Hello my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever had the privilege of actually ‘moving back home’, many years after you left your home? Just the word ‘home’ stirs up some powerful emotions in our hearts, doesn’t it? So here’s an important question… where is HOME for you? Of all the places you’ve lived in your life, which one really feels most like ‘home’, the place of your deepest roots? Why? What makes that place home for you?
We’re traveling with Jacob who left his home nearly 30 years before in a panic. His brother had been looking to kill him for deceitfully stealing both his birthright and his firstborn blessing from their father Isaac. 20 years passed as Jacob, 400 miles to the north, made a new home, in the city of Haran. He married, built a large family and a large, successful ranching business. Then in subsequent years, Jacob had begun moving back toward his homeland, first arriving in Shechem where he spent some time, then later he moved his family to Bethel in obedience to God’s directions, where he planned to ‘settle there‘. Jacob had a powerful encounter with God there at Bethel, when he first began his runaway journey, and now, 20 years later, another life changing God encounter in that special place. This second encounter with God reaffirmed the Covenant God had made with Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, and one other major thing…God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.
So the record says “Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.” (Gen. 35:21) It’s the first time Jacob is referred to by his new, God given name, Israel. We don’t know how long he lived there, but moving on from there, the record says: “Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.” Did you notice the phrase… “Jacob came home to his father…”? For Jacob, even though this homeland was filled with very painful memories, still it was home, since that’s where he’d grown up and where at least his father still lived. I’ve heard it said “Home is where your heart is.” Think about that a moment… is that true for you? Where does your heart feel most at home? With Jacob & Esau somewhat reconciled now, I wonder if Jacob’s next deepest desire was to see IF reconciliation with his father Isaac was possible after so many years had passed? Is that why Jacob brought his large family back to his homeland?
We have no description of what that reunion was like between Jacob and Isaac, nor how Isaac received Jacob’s large family. There is also no mention of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. Perhaps she had already died. We know Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, (Gen. 25:20) and 60 years old when Jacob & Esau, the twins, were born. (Gen. 25:26) Esau was 40 when he married, (Gen. 25:34) thus I presume the brothers were about 50 years old or so when Jacob deceived his father, stole Esau’s blessing, and had to run for his life. That would put Isaac at about 110 years of age, or more. We know Jacob lived about 20 years in Haran building his family (Gen. 31:41) and then returned and spent some time in Shechem (Gen. 33:18) and also some time in Bethel (Gen. 35:1) and then Migdal Eder. (Gen. 35:21) So I’m guessing Isaac may have been around 150 years old or more, when Jacob arrived back in his homeland of Hebron.
They say ‘time changes everything’ and oh how different everything is now for Jacob in Hebron! Jacob has three living wives, twelve sons and one daughter, many servants, and hundreds of animals. Isaac is an old man, possibly a widower. Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, lives on the other side of the Jordan river with his three wives and large family, many employees and a big ranch.
Amazingly the Genesis record is silent on the next several years, for the very next verse in Genesis 35 says “Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. Then he breathed his last and died…and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” (Gen. 35:28,29) I don’t know about you my friends but that leaves me with lots of questions regarding those years when Jacob and his large family lived near old Isaac. I wonder what relationships were like between them all? What wisdom did Isaac pass on to Jacob and his grandchildren? Did Jacob reconcile with his father Isaac? Did he ask his father many questions about their Covenant heritage? Did Jacob seek to gain as much wisdom from Isaac as he could?
May I ask you my friends, if you still have living parents who are old and ageing, are you taking full advantage of learning all you can from them? Are you finding ways to serve and love them? Have you found your ageing parents LOVE to tell the stories of their lives, especially their youth? Do they often assume at their old age no one cares anymore, it’s all ancient history? I have found one of the greatest gifts you can give someone who is older is simply asking them questions that will unlock their memories and then listen closely as they pour out their stories. You’ll find wisdom there my friends!
Because Jacob and Esau had begun reconciling their tattered relationship, (Gen. 33) we can imagine it wasn’t difficult for them to join together, as twin brothers, to care for their dying father. While there are no details mentioned here in Genesis 35, I find in Genesis 49, at the end of Jacob’s life, he gives very clear burial instructions to his sons. Jacob wanted to be buried in the family plot where his grandfather Abraham and his grandmother Sarah were buried, but also where his father Isaac and mother Rebekah were buried. So that tells me Isaac was very clear with Jacob and Esau about his plans for his death and burial. May I ask you my friends, do you have a clear end of life plan and have you shared it with your family?
I’m sure all of us, no matter where we live in the world, share similar experiences with death and funerals. Family and friends gather to honor and remember the deceased. Very often it’s the first time some people have seen each other in years or even decades! Then after the appropriate ceremonies are over, people go back to wherever they came from and resume their lives. The Genesis account follows the burial of Isaac with one whole chapter 36, dedicated to the story of Esau and his family as they left that funeral. Here’s how the record begins: “Esau took his wives and children and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock and all other animals and all the goods he had acquired, and he moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. Their possessions were too great for them to remain together; the land could not support them both because of their livestock. So Esau (that is Edom) settled in the hill country of Seir.” (Gen. 36:1-8)
We can presume Isaac divided much of his estate between his two sons, and thus some of those livestock and possessions Esau took with him were his inheritance from his father. Now, if you’ve been with us for some time, did you notice some words that sound very familiar? The reason Jacob & Esau separated is the very same reason Abraham and Lot had to separate isn’t it? Our possessions can sometimes distance us from those we most love, can’t they? Have you learned how to keep everything in your life in proper balance and perspective? Did you notice Esau also became known as “Edom” and thus his descendants were known as the “Edomites”. In our modern day, the land they settled is primarily the nation of Jordan. As far as we know the Jordan river and Dead Sea separated these twin brothers Esau and Jacob, and their families, and their successful businesses for the rest of their lives.
You’ll notice Genesis 37 begins with these words: “Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.” I’d like to invite us to pause right there for today and ponder. With Isaac dead and buried, Jacob is now the patriarch of this special clan of people which began with Abraham. May I ask, who are the oldest living people in your family? What is your relationship with them? How much have you learned from them and is there yet a bit more you can learn before they pass into their eternity? Where do you think they will spend eternity? When they have died and YOU are the oldest living person in your family, what wisdom do you have that you’d like to make sure you pass along to your family and friends? How will you most effectively share your wisdom and your unique life story? What will people learn about God and God’s involvement in your life story as you tell your story? Perhaps you might want to begin making some notes about that even right now! Here’s a song that might help you consider how God has been the God of all your days, even if you didn’t notice it!
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 35:27-37:1.
Genesis 36
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 262.441.8785
“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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