Genesis 35:9

Genesis 35:9 says, And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.  Jacob was following God's guidance and God once again appeared to Jacob and blessed him.  As followers of Christ, we don't really have to wait for God to appear to us, since the Holy Spirit indwells us, but we must still follow God's guidance to be blessed by Him in everyday life.  Verse ten states, And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.  When Jacob wrestled with the angel, his name was changed to Israel, but he had still been called Jacob by everyone.  God once again told Jacob that his name would be Israel.  Verse eleven declares, And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;  God left no doubt as to Who He was, just as He will leave no doubt with us today.  God reaffirmed His promise made to Abraham, then Isaac, and now Jacob, now Israel, to make them into a great nation.  God does not forget His promises, no matter how long it takes for them to be fulfilled.  Verse twelve adds, And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.  God's promise was an on going promise, just as His promise of everlasting life is today.  It is our responsibility as Christians to share the gospel with others so that they may claim that promise as well.  This is how we are to be fruitful and multiply.  Verse thirteen states, And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.   God did not stay with Jacob continually as the Holy Spirit does with us today.  Verse fourteen says, And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.  Jacob still identifies himself as Jacob, though I don't think this was in disobedience to God.  He dedicated the place where God talked with him.  Wherever we are today as followers of Christ should be dedicated to God, since He is with us continually.  Verse fifteen adds, And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. Jacob named the place Bethel.  Verse sixteen states, And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.  They did not stay at Bethel, just as we cannot stay at the particular place where we first meet Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We as his followers have a commission to go into all the world to share the gospel.  Verse seventeen declares, And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.  When they got to Ephrath,  Rachel was in hard labor.  She was now having her second child.  Verse eighteen adds, And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.  Rachel died giving birth to her second son, who was named Benjamin.  What should have been a day of celebration for Jacob also became a day of mourning, but God was still with Jacob just as He had been since entering into a personal relationship with Jacob.  God is with us today in all the highs and lows, if we have that personal relationship with Him.  Verse nineteen states, And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.  As already stated, Rachel died and was buried at Bethlehem.  Verse twenty adds, And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.  Jacob marked her grave with a pillar.  Rachel was the one that Jacob loved the most and worked the hardest for, and now she was gone, but Jacob still had things to do.  We cannot allow grief at the loss of someone we love to allow us to stop doing what God has called us to do.

Genesis 35:1

Genesis 35:1 says,  And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.  God now gave Jacob directions.  Jacob was to go to Bethel, dwell there, and build an altar to God.  God was specific about Who He was.  He was the God Who appeared to Jacob when he fled from Esau.  As followers of Christ, we should always be listening for God's instructions, but once we accept Christ as our Savior, God should not have to remind us Who He is.  Verse two states, Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:  Jacob told those of his household to put away any strange gods they had and to be clean before God.  We likewise must put away any strange gods that we may have.  I believe that this means more than just putting them out of sight to be called on later, but means putting them out of our life altogether.  Verse three adds, And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.  Jacob said they were going to Bethel, and there he would make an altar to the God Who answered him in the day of his distress.  We must always remember that God will be with us in our times of distress, if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse four declares, And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.  His family gave Jacob all their strange gods and anything associated with them, and he buried them.  Jacob did not try to sell them or profit from them.  We must remove all false gods, and they do not have to be statues, from our lives, without concern for what it might cost us materially.  Verse five says, And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.  Jacob and his family journeyed under God's protection, and no one harmed them.  Spiritually today, we as followers of Christ journey under God's protection, and even if we were to be physically destroyed, no one can harm us spiritually, as long as we remain faithful to God.  Verse six states, So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.  Then verse seven adds, And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.  Jacob got to where God told him to go and built an altar, because he remembered that was where God had appeared to him.  As Christians, there should be a place that we can remember where we first met God and entered into a personal relationship with Him.  Verse eight declares, But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.  Jacob was back in touch with his family, and was most likely taking care of his mother's old nurse until she died.  She was not a blood relative, but she was still treated as a part of the family.  As followers of Christ, we certainly are not all kin to each other in earthly terms, nor are we all of the same status in life.  Still, we are to treat each other as a part of the same family, because we are brothers and sisters through the blood of Christ.

Genesis 34:25

Genesis 34:25 says, And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.  Diana's brothers had never planned to accept Shechem as her husband.  Their plan had been to kill him Shechem and all the males of his city when they were basically incapacitated from being circumcised.  We cannot use the gospel, or anything that identifies us as God's people, as a method to harm or destroy others, and we especially cannot use it to destroy whole groups of people.  Shechem was the one who was guilty, and maybe Hamor was guilty of not punishing him, but all the men were destroyed.  We are not told that these brothers asked God's guidance in there actions.  I don't believe that we can ever have a "just kill them all and let God sort it out" attitude.  We are to reach out to even our enemies with God's love.  Verse twenty-six states, And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.  The brothers killed Hamor and Shechem and took Dinah home.  Shechem should have been held accountable for his actions, and Hamor held accountable for not doing so.  Still, the question is were the brothers justified in using an act that identified people as God's people to enable them to be judge, jury, and executioner of so many people.  Even though it seems that Hamor and Shechem were intending to use this identification with God's people to their advantage, we have to ask if this justified the action of Dinah's brothers.  We cannot allow the possible actions of others to dictate our actions as followers of Christ, but must always act under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-seven declares, The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.  Then verse twenty-eight adds, They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,  Then verse twenty-nine concludes, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.   Not only did the brothers kill all the males of the city, but they took all of their possessions as well.  Basically, they profited by what had happened to Dinah.  We cannot allow something bad happening to another follower of Christ to be an excuse for us to profit materially from the action.  Verse thirty declares, And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.  Jacob told Simeon and Levi that they had brought trouble to him, since the people around him outnumbered his group.  Jacob was still not relying on God's promise as he should have.  As followers of Christ, we do not have to live in fear of those around us, but we also must not use our relationship to God as a means to mistreat them.  Verse thirty-one asks, And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?  Though the brothers had a reason to make sure that Shechem was held accountable for his actions, what they did was much more than that.  We cannot justify destroying groups of people simply because of the actions of a few or because of what they might do in the future, and we should never profit materially from such actions.  They also took the women and children, but I don't believe that they took the to become a real part of their family. 

Genesis 34:13

Genesis 34:13 says, And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:  Diana's brothers answered Shechem and Hamor, but they hadn't forgotten what Shechem did to her.  Sometimes our answers may be influenced by the auctions of others.  Verse fourteen states, And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:  The brothers said that they could not give Dinah to someone who wasn't circumcised, since that would be a reproach to them.  Circumcision was a sign that someone was a one of God's people.  As Christians, we today might say that we didn't want our sister to marry a non Christian, but it takes more than some physical act to make someone a Christian.  Verse fifteen declares, But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;  This could have been seen as a good thing, since it would show Sechem's and Hamor's willingness to be identified with God's people.  Still, the motivation of everyone involved was wrong.  We cannot attempt to get someone to identify as a follower of Christ for our own purposes, nor can someone claim to be a follower of Christ simply for their own benefit and make it true.  Verse sixteen adds, Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.  The brothers of Dinah told Sechem and Hamor if they would be circumcised, then they would give Dinah to Senechem as a wife.  Once more, we cannot use becoming a follower of Christ as a means to attain an earthly goal.  Verse seventeen continues,  But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.  The brothers of Dinah, even though they identified her as their sister, said do this or we will take her and be gone.  We can never use becoming a follower of Christ as a means to an earthly end, though it was never the intention of the brothers that Sechem and Hamor become a part of God's family.  Verse eighteen states, And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.  This sounded good to Sechem and Hamor, but the act had no spiritual meaning to them.  Some people today are willing to claim to be followers of Christ simply to achieve an earthly goal.  Verse nineteen declares, And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.  Shechem was willing to go along with this demand.  Verse twenty adds, And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,  Then verse twenty-one continues, These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.  Sechem and Hamor basically told their people that they would benefit from this agreement as well.  Verse twenty-two states,  Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.  Sechem and Hamor said that only by being circumcised could they become one people.  Even if we demanded that everyone today be baptized, that would not make us all a part of God's family just as being circumcised without faith would not make these people a part of God's family.  Verse twenty-three asks, Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.   Sechem and Hamor told the people that they would all benefit from this.  They said what was Jacob's would become theirs.  Verse twenty-four declares, And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.  All the males agreed to this demand and were circumcised.  No one involved was really seeking God's will in this.  We cannot use Christianity as a means to physically or materially take advantage of others if we are followers of Christ.

Genesis 34:1

Genesis 34:1 says, And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.  Dinah went to visit some of the women that already lived there.  Jacob had been afraid of Esau, but he evidently wasn't too concerned about the other people he met or he would have still been keeping Dinah protected.  When we worry, which God tells us we shouldn't do, often the worry that we do have is misplaced to start with.  Verse two states, And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.  Dinah was defiled by Shechem, the son of the prince of the country.  Shechem had probably gotten pretty much anything he wanted because of his position of power.  There are still people in power today who feel that they should be able to do anything they want to do.  Verse three adds, And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.  We are told that afterwards Shechem felt deeply that he loved Dinah.  He evidently had little respect and concern for her to start with though.  His feelings afterward could not change his actions before, nor can changing our minds about how we feel about someone we have harmed change our actions before if we have harmed them.  Verse four states, And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.  Shechem went to his father and asked him to get Dinah for his wife.  He never asked Jacob, or Dinah for that matter, but simply felt that Hamor could do anything he wanted to do.  There are still people today who feel that their family's wealth and power entitle them to anything they want, but even if we become rich and powerful, as followers of Christ, we must never have that attitude.  Verse five declares, And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.  When Jacob heard what had happened to Dinah, his sons were in the field, so he didn't do anything until they returned.  Jacob could have just stormed off after Dinah, but he waited until he had more help.  We need to act in the best way possible when we encounter injustice in the world.  Verse six says, And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.  Hamor went to Jacob to commune, or talk, with him in an attempt to do what Shechem wanted.  Verse seven states, And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.  Jacob's sons were very angry when they heard what had happened to Dinah.  We today should be upset when we hear of injustice in the world, but we should look to God for guidance in how to deal with it.  We cannot just be ruled by our anger.  Verse eight states, And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.  Hamar said that Shechem's soul longed for Dinah and asked that Jacob give her to Shechem as a wife.  Shechem was still only looking for what he wanted , after he had already treated Dinah with no respect.  We cannot justify sinful actions by suddenly attempting to treat those we have mistreated with respect.  Verse nine adds, And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.  Hamar proposed that Jacob give Dinah to them in marriage and then they would give their daughters in marriage to Jacob's sons.  Basically, Hamar was suggesting combining the two families.  This was definitely not God's plan.  Verse ten continues, And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.  Shechem was offering to allow Jacob to live there in peace and use the land.  God had already promised Jacob that he would be the father of a great nation, which was the continuation of His promise to Abraham and Isaac.  Jacob didn't need Hamar to accomplish this.  We today have the promise of everlasting life through Christ, and we must never think that we should compromise with the world to claim it.  Verse eleven states, And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.  Now, Shechem was offering anything that Jacob and his sons wanted for the right to marry Dinah.  We should never feel that money can erase sin.  Shechem evidently felt that money would justify anything.  Verse twelve adds, Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.  Shechem was willing to pay anything to get what he wanted.  Some people today feel that their riches should entitle them to anything they want, but this is not what God says.

Genesis 33:12

Genesis 33:12 says, And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.  Esau said that they should return home and that he would lead.  The reconciliation was complete.  Esau no longer wanted to kill Jacob, and Jacob no longer feared Esau.  When we reconcile with others under God's guidance, we should then be traveling in the same direction, going toward our everlasting home.  Verse thirteen states, And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.  Jacob expressed his concern about his family and his flocks to Esau.  Some were young and couldn't travel very fast without possibly harming them.  I believe that we need to understand that some of our fellow believers are younger in faith than we are and may not be able to travel as fast as we do in our journey for God.  We should never demand that they travel faster than they can just to keep up with us.  Verse fourteen adds, Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.  Again calling Esau lord, Jacob asked him to go ahead at his own speed and promised that he would catch up to him.  We may not travel at the same speed in our spiritual journey, but as followers of Christ, we can promise to end up at the same place one day, and that is our heavenly home.  Verse fifteen declares, And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.  Esau offered to leave some of his men to accompany Jacob, but Jacob said he didn't need them.  Jacob had God's protection, though he often seemed to forget that fact, so he didn't need Esau's men to protect Him.  When we are truly following God's will, we do not need to rely on anyone in this world to protect us.  Ultimately, we must rely on God alone, though it is good to know that we are not alone in following Christ.  Verse sixteen states, So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.  Esau left that day on his journey home, his relationship with Jacob now restored.  Neither had mentioned the birthright.  We may at times allow the things of this world, which the birthright really was, to control our attitude towards others, only to realize later on that they don't really matter.  Verse seventeen says, And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.  When Jacob got to Succoth, he stopped for awhile.  Then verse eighteen adds, And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.  After resting up, Jacob continued on to Canaan.  We may need to pause and rest occasionally in our spiritual journey, but we must never allow things in this world to keep us from our journey to our heavenly home.  Verse nine states, And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.  Though God had promised Jacob this land, he didn't just claim it because of that promise, but he bought it.  We cannot just take what belongs to other people and claim that God has already given us the right to do so.  Verse twenty declares, And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.  After Jacob bought the land, he built an altar to God.  As followers of Christ, we should always let the world know that God is the One Who is responsible for our successes in life, and we should likewise let the world know that He is with us even in our failures.  We must simply always give God the glory.

Genesis 33:1

Genesis 33:1 says, And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.  Jacob saw Esau coming with four hundred men, so he separated his children with their mothers.  Verse two adds, And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.  Jacob was still playing favorites.  He still favored Leah and her children over the handmaidens and their children, but he favored Rachel and her son most.  Jacob put them where he felt they would be the safest or most protected.  When we encounter possible danger in the world today, we as followers of Christ, must stand united and we can never play favorites.  Since God does not divide His children, those who accept Christ as Savior and Lord, into categories and love some more than others, neither should we.  Verse three continues, And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.  At least Jacob did not try to hide behind his wives and children.  He went out humbly to meet Esau, bowing seven times along the way.  Though by the blessing of Isaac Jacob was in power over Esau, he did not meet him that way.  Even though we as followers of Christ are in a morally superior position to the lost of the world, we cannot ever attempt to lord it over them.  We are still simply sinners saved by grace.  Verse four declares, And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.  This was not the greeting that Jacob had envisioned.  Esau met him as a long separated brother and not as an enemy.  Sometimes, we fear and prepare for the worst when it never happens.  Jacob still had not fully trusted God to keep him safe.  We must never allow fear to keep us from acting in faith.  Verse five declares, And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.  Esau saw the women and children and asked Jacob who they were.  Jacob said that they were the children that God had generously blessed him with.  He did not say who the women were, because I still don't believe that he could have said that God blessed him with more than one wife.  God may bless us when we do something outside His will, but we can never claim that it was His will that we did things our way.  Verse six states, Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.  Then verse seven adds, And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.  Jacob's family came to Esau as Jacob had divided them and bowed to him.  They may not have known everything that had happened between Esau and Jacob, but they did know that Jacob felt threatened by Esau.  We may not always know everything that has happened in the lives of those that we are closest to, but we must stand with them by faith if we feel that they are in danger.  Verse eight says, And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.  Esau asked Jacob the meaning of the flocks that Jacob had sent to him.  Jacob said they were a gift to Esau so that Esau would show grace to him.  We should never attempt to bribe others if we have done wrong by them, but should simply ask for their forgiveness.  We certainly should never attempt to bribe God, but must simply always rely on His grace.  Verse nine proclaims, And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.  Esau didn't want the gifts that Jacob had sent to him.  Whether it was the time that had passed or his own success, Esau was no longer angry with Jacob.  We should never let fear determine how we approach others, since very often these fears are unfounded, and as followers of Christ we certainly cannot allow something that happened years ago to determine our relationship with someone else today.  This is especially true if we were the ones in the wrong.  Verse ten states, And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.  Then verse eleven adds, Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.  Instead of attempting to cheat Esau, Jacob insisted that Esau take the gifts.  Jacob said that God had richly blessed him and that he had enough.  We need to acknowledge that God has richly blessed us with salvation through our faith in Christ, and this should be enough.  Any earthly blessings that God gives us we should be willing to share with others, but above all else we must be willing to share the gospel.  We cannot force anyone to accept the gospel, but we need to humbly present it to them.