Genesis Chapter 40 ~ Two Dreams, Two Correct Interpretations Given

Genesis Chapter 40 

Some time after Joseph was thrown in jail by Potiphar for his wife's claims about him, and after being elevated by the prison-guard to a higher position over the other inmates, Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker committed an offense against Pharaoh. He put them in the custody of the captain of the guard over the prison where Joseph was being held (40:3). The prison guard put Joseph over them, and he attended them.

The baker and the cupbearer both dreamed separate dreams that troubled each of them. When Joseph saw that they were troubled he asked them why they were downcast, and they said they were downcast because they had dreams and no one could interpret them. Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." (40:8)

Dream #1 - The Cupbearer's Dream of Grape Juice for Pharaoh 
The cupbearer told Joseph his dream. There was a vine before him with three branches, and as soon as it budded, it's blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in his hand, and he took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in Pharaoh's hand (40:12).

Interpretation #1 - The Cupbearer's Restoration 
Joseph told him that the three branches equate to three days, and that in three days Pharaoh would lift up the cupbearer's head and restore him to his office, and he will resume his cupbearing responsibilities before the king (40:12-13). Joseph then made a request, "Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit." (40:14-15) Seeing that Joseph garnered more favor than other slaves under Potiphar, and that now he was being shown more favor by the prison guard can cloud our vision of Joseph's real condition. He was a suffering man. This was not some journey of comfort. He was a slave, and now he was a prisoner. This has been a terrible trial for him.

Dream #2 - The Baker's Dream, Birds Eating Out of the Top of 3 Baskets on His Head
The baker saw that the cupbearer's interpretation was favorable, so he asked Joseph to interpret his dream too. He described his dream; there were three cake baskets on his head, and in the top basket there were a variety of baked foods for Pharaoh, but birds were eating it out of the basket (40:16-17) 

Interpretation #2 - The Baker's Demise 
Joseph told him that the three baskets are three days, and in three days Pharaoh would lift up his head from him, and he would hang on a tree, and birds would eat his flesh off (40:18-19).

The third day came around, and it happened to be Pharaoh's birthday. He made a feast for the servants and did exactly as Joseph interpreted the cupbearer and the baker's dreams. Then Moses notes that despite Joseph's right interpretation, the cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Reflections on Genesis 40
Joseph himself was a dreamer, and now here we see that he can interpret others' dreams as well. In helping these two men by interpreting their dreams it is most important to see where his ability comes from. Consider verse 8, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." He's not claiming to a powerful man, but a humble man, through whom God is working. Ultimately, no one can produce prophetic revelation about the future, but God can reveal it to and through a man, and that appears to be what is happening here. Joseph knows that God is with him, even as the text has told the reader that this is the case (39:2, 21, 23; cf. Acts. 7:9). Joseph is not only able to interpret dreams, but also God's providence (45:5-8; 50:20). (Waltke, 528) All of this points to God's authority over all things, and His knowledge of all things: past, present, and future. Joseph is prefiguring what God's prophets are like. Men who are close to the Lord, and who are a mouthpiece for God in specific circumstances. Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of God's prophets. The second person of the Trinity is no mere prophet though, He is the very Son of God (John 3:16-18; 6:35-40; 10:34-39). And He didn't merely come to reveal dreams, but God' good news of how we can be saved through Jesus' substitutionary death for His people. He came to reveal God's plan, and beyond that to give God's message of salvation through God's judgment that ultimately crushed Jesus. Joseph's trial here is only a foreshadow of how God's prophets would suffer in the future. But all of their suffering points to Jesus Christ's suffering to satisfy the wrath of God for hopeless sinners who repent and believe in Jesus.

Another thing to notice, is that in the midst of Joseph's trial God is orchestrating his deliverance. Just because his present circumstances are dire that doesn't mean that God is not orchestrating events for Joseph's good, the good of all of Egypt and even Joseph's family, and for the glory of God. God is using Joseph's faithfulness to Him in this time to bring about his deliverance. What is immediately forgettable by the cupbearer will not always be the case, because God is bringing His perfect plan to come to pass. We too often think that in the midst of a trial we should give up all together, not realizing that it is through the trial that our true allegiance to God is tested and proven. Only, why is God continuing to preserve Joseph here? Well, we'll see more clearly in the next chapter.

Genesis Chapter 39 ~ The LORD Was With Joseph When In Potiphar's House And In Prison

Genesis Chapter 39 

This chapter focuses back in on the life of Joseph.

Joseph was brought to Egypt, and an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, Potiphar who was the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites (39:1). The LORD was with Joseph, and he became successful in Potiphar's house (39:2). Potiphar saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused everything he did to succeed (39:3). Because of this Joseph found favor in Potiphar's sight and he put him in charge of everything he had, making him an overseer in his house (39:5). The LORD blessed Potiphar's house and fields for Joseph's sake, so he left all he had in Joseph's charge, and he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Joseph was a good looking guy, and Potiphar's wife liked his looks and asked him to be intimate with her (39:7). Joseph refused recognizing it'd be a sin against Potiphar, and primarily God (39:9). So day after day when she would speak Joseph wouldn't listen to her and be intimate with her.

One day, he went into the house to work and no one was around, and she caught Joseph by his garment and said, "Lie with me." But he fled the house, leaving his garment in her hand (39:14). She called to the men of the house and told them the "Hebrew" has been brought in order for them to be laughed at and that he was trying to be intimate with her, but that she cried out and he fled the house leaving his garment beside her. She held the garment by her until Potiphar came home, and she told him the same story. Only this time she said the Hebrew servant came in to laugh at her.

As soon as Potiphar heard this his anger kindled, that his trusted servant would do this to him. So Potiphar, Joseph's master, put him in the prison where the king's prisoners were confined. Then the text says, "But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." (Gen. 39:21)

The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners, and he paid no attention to anything under Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. Everything Joseph did the LORD made to succeed (39:23).

Reflections on Genesis 39
God is sovereign over all things! This passage outlines the deepening of Joseph's trial. Notice that Joseph didn't choose his circumstances: He was "brought" to Egypt by the Ishmaelites; Potiphar "bought" him as a slave; the Lord was "with" him and "caused" him to succeed; Potiphar "favored" Joseph; Potiphar "put" Joseph in charge of everything; Joseph didn't choose to be good looking he just was; Potiphar's wife "asked" him to lay with her; she "caught" Joseph; Potiphar's anger "kindled" toward Joseph; Potiphar "put" Joseph in prison; the Lord was "with" Joseph and "gave" him favor in the prison-guard's eyes; the prison-guard "put" Joseph in charge of all the prisoners; the Lord "made" everything that Joseph did succeed. God's sovereignty didn't stop here in Joseph's life, His character hasn't changed even up to today. Have you had success in life? Do you think that's because you did something special? Do you deserve the praise for your successes?

It's important to notice, also, that Joseph was also responsible for his actions in the midst of the circumstances he found himself in by the providence of God: He worked for Potiphar (but he succeeded because the Lord made his work succeed); Joseph took charge of Potiphar's household (though the charge was bestowed upon him); Joseph refused the to sin against Potiphar (and primarily he refused to sin against God) by sleeping with Potiphar's wife; Joseph chose not to listen to her day after day; Joseph fled from her when she caught hold of him by his garment; he chose to leave his garment behind and escaped with his integrity for the sake of God's glory; lastly, the text implies that Joseph worked well for the prison-guard in the prison (and again he succeeded because the Lord made his work succeed).

What is the underlying "force" or "power" that is enabling Joseph to behave righteously in these circumstances? The LORD, Yahweh! The quality of Joseph's work, the choosing of righteous behavior, all of this is the fruit borne by the fact that the Lord was with Joseph (see 39:2, 3, 5, 21, and 23). Reading this passage one gets the sense that God is ruling over all, and sovereignly working in the circumstances. God is preserving Joseph in the midst of it all. Notice that even the good favor, which Potiphar and the prison-guard bestow upon Joseph, is not primarily because something Joseph did, but because the Lord inclined their hearts and minds to look well upon the good work that the Lord was enabling Joseph to do. The sexual chastity of Joseph draws a stark contrast to that of his brother Judah in Genesis 38. A heart that is focused on God and seeking to please the Lord is enabled by His power to withstand temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13 comes to mind, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." God's people fight hard to live righteous and holy lives, knowing that it is God who works in them, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13). Believers fall, but they keep getting up and fighting with gospel infused effort. Further, Joseph's life and choosing of holiness over adultery is a living parable of Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25 (especially verses 21, 23, and 45). By Joseph's faithfulness in little in the midst of his trial, God is preparing him to be responsible for much (as we'll see later on).

We can't pursue holiness from our own power. You can't "man up" or "cowboy up" and exert enough tenacity and moral willpower to be a truly holy person, no one can. We're all sinners to the point that even the good we pursue is as filthy rags in God's sight (Isa. 64:6). This is why anything not done in faith is sin; even the fleeing and pursuing of justice and righteousness is sin if it's done without faith (Rom. 14:23). That's a sobering thought. We deserve to be abandoned by God and to suffer His endless wrath for our sin. And we can't pursue holiness by our own effort. This is bad news for us. That's one of the main points of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees we will not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20), and we must be perfect/holy as our heavenly Father is perfect/holy (Matt. 5:48). This is the standard, and the tragedy is that we can't do it, even Joseph couldn't do it perfectly. This is why we need Jesus Christ. He was able to perfectly obey God, and by faith in His life, death, and resurrection we can be clothed with an alien righteousness that does not come from within us, namely Jesus Christ's. The gospel doesn't excuse or justify sin though, we should still be fighting for holiness and righteousness in lives.

The main thing one must draw his or her attention to in Genesis 39 is not primarily that this is a morality tale of how to be righteous. Is there a lesson in this for us to seek a righteous life? Well, yeah, but that's not the main point. The main point is that the Lord is sovereign in Joseph's life, and He is sovereign even now. He is working out His good and perfect purposes on the stage of the world. One can see that theme resound again and again in this chapter. The Lord is working here in the Ishmaelites, Potiphar, Potiphar's wife, the prison-guard, all the folks working in and around these people, and most clearly, God is working in Joseph's life. Joseph's conditions are terrible, he's a slave. Yes, his circumstances are better than those of his fellow slaves, but he is still a slave. He has been betrayed by his own family. This is not mere conjecture, Joseph was carrying certain amount of depression and despair as he looked at his life (cf. the implication of 40:14-15). And yet, Yahweh, the triune all powerful God of the universe was with him. The Lord had not abandoned Him, He was upholding him by His power, He was sustaining him by His revelation of Himself through the covenantal promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph had nothing, but by faith he could find joy, and cling to his hope in Yahweh by faith alone. Praise God that in trials we can know that through Jesus Christ, this same faithful God who shows His loving-kindness to Joseph will be with us to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). When we have no hope, and we fall in sin, even falling in sin that by God's grace Joseph was able to flee from, when we have no hope in and of ourselves we can put our entire hope in the finished work of Jesus Christ, all the while knowing that He will give grace to those who seek Him to turn from their sin. Praise Yahweh for this truth!

Genesis Chapter 38 ~ Judah's Intimacy with His Daughter-in-Law

Genesis Chapter 38 

After the genesis of Joseph's trials in chapter 37, and the mourning of Reuben and Jacob, this chapter turns and focuses in on Judah.

Judah went down from his brothers and turned to Hirah, an Adullamite (38:1). He saw the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite, there (38:2). He was intimate with her (this assumes a marriage took place) and she had a son named Er, then she had Onan, then she had Shelah (all sons). Judah went to Chezib sometime when she was bearing them. 

Judah took a wife for Er named Tamar. Er was wicked in the sight of the LORD and the LORD put him to death, so Judah told Onan to do the duty of a brother-in-law and raise up children for Er. Onan clearly refused, each time they were intimate he would waste his seed on the ground, so she would not conceive, thereby giving offspring to his brother (38:9). This was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and Yahweh put him to death too. Judah then told her to remain a widow in her father's house until Shelah would grow up. He feared that his third son would die like Er and Onan, and Tamar complied (38:11).

Eventually Judah's wife died. After he was comforted, he went up to Timnah with his friend Hirah, the Adullamite. Shelah had grown and Judah had not given him to her in marriage, so when Tamar heard he was going to Timnah she changed out of her widows clothes, covered herself with a veil, and sat at the entrance to Enaim (on the road to Timnah).

Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute (she had covered her face). He asked for her to be intimate with him, not knowing she was his daughter-in-law. She asked him what he would give her for her company, and he said he'd give her a goat. She asked for a pledge as a guarantee, asking for his signet, his cord, and his staff. He complied and gave them to her, and they were intimate. She conceived twins, and after all this she put her mourning garments back on and went back to her Father's house.

Later, Judah sent the goat to her with his friend Hirah, the Adullamite, so he could have his signet, cord, and staff back, but Hirah couldn't find her. He asked the men of Enaim where the cult prostitute at the entrance was, and they said there hadn't been one there. Hirah returned and told Judah about all of this, and in response Judah said, "Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at." (38:23) If they pursued it, his intimacy a prostitute would become public knowledge.

Three months later Judah was told that Tamar was pregnant from immorality. Judah commented, "Bring her out, and let her be burned." (38:24) She gave Judah's signet, cord, and staff to her father saying it was by the owner of these that she was impregnated. Judah then said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her my son Shelah." And he was not intimate with her again (38:26).

She gave birth to twins. One put it's hand out and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around the hand saying, "This one came out first." (38:28) The baby pulled his hand back and his brother came out first, and they named him Perez. Then his brother with the scarlet thread came out and he was named Zerah.

Reflections on Genesis 38 
This chapter seems to interrupt the flow of the events in the life of Joseph. The last thing we hear before Genesis 38 is that Joseph is a slave to Potiphar...that's it. The focus totally shifts to Judah. This creates suspense as we wait to see what happens to Joseph, but it serves another more important purpose too.

As Moses is being carried along by the Holy Spirit to write this, why would he focus in on Judah's intimacy with his daughter-in-law Tamar? How does this push forward God's salvation-historical purposes?

First, Judah is one of God's chosen people of the covenant. Along with his brothers, his name is written on the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12). Even though Judah is a sinner and fails again and again to exemplify holiness, by God's grace alone he is chosen by God. Just to be plainly clear, what Judah did here was wrong. Here's how Bruce Waltke put it, "Even the worst sort of sinners can enter heaven by God's redemptive grace." (Waltke, 515) Praise the Lord for this truth!

Second, have you ever read the genealogies for Jesus Christ? Look at Matthew 1:3, "and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron," and look at Luke 3:33, "the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah[.]" So, what's going on here? Jesus Christ, God's only Son became a man, through even this messed up encounter between Judah and Tamar. God is sovereignly orchestrating a lineage through which he would bring the one true Messiah. One of the reasons God focuses on Judah as opposed to Joseph's 10 other brothers here is because Judah's lineage ultimately points to and is used by God to bring the promised Messiah. Judah is God's chosen one out of Jacob's 12 sons to carry on the seed of His Messiah that would, "save His people from their sins," (Matt. 1:21) by dying on the cross as a substitute.

This chapter outlines Judah's depravity, as if selling his younger brother into slavery from chapter 37 weren't enough! Notice a few things. First, he pursues and marries a Canaanite woman, something strictly forbidden to God's chosen line at this time. Second, his sons, Er and Onan, were wicked. Third, he refuses to give his youngest son, Shelah, to Tamar as a husband to raise up a family in Er's stead. Fourth, Judah is acquiescing to the foreign god's of the Canaanites. He not only lay with who he thought was a prostitute, he lay with what he thought was a cult prostitute. Further, it would have been known that the cult prostitute with a veil was married to another man (Kidner, 200).

This chapter also outlines the beginning of a change in the heart and character of Judah, and even what appears to be his taking humble responsibility for his sin. He confessed how he had sinned in regard to being with Tamar (38:26). He appears to be repentant.

Notice the irony of the third point above, namely that he refuses to give his youngest son for fear of his death of the likes of Er and Onan. Through these circumstances God is humbling Judah from his heartless condition of selling his brother, and even more his father's favored son, Joseph, into slavery. Judah does not want to lose his youngest son like he lost Er and Onan, so he holds off giving him to Tamar. Judah is learning what it would be like to lose a son. Judah is learning what it must have felt like for his father, Jacob, when he betrayed Joseph by selling him to the Ishmaelites. Judah is learning humility. Later on in Genesis we'll see God soften Judah's heart to the point that he offers himself as a slave rather than betray his other youngest brother, Benjamin, to be a slave (Gen. 44:18-33). He grows in empathy for his father, Jacob, in what it would be like to lose his youngest son, Benjamin. Regarding this, Bruce Waltke wrote, "The partisan father is not transformed; his wicked son becomes a saint." (Waltke, 515) In the end Judah is able empathize with his father and his youngest brother to the point that he is willing to be a substitute. This character of becoming a substitute is a mere foreshadow of Jesus Christ's substitution, but we'll consider that more later.

Chapter 38 is putting the spotlight on Judah, because in the history of redemption it's Judah through whom the Messiah will come in Jesus Christ. Judah is the promised seed of the Savior who would come, so it's important to witness God's work in his life even here, in the midst of his sin.

Genesis Chapter 37 ~ Favoritism, Tattling, Dreams, & a Plot of Murder

Genesis Chapter 37 

Jacob lived where his dad sojourned, Canaan, and we see that beginning here Moses is going to narrate what happens in the lives of Jacob's descendants.

Joseph was 17 and was with his brothers pasturing their sheep. Joseph brought a bad report of the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah to Jacob (37:2). Jacob/Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons and he made him a robe of many colors (and probably long sleeves) (37:3), and his brothers hated him for this. 

Joseph's 1st Dream ~ King of the Sheafs 
Joseph then had a dream that made his brothers hate him even more. He told them he dreamed he and his brothers were binding sheaves (bundling the harvest, like wheat, barley, etc.) in the field and Joseph's sheaf rose and stood upright. Then all his brothers sheaves gathered around Joseph's and bowed down to it (37:6-8).

Joseph's 2nd Dream ~ King of the Luminaries 
Joseph then had a second dream that his brothers would hate him for even more. He told them he dreamed that the sun, moon and 11 stars were bowing down to him (37:9). But when he told it to Jacob and his brothers, Jacob rebuked him saying, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?" (37:10) His brothers were jealous, but it says, "but his father kept the saying in mind." (37:11)

Joseph's brothers were pasturing the flock near Shechem and Jacob sent Joseph to join them from the Valley of Hebron and see if they were doing well in order to bring back word to Jacob. After all, the rape of Dinah had happened only in Shechem a couple years before. A man (probably a Shechemite) found Joseph wandering in the fields and helped guide him to his brothers who had since moved to Dothan.

2 Plots - Murder & Rescue 
As Joseph approached, his brothers saw him coming from a distance and the plotted to kill him partly because of his dreams. They planned to throw him in one of the pits/cisterns and then say that a fierce animal ate him. Reuben rescued Joseph from this fate saying they shouldn't take his life saying, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him." He said this with the intention to rescue him and restore him back to his dad, Jacob (37:22).

Both Plots Foiled for Judah's "Humaneness" 
So when Joseph came to them they stripped him of his robe and threw him into an empty pit. They sat down to eat, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead headed to Egypt. Judah suggested that they should sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites, and he saw this as the more humane way to treat their, "own flesh" completely missing the irony that they should treat their own flesh as they themselves would want to be treated (37:27). They all listened to him. So when the Ismaelite/Midianite traders passed by they lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to them for 20 shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt.

Familial Reactions 
Reuben must not have been in on the decision to sell Joseph into slavery, so when he returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was gone he tore his clothes (37:29). He went to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?" (37:30) The reader gets the indication that Reuben, the firstborn, is responsible for his younger brothers, and how is he going to give an account to their father for Joseph. Further intensifying the situation is the fact that Joseph is Jacob's favorite son. They then took Joseph's robe, dipped it in blood and brought it to Jacob asking him to identify it and saying they "found it". Jacob identified it as Joseph's and they let him assume that a fierce animal devoured him. Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and he mourned for Joseph many days (37:34). The whole family tried to comfort him, but he refused saying, "No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." (37:35) While all of this was going on the Ishmaelite/Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of the guard and officer of Pharaoh.

Thoughts on Genesis 37 
As one reads this account it is difficult to see how the Lord is going to fully give His covenant blessings to this dysfunctional family. You would think Jacob would have learned not to incite brotherly strife by favoritism, especially after the history of his relationship with Esau. You'd think he would remember the stories that were being passed down about Cain and Abel as well. This family is far from what one might expect from the chosen line of the Yahweh. But in the providence of God this is how He is working out His plan to save a people. This chapter begins to paint the canvass upon which the Lord is going to paint a picture of Himself showing how He is a deliverer, a Savior, will full sovereign power over the evil intentions of Joseph's brothers. I like how Derek Kidner described this chapter: "The account of the dreams, coming at the outset, makes God, not Joseph, the 'hero' of the story: it is not a tale of human success but of divine sovereignty." (Kidner, 192)

It all begins with Joseph's dreams. First, we see that Joseph is probably a tattle-tale. He's sharing a bad report of His brothers (his brothers of Rachel and Leah's servants). We don't know what they were doing, and Joseph may be correct that what they were doing was wrong, but it doesn't bode well for him in the context of what happens next. Joseph dreams that all his brothers and even his parents will bow to him, he will rule his family. The combination of his father's favoritism, these dreams, and his tattling is a concoction that his brothers' sinful hearts consume and then fabricate into a plot to kill him. Joseph is either really arrogant or ignorantly naïve. Joseph's being chosen by his father as a favorite, combined with his seeming desire for what is right (in the face of the wrong his brothers were likely indulging in), mixed with his dreams of grandeur are exploding in his face, and he doesn't even know it.

Between two of Joseph's brothers God providentially saves Him to fulfill what He showed Joseph in the dreams. Note that neither Reuben nor Judah really "save" Joseph. Reuben tries to, but in God's providence his saving plan is thwarted. Neither one can make the claim of having saved Joseph here; however, God uses each of them to save Joseph from impending murder. First, Reuben, Jacob's firstborn son (by Leah), recommends they throw Joseph into a pit intending to later take him out and give him back to Jacob. Second, the brothers take Reuben's advice, but while Reuben is away, Judah, in a flare of self-deceived "altruism" offered up the idea that it would be better to sell Joseph into slavery. Jacob's sons seem to be easily influenced, especially when they can get rid of a brother tattle-telling, thereby ruining their sinful escapades; especially when they can get rid of a brother who claims to have dreamed he would rule them two times; especially when they can get rid of a brother, and in the process make some money. Besides, Joseph is Jacob's favorite, and I'm sure they thought if he's out of the picture all of their lots would be better off. Maybe they thought the covenant promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob would primarily benefit them personally...especially if their clearly favored little brother is out of the way.

Think of the horror of Joseph. They're in the pasture land, a remote place where no one could hear his cries for help. He's stripped and naked, exposed to the elements. Has no food or water. Yet, his brothers are able to sit and enjoy a meal. They are heartless monsters. This family is beyond dysfunctional. They could have killed him aggressively, or they could have just left him naked in the pit, but Judah's plan sounds more appealing to the brothers. Slavery. Finally, if slavery to the Ishmaelites weren't enough, he was sold into slavery by the Ishmaelites to Potiphar in Egypt, the captain of the royal guard of Pharaoh. The scene is beginning to be set for how the power of God would be shown through fulfilling Joseph's prophetic dreams.

How This Points to Jesus Christ 
Joseph's story begins to blow open the biblical category for an innocent sufferer. Yes, Joseph was a sinner, and yes, there was probably pride and ego wrapped up in proclaiming his dreams to his family; however, he is clearly undeserving of the kind of brutality his brothers inflicted upon him. Jacob's favorite and treasured son, one who would rule over all, is rejected by his brothers.

Why on earth, does the Bible create a category for an innocent sufferer like this? God's promise of a Messiah through the covenantal line has decisively come to Jacob. The only question remains, "How will God work to bring a Messiah to defeat the world, the flesh, and the Devil?" from this family. When Jacob had 12 boys it was pretty clear that the Lord was going to work something through this family, but this? Deception, murder, slavery, making money off of their brother's pain...surely this isn't the way God intends to bring a Messiah into the world, right? Wrong, God elevates a king, even here, through suffering, through trial, through depression, through all of these means.

Consider Jesus Christ. He was rejected by sinful men, sold out for not 20 shekels of silver but 30 pieces of silver by Judas. Jesus didn't bear the whips of Ismaelite/Midianite slave owners, but the cruel whipping/flogging inflicted by the institutionally trained murderers on behalf of the Roman state. Jesus was handed over to the Roman authorities to be crucified by His Jewish brotherhood who originally plotted to murder Him themselves. There was not a Reuben and Judah to be used in God's sovereignty to save Jesus. Satan tried in the temptation to redirect Jesus from the cross, Peter tried to lead Jesus away from the cross, after the feeding of the 5,000 they tried to make Jesus king. No, God's King of kings and Lord of lords is not exalted by earthly means, but through suffering. Jesus is the only Savior, but He's not the kind of Savior that avoids bearing the trial of hell His people deserve. He's the kind of savior king who faces hell square on and He triumphs for His glory and for the saving of His people. Jesus wasn't in this to save Himself, but to save people who were deserving only of God's wrath. 

Friends, who do you identify with in Genesis 37? Joseph or the brothers? Friends, we are Joseph's brothers. We are rebels against God's chosen one. The irony of Jesus' death is that He was never the one who deserved it, we deserve it...God's wrath forever. Jesus had no Savior in His trial, He was doing the saving. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

So, as the story of Joseph progresses we will see that God has plans to exalt him even after the coming 13 years of misery. In the end Jesus was exalted by being lifted up on a cross, dying as a substitute for His people, being buried and then raised from the dead three days later. In the end Jesus was exalted by ascending to the right hand of God the Father almighty. Jesus' exaltation was through suffering. While Joseph's circumstances are clearly not saving in the same way Jesus' were, biblically the beginning of his trials here in Genesis 37 are creating a biblical category for us to understand the way that God brings salvation through suffering, even in the face of what appears to be utter hopelessness.

Genesis Chapter 36 ~ Descendants of Esau, Seir the Horite, Rulers of Edom, & Chiefs of Esau/Edom

Genesis Chapter 36

After laying out Jacob/Israel's family in chapter 35, chapter 36 now turns to focus on laying out Esau's lineage and the lineage of the surrounding nations:

I. Esau’s lineage (or "Edom" he is the father of the Edomites [36:9]) – His wives were Canaanites

• Wife #1: Adah (daughter of Elon the Hittitie)

o      Eliphaz (born in Canaan), his children were the chiefs of Esau's sons (these children came first):

§       Teman

§       Omar

§       Zepho

§       Gatam

§       Kenaz

§       Amalek (whose mother was Timna Eliphaz's concubine)

§       Korah (This appears to be a different Korah than Oholibamah's son below)

• Wife #2: Oholibamah (daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite), also chiefs (these children came third):

o      Jeush (born in Canaan)

o      Jalam (born in Canaan)

o      Korah (born in Canaan)

• Wife #3: Basemath (Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth) (these children came second):

o      Reuel (born in Canaan), also chiefs

§       Nahath

§       Zerah

§       Shammah

§       Mizzah

After all his children were born in Canaan he went away from Jacob, and he settled in the hill country of Seir (36:6-8). After outlining Esau's descendants Moses turns to outline the descendents of Seir the Horite (who was inhabiting the land of Seir).

II. Seir the Horite’s lineage, chiefs of the Horites in the land of Seir:

·      Lotan
           o      Hori
           o      Hemam

·      Timna (likely Eliphaz's concubine)

·      Shobal

o      Alvan

o      Manahath

o      Ebal

o      Shepho

o      Onam

·      Zibeon

o      Aiah

o      Anah (father of Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness pasturing his Zibeon's donkeys)

·      Anah (I think this is the correct Anah, not the implication that there are two from vs. 24)

o      Dishon

o      Oholibamah

·      Dishon

o      Hemdan

o      Eshban

o      Ithran

o      Cheran

·      Ezer

o      Bilhan

o      Zaavan

o      Akan

·      Dishan

o      Uz

o      Aran

Further, after these descendents, Moses lists all the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before the Israelites had any king (“human” king that is) (vs. 31).

III. Rulers of Edom

1.     Bela, son of Beor (his city was Dinhabah)

2.     Jobab, son of Zerah of Bozrah

3.     Husham, of the land of the Temanites

4.     Hadad, son of Bedad (who defeated Midian in Moab. His city was Avith)

5.     Samlah, of Masrekah

6.     Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates

7.     Baal-hanan, son of Achbor

8.     Hadar (His city was Pau), his wife was Mehetabel (daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab)

IV. Finally, here are the names of the chiefs of Esau (or Edom) according to their dwelling places and the land of their possession:

·      Timna

·      Alvah

·      Jetheth

·      Oholibamah

·      Elah

·      Pinon

·      Kenaz

·      Teman

·      Mibzar

·      Magdiel

·      Iram

Reflections on Chapter 36
First, this chapter outlines Esau's lineage. This shows how God was faithful to His promise to Abraham  that his descendants, while not all will ultimately have Abraham's faith and will not necessarily be chosen as God's covenantal people, would make up many nations: "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." (Genesis 17:5) As you continue to read the Bible you'll see that Esau's offspring become the namesake of nations of people.

Second, this chapter outlines and sets up many of the surrounding nations and peoples that God's chosen nation, Israel, will have to live among. These lists give credibility to Genesis as a reliable historical document. Sections like this give evidence to the fact that the author, Moses, intended to do more than simply tell a story of how God created the earth, and then created the nation of Israel. No, while not necessarily being exhaustive, he does seem to have intended to give an account for the many nations that exist as well. Even though God's chosen people would often have difficulty and conflict with these nations, God is continuing to show that when He makes promises He will keep them, no matter what the earthly circumstances look like: being outnumbered by unbelievers, being attacked by peoples with different belief systems, etc. God remains faithful.

Third, in the midst of all of this, each time God fulfills a promise He makes - like making Abraham into many nations - it gives credibility to His ultimate promise to save a people for Himself through the seed of Eve, a Messiah, Jesus Christ, who came to die for His people. In this death He conquered Satan, the world, and the flesh. He conquered death. If we believe in Jesus Christ and we turn from our sin we can be saved from God's wrath and our sin. Even here, in this chapter of names, God is showing Himself to be glorious by sustaining mankind, and even though these nations aren't God's particularly chosen people, they are part of how God demonstrated His grace to Israel and giving a Savior, a Savior who in the end would save even these nations' offspring if they would only repent and believe.

Genesis Chapter 35 ~ Israel, the Nation of God's Christ

Genesis Chapter 35

God then told Jacob to go to Bethel and settle there, and to make an altar there to the God who appeared to him when he fled from Esau (35:1). Jacob told his household to put away their foreign gods and to change clothes and they did, burying the gods and their earrings beneath a terebinth tree at Shechem. Then they went up to Bethel so that he could, "make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." (35:3)

As they travelled a terror from God fell on the cities around them causing them to leave Jacob's family alone. Jacob then came to Luz (also called Bethel), in Canaan. He named the place he built an altar El-bethel (meaning "God of Bethel"), because God appeared to him there when he fled Esau. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died and they buried her under an oak tree there and called it Allon-bacuth (meaning "oak of weeping"). 


God again appeared to Jacob when he came from Paddan-aram and He blessed him. God said this to Jacob: 

"10 Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name . . . 11 I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you."

After this God went up from him, and Jacob set a pillar of stone there, he poured out a drink offering and oil on it, and he called the place Bethel.

Rachel and Isaac Die
They then journeyed from Bethel and while still a distance from Ephrath (also Bethlehem), Rachel went into a hard labor, and her midwife told her not to fear, for she had another son. Then, as Rachel was dying, she called him Ben-oni (meaning "son of my sorrow" or "son of my strength"). Jacob called him Benjamin (meaning "son of the right hand"). Rachel then died and she was buried on the way to Ephrath. Jacob the set a pillar over her tomb, and then journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. When Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah (Israel's concubine), and Israel heard of this. (35:22)

So Jacob/Israel had 12 sons in Paddan-aram:

Leah:

• Reuben (Jacob's firstborn)
• Simeon
• Levi
• Judah
• Issacar
• Zebulun

Rachel:

• Joseph
• Benjamin

Bilhah (Rachel's servant):

• Dan
• Naphtali

Zilpah (Leah's servant):

• Gad
• Asher

Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre (also called "Kiriath-arba" or "Hebron"), where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. Isaac lived to 180 years old and he died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Jacob and Esau buried him.

Reflections on Genesis 35
After the events of chapter 34 God reminds Jacob of His command to go to Bethel to worship Him there, and Jacob leads his family in obedience. While traveling the cities around them were afraid of them, because of Yahweh's choice of Jacob's family. Note though, that Jacob, Simeon, and Levi didn't strike this fear into the Canaanites' hearts, God did! Moses recorded it as, "a terror from God." Jacob's family had not become a "stench" to the people as he had feared, but because of God's sovereign choice to bless Jacob's family the people feared God, and were terrified. Jacob's beloved wife, Rachel, dies giving birth to their son Benjamin.

In verses 9 through 11 God appeared to Jacob and re-established His covenant with him. As Isaac dies in this chapter God's covenantal blessing passes on to Jacob, and in the re-establishment of the covenant God reminds Jacob that He has a new name. Not a name that men have given him, but a name that re-orients him to both God and men. Jacob's identity is no longer defined by his striving after his brother Esau and other men. Jacob's identity is no longer defined by what he does or chooses, but by what God has decreed, chosen, and done for him. God is defining Jacob's very being. Jacob doesn't belong to men, he doesn't belong to even himself. No, Jacob belongs to Yahweh, and He is reminding him of this by stamping him with a new name, Israel. It's as if Yahweh is saying, "Jacob, you are mine now. This truth now defines you, this is your identity, 'I AM' your identity!"

Then, after God re-affirms Jacob's new covenantal name He re-establishes one of the covenant obligations that He established in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, "be fruitful and multiply." (vs. 11) Yahweh, then promises Jacob/Israel that nations and kings will come from him, and that Abraham and Isaac's land, Canaan/Israel, will be given to him and his offspring. Ka-Boom! God's Messiah is going to come from the nation of Israel, and somehow God's promised land of Canaan is going to have something to do with it. Nations, and kings will come from Jacob/Israel.

While following the genealogical chain of God's chosen seed to crush the head of the serpent, there have been many times that doubts have arisen that God will make good on His promise. But here, in this re-establishment of God's covenant with Jacob/Israel we see that Jacob/Israel is a type, a new Adam, a new head of the chosen nation, through whom He will bring a Messiah. Israel is more than just a name, it is the beginning of a nation. Jacob is the federal/representative head of a new nation, Israel. God's decree was to bring a Savior through Adam, but he and his posterity fell into sin. God poured out His judgment in the flood, but established Noah as a new father of a people through whom a Messiah would come. In Abraham we saw that God was narrowing down the family through whom the Christ would come, then it narrows even more in Isaac's children, and now in Jacob's. The "Christ" would come through one of Jacob's children, and God is sovereignly choosing Israel to be His people, in this re-establishment. This is also indicated in the listing out of all of Jacob's sons at the end of chapter 35. God is building a nation, Israel; and it is in one of the sons of Jacob (which would be Israel's "tribes") that God will bring His Christ! The rest of Genesis continues to set up this picture of this people through whom God will reveal Himself to the nations and display His glory. Genesis 35 acts as a hinge to this door that is opening up to display the people that God will continue to work out His plan of redemption through.

Jesus Christ is this Messiah, and ultimately He is the true second Adam. Where Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel fail, Jesus succeeds! None of these chosen men could reverse the curse of death and eternal punishment in hell for sin. God's Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, the second person of the Trinity, very God in the flesh; only He could save a people from the world, the flesh, the devil, and the wrath of Yahweh. Praise God that even here in Genesis 35 Yahweh is holding firm to His promise to provide a Messiah, so that by faith in Jesus Christ alone, even I, as a Gentile, can be counted as a son of God. By faith we are Jesus Christ's, and if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:28-29).

Genesis Chapter 34 ~ Vow, Violation, Vigilante, Vengeance, & Vexation

Genesis Chapter 34 

Jacob's only daughter, Dinah, daughter of Leah, went to see the "women of the land". This was inappropriate for women to leave a rural encampment to go into an alien city, a Canaanite one no less (Sarna, 233). Also, it's difficult to tell if she went "to see" the women of the land, or if it should be rendered "to be seen" by the women of the land. Either way, she was doing something she shouldn't have been up to.

The prince of the land, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, saw, seized, lay with, and humiliated Dinah (34:2). It's difficult to tell for sure if this was seduction into intimacy or if it is intimacy by force, although it seems to have been forced because of the humiliation in verse 2 and the defilement in verse 5 and verse 27.  He loved her and asked his dad, Hamor to, "Get me this girl for my wife." (34:4) It seems that she remained in the house of Shechem while Hamor went to Jacob.

Jacob heard about all of this, but not his sons, and Hamor went to speak with Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob's sons came in from the field when they heard what had happened, and they were angry for Shechem's lying with their sister, because this shouldn't have been done "in Israel". They were to be separate from the culture of Canaan, set apart to and for the Lord.

Hamor spoke with all of them saying to give their daughters in marriage and they will give their daughters to them in marriage. This is a means to dwell in the land in good relations (34:10). Shechem said he'd give anything they asked, "[o]nly give me the young woman to be my wife." (34:11)

Jacob's sons answered in deceit, and said they must be circumcised in order for them to give her to them (during all this she was still at Shechem's house). This pleased Hamor and Shechem, so without delay they and every male who went out of the gate of the city who listened to them were circumcised. On the third day, when they were still sore, Simeon and Levi (Jacob's 2nd and 3rd sons by Leah), took their swords and came against the city and killed all the males (34:25), including Hamor and Shechem (34:26). Jacob's sons then took Dinah out of Shechem's house (vs. 26), and plundered everything in the city, because Shechem defiled Dinah (vs. 27).

Then Jacob told Simeon and Levi that they brought trouble on him making him stink to the people of the land of Canaan. And he pondered how his numbers were few and they could be attacked and destroyed, he and his household (34:30). But the sons justified their action saying, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" (34:31)

Reflections on Genesis 34
God commanded Jacob to go to Bethel (31:13), but he stopped here in Shechem, about a day short. In essence this is a breaking of his vow to set up an altar to worship the Lord at Bethel. Jacob stopped here with his family to settle and bought land and built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel (33:18-19). So their settling here appears to be a breaking of his vow to follow God's command to worship Him at Bethel. Bruce Waltke summaraizes this well writing, "One cannot worship God as one pleases." (Waltke, 468).  This is certainly part of what's going on here. This is one part of the overall biblical theological picture that David Peterson draws out in his book Engaging with God, A Biblical Theology of Worship. Peterson writes of worship, "Most of us are more conditioned by custom and personal preference in this matter than we would care to admit!" (Peterson, 15) Jacob in Genesis 34 seems to be conditioned by personal preference (although we don't know the exact reason he stopped here). And here's Peterson's thesis after examining the biblical evidence of what proper worship is: "[T]he worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible." (Peterson, 20) Jacob here appears to be assuming he can worship the Lord as he pleases instead of obeying what the Lord has commanded, and in the process he exposes his family to the tragic events of rape, vengeance, etc.

Moving to application don't ask this question, "What are our Shechems that we are settling in as opposed to the Bethel's that the Lord has for us?" We should always ask how we try to worship God on our own terms, but we shouldn't be parsing out what our "Shechems" and "Bethels" as if this is some kind of allegory. Let's ask this instead, "What is the specific function of this in this period of salvation history, and how should we apply this in light of Christ?" It's only after we consider this question that we can then can we apply the text to our lives.

Salvation-Historical Implications
By Jacob disobeying God it appears that he has opened his family to the opportunity for trials here. As hideous as this sounds, violation by rape seems to have been a common and even acceptable way to pursue marriage to the Canaanites, at least it seems that way to Shechem and Hamor. By settling in the middle of this culture in disobedience to Yahweh, Jacob is exposing his family to a terrible threat from the surrounding culture.

Not only has Dinah made a poor choice to go into an alien city by herself, she is also a victim of Shechem's attack (this doesn't seem to be consensual intimacy). Then it appears that Jacob is actually willing to negotiate for her marriage to Shechem. Jacob's reaction is not what one would expect from a man in covenant with Yahweh. For whatever reason, diplomatic or otherwise, he seems to be too easily convinced to marry his daughter off to Shechem (all while she's kept at Shechem's house!). Her brothers, Simeon and Levi, wouldn't have it though (they all shared the same mother, Leah). After they take matters into their own hands and rescue Dinah out of Shechem's house, Jacob again is only worried about diplomatic relations with the Canaanites. He seems to be taking the future of the nation of Israel and fulfilling the covenant into his own hands/power, not worrying about justice for the sake of God's glory or his daughter.

First, Jacob seeks to worship God on his own terms by settling in Shechem. This brings his family into peril. Second, Jacob seems to assume that the future of his posterity lies in how well he can pursue diplomacy instead of going to Yahweh and pleading for justice, and then waiting to hear from God as to how justice should be pursued. Neither Simeon nor Levi pursue God before they pursued justice either, and in the process they may have gone too far in seeking to exact justice/revenge for the rape of their sister. Their anger against Canaan is a foreshadow of how God will later judge Canaan through Israel in the future, but Simeon and Levi's response is not necessarily pursuing what God would have them do, but how they think they can take justice into their own hands. In a sense their reaction equally shows a sinful independence from Yahweh. Jacob almost seems oblivious to the offense of these men (Shechem and Hamor) against his daughter; however, Simeon and Levi hold the entire culture responsible for this sin against their sister/family. Jacob doesn't seem to be phased, until he begins to worry and be vexed about how Canaan will now treat him and his family. Jacob, seems to mistakenly think that He is responsible for guaranteeing the fulfillment of God's covenant promises to his family. Bruce Waltke frames this up writing, "[I]n this scene he exemplifies weak leadership based on prudence and fear." (Waltke, 468)


How This Points to Jesus Christ and Us
Where Jacob is a weak leader, and Simeon and Levi are rash and ruthless in their leadership. We see here that none of these three are the Messiah that was promised to Eve who, in perfect reliance upon God, would exact perfect justice and judgment on the devil, evil, and sin. God's promise to bring an heir through Jacob's line has not been lost, but we can see here that neither Jacob, nor Simeon, nor Levi are that promised Messiah. 


Only Jesus is the perfect Messiah. He perfectly exercises leadership over His people. He did not fall short in perfect covenant obedience to His heavenly Father. He does not abandon His people to the world when it seems to overtake them. He will hold every person who violates His children accountable with a perfect judgment. He does not react to sin too slowly or too quickly, but He deals with sin and evil at just the right time, and in just the right way.


We should trust in God to exact perfect judgment, not merely take it into our own hands. What trials do you face? If you are a child of God, He is much more angry with the things that are attacking you than even you are. Have you ever considered this? Lean into Christ and put your hope in Him, because our greatest trial was conquered when Jesus was nailed to the cross.

It can be easy to externalize evil to everything in the world outside of myself. This is partially true, there is a ton of evil in this world that we face (outside of us). But we know that at best this is a half-truth. Have you ever done anything wrong? Have you ever deceived or manipulated someone? Have you lied, cheated, or stolen? Are you ever selfish, angry, or prideful? Do you ever rebel against God's rule in your life? When we compare ourselves to God's perfection we come to see that we are the evil ones. We are the ones who have rebelled against God for our sin, and His justice demands that we undergo His eternal wrath in hell. But Christ, has died in our place. Jacob's sin, Simeon and Levi's sin, Dinah's sin, and the Canaanites' sin in a sense foreshadow our sin. We become the wicked ones, and perfect justice would demand for us to be destroyed. That's God's just judgment, eternal wrath against us for our sin. But Jesus Christ came to die for our sin, absorbing God's just wrath, so that if we believe in Christ and turn from our sin we can be saved. Jesus is God's Messiah, not Jacob, not Simeon, nor Levi.

Genesis Chapter 33 ~ Jacob & Esau Meet in Peace

Genesis Chapter 33

After all the events of chapter 32 Jacob lifted up his eyes and Esau was coming with 400 men. Jacob divided his kids between their respective mothers. He put the female servants in front, followed by Leah with her kids, and lastly followed by Rachel and Joseph. Jacob then went before all of them and bowed to the ground 7 times until he was near Esau.

Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him and "fell on his neck" and kissed him, and they wept (33:4). Falling on his neck is a Hebraism meaning, "he embraced his neck." Bruce Waltke draws out a helpful phrase describing this, "[R]an . . .  embraced . . . threw . . . kissed . . . wept. These are normal ways of greeting loved relatives. The narrator represented Esau's despising of his birthright with five terse verbs (25:34); he now represents the reconciliation with another five verbs." (Waltke, 454) Esau then saw Jacob's family, and Jacob recognizes his family as a gift that, "God has graciously given your servant." (33:5) His family came near then and bowed down in the same order Jacob put them in earlier.

Esau knew Jacob meant something by all this and asked him what it was for, and Jacob told him it was so that he would find favor in Esau's sight. Esau told him to keep all the gifts (see yesterday's post). Jacob refused though and asked him to keep it all, saying, "For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me." (33:10) Then Jacob recognized God's grace again, saying, "Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." (33:11) Esau then accepted the gifts.

Esau then said they should go and that he would lead the way, but Jacob's family was frail and could die, so Jacob's camp moved a much slower pace toward Seir. Esau offered to leave some people to help, but Jacob refused. So Esau went to Sier, but Jacob journeyed to Succoth (Succoth means "booths"), built a house and made booths for his livestock. Then, Jacob went safely to Shechem, in Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram (where he was with Laban). In Shechem he bought a piece of land from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, and he pitched his tent there. in Shechem he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel (this means "God, the God of Israel"). 


Reflections on Genesis 33
Have you ever read Psalm 133? Take a few seconds to look at it:

"1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."

This event in Genesis 33 between two estranged brothers, Esau and Jacob, is a beautiful picture of how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! By all indication this should have ended in a bloody mess. To the amazement of the reader these two brother-enemies reconcile! Think of all the fear and anxiety that Jacob waisted thinking about the anger of his brother. Think of the uselessness of fearing man. Yesterday I was meditating on chapter 32 about how Jacob should have been fearing God to begin with. Here, in Jacob, we see how the human mind can easily make itself restless. And for what? In Jacob's case it distracted him from focusing on walking in the fear of Yahweh (until the night before this meeting). Jesus' words are appropriate here, "Therefore do not be anxious . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow . . ."  (Matt. 6:31, 33-34) Don't let the fears of this world squelch a fear of the Yahweh.

Further, "reconciliation" is what God has accomplished in Jesus Christ between us and our fellow man. Through Christ our enmity for other men can be completely done away with. It doesn't matter what your background is, gangs, fight-clubs, or just a quiet angry heart that holds grudges against people for the slightest unintentional offense. This is what we see in the church. Consider what Paul wrote about in Ephesians 3:6. Through Jesus Christ, Gentiles are made, "fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." Enemies made to be sons along with Jews and their unity in the local church is a visible display of God's glory.

This "reconciliation" between men and women is small though compared to the reconciliation we can have with God through Christ. We were all enemies of God, but through Jesus Christ, if we are turning from our sin and believing in Jesus, we can be reconciled to God by the death of His Son. This is how we can be saved by Jesus! (Rom. 5:10) It's based on the reconciliation we have with God through Christ that we can be reconciled with others. Jesus even commands this of us if we would worship Yahweh properly in Matthew 5:23-26:

"23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."

Further, if we are in Christ, we have now been entrusted with a ministry of reconciliation to share the good news of Christ with others! (2 Cor. 5:18, 20) Reconciling others to God through Christ!

Jacob's reconciliation with Esau is a glimpse of God's trustworthiness and the power of the gospel! Immediately, in the context of Genesis though, we see that God is a promise-keeper. He is keeping His promise to Jacob that it is on his family that the covenant of God continues to rest, that Yahweh will bring a Messiah through Jacob. The hostility he had with His brother has not removed God's promise to sustain his lineage, and here we see a miracle, and a confirmation of God's trustworthiness to fulfill His promises. God continues to work in this family by His grace and for His glory!