threaten death to the king, and the king lets her go and gives Abraham great wealth.  This is the second time Abraham has done this; remember the King of Egypt in Genesis chapter 12?

Caveat Emptor: Maybe the moral of the story is “Buyer Beware”.  These kings didn’t have to take Sarah before confirming her marriage status.  Similarly, don’t believe everything you read (or are told), like many of the email stories floating around.  Try to verify the facts before getting upset about an email or forwarding it to others.

Lot’s Daughters (Gen 19: 30-38)

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Text Summary:

Abraham’s nephew Lot moves his daughters from Zoar to live in a cave.  The daughters get him drunk and have intercourse so they can have children since they believe there are no other men in the world.  Their sons are the ancestors of the Moabite and Ammonite tribes.

My Thoughts:

Incest is Not Right: The incest in this story does not sit well with me.  It makes you wonder though, if the rest of the world blew up, would you agree to incest to keep the human race going or let it end with you?  Theoretically, we are all related either through Adam and Eve or, as science would say, though Mitochondrial Eve, the mother of all modern humans that lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago (Wikipedia story).

The daughters obviously knew incest was wrong or they would not have gotten Lot so drunk that he never knew what happened.  Lot likely thought God miraculously blessed his daughters with pregnancies.

Holes in the Story: It’s strange that the daughters thought no men were left on earth. Yes, they watched all the men blow up in Sodom and Gomorrah, but wouldn’t there have been men in the small town of Zoar?

The title of this section in my Bible is The Origin of the Moabites and Ammonites.  I think this was more of a fanciful story made up to explain the origins of these tribes, back to Lot’s daughters.  Not being of direct descendants of Abraham, these tribes were likely looked down upon by the author, so the incest was added as a derogatory jab at them.

Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen: 18:16-33, 19: 1-29)

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Text Summary:

The Lord tells Abraham he has heard great accusations about Sodom.  Abraham negotiates with God to spare Sodom if He finds 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally only 10 innocent people.  God agrees.

Abraham’s nephew Lot urges two Angels to stay at his house.  The men of Sodom surround Lot’s house and demand he give up the two men so they could have sex with them.  Lot begs them to take his two virgin daughters instead.  The men try to barge their way in but are struck with blindness by the Angels.

The Angels tell Lot to leave Sodom for the hills before they destroy it.  Lot negotiates for the small town of Zoar since the hills are too far.  The Angels agree.  At sunrise, the Lord rains burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot’s wife looks back and turns into a pillar of salt.

My Thoughts:

Negotiating: This story was likely used periodically to teach the next generation how to negotiate.  I mean, if Abraham can negotiate with God, you can negotiate with anyone.  It shows how to find a common point to agree on, like that God does not want to harm innocent people, and the whittling technique of slowly moving your counterpart down towards your goal.

Pillar of Salt: This story sounds right out of science fiction.  Three men show up and all of a sudden men are blinded outside a house, two cities are destroyed by flames from the sky, and a woman is turned into a pillar of salt.

I think the answer is more geological.  The middle-east is sitting on top of the world’s largest oil reserves.  It is possible that an earthquake caused a huge reservoir of underground petroleum to explode, destroying the area.  This would explain the raining down of sulfur.  The pillar of salt is likely that Lot’s wife was covered in ash.  See an example in this 9/11 picture of Marcy Borders.

Golden Rule: Lot serves and protects the Angels, so is saved from the destruction.

Homosexuality: It sounds like the storyteller is trying to teach the listener not to be homosexual.  Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their sins as pointed out by the gay men wanting to have sex with the men Lot was protecting in his house.

I’m in a catch-22 here.  No matter what I write, some people will perceive me to be anti-gay and others that I am pro-gay.  What I would like to address is the fear in the topic of homosexuality.

Prior to the 1980’s, gays feared about “coming out” because they would be ostracized by their families and friends and could even lose their jobs over this “socially unacceptable behavior”.  The 1980’s added the hysteria of catching AIDS to this burden and gays kept very quiet about their sexual orientation.

In the 1990’s, movies like Philadelphia with Tom Hanks portrayed gays as real people and opened the doors for acceptance of gays in films and TV shows.

Gays have “come out” in droves and with their new found freedom are now demanding their rights; the biggest being marriage that has now become legal in many states.  I’m not sure gays and lesbians are looking to be recognized as married as much as they want to gain the same benefits as a husbands and wives: insurance, social security, common law property, etc.

The scale of fear seems to have tipped in the opposite direction today.  Now, all the heterosexuals are afraid to make any negative comments about gays for fear of not being “politically correct” and potentially losing their jobs.

Frankly, I believe we are all people on this little blue marble cruising through space and we need to figure out how to get along with everyone and stop labeling and stop judging just so we can feel superior.  It should not matter about a person’s color, religion, sexual orientation, height, age, weight, job, economic status, hobbies (as long as they are legal), shoe size, or where their ancestors happen to have lived.  We are all human beings.  We all eat, breath, sleep, and bleed the same.  We all dream, hope, want someone to listen, and wish to be loved the same!

The only way to reduce fear is to open yourself up to new experiences.  Meet other people. Find out what they like, dislike, do for work, do for fun, eat and don’t eat.  You will discover that we are all not much different from each other.