Day Ten
Day Ten -- Genesis 32-35
(Read these chapters at www.bible.com if you haven't already.)
Welcome back, to your tenth day of devotionals!! Woohoo!
What you've read so far has been long, and confusing, and quite frankly, a little boring. It has been to me, anyway. But, the important thing to remember is that only God knows why certain pieces of information is put into the Bible, and I'm not one to judge its appeal to people. Neither are you!! (Whoever you are!)
What I read today, however, was only as short four chapters with a lot of messages to reveal. We left off yesterday where Jacob left his uncle after this wild goose chase. Jacob took his two wives and I think there were eleven sons, and continued onward to wherever he was planning on going.
Along the way, he must have felt guilty or something, when he thought of his older brother, Esau. Remember the story? Esau was supposed to get his father's blessing but Jacob stole it from him by tricking his father. The two brothers split, and Esau was really mad at Jacob for everything.
We haven't heard of Esau's stance on anything... until now.
Jacob was traveling away from his uncle with his wives and told one of his messengers to find his brother, Esau. He told him to find him and tell him that he's being living with their uncle Laban, and that he had a bunch of goats and cattle and children, and wants to "make favor in his eyes."
So, the ultimate message he was trying to send was "I'm sorry I was a liar and I want to make it up to you with all this stuff I've got."
The messengers told Esau this, and returned to Jacob. They said "your brother is planning to meet with you, and he's bringing 400 men with him."
Now, when I read that, I thought there was going to be a huge war. I mean, Esau's blessings were stolen by his own brother, and he stormed off and never spoke to him until several years later, when he met with an army of men.
Jacob must have thought that as well. He prepared gifts and things to give to his brother when they met, and even told his wives and children to stay back. When he saw his brother approach with an army of men, he must of been thinking that he was going to die.
Only, he didn't.
When Esau saw his brother, he ran up and hugged him! They both shared a lovey-dovey moment and cried while holding each other. The classic makeup scene.
Esau was confused as to why his brother gave all the gifts, but Jacob just told him that he wanted to be found favorable. Esau told him in was unnecessary, and then another classic scene popped into my head.
It's one of those where someone wants to pay you for something and you're like "No, I don't need that!"
And they're like "Really! I insist!"
But you shake you head and give one of those cheesy smiles and reply, "Honestly, I have plenty already. Keep it for yourself!"
And then, you argue back and forth, then finally come to a conclusion. The conclusion that Jacob and Esau come to is Jacob tells his brother, "God has been very gracious, and he's given me more than I need. Please, take this gift."
And because Jacob insisted on this, Esau accepted.
But, Esau then felt guilty, and offered to give Jacob some of his men, and Jacob declined, so the brothers parted ways, happy and at peace with each other.
The next part of the reading is kind of... rated PG-13. Let's just say that.
Jacob's daughter, Dinah, was traveling with her family and tons of stepbrothers, when they all entered into another people's territory. Dinah was... well, I'll just let the Bible do the talking.
"When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her (DINAH), he took her and violated her..."
So, yeah.
Anyway, the one thing this Shechem didn't know is that Dinah had around a dozen brothers that cared for her... and it was a hugeeeeeeee deal to them.
All the people that were involved in this dilemma sat down together and talked about it. Whether they actually sat, I'm not sure. But regardless, they decided on this:
If all of Shechem's men get circumcised like Jacob's people have been, then they'll call it even. Men from one land can marry women from another, and so on and so fourth. Shechem's people agreed, and all the men got circumcised... (ouch...) and once they were, it was supposed to be called even.
Except, Dinah's brother's were still mad at what Shechem did. So, a couple of her brothers took sword and killed all the males in Shechem's city. Jacob, their father, was very angry, because now all of Shechem's family and friends will be mad at Jacob, and if they joined together, they could overthrow Jacob's family.
The brothers barely listened to Jacob, and told him that their sister shouldn't of been treated the way she was, and that's why they did what they did. End of story. They took all of the town's wealth, and women, and children, and took all that was left of the city.
Jacob was told later by God that he was needed in Bethel, to make an altar to God, since he had needed his help so much. Jacob obeyed God, and headed with all his possessions to Bethel.
ROAD TRIPPPP!!
Along the way, one of his wives (Rachel,) died, and his father Isaac died as well. His mother's nurse died, too. My guess is that it wasn't that fun of a road trip.
So, what's the message here? I mean, what's all this birth and dying and stuff got to do with anything at all?
I think that it's teaching people about loyalty. It's telling people that your family is always meant to be kept at the top of your priorities. Forgiveness is another key factor in these chapters. Jacob was really hesitant about calling for his brother, but they eventually became good 'ol friends again.
And when Dinah was "violated" her brothers didn't stop until justice was served. (I'm not saying to go out and kill people if they hurt your sister!!) But, you should always consider other people's feelings.
Which bring me back to the family thing. If you have any holes in your family, resolve them now. What have you got to lose?
God rewards those who try and follow him, even if they don't succeed the way the hoped.
You'll be very blessed if you live according to the Bible... so give it a go! Nothing is stopping you!
Good luck, and God bless!
(Read these chapters at www.bible.com if you haven't already.)
Welcome back, to your tenth day of devotionals!! Woohoo!
What you've read so far has been long, and confusing, and quite frankly, a little boring. It has been to me, anyway. But, the important thing to remember is that only God knows why certain pieces of information is put into the Bible, and I'm not one to judge its appeal to people. Neither are you!! (Whoever you are!)
What I read today, however, was only as short four chapters with a lot of messages to reveal. We left off yesterday where Jacob left his uncle after this wild goose chase. Jacob took his two wives and I think there were eleven sons, and continued onward to wherever he was planning on going.
Along the way, he must have felt guilty or something, when he thought of his older brother, Esau. Remember the story? Esau was supposed to get his father's blessing but Jacob stole it from him by tricking his father. The two brothers split, and Esau was really mad at Jacob for everything.
We haven't heard of Esau's stance on anything... until now.
Jacob was traveling away from his uncle with his wives and told one of his messengers to find his brother, Esau. He told him to find him and tell him that he's being living with their uncle Laban, and that he had a bunch of goats and cattle and children, and wants to "make favor in his eyes."
So, the ultimate message he was trying to send was "I'm sorry I was a liar and I want to make it up to you with all this stuff I've got."
The messengers told Esau this, and returned to Jacob. They said "your brother is planning to meet with you, and he's bringing 400 men with him."
Now, when I read that, I thought there was going to be a huge war. I mean, Esau's blessings were stolen by his own brother, and he stormed off and never spoke to him until several years later, when he met with an army of men.
Jacob must have thought that as well. He prepared gifts and things to give to his brother when they met, and even told his wives and children to stay back. When he saw his brother approach with an army of men, he must of been thinking that he was going to die.
Only, he didn't.
When Esau saw his brother, he ran up and hugged him! They both shared a lovey-dovey moment and cried while holding each other. The classic makeup scene.
Esau was confused as to why his brother gave all the gifts, but Jacob just told him that he wanted to be found favorable. Esau told him in was unnecessary, and then another classic scene popped into my head.
It's one of those where someone wants to pay you for something and you're like "No, I don't need that!"
And they're like "Really! I insist!"
But you shake you head and give one of those cheesy smiles and reply, "Honestly, I have plenty already. Keep it for yourself!"
And then, you argue back and forth, then finally come to a conclusion. The conclusion that Jacob and Esau come to is Jacob tells his brother, "God has been very gracious, and he's given me more than I need. Please, take this gift."
And because Jacob insisted on this, Esau accepted.
But, Esau then felt guilty, and offered to give Jacob some of his men, and Jacob declined, so the brothers parted ways, happy and at peace with each other.
The next part of the reading is kind of... rated PG-13. Let's just say that.
Jacob's daughter, Dinah, was traveling with her family and tons of stepbrothers, when they all entered into another people's territory. Dinah was... well, I'll just let the Bible do the talking.
"When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her (DINAH), he took her and violated her..."
So, yeah.
Anyway, the one thing this Shechem didn't know is that Dinah had around a dozen brothers that cared for her... and it was a hugeeeeeeee deal to them.
All the people that were involved in this dilemma sat down together and talked about it. Whether they actually sat, I'm not sure. But regardless, they decided on this:
If all of Shechem's men get circumcised like Jacob's people have been, then they'll call it even. Men from one land can marry women from another, and so on and so fourth. Shechem's people agreed, and all the men got circumcised... (ouch...) and once they were, it was supposed to be called even.
Except, Dinah's brother's were still mad at what Shechem did. So, a couple of her brothers took sword and killed all the males in Shechem's city. Jacob, their father, was very angry, because now all of Shechem's family and friends will be mad at Jacob, and if they joined together, they could overthrow Jacob's family.
The brothers barely listened to Jacob, and told him that their sister shouldn't of been treated the way she was, and that's why they did what they did. End of story. They took all of the town's wealth, and women, and children, and took all that was left of the city.
Jacob was told later by God that he was needed in Bethel, to make an altar to God, since he had needed his help so much. Jacob obeyed God, and headed with all his possessions to Bethel.
ROAD TRIPPPP!!
Along the way, one of his wives (Rachel,) died, and his father Isaac died as well. His mother's nurse died, too. My guess is that it wasn't that fun of a road trip.
So, what's the message here? I mean, what's all this birth and dying and stuff got to do with anything at all?
I think that it's teaching people about loyalty. It's telling people that your family is always meant to be kept at the top of your priorities. Forgiveness is another key factor in these chapters. Jacob was really hesitant about calling for his brother, but they eventually became good 'ol friends again.
And when Dinah was "violated" her brothers didn't stop until justice was served. (I'm not saying to go out and kill people if they hurt your sister!!) But, you should always consider other people's feelings.
Which bring me back to the family thing. If you have any holes in your family, resolve them now. What have you got to lose?
God rewards those who try and follow him, even if they don't succeed the way the hoped.
You'll be very blessed if you live according to the Bible... so give it a go! Nothing is stopping you!
Good luck, and God bless!
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