Bible in one year
4/7/2022 Genesis Chapter 31-35
By
Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian
Arts Ministries:Biblical precepts &Gospel music; Pastoral ministry &
Counseling
Chapter 31 Jacob’s Return to Canaan - Because Laban became openly hostile to Jacob, God told him to return to Canaan. Jacob’s wives, who met secretly with him in the fields, agreed that this was the best plan. Laban and Jacob made a mutual nonaggression pact. Its features included God as witness (vv.49,53), the pillar and cairn (heap)as boundary markers (v.52), and a covenant meal to seal the arrangement (v.54).Suspicion permeated the entire arrangement (v.50. Jegar Sahadutha and Galeed (v.47) both mean “heap of witness,” the former being Aramaic and the latter, Hebrew. Mizpah(v.49) means “watchtower”.
1 And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.
2 And Jacob beheld the countenance
of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers,
and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel
and Leah to the field unto his flock,
5 And said unto them, I see your
father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my
father hath been with me.
6 And ye know that with all my power
I have served your father.
7 And your father hath deceived me,
and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
8 If he said thus, The speckled
shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The
ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
9 Thus God hath taken away the
cattle of your father, and given them to me.
10 And it came to pass at the time
that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and,
behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and
grisled.
11 And the angel of God
spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lift up
now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are
ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto
thee.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where
thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return
unto the land of thy kindred.
14
And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or
inheritance for us in our father's house?
15 Are we not counted of him
strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
16 For all the riches which God hath
taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever
God hath said unto thee, do.
17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his
sons and his wives upon camels;
18 And he carried away all his
cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which
he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of
Canaan.
19 And Laban went to shear his
sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
20 And Jacob stole away unawares to
Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
21 So he fled with all that he had;
and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount
Gilead.
22 And it was told Laban on the
third day that Jacob was fled.
23 And he took his brethren with
him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the
mount Gilead.
24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said
unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now
Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in
the mount of Gilead.
26 And Laban said to Jacob, What
hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my
daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
27 Wherefore didst thou flee away
secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent
thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
28 And hast not suffered me to kiss
my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
29 It is in the power of my hand to
do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take
thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
30 And now, though thou wouldest
needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet
wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
31 And Jacob answered and said to
Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by
force thy daughters from me.
32 With whomsoever thou findest thy
gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me,
and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent,
and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them
not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images,
and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched
all the tent, but found them not.
35 And she said to her father, Let
it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of
women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode
with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is
my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
37 Whereas thou hast searched all my
stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my
brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
38 This twenty years have I been
with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams
of thy flock have I not eaten.
39 That which was torn of beasts I
brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it,
whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
40 Thus I was; in the day
the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from
mine eyes.
41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee
fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou
hast changed my wages ten times.
42 Except the God of my
father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely
thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour
of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
43 And Laban answered and said unto
Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children,
and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I
do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have
born?
44 Now therefore come thou, let us
make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45 And Jacob took a stone,
and set it up for a pillar.
46 And Jacob said unto his
brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did
eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it
Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48 And Laban said, This
heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it
called Galeed;
49 And Mizpah; for he
said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
50 If thou shalt afflict my
daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is
with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold
this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee:
52 This heap be witness, and this
pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou
shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
53 The God of Abraham, and the God
of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the
fear of his father Isaac.
54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon
the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and
tarried all night in the mount.
55 And early in the morning Laban
rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban
departed, and returned unto his place.
Chapter 32 Jacob’s reconciliation with Esau and
wrested with an angel
Jacob remembered Esau’s
threat. And had reason to be frightened, not knowing his brother’s intentions.
Jacob’s prayer (32:9-12) shows humility of spirit. Jacob was wrestled with a
man in the Jabbok which is a tributary of the Jordan, flowing into it about twenty-four
miles N. of the Dead Sea. The name is related to the Hebrew word for “wrestled”
(v.24). The man who wrestled Jacob is called an angel in Hosea12:4 and was
evidently the preincarnated Christ. Jacob’s wrestling involved agonizing
prayer.(Hos.12:4) God allowed Himself to be overcome by Jacob, though He
crippled him (whether temporarily or for the rest of his life is not stated).
His limp, however, was proof that this was no mere dream. The Lord wanted to
depart before daylight lest Jacob see Him. (Ex.33:20), but Jacob insisted on
being blessed first. So God changed his name from Jacob to Israel, which means
“he fights or persists with God” (in prevailing prayer). Peniel means “the face
of God”.
1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2
And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of
that place Mahanaim.
3
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir,
the country of Edom.
4
And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy
servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until
now:
5
And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I
have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and
also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that
was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8
And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company
which is left shall escape.
9 And Jacob said, O God of
my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return
unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
10 I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy
servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two
bands.
11 Deliver me, I pray
thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest
he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12 And thou saidst, I will
surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude.
13
And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a
present for Esau his brother;
14
Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
15
Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she
asses, and ten foals.
16
And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves;
and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove
and drove.
17
And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and
asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are
these before thee?
18
Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my
lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
19
And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the
droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
20
And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I
will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will
see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
21
So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the
company.
22 And he rose up that
night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons,
and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23 And he took them, and
sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24 And Jacob was left
alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he
prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow
of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go,
for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless
me.
27 And he said unto him,
What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with
God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him,
and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that
thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the
name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31 And as he passed over
Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32 Therefore the children
of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the
thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the
sinew that shrank.
Chapter 33 Jacob bowed
seven times before he met Esau, Esau’s suggestion that they travel together as
well as his further offer to send a guard with Jacob(v.5) are both refused. In
the city of Shechem Canaan Jacob set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel which means “a Mighty
God is the God of Israel.”
1 And Jacob lifted up
his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.
And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two
handmaids.
2 And he put the
handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and
Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3 And he passed over
before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to
his brother.
4 And Esau ran to meet
him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5 And he lifted up his
eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee?
And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6 Then the handmaidens
came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7 And Leah also with
her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and
Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8 And he said, What
meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find
grace in the sight of my lord.
9 And Esau said, I
have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10 And Jacob said,
Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my
present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen
the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11 Take, I pray thee,
my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me,
and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
12 And he said, Let us
take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
13 And he said unto
him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds
with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock
will die.
14 Let my lord, I pray
thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the
cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come
unto my lord unto Seir.
15 And Esau said, Let
me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What
needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
16 So Esau returned
that day on his way unto Seir.
17 And Jacob journeyed
to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore
the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came to
Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from
Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19 And he bought a
parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of
Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20 And he erected
there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.
Chapter 34 Jacob’s later life; the massacre at Schechem
Shechem defiled Dinah who was about 14 or 15 at this time, and
wanted to marry her. Hamor, approached Jacob in order to arrange the marriage
between Dinah and Shechem. Hamor’s further proposal of intermarriage of the two
groups was accepted on the condition that his family be circumcised (v.15).
Three days later, at the height of incapacitation, Simeon and Levi waged a two
man war of revenge, killing all the men of Shechem, including Hamor and
Shechem, rescuing Dinah, and taking as spoil the women and wealth of the city.
Jacob was suddenly concerned about what this massacre would mean to the peace
and security of his family when other groups learned about it. But his
objections were apparently silenced by his sons’ question “should he have
treated our sister like a prostitute?” (v.31)
1 And Dinah the
daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of
the land.
2 And when Shechem the
son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with
her, and defiled her.
3 And his soul clave
unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly
unto the damsel.
4 And Shechem spake
unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5 And Jacob heard that
he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the
field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
6 And Hamor the father
of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
7 And the sons of
Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and
they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with
Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.
8 And Hamor communed
with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray
you give her him to wife.
9 And make ye
marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto
you.
10 And ye shall dwell
with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get
you possessions therein.
11 And Shechem said
unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what
ye shall say unto me I will give.
12 Ask me never so
much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but
give me the damsel to wife.
13 And the sons of
Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he
had defiled Dinah their sister:
14 And they said unto
them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised;
for that were a reproach unto us:
15 But in this will we
consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be
circumcised;
16 Then will we give
our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will
dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17 But if ye will not
hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will
be gone.
18 And their words
pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19 And the young man
deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and
he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
20 And Hamor and
Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of
their city, saying,
21 These men are
peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for
the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to
us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22 Only herein will
the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male
among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23 Shall not their
cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us
consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
24 And unto Hamor and
unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and
every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25 And it came to pass
on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon
and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city
boldly, and slew all the males.
26 And they slew Hamor
and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's
house, and went out.
27 The sons of Jacob
came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their
sister.
28 They took their
sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and
that which was in the field,
29 And all their
wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and
spoiled even all that was in the house.
30 And Jacob said to
Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants
of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in
number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I
shall be destroyed, I and my house.
31 And they said,
Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?
Chapter 35 The renewal of
the covenant at Bethel and the deaths of Rachel and Isaac.
Bethel was the place where God confirmed the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob (28:10-19). It was about fifteen miles S. of Shechem. El Bethel means “God of Bethel”. God Almighty .Heb. El Shaddai. Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty in childbirth. She was died at Ephrath which is the ancient name of Bethlehem, where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin. Benjamin means “son of the right hand,” son of honor or good fortune. Ben-Oni means “son of my sorrow or misfortune.”
1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2 Then Jacob said unto
his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that
are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3 And let us arise,
and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me
in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 And they gave unto
Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings
which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by
Shechem.
5 And they journeyed:
and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they
did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to
Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people
that were with him.
7 And he built there
an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him,
when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 But Deborah
Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the
name of it was called Allonbachuth.
9 And God appeared unto
Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10 And God said unto him,
Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel
shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11 And God said unto him,
I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations
shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I
gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will
I give the land.
13 And God went up from
him in the place where he talked with him.
14 And Jacob set up a
pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he
poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
16 And they journeyed
from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17 And it came to
pass, when she was in hard
labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son
also.
18 And it came to pass, as
her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but
his father called him Benjamin.
20 And Jacob set a
pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21 And Israel
journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22 And it came to
pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his
father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23 The sons of Leah;
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and
Zebulun:
24 The sons of Rachel;
Joseph, and Benjamin:
25 And the sons of
Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26 And the sons of
Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which
were born to him in Padanaram.
27 And Jacob came unto
Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where
Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28 And the days of
Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29 And Isaac gave up
the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of
days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible,
Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Lee, Witness. The
New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The
Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
Roberts, Oral. “Holy Bible” (KJV) Tulsa, OK:
Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, Inc, 1981
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