We shall continue with
the study of the Book of Genesis this week.
(1) Why did Isaac name these wells after the original names given by Abraham? (Refer to, say, Gen. 16:14; 24:62; 25:11.) What might be the significance of his action?
(2) How might the Philistines look upon his action?
(3) Why did the Philistines keep opposing his newly dug wells?
(4) How did Isaac deal with their opposition?
(5) Why did the Philistines stop at the third well?
(6) How did Isaac greet the final outcome?
(7) What lesson can we learn from Isaac?
(8) Why did God choose to appear to Isaac “that night”?
(9) What was the main message from God?
(10) How would you have responded to God’s appearing and His message?
(11) How did Isaac respond to God?
(12) How did Abimelech clearly see that the Lord was with him? Did Isaac not act like a “push-over” in dealing with the wells?
(13) What motivated Abimelech to seek peace with Isaac? Was he afraid of Isaac or his God?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
In the secular world, meekness is not necessarily a virtue; in fact it may be looked upon as a sign of weakness. A meek person may be seen as someone who is gutless, who is afraid to stand for his right, or who is even a pushover.
At work, a meek person is likely to be passed over for promotion. In business, a meek person will likely lose ground to a more aggressive competitor. If that is true, then in ancient times, when there was no law to protect you, a meek person would likely be intimidated and be robbed of his many rights. But Jesus insists, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) The life of Isaac is a very powerful proof of this.
The Bible says Abimelech clearly saw that the Lord was with Isaac. The Bible does not say that Abimelech clearly saw that Isaac was very aggressive and powerful and thus was to be feared greatly so that Abimelech had better seek a peace treaty with him. The opposite was true. Abimelech clearly saw that in spite of Isaac’s repeated retreats from confrontation, he kept on prospering and was able to find fresh water wells that were clearly a blessing from the God he trusted. So, it was not so much the man, Isaac, that Abimelech feared, but the God he trusted.
Many seminarians appear to have been taught that when they enter into ministry, they should negotiate a proper employment contract that would protect their rights, especially in terms of salary and benefits. I do think that the church should take extremely good care of their ministers (1 Tim. 5:17), but as God’s servants, should we not set an example in trusting in the Lord who alone should be our source for “inheriting the earth”?
(1) Do you think Isaac should know about what God had already told Rebekah before the birth of the twins? (Gen. 25:23) Did he not believe in God’s Covenant with Abraham in which he was the chosen heir?
(2) Why would he then insist on blessing Esau as his heir? Was it out of favoritism or his gluttony?
(3) Did he recognize the earlier sale of birth-right by Esau to Jacob?
(4) Why was his blessing on the sons so important?
(5) What about the action of Rebekah? Did she do it out of faith? If so, what options did she have to make sure Esau obey the prophetic words of the Lord, other than deceiving the husband who loved her?
(6) What about the action of Jacob? What might be the outcome of his action if it did not work? What might be the reasons for his “obedience” to his mum?
(7) How would you describe this family in terms of the following relationships?
a. Between Isaac and Rebekah
b. Between Isaac and Esau
c. Between Isaac and Jacob
d. Between Rebekah and Esau
e. Between Rebekah and Jacob
(8) At such a critical moment, how did their respective actions reflect the family spiritual condition?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Playing favoritism within a family can be very destructive to the development of the character of the children. Although Esau and Jacob could not blame all their misfortunes and less-than-godly character on their parents, the favoritism of their parents did contribute to the aggravation of their sibling relationships.
Esau was obviously favored by his father. Even his immoral lifestyle was tolerated by Isaac to the extent that he did not really know how displeasing his marriage to two Hittite women was to his father who must have voiced his concern ever so softly (Gen. 28:8). Isaac’s favoritism even caused him to completely ignore the words of God concerning whom He has chosen as the heir to the very important covenant with Abraham. Isaac was to bless Esau against God’s will, except that it was spoiled by his wife’s intervention.
I sense that Rebekah’s favoritism was milder in comparison, as she grieved the possibility of losing “both” sons (Gen. 27:45). She loved them both, and perhaps, it was Isaac’s blatant disobedience to the word of God that prompted her to do the unthinkable — coaching her son to cheat to obtain the blessings already promised by God. She could have confronted her husband instead, reminding him of the words foretold by God before the birth of their twins. Perhaps, she knew that Isaac’s mind was made up.
In any case, their favoritism had directly contributed to the hatred between their sons, as one continued to live a godless life and the other had to seek refuge in a far-away place. In essence, they have already lost both sons.
I grew up in a nominal Christian family and I often felt being despised by my father because of my less-than-stellar academic achievement as a teenager. As I came to know the Lord in my college years, I have come to reclaim my self-esteem in the Lord and have come to commit to raising my own family in fairness. By God’s grace too, most of my siblings have come to know the Lord in their youth. Instead of a family split apart like Isaac’s, the grace of God has glued us together, extending even to those siblings born to my father outside of our own mother. Reconciliation and redemption is possible, if we allow His grace to work through our lives.
(1) Now, Jacob succeeded in cheating his brother of his birthright. From the blessing pronounced by Isaac, what might this right entail?
(2) Why do you think Jacob coveted this right? What did he really want?
(3) Do you know that this right, above and beyond what it might entail customarily in ancient times, carries a huge responsibility too because of the Abrahamic Covenant? Read Genesis 12:3 and 18:18-19. How much did Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob care about this responsibility?
(4) Did Jacob “qualify” to assume this awesome responsibility?
(5) If this was the case, how would you expect God to deal with Jacob or the situation?
(6) Do you know what God did in dealing with Jacob so that he might “qualify” to assume this responsibility?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
I used to think that since God is God Almighty, He could achieve His purpose with or without the cooperation of His servants and that the achieving of His purpose was far more important to Him than how His servants might turn out in the process. But the more I read the Bible, I have come to understand that as much as God is truly Almighty and He can certainly achieve His purpose or mission in spite of His servants, invariably, His desire is to mold His servants into His likeness and to understand and share His passion. The life of Jacob is a case in point.
There is no way that you and I would have chosen Jacob to be the heir to inherit the blessing bestowed on Abraham by God, because Jacob was not just a chosen seed, but he had to inherit also the spiritual responsibility spelled out by God in Genesis 18:19:
“For I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.”
How on earth could Jacob assume such an awesome responsibility! As the story of Jacob unfolds, we can see that God, with great patience, would mold him into someone eventually fit for His purpose, albeit through many of his self-inflicted trials. I believe it is safe to say that once God has chosen His servant, He will not give up on him easily, until He has completed His work of molding.
(1) How important was Esau’s response that he was the “firstborn”? (v. 32)
(2) Why did he cry so loudly and bitterly over the loss of the blessing since he despised his birthright? Why did the blessing appear to be so important to him now?
(3) Did Esau know whether he was worthy of his father’s blessing?
(4) Did he not confess that his birthright had already been taken? Why then would he think that the birthright and the blessing were separate?
(5) What is the Bible’s own verdict on Esau? (See Heb. 12:16-17)?
a. In what way was he immoral?
b. In what way was he godless?
(6) What was the effect of Isaac’s blessing on Esau?
(7) Isaac’s blessing to Esau was more of a prophecy than blessing: See 2 Kings 8:20, 22 for its fulfillment.
(8) Mull over Esau’s words of hateful revenge in v. 41. Do you know whether Esau carried out his words of revenge? Even with these hateful words, how similar is this story of Esau with that of Cain (Gen. 4)? What might be their differences?
(9) Rebekah said, “Why should I lose both of you in one day?” What was the outcome of her action?
(10) If Jacob coveted his brother’s birthright because of the traditional inheritance of double portion of estate, what did he get now in this respect?
(11) What is the main message to you today?
As
we reflect on the lives of Esau and Jacob — one despised God’s blessing only to
regret having lost it, and the other coveted it so much that he would use
deception to get it — let’s reflect on the right attitude towards God’s
blessings through this hymn of A.B. Simpson:
Once It Was the Blessing
Chorus:
All in all forever,
Only Christ I'll sing;
Everything is in Christ,
And Christ is everything.1
Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word;
Once His gift I wanted,
Now, the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.
2
Once 'twas painful trying,
Now 'tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost;
Once 'twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once 'twas constant drifting,
Now my anchor's cast.
3
Once 'twas busy planning,
Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care;
Once 'twas what I wanted,
Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking,
Now 'tis ceaseless praise.
4
Once it was my working,
His it hence shall be;
Once I tried to use Him,
Now He uses me;
Once the pow'r I wanted,
Now the Mighty One;
Once for self I labored,
Now for Him alone.5
Once I hoped in Jesus,
Now I know He's mine;
Once my lamps were dying,
Now they brightly shine;
Once for death I waited,
Now His coming hail;
And my hopes are anchored
Safe within the veil.
(1) It appeared that Isaac had not rebuked Jacob of his deception. Why?
(2) If Isaac understood the importance of not marrying a Canaanite woman, why would he allow Esau to do so in the first place?
(3) In being sent away with the blessing so pronounced, how improbable was his situation from the fulfillment of this blessing? What is the irony being depicted here?
(4) Both Isaac and Jacob sought their wives from Paddan Aram, each under very different situations. How different were their situations?
a. Both were initiated by the fathers
b. Abraham sent an entourage of camels and gifts
c. Isaac sent Jacob himself with nothing!
d. The servant of Abraham embarked on a journey of faith
e. What can you say about the journey of Jacob who was sent to the same place and for the same purpose? If he had not used deception but reliance on God’s timing and intervention, would Isaac not emulate his father and send an entourage to fetch him a wife?
(5) V. 8 is a very interesting verse in that, “Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac;".
a. Did he not know before this?
b. Why did he mention only his father, and not his mother?
(6) What did he do about it? What can you say about his action? How did it, again, reflect the verdict of Hebrew 12:16-17?
(7) What then is the essential message of today and how may you apply it in your life?
As I reflect on Jacob’s journey to Paddan Aram, I cannot help but think of the same journey taken by the servant of Abraham. Both journeys were in search of a bride for the chosen seed of Abraham in fulfillment of the promise by God. The former was done out of faith and obedience. The latter was a result of faithlessness and human effort. How vast was their difference.
Jacob, no doubt, had learned of his grandfather’s journey of faith and how God had been faithful in his life. He would also have learned of God’s message to his mother, concerning his chosen role in the Abrahamic Covenant. Had he learned to trust in God and leave it in God’s hand — trusting in God’s own timing and God’s own intervention even against all odds (i.e. his father’s obvious choice of Esau over him) — he would still end up having Rachel as his wife, but he would have been spared his frightful journey fleeing for his life and all the trials he faced in Laban’s hands. Who knows? Maybe Isaac and Rebekah might learn from Abraham and send a servant to fetch a wife for him as well?
But as I reflect on my journey of faith, I have come to see that I am not too different. I have often made things harder for myself because of my own stupidity, disobedience and rushed actions. But God is truly gracious. He continues to amaze me with His patience and forbearance, turning each potential disaster into a time of learning for me, or to put it more accurately, a time of blessing for me indeed. I believe, Jacob would agree with me.
(1) Jacob was sent (or rather, was more likely driven) away and now he embarked on this lonely, uncertain and dangerous journey. He would have a lot of time to reflect on his past actions on the road:
a. What might be his regrets?
b. What might be the most appropriate word that could describe his current state of mind as he lay down on a stone to sleep?
(2) Since Jacob was such as a deceitful person, why would God appear to him?
(3) How did God introduce Himself?
(4) What was the main message of this appearance?
(5) What did God aim to achieve with this dream?
(6) Why did His appearance take the form of a ladder that reached to heaven?
(7) What might be the significance to Jacob that angels were ascending and descending on it?
(8) Why was Jacob afraid when he woke up from the dream? What kind of fear was it?
(9) Do you think the contents of his vow match the contents of the promises made by God in the dream? Why or why not?
(10) In his vow, he appeared to promise God a house and a tenth of his wealth. How did such a promise reveal his knowledge of God and his faith?
(11) If you were Jacob, how would you have responded to the vision or appearance of God to you? (Or for that matter, how had Abraham responded to God’s appearance and promises?)
(12) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Jacob’s ladder has been the subject of many famous paintings in the past. Some imagine it to be a simple wooden ladder and others think of it as a grand staircase fit for a royal procession. Some depict angels swinging around it, others would have angels walking up and down just as it is recorded in Genesis 28, while some would have angels conversing with one another as they traveled on the grand staircase.
Some have a more relaxed Jacob leaning on a rock, while others depict a more worn-out Jacob. While some completely ignore Jacob in their paintings.
In the reading of that dream of Jacob, we have to remember that it was not only his first encounter with God, but also at a time when he barely knew God. Therefore, such a dream served to introduce Jacob to a God whom he had heard about, but hardly knew.
So the messages depicted by his dream would have included:
a. God is not an inaccessible God: The ladder that rested on the earth and reached all the way to heaven, lets Jacob know that God is not indifferent to the events on earth, and that He is a God who can be reached.
b. Angels do the bidding of God: With angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder, Jacob is informed of the reality and activities of God’s angels who do the bidding of God, including things that would concern the life of Jacob.
c. God is in control: With God standing on the top of the ladder, God is the one who is in full control of heaven and earth and His words can be trusted.
It was with these assurances that God proceeded to reiterate His promise to Jacob’s forefathers — the land and the blessings of all peoples on earth through him. God added His personal promise to watch over him and to bring him back to this land.
It is interesting to note that at this stage of Jacob’s life, even with this amazing revelation of God, his only concern was a safe return to his father’s house and that he would have “food to eat and clothes to wear” (Gen. 28:20-21). He completely overlooked or ignored the importance of the covenant God made with Abraham and his glorious role as the successor of this covenant. But he was still better than many who greatly appreciate the many great paintings of his dream and consider it nothing more than a myth!
The meeting of Jacob with Rachel and Laban invites the comparison of the meeting between Abraham’s servant and Rebekah and Laban:
(1) What kind of attitude was taken by Abraham’s servant toward meeting the right bride for Isaac?
(2) What did Jacob approach the situation with?
(3) What did Laban see years ago at the visit of the servant of Abraham?
(4) What did Laban see now at the visit of the grandson of Abraham?
(5) Upon the arrival at Paddan Aram, the servant of Abraham responded with worship to the Lord twice. What about Jacob? Did he express an attitude of worship or thanksgiving because of his safe arrival?
(6) At the first visit, Laban received much in gifts from his visitor (Gen. 24:53). Now what did he get from Jacob instead according to this passage?
(7) From Jacob’s willingness to work for free in exchange for Rachel, what changes can we detect in his life?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
Jacob made it safely to the house of his uncle, Laban. Laban must have been rather disappointed to see his nephew, penniless and broke. The last time a visitor came from Abraham, he bore gifts and the first things Laban noticed was the golden jewelries given to his sister. This nephew of his came with nothing. But at least, he was gracious enough to receive him because he was his own flesh and blood. Given what we learn about who Laban was, Jacob should not have taken his reception for granted. The safe journey itself was God’s answer to his prayer. The courteous reception by Laban was an extra measure of the grace from God. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention any act of thanksgiving or worship by Jacob that marked the response of Abraham’s servant upon his arrival at Laban’s household.
God is not a God who covets our gratefulness or our tithes. The expression of our gratefulness ultimately is for our own benefit in that:
(1) We will learn humility: It is by giving instant and constant recognition of God’s provision that we will not be conceited and proud.
(2) We will learn to trust God even more: It is by recognizing that God answers our prayer that we can be even more sure that we can continue to count on God and pray to Him.
(3) We will know Him more: The most precious outcome of giving thanks instantly and constantly is that we will come to know Him more as a God who is not only mighty, but caring and loving.
A person who is slow to give thanks is also a person who is slow to trust God.