Category Archives: Genesis

²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. ²³ After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

²⁴ This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. ²⁵ When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

²⁸ “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

²⁹ “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.

“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

³⁰ Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” ³¹ The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. ³² (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)

Genesis 32:22-32

Dear God, this is the weirdest story. I confess that I don’t understand your relationship with Jacob. There isn’t a whole lot that is redeeming about him. Yesterday, I prayed through the “stairway to heaven” story and how Jacob decided to essentially make a bargain with you in exchange for his worship. Now, he wrestles with someone who I’m still not convinced is you and demands a blessing from them. It’s all so weird.

So how am I weird? That’s always the question I have to ask myself–especially when I’m critical or judgmental of the biblical character. In fact, the more critical I am the more I need to figure out what it is that in me that is reacting to negatively to them. What is in me that I see in them?

I had dinner with an old friend last night. It was truly a great evening for me. I hope it was good for him too. We talked about an entire array of things. It’s always interesting to sit and try to catch someone up on my life and to get caught up on theirs. It kind of makes me see myself through different eyes, and when I say some things out loud I realize they don’t sound as reasonable (or as horrible) as they sounded in my head.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I want to come to you with no conditions on my end. No strings attached. Jacob was all about selfish conditions. I want to get to the point where I simply come. I come to you. “Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you’re my God. You’re altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me.

I pray all of this in submission to you,

Amen

¹⁰ Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹ At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. ¹² As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

¹³ At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. ¹⁵ What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” ¹⁷ But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

¹⁸ The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. ¹⁹ He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, ²¹ and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. ²² And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Genesis 28:10-22

Dear God, it stuns me that Jacob would see what he saw and then still have the audacity to make a deal with you. “If God will indeed be with me…then the Lord will certainly be my God.” It seems like the pledging of a tenth of everything should have been part of the deal from this point forward, not something to be negotiated.

With that being said, how many times do I negotiate with you? Do I withhold my worship when I am hurting? Do I turn my back on you when I think you are working too slowly and it’s time to get things done? It’s always been so easy for me to be critical of Jacob, but I guess there are two things about him that can encourage me. First, I’m probably more like him than I want to admit, and, second, if your mercy can extend to him then it can extend to me too.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I am not making anything an obstacle to me worshipping you today. That’s what Jacob was doing. Even after his vision, he needed an excuse to not worship you. He wasn’t ready. I want to be ready. I want to be your worshipper, your ambassador, and your child. Thank you for giving me that opportunity through Jesus.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, my Triune God,

Amen

³ Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.⁴ But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

Genesis 37:3-4

Dear God, if there is room in your plan for Jacob to be this bad of a father then there must be hope for the rest of us. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s the perfect parent. I’m not the perfect parent. I wasn’t when they were younger, and I’m not now that they are grown. Sometimes this weighs on me. It’s not that I didn’t do my best. I really did. I tried to do it well, but, at the end of the day, there was no way I was ever going to do it perfectly. I remember holding my oldest child for the first time and literally thinking, “Well, at least so far I haven’t screwed anything up.” I hadn’t had a chance to yet. But I’ve certainly made my share of mistakes since then.

One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is the importance of giving grace to people who don’t live up to your expectations. Even now, there is a group of people in our community with whom I am at odds. Their actions really frustrate me, and I’m sure my actions have frustrated or offended them. I think the key for all of us is to recognize the motivations on each side and that they are not sinister. I might disagree with their conclusions. I might disagree with their tactics. But I also recognize that they don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “How can I be mean or do something bad today?” No, they are probably waking up with a passion and wondering how to bring it to life. I hope they recognize the same of me.

I link these two things together (the parenting angle and the community activism angle) because they both just require grace. They require people to look beyond what is perceived on the surface and realize that there is a loved child of God on the other side who is likely just doing their best to make the right decisions as they perceive them. That is true for parents and children as well as community members trying to solve problems.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please give me grace. Give me grace for those who are frustrating me. Whether they be family, coworkers, friends, or just people I know either locally or through the media only. Even politicians. There is only so much influence my little life can have. Don’t let me waste it on something that doesn’t bring you glory and your kingdom coming to earth and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

It’s through the redemption of Jesus I pray to my Triune God,

Amen

“The cure for resentment. The cure for jealousy and envy is gratitude.” Fr. Mike Schmitz

Dear God, I was listening to the Bible in a year podcast from this priest this morning and after concluding the story in Genesis 37 about Joseph and his brothers he made the statement above. It struck my ears. It made me want to think about it a little. When am I jealous? When am I insecure? When do I make worse decisions as opposed to the better decisions? Is gratitude/ingratitude a common denominator?

I’ve certainly been jealous and irrational before. I’ve envied. I’ve resented. Would stopping and counting my blessings in those moments have helped? Maybe. Probably. Yeah, I’m sure they would have. But it can be hard in real time to do that because self-pity can be so persuasive and pervasive.

Today was an interesting day because, well, it was a tough day by a lot of measures. COVID is wreaking havoc on my staff and our ability to function. Every time my phone buzzed with a text, it was with bad news. But then I was able to remember some of these verses this morning and another verse came to mind. I had to look it up for the exact reference, but it was 2 Corinthians 4:8: “We are pressed on every side, by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.” Now, I’m a little out of context on that verse because Paul is talking about some persecution that I have never had to relate to. Verses 9 and 10 say, “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Father, even in the midst of a hard day, I was able to count my blessings. I was able to repeat the words, “I am pressed but not crushed.” And I was able to share those words with others, including someone in leadership at our local hospital. So thank you for your Word. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for the gift and grace of Jesus. Thank you for your love.

In Jesus’s precious name I pray,

Amen

33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. ² He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. ⁴ Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

⁵ Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”

“These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. ⁶ Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. ⁷ Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.

⁸ “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.

Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”

⁹ “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! ¹¹ Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.

¹² “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.”

¹³ But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. ¹⁴ Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.”

¹⁵ “All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.”

Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!”

¹⁶ So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. ¹⁷ Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”).

¹⁸ Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. ¹⁹ Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. ²⁰ And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.

Dear God, sometimes I wonder if it is ever possible to have a relationship with someone that is completely without manipulation. Well, let me change that. Yes, I believe it is possible for some people to have a relationship with others without any manipulation intended. But for someone like Jacob, his whole life is deception and self-preservation. I heard commentary on this passage and the next one in chapter 34 about is daughter Dinah that mentioned that Jacob didn’t want to deceive anymore. But that’s just not true. In this case, Jacob didn’t do what he told Esau he would do. He simply said what he had to say to survive the encounter, and then he didn’t follow Esau as he said he would, but set up camp somewhere else instead. Not that I disagree with Jacob’s decision to not put all of his people and belongings with Esau’s people, but he certainly wasn’t honest and forthright about it.

It’s funny because I have some people in my life who I simply do not trust to tell me the truth. Even when they come and tell me something that appears true, there is always part of me that guards against being manipulated. I’ve tried to give them benefit of the doubt to them before, but I’ve learned that they are simply like Jacob. They are out for self-preservation and will say anything they have to say to get away with whatever it is they want. It’s hard to have relationships with people like that. You can try to marginalize them and keep them at arm’s length, but then there comes a point where they cross a line I simply cannot tolerate.

Father, first, help me to not be like Jacob in these situations. Help me to be the man my family needs me to be. I understand that somehow Jacob got your blessing and ended up being the patriarch of your people, but I assume that is more about your plan washing through the generations and unfolding the way it did as opposed to anything that Jacob himself did. I don’t know that there is any part of me that wants to be like Jacob, but I do want you to use my life in any way that you see fit. Right now, I have some things that have cost me and some prices I have paid. I don’t know if they are my fault or, like Job, it’s simply the path you have for me and those I love to walk. But I do know that I earnestly want to follow you, worship you and give you glory for all that you are.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

⁵ But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, ⁶ she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. ⁹ Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. ¹⁰ Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. ¹² What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”

¹³ But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!”

Genesis 27:5-13

Dear God, I’m sorry, but this story really irritated me this morning. My head’s not necessarily in a great place right now anyway, but this story of Rebekah being so manipulative and deceptive really rankled me. Maybe she was right after what you told her while she was still pregnant. Maybe she had no other choice because Isaac could only superficially see the masculine, manly son as the one who would be worthy of the blessing. As Rich Mullins said about what Rebekah’s brother Laban would later do to deceive Jacob: “Well, it’s right there in the Bible so it must not be a sin. But it sure does seem like an awful dirty trick.”

I guess the real take away from this is not that we should intentionally act like these people, but, when we do, we can know that your plan is still secure because you have allowed for our sinful humanness. Rebekah’s. Laban’s. Mine.

I guess the other lesson here is that it was okay for Esau to be upset about this because we was greatly wronged. But that didn’t justify his response. He didn’t have to go out and do things to intentionally upset his parents like going to Uncle Ishmael and getting wives from his daughters (Genesis 28:9). That was just throwing gasoline on a bad fire.

Father, help me to keep from sinning, and help me to keep from throwing more gasoline on the fires created by others. Make me an instrument of your peace. Do it for your plan, your glory, and my own peace.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen