Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends on this Friday,
Do you know anyone who has a hard time settling down, staying still for a while? I don’t mean children who can’t sit still, nor even teenagers with ADHD. I mean adults who seem discontent, always searching for something more, something different. The thought of putting down roots and living in one place or staying with one job for a long time is frightening to such people. I wonder if Jacob was like that. Why do I say that? Come with me and see…
Yesterday we had a remarkable experience with Jacob and his family in Genesis 35. God had told Jacob “Go up to Bethel and settle there…” (Gen. 35:1) Now that’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Jacob obeyed partly. He did lead his family to Bethel and yesterday we watched as they had a very powerful encounter with God in which God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and very clearly God stated: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you and your descendants after you!”(Gen. 35:12)
Now that’s very clear, isn’t it? I don’t know how long Jacob and his family stayed at Bethel, but this next statement tells me Jacob was one of those people who had a hard time staying put in one place: “Then Jacob and his family moved on from Bethel.” (Gen. 35:16)
We have no explanation as to why, but something significant happened as they moved on from Bethel: “While they were some distance from Ephrath [Bethlehem] Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty… As she breathed her last, for she was dying in childbirth, she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father Jacob named him Benjamin. So, Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is Bethlehem) … Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar and to this day that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.” (Gen. 35:16-19) Rachel, you may recall, was Jacob’s first love, and Benjamin is now his 12th and final son born to him by his wives.
One of the harsh realities of the world in which you and I live today is that final phrase which was true up until only a few years ago when ISIS, in one of their rampage attacks on Israel, demolished the pillar that marked Rachel’s tomb. That pillar had marked that place for more than 3500 years! I’ve often wondered if Jacob had remained at Bethel, where God told him to settle, would things have been different for Rachel and her son Benjamin?
Evidently, after some days of mourning Rachel’s death, Jacob packed up and moved again. Gen. 35:21 says, “Jacob moved on again and pitched his tent near Migdal Eder.” And after a short while, moved once more: “Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre near Kiriath Arba, (that is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.” (Gen. 35:27) Oh now we understand, don’t we, my friends? While ‘Bethel’ was very significant in Jacob’s life with not one but two powerful encounters with God there, Jacob was motivated by a deep, deep desire to reconcile with his father Isaac back in their homeland, and thus Jacob kept moving with his family in hopes he’d have the same reconciliation experience with his father Isaac that he had with his brother Esau. The desire for forgiveness and reconciliation is a strong motivation isn’t it my friends? We don’t have the details, but it appears Jacob’s hope was achieved, for look at these next two statements: “Isaac lived 180 years. Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.“ (Gen. 35:28,29) Do you see it my friends? Jacob, alongside his reconciled brother Esau, partnered together to honor their father Isaac in his death and burial, in their family and ancestral homeland!
Where was Isaac buried, you might wonder? Jacob, at the end of his life, gives us the answer in Genesis 49:29 when he instructs his sons regarding his death and burial: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite…which Abraham bought along with the field. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah…” (Gen. 49:29-32) Now I wonder friends if you see the significance of that burial cave? It was the ancestral, family burial plot for Abraham and Sarah and the descendants which inherited the Covenant of Land and People God had given to Abraham and his descendants. Neither Ishmael nor Esau are buried in that cave. Only Abraham and Sarah, parents of miracle son Isaac. And Isaac and Rebekah, parents of Jacob. And Jacob and Leah. The Covenant of Land and People passed from Abraham to Isaac, then to Jacob and Jacob’s sons, and then the nation of people known as ‘the children of Israel’.
Now my friends, Genesis 36 is the lineage story of Esau, Jacob’s older brother. This chapter explains both WHERE and WHY Esau’s descendants chose to live separate from Jacob’s descendants. Gen. 36 also four times indicated Esau’s descendants became known as the “Edomites”. (Gen. 36:1,8,9,40) The land of “Edom” is located between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Today that region is both in modern day Jordan and Israel.
My friends, the remainder of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, is the remarkable story of Jacob’s family and how they ended up leaving the Covenant, ancestral homeland and moving to live in Egypt to escape the famine. Of course, the central figure in that amazing story is Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son, who was sold by his brothers to a traveling caravan who took Joseph to Egypt and sold him there as a slave. I wonder if you’ve ever noticed who the traveling caravan was? Gen. 37:25 “As the brothers sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and were on their way to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother Joseph and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites...after all he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed…” (Gen.37:25-28) The Ishmaelites, of course, were descendants of Isaac’s 1/2 brother Ishmael! They were distant relatives, but it appears at that moment no one was thinking about the Covenant of Land and People God had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jacob’s sons, they were busy getting rid of pesky Joseph and the Ishmaelites were profiteers always looking for an opportunity to make a buck. So off Joseph went, bound, walking behind a camel as a slave bound for Egypt.
Let’s pause right here my friends and sit down under the tree with Joseph’s brothers who’ve just sold Joseph as a slave. In their plan, they would never see Joseph again, never hear about his crazy dreams. In Joseph’s mind, we can assume he was as good as dead. He’d work as a slave in Egypt and probably die there, long forgotten by his family and having no part in God’s promises to his ancestral family. But God!
Do you understand that God is always Sovereign in all situations at all times in all places? Have you discovered that sometimes what appears to be a disaster is actually a very important part of God’s bigger plan? Tomorrow I’ll meet you right back here and we’ll see what happened next and how it fits into the story of Joshua and the people crossing into God’s Promised land nearly 400 years later!! And here’s a song to help us think about how our life fits into God’s Sovereign Plan.
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 35:16-37:36.
Choose below to read or listen.
Genesis 35:16-37:36 Genesis 35
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Genesis 36 Genesis 37
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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