Scripture StudiesScripture StudiesChapter 6Chapter 6

The PatriarchsThe Patriarchs

The Patriarchs

“Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

-- Genesis 32:28

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Life often leads us in ways we never contemplated

The only guarantee that comes with our birth is the certainty that we will someday die

This chapter should assure us that God always cares for us, and that should make it easier to accept the difficulties that come to us in life

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READ: Genesis25:19 – 26:527:1-4528:10 – 29:3032:22 – 33:1137:1-3645:1-20

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Chapter 6: The Patriarchs

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Abraham is now permanently settled in Canaan

But he’s still a foreigner thereHe’s surrounded by people with different

customs, different languages and accents, who worship different gods

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God had promised that this land would belong to his descendants forever

The problem: how to do this in the midst of strangers, how to address the problem of intermarriage, different gods, etc.

What if his son Isaac married a local woman?

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Genesis 24:2-4All of God’s promises to Abraham

were to be fulfilled through IsaacAbraham concluded that he should

keep Isaac away from the Canaanites in order to keep him from falling into idolatry

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Abraham sent his servant back to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac in his native land

The servant went to the town well, a familiar scene in Scripture

The servant essentially asked God to show him which woman was to become Isaac’s wife

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In Abraham’s time, marriages were arranged by the families of those to be married

This is still fairly common in some cultures today

Statistically, arranged marriages seem to have a higher rate of success than those that result from dating

What do you think about that?

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A young woman approached Abraham’s servant, and the verbal exchange was just as God had said

The young woman was named Rebekah

She was the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, and her brother was named Laban

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Abraham’s servant proposed the match to Laban

But Rebekah had to agreeShe had the same decision to make that

Abraham had, years earlierShe had to decide to leave her homeland

ang go to a land she had never seen, on the strength of a promise from God

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Isaac and Rebekah fell in “love at first sight” and were married

For a long time, they were childlessThen Rebekah conceived twinsThey seemed to be fighting even

while they were in the wombGenesis 25:23

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The twins were Jacob and EsauThe name Esau sounds something like

the Hebrew word for “red”The name Jacob sounds like the word for

“takes by the heel” or the word for “he who supplants”

Esau was his father’s favoriteJacob was his mother’s favorite

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Jacob and Esau were (apparently fraternal) twins

From the beginning, their relationship was marked by conflict

Like many siblings, their personal differences defined their disputes

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Esau was the first-born, by just a few minutes

As the eldest son, he was entitled to certain privileges

He was entitled to a “birthright”

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A “birthright” was a double share of his family’s inheritance from his father Isaac

It also included a status as the head of the family when his father died

He was also entitled to a special blessing from his father

Once given, a blessing could not be taken back

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Esau came back from a hunting trip and was very hungry

He encountered Jacob, cooking a pot of soup

He was unable to see his long-term best interests, and chose instead immediate gratification

He traded his birthright for a bowl of soup

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Jacob was willing to take advantage of the present circumstances to get his way

It’s doubtful that their father Isaac would go along with the deal

Esau was his favorite, and Isaac probably would have declared the “contract” invalid

Isaac would probably have insisted on giving Esau the first-born blessing anyway

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Esau had married two local pagan women

His wives made life difficult for Esau’s parents, Isaac and Rebekah

Still, Esau remained his father’s favorite

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At his mother’s insistence, Jacob impersonated Esau

Jacob received from Isaac the first-born blessing that Esau was entitled to

When Esau returned, he was understandably disappointed

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He had probably forgotten about “selling” his birthright to Jacob, and may not have even taken it seriously

It was prophesied that Jacob would dominate Esau

Esau was furiousHe wanted to kill Jacob

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Rebekah sent Jacob away for his own safety until Esau got over his anger

She sent him to her brother LabanSince she did not want him to marry

a Canaanite woman, she sought a wife for him in the same way she had become the wife of Isaac

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On his way to Haran, Jacob had a dream

God often makes himself present to people during the night hours, in their dreams

There are many cases in Scripture where God or one of his angels spoke to people in their dreams

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Sometimes it’s to give fairly specific instructions

Sometimes it’s a symbolic vision that the dreamer has to interpret

In Jacob’s case, it was angelic messengers going up and down a ladder bringing God’s word to those who were to receive it

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In Jacob’s case, he also received a direct revelation from God

He identified himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac

He renewed his covenant with the descendants of Abraham

He would be their God, and they would be his people

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He would be given land, a dynasty, and a blessing through his descendants

When Jacob awoke, he named the place “Beth-el,” meaning “House of God”

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God had chosen Jacob, the younger brother, to be the one who would carry forward the promise

It was true that he had tricked his older brother out of his birthright and his blessing

But God does not choose us because we deserve it

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“Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in”

-- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

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Jacob is about to be given a lesson in humility, a dose of his own medicine

Jacob arrived at Haran, stopped at a well, and saw a beautiful young woman

It was Rachel, his uncle Laban’s daughter

Again it was love at first sight

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Jacob stayed for a month, helping Laban tend his flocks

In those days, it was customary to pay a “bride price”

Jacob offered to serve his uncle for seven years in exchange for being allowed to marry Rachel

Laban agreed, but had a trick up his sleeve

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Laban had another daughter, Leah, who was older than Rachel and not as attractive

It was the custom for the older daughter to be married first

After seven years, Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah

Brides are often veiled in the East, so it wasn’t all that difficult

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When Jacob awoke the next morning, he realized that he had been tricked

But the deal was done, and could not be undone

He was married to Leah, and that was that

But he still wanted to marry Rachel

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So Jacob agreed to serve Laban for another seven years in exchange for being allowed to marry Rachel

And Jacob settled down to serve the father of his wives for another seven years, and stayed seven more years after that

He thus became an unwitting polygamist

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In the Bible, polygamy always leads to misery

Jacob loved Rachel moreBut Rachel did not bear children, while

Leah did so easilyRachel gave Jacob her servant to bear

children for her, as Sarah had done with Hagar and Abraham

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Eventually, Rachel did bear two children herself

Jacob had twelve sons in allReuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan,

Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and (much later) Benjamin

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Jacob’s sons were the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel

Jacob stayed with Laban several years longer, with them spending most of their time trying to outwit each other

But Jacob grew prosperous during the time

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In a dream, God made it clear to Jacob that it was God who was responsible for his prosperity

God also told Jacob that the time had come for him to return to Canaan, the land of his birth

So Jacob was to leave Laban after about twenty years of service

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But Jacob realized that he would also have to confront Esau after all these years

He sent messengers ahead to let Esau know that he was coming

The messengers returned with the news that Esau was coming out to meet him with four hundred men

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Jacob believed that Esau was coming with a small army to kill him

Jacob decided to divide his entourage into two groups

That way, perhaps one group might escape while Esau and his army attacked the other group

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Apparently, Jacob hadn’t prayed in quite a while

But as often happens in time of trouble and fear, Jacob turned to the God of his fathers in prayer

That night, in a dream or a vision, he wrestled with another man all night

But neither Jacob nor the stranger could get the upper hand

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Finally, as dawn was breaking, the stranger asked Jacob to let him go

Jacob asked the stranger for a blessing

The stranger told Jacob that “Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and prevailed”

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It was then that Jacob realized that he had been wrestling with an angel

Receiving new name was like being created anew, and was a renewal of the covenant

As it turned out, Jacob’s fear of Esau was groundless

Esau had forgiven Jacob and was delighted to see him

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Slavery was common in most of the world during this time, and still existed in more recent times

Slavery still exists in parts of the Middle East, southeast Asia, and Africa

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Slavery has been outlawed in Mauritania since 1905

The ban was reaffirmed in 1981, and again in 2007

But as many as 800,000 people (20% of the population) are still held as slaves in Mauritania TODAY

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Joseph, Jacob’s youngest son (before Benjamin was born) was Jacob’s favorite son

His ten brothers resented him for that Then Jacob gave Joseph a fancy coat Scholars differ on just what the coat may

have looked like Traditionally, it was referred to as a “Coat of

Many Colors”

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In 1965, a musical play was presented entitled “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

It has been widely presented over the years, and a musical album is available

This was during the pretentious era of rock music

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Joseph also had dreams which made his brothers resent him even more

In Joseph’s first dream, he saw himself and his brothers binding sheaves of grain in a field

His sheaf stood up, and his brother’s sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to it

It was clear that Joseph’s dream meant that he was to rule over his brothers

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In Joseph’s second dream, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him

Obviously, the sun and the moon represented his parents, and the eleven stars represented his brothers

Joseph’s father Jacob suggested that he keep his dreams to himself from now on

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Joseph’s brothers resented him more and more

Finally, they decided to kill him But Reuben (the eldest of the brothers)

convinced them not to do so Instead, he had them throw Joseph into a

pit Reuben planned to return later and rescue

Joseph

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But a caravan of traders happened by when Reuben wasn’t there

The other brothers sold Joseph to the traders as a slave

When Reuben returned and didn’t find Joseph, he (and his father Jacob) assumed Joseph was dead

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What would your reaction be if you had been treated as Joseph was?

Why do you think forgiveness can be so difficult?

Can you think of an experience you have had when you were unable to forgive?

Write your answers to these questions on a piece of paper

Also write down approaches that can be used to ask for forgiveness, and to give forgiveness

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Sold as a slave, Joseph ends up being taken to Egypt by the caravan of traders

After years of service as a slave, Joseph works his way up to become the prime minister of Egypt under Pharaoh

By means of other dreams, Joseph was able to predict that there would be seven “fat years” (years of plentiful harvests), followed by seven “lean years” (years of famine)

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Armed with this knowledge, the Egyptian government (under Joseph’s leadership) was able to store up enough food during the seven “fat years” to sustain them during the seven “lean years”

Meanwhile, the rest of the world was starving during the widespread famine of the seven “lean years”

Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, and sent his sons there to obtain food

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To purchase food, foreigners hd to go through Pharaoh’s prime minister, Zaphenathpaneah

Zaphenathpaneah was the Egyptian name the Pharaoh had given Joseph

Joseph recognized his brothers immediately But they did not recognize him He was several years older, and was dressed

as an Egyptian nobleman would be, and spoke to them in the Egyptian language through an interpreter

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The brothers also averted their eyes and avoided looking directly at him, as a sign of respect and subservience

Joseph did not reveal who he was immediately

He decided to play some tricks on them first

First he accused them of being spies

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They insisted that they had only come to buy food

They explained who they were, who their father was, etc.

Benjamin, the youngest brother, had stayed in Canaan

Joseph decided to test them by having them bring Benjamin to Egypt

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They were to go back to Canaan to get Benjamin

But one brother was to remain in Egypt as a hostage

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If Benjamin told the same story as the rest of the brothers, they would be allowed to leave with the food

If not, they would dieThey believed that they were now being

punished for what they had done to Joseph years earlier

This was “the reckoning for his blood”

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Joseph kept Simeon as a hostage, and sent the brothers back to Canaan with the grain they had bought

But he had the money they had paid for the grain hidden in the sacks of grain

When they got back to Canaan and discovered the money, they were alarmed and confused

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Jacob was reluctant to let Benjamin go to Egypt

He had already lost Joseph years earlier, and now Simeon was a prisoner in Egypt

Jacob refused to allow itBut the famine in Canaan became worse,

and they needed more food

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They knew that they could not return to Egypt to buy more grain unless Benjamin was with them

Pharaoh’s prime minister Zaphenathpaneah (Joseph) had warned them not to come back unless Benjamin was with them

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Finally Jacob allowed them to goBut he insisted that they take gifts

with them, as well as money to pay for more grain

He also had them take the money that had been returned to them, in case it had been returned by mistake

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Joseph received them cordially, but still did not reveal himself to them

He inquired as to the well-being of his father

He fed them and entertained themBenjamin got more food than

anyone else

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Again they loaded up their camels with grain

And again Joseph had their money put in the sacks with the grain

But this time, he also had his own silver goblet concealed in Benjamin’s sack of grain

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After they had left, Joseph sent his chief steward after them to recover the goblet and accuse them of stealing it

After giving them a hard time, Joseph revealed to them who he really was

He believed that God had sent him to Egypt so that he could save his family from starvation

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So Joseph’s brothers had unknowingly acted as instruments of God when they sold him into slavery

Joseph insisted that the entire family come to Egypt, where he could provide for them during five more years of famine

So the entire family (seventy people) came down to Egypt and settled on the best land available

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READ:Tertullian, An Answer to the JewsCommentary on GenesisP. 124Be prepared to discuss these

readings tomorrow

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REVIEW QUESTIONS: Where did Isaac’s wife Rebekah originate? Who was Laban? What were the blessings given to the first

son? For what price did Esau sell his birthright? Why did Isaac bless Jacob instead of Esau? Why did Jacob leave for his uncle Laban’s

household?

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How long did Jacom work for his uncle Laban before he could marry Rachel?

How was it that Jacob became an unwilling polygamist?

What does the name “Israel” mean, according to the angel?

What does the Church say regarding the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel?

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Why did Joseph’s brithers resent him?

Why did Joseph go to Egypt?Who was Zaphenathpaneah?According to the textbook, how is Joseph

considered a type of Christ?How can God deal with evil?

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