Abdi Ministries

After settling in Egypt in Genesis 47, Jacob gave a major portion of his family blessing to Joseph's two oldest sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph, hearing of his father's illness, comes to Jacob's side with his two oldest sons to receive a blessing.

Genesis 45 is a chapter filled with revelations. It begins with Joseph revealing his identity to his terrified brothers. It ends with those brothers revealing that their father's beloved son Joseph is not dead; he is living as a ruler in Egypt. While the events of Genesis are factual, this passage also serves as an example of excellent storytelling. Genesis 45 provides the emotional "payoff" that had been building over the last several chapters. Joseph, unrecognized by his ten older brothers when they arrived in Egypt to buy grain in Genesis 42:7–8, had chosen not to reveal himself to them. Instead, Joseph had tested them by both providing generously and treating them harshly as well (Genesis 43—44). Joseph's ultimate goals had not yet been stated. In this passage, and later, we'll learn that his intent was to provide for his extended family (Genesis 47:11–13). All we have seen in the text so far is Joseph's struggle to keep his emotions in check (Genesis 42:24). That was especially true when seeing his younger brother Benjamin (Genesis 43:29–30). When Judah made an impassioned plea, begging to sacrifice himself to save Benjamin, Joseph's emotions spilled over in Genesis 44:33–34. At this point, Joseph was a powerful Egyptian official, so he struggled to maintain a level of public dignity. He thus sent all his servants out of the room. Left alone with his brothers, he began to sob loudly and uncontrollably. This weeping was loud enough that the men he sent out of the room heard it, anyway. Finally, he blurted out his identity and men the brothers were dumbstruck. To convince them, Joseph told them he was the one they sold into slavery all those years ago (Genesis 45:1–3). Already guilt-ridden over their crime (Genesis 42:21–23), Joseph's brothers would have been astounded and terrified. In this situation, they naturally would have expected to suffer Joseph's vengeance. Instead, Joseph rushed to assure them that God was ultimately in control of sending him to Egypt as a teenager. What they did with evil motives, God allowed for the good of their family and the world. Joseph had clearly spent many years processing his many struggles. He had reached the remarkable conclusion that God's intent was to make him a ruler in Egypt to save them all from famine (Genesis 45:4–8). Joseph was urgent to see their father, Jacob. He immediately began to urge his brothers to return to Canaan, pack up their father and all they own, and move to resettle in Egypt. When Pharaoh learnt about the situation, he was joyful. He also commanded Joseph to provide for his family. He sought to reassure them they will be given the best of the land of Egypt. In addition, he commanded wagons to be sent back to Canaan to carry back the family and all they owned (Genesis 45:9–20). Jacob's sons were then loaded up with gifts, money, and donkeys. These were all meant to serve as evidence that the story the brothers would tell was true: Joseph is alive. Jacob was then asked to move the family into Egypt to survive the famine but as one might expect, Jacob nearly didn’t survive this good news. The son he thought was twenty years dead is not only alive, but he's also an immensely powerful man. Through some medical episode or simple shock, Jacob's initial reaction was a kind of stunned silence. Finally, Jacob was convinced. God blessed him with the return of his long-lost son and agreed to the plan to move to Egypt. He was determined to see Joseph before he dies (Genesis 45:25–28).

After years in prison, Joseph was finally restored as his circumstances were dramatically reversed. Prior to this, he had spent quite some time unjustly jailed; he had been forgotten even by those he had helped. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, experienced two troubling and prophetic dreams. 1. In the first, seven beautiful, healthy cows come up out of the Nile River to feed on the grass. Then seven famished, emaciated cows come up after them and devour them.

2. The second dream is similar. Pharaoh sees seven good ears of grain growing on a single stalk. Then seven thin, wasted-looking ears grow up after them and somehow swallow up the healthy ears of grain. Now ancient Egyptians placed great emphasis on dreams, and these were especially vivid as they shook the Pharaoh. So the king called his wise men and magicians. These men were educated in various disciplines. Some would have been priests or shamans of Egyptian religion. Despite all their efforts, none could tell him what the dreams meant. This was strange, since they could have tried to give a false answer; many would have thought that better than telling Pharaoh "I don't know." Yet God's provision meant they can't even invent a good explanation.

Finally, Pharaoh's chief cupbearer remembered how Joseph, "a young Hebrew," accurately interpreted his and the baker's troubling dreams in prison two years earlier. Most likely, the cupbearer had not lost that history from his mind. Rather, this is the first time he felt it was to his advantage to bring it up. Joseph was quickly released from prison and brought before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said he had heard the young Hebrew could interpret dreams but in a bold statement, Joseph corrected the absolute ruler of Egypt: he insisted that it is God who has the knowledge. So Pharaoh told the 2 dreams to Joseph and when he finished; Joseph explained that God was revealing what He was about to do. Both dreams mean the same thing, and the repetition is meant for emphasis.

Seven years of great abundance, represented by the healthy cows and grain, will be followed by seven years of terrible famine, represented by the sickly cows and grain. The starvation will be so severe that the good years will be quickly forgotten. Now in the ancient world, kings were not given advice unless they asked for it—and even then, their advisors needed to be careful. In this situation, however, Joseph—an imprisoned slave—immediately goes from interpreting Pharaoh's dreams to giving him counsel on how to run his own country. Joseph launched into a proposed plan for how Pharaoh should manage the coming crisis. Joseph said Pharaoh should appoint a wise leader, along with a team of overseers, to take 20 percent of each crop for the next seven years and put it into storehouses. Then, when the famine begins, Egypt will be provided for. Rather than being offended at Joseph's nerves, Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph's interpretation of his dreams and his proposal for managing their predictions. After a quick conference with his advisors, Pharaoh decided that Joseph should be appointed to prepare for and manage the coming crisis. Why? Pharaoh is convinced that God's Spirit was in Joseph, making him the wisest man in Egypt.

Beginning with this chapter, Genesis takes up the story of Jacob's son Joseph. Joseph was: ::: Was about 17 years old and deeply loved and deeply hated. ::: He was described as the son of Jacob's old age. ::: He was also the firstborn of Jacob's beloved late wife Rachel. ::: Joseph was more favored by his father over his older brothers. It's not surprising, that his brothers hated him especially when Jacob gave him a multicolored robe which was an indication that he planned to make Joseph a primary heir. Even worse: ::: Joseph had a lot of “lugambo”, always reporting his brothers' misdeeds to Jacob. ::: Furthermore, he told his brothers of the dreams he experienced that suggested all of them bowing down to him one day. Unfortunately as is always the case the fury and jealousy of his brothers reached a boiling point and they were determined to kill him. So one day 10 of them were pasturing the family flocks near Shechem, north of the family household in Hebron where also Jacob's sons demonstrated their willingness to engage in violence when angered in Genesis 34:26–27. Jacob charged Joseph to go to his brothers, alone, to get a report on how the flocks were doing. Joseph obeyed and started the journey. He eventually located his brothers farther to the north near Dotham. When they saw Joseph coming, the brothers immediately formed a plan to kill him outright. This is the chance they've been waiting for: So they planned to kill him, throw his dead body in a nearby pit, and report to their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Reuben, the oldest however objected and insisted that they throw Joseph alive into the pit, implying that they will leave Joseph to die in the wilderness. Reuben's secret plan was to return and rescue Joseph later and bring him safely to Jacob. Now remember Reuben disgraced himself in Genesis 35:22 and so probably he sees this as an opportunity to redeem himself. So the brothers agreed to Reuben's plan and they strap Joseph of his multicolored robe and lowered him alive into the pit. When they sat down to eat together, while Reuben was away, they spotted a caravan of traders traveling by on the road to Egypt. Judah suggested a new plan. This time one with a financial benefit. Why not make some money and get rid of Joseph at the same time? If they sell him as a slave instead of killing him, or allowing him to die, they can claim they are innocent of the blood of a family member, as well. Those present agreed, and Joseph was immediately sold to the traders in verses 23–28. When Reuben returned and found that the pit was empty, he was heartbroken bambi and couldn’t do much about it unfortunately. Anyways to fully sell the lie that Joseph was gone, and the brothers are innocent, they fabricated evidence. So they killed a goat and smeared the blood on Joseph's unique robe. Then they return to Jacob and, cruelly, asked him to confirm that the robe belonged to Joseph. Jacob reached the exact conclusion they hoped for: That Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal. Now typical mourning for a dead son in that era would last as long as a month, but Jacob refused to stop grieving and mourning, or even to be comforted after the customary time of mourning had come and gone. This display was so emotional that Judah the mastermind of the plot offered his own freedom while seeking to spare Jacob from another tragic loss in Genesis 44:18, 30–34. Eventually, Joseph arrived in Egypt a slave to an Egyptian officer named Potiphar in Genesis 37:36. The next episode or chapter 38 relates some of the unpleasant events which happened to Jacob's family while Joseph was gone and chapter 39 resumed Joseph's story, now as a captured slave. Download the commentaries through the URL below:

Genesis Episode 36 - The Family of Esau

Genesis 36 consists of a list of Esau's offspring, focusing primarily on genealogy and the rulers of Edom, the nation that came from Esau.

Three of Esau's Canaanite wives are listed as the mothers of his many sons.

Strangely, the names of these wives and their fathers are different from those reported in Genesis 26:34 and 28:9 which implies that Esau had other wives or that the names of his wives were changed.

Esau was named "Edom" because he was born "red all over" and he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a portion of "red pottage".

Esau was also known for being hairy (Genesis 27:11), and the word "seir" literally means "shaggy" (Genesis 36:1).

Esau's wives Adah, Oholibamah, and Basemath bore to him five sons in the land of Canaan, including Eliphaz, his firstborn. But Jacob's family was the reverse. All but one of his sons were born outside of the land before he moved back home.

Now Esau's children were born in the land before he moved his family and all that he owned away to the hill country of Seir (Genesis 36:2–5).

This territory was taken from the Horites during a period of conquest in Deuteronomy 2:12.

Their choice to move away from Jacob fulfilled a prophecy about Esau breaking free from his brother's shadow in Genesis 27:39–40.

Now this chapter emphasizes repeatedly that Esau is Edom. That is, the Edomite people and nation all came from him.

His grandsons are listed according to their fathers, and then listed again as the chiefs or tribal leaders in the land of Edom. One of the key names in this segment is Amalek: his descendants became vicious enemies of Israel in Exodus 17:8, 16; Deuteronomy 25:17–19; 1 Samuel 15:2–3.

Another part of this list mentions the kings of the Horites (Deuteronomy 2:12) who occupied the land (Genesis 14:6) before Esau's clans took over.

The text also notes that Edom had kings long before Israel because Israel spent more than two centuries in slavery in Exodus 12:40, before an era under a series of "judges" in Judges 12:25, rather than under a king in Genesis 36:9–39.

Finally, the chapter lists another set of the chiefs of Esau, perhaps naming the regions in Edom by the original heads of the clans who occupied each area in verses 40–43. Over time, the nation of Edom grew hostile towards Israel in Numbers 20:14–21; 1 Samuel 14:47; 2 Kings 8:20.

This ultimately led to Edom's participation in Israel's defeat and exile, and the judgment of God on the Edomites in Obadiah 1:1–4, 10. Prophecy was fulfilled when the Nabateans overcame Seir and the nation of Edom was dissolved in Malachi 1:2–5.

The survivors settled in Hebron, becoming known as the Idumeans.

Now a notable member of this group was Herod the Great, who tried to have Jesus killed as an infant in Matthew 2:16–18. In AD 70, Idumeans tried to join the Jewish rebellion against Rome and were entirely obliterated.

As a nation, and even as a distinct people group, they became extinct.

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Genesis Episode 35 - Revival in Jacob’s Life

God appeared to Jacob as he was fleeing from Canaan to go live with his uncle Laban in Bethel and while in Bethel he vowed to make the Lord his God. Now 30 years later after growing a family and leaving Laban, Jacob's family had an ugly incident where his daughter Dinah was raped in Genesis 34:1. Dinah’s brothers revenged and annihilated the entire town which lead Jacob to fear a retaliation from the neighboring cities. Now in this chapter God tells Jacob it is time to fulfill his vows by building an altar at Bethel. Jacob begins by directing his large company to gather all their foreign gods or idols they’d stolen from Laban in Genesis 31:19 and to purify themselves, including putting on new, clean garments. Rather than destroy the idols or repurpose their metal, Jacob buried them under a tree which symbolized a complete and total rejection of those objects. After the purification process was completed, they got on the road from Shechem to Bethel, the place of Jacob's first encounter with the Lord. Once they arrived at Bethel, Jacob obediently built an altar to the Lord and called it El-Bethel, meaning "God in Bethel." In verses 5–8 we will see a passing reference made to Deborah, the nurse of Jacob's mother, and her burial in this area. Although it wasn’t clear if she has just died, or if this refers to some earlier event. God appeared to Jacob again here at Bethel again affirming several things He had previously declared. ::: He said again that Jacob's new name was Israel. (As was in Genesis 32:28) ::: He reminded Israel that nations will come from him. ::: That the land promised Abraham and Isaac will belong to him and his descendants. Jacob worshiped God and: ::: He built a stone pillar and poured over it both a drink offering and oil. After all these events, Jacob and his company traveled toward Bethlehem in the region of Ephrath. Along the way unfortunately his most loved wife Rachel died giving birth to her second son Benjamin who now is the 12th son of Jacob. Jacob buried her and built another stone pillar over her tomb and this very spot became a landmark for future generations of Israelites. While Jacob is still mourning his beloved wife, boom another scandal erupts in which his oldest son, Reuben, defiles the family by sleeping with Rachel's servant and Jacob's servant-wife, Bilhah. Scripture gives no details on why this happened, or how, or to what extent Bilhah was cooperative. However in that culture, taking the wives or concubines of a leader was a sign of conquest and as such Reuben's act is an attempted coup. Or, it could be an act of revenge against the father who failed to love his mother Leah. Jacob strangely doesn’t do anything until many years later in Genesis 49:4 & 1 Chronicles 5:1 where it coasted Reuben the family birthright. Finally, this section of Genesis ends with the death of Jacob's father, Isaac. Isaac was 180 years old. And he was buried by both Jacob and Esau at the family burial cave in Mamre which there Grandfather Abraham purchased in verses 27–29. Download the commentaries through the URL below:

Jacob and his family also known as Israelites settled within sight of the city of Shechem. They purchased the land they occupied outside of the city from the city's ruler, Hamor. So one day Hamor's son, also called Shechem saw Jacob's daughter Dinah when she had come to the city to socialize with the women of Shechem. He grabbed her and raped her. Then, perversely, he decided he loved her and wanted her for his wife and he demanded that his father Hamor make that happen in verses 1–4. This however ignited a series of devastating events. First, Jacob learnt of the rape but took no immediate action. Instead, he waited for his now-grown sons to return from the fields where they were working. As soon as news reached them, Jacob's sons were very furious expressing that such a thing must not be done "in Israel." This is the first time that Jacob's new; God-given name is used in reference to a group of people in verses 5–7. Hamor and Shechem arrived and began to negotiate for Dinah’s bride price. It was not clear if Hamor and Shechem knew that Jacob and Dinah's brothers knew about the rape because they didn’t express any remorse. Rather, everything from these two men was framed in terms of material wealth. Hamor suggested Jacob's family and the people of the city intermarry making them a single prosperous people. However his son Shechem just wanted to focus on Dinah and so he told Jacob and his sons to name any bride price to allow him to marry her in verses 8–12. We're told nothing of Jacob's response. In fact, Scripture records nothing from him until the aftermath had become bloody. Instead, his sons took over the negotiation, likely led by Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers by Leah. Their response clearly showed that they had learned from their father's example: ::: They hatch a deceitful scheme to take their revenge on Shechem in verse 13. ::: Jacob's sons deceitfully claimed Dinah may marry Shechem, and that all their family may intermarry with the people of the city. ::: They established one condition, however: All the men of Shechem must be circumcised as themselves. Surprisingly, Hamor and Shechem immediately agreed to this condition. In this era before modern pain management, adult circumcision was very painful. While the site was healing, a circumcised man could expect to be very sore and restricted in his movement. Jacob's sons counted on that when forming their revenge plot. While the men of the city are handicapped, Levi and Simeon lead an assault on the city, slaughtering all the adult males. They also retrieved Dinah and killed Hamor and Shechem. Next, the rest of Jacob's sons entered the city and gathered up the Shechemites' livestock, money, possessions, wives, and children. When it was told Jacob he was very angry. But his response made no mention of Dinah's abuse or the brutal trickery of his sons. Rather, he condemned Levi and Simeon for ruining his reputation with the other Canaanite people. However Levi and Simeon answered with a pointed, accusing question: Should we have allowed our sister to be treated like a prostitute in verses 30–31? Jacob fearfully saw himself now exposed to an attack from the people of the land however as it turned out, the response of the surrounding people was not anger, but fear. At least from now until the time Jacob's family moved into Egypt, the Canaanites treated Israel with extreme caution. Download the commentaries through the URL below:

Genesis Episode 33 - The Meeting of Jacob and Esau

Jacob made extensive preparations to meet his estranged brother, Esau, as recorded in the previous chapter.

After all the waiting and wondering, the moment had finally arrived.

• Esau had come. Will he bring violence or peace?

Jacob made one last-minute strategic choice before approaching his brother. He arranged his family into at least three distinct groups with some space between them.

• He placed his two servant wives and their children at the front of the line, you know just in case
• Next, he places Leah and her children.
• Finally, he places his beloved Rachel and Joseph.

Given that Jacob is going to approach Esau first, this is not a cowardly act, at all. It does, however, show Jacob's open favoritism, since Rachel and Joseph will have the easiest path of escape in case Esau becomes aggressive. Jacob then moved to the front of this procession and began heading toward Esau, but slowly.

• He stopped seven times to bow low to the ground on the way.
• Finally, the moment came.
• Fortunately, Esau did not draw out his sword.

Instead, he ran to Jacob, threw his arms around his brother and kissed him.

• Both men reconciled and wept at this breathtaking reunion.

Then Esau asked about Jacob's wives and children who came and bowed before him treating him as a prince or lord. Esau also asked Jacob about the massive gift of goats, sheep, camels, cows, and donkeys.

• Jacob replied that these were given to find favor in his sight. However, Esau refused them, saying he had enough.

Regardless, Jacob insisted that Esau take them as evidence that he truly favored him. Then Jacob asserted that seeing Esau's face was like seeing the face of God in verses 8–10.

• Finely Esau agreed and accepted Jacob’s gifts.
• He also invited Jacob to travel with him back to his home in Seir.

Unfortunately, Jacob didn’t want to go that way and he didn’t say so. Instead, he told Esau that his children are frail and as such his company will travel slowly.

• He also refused a protection detail that his brother had offered.

Eventually, Esau left and headed to the south towards Seir and Jacob instead traveled in the opposite direction heading towards the north to Succoth.

When he arrived in Succoth, he built permanent structures and then again moved west setting up camp outside of the city of Shechem.

In fact, Jacob purchased the land he camped on from the people of Shechem and built an altar to the Lord there, just as Abraham had done many years before.

Unfortunately, Jacob's presence near Shechem was not peaceful as we shall see in the next Episode as it described a terrible story of violation and revenge, which shaped the destiny of the tribes of Israel.

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Genesis 30 is characterized by sibling conflict between Jacob's wives, the birth of many more children under the blessing of God, and Jacob eventually achieving great wealth after striking a deal with his father-in-law. Chapter 29 described the treacherous circumstances of Jacob's marriage to a pair of sisters: Leah and Rachel. Expecting to marry Rachel after seven years of free labor, Jacob was stunned to find that his father-in-law had switched sisters during the wedding night.

The end result of this ploy was Jacob being married to two women, and with another seven years of labor ahead of him. In response to Jacob's understandable resentment of Leah, God allowed her to conceive sons, while Rachel remained barren. This chapter begins with a despondent Rachel declaring to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" Not only is she desperate to become a mother, she envies her sister Leah who has already born four sons to Jacob.

Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, but he rightly corrects her that God alone is the giver of children in verses 1–2. This will become a theme of the chapter; one explored both in human and animal examples. In response to her infertility, Rachel follows the unfortunate example of Jacob's grandmother Sarah (Genesis 16:1–4). She gives her own servant woman to Jacob as a wife.

By customs of the time, any children borne to that servant would have been considered those of the wife. Bilhah soon bears Jacob two sons, Rachel's sons by proxy. Rachel named the boys for her circumstances and feelings at the time they are born in verses 3–8. At the same time, Leah had stopped becoming pregnant, perhaps because Rachel's influence is keeping Jacob from sleeping with her in verse 15. She now followed Rachel's example and gave her servant woman to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah, in her turn, gives birth to two sons.

These belong to Leah by proxy, and she gives them happy names in verses 9–13. None of these births, though, ended the rivalry between Rachel and Leah. Both know that Rachel remains barren and that Leah remains unloved by Jacob. Their conflict flares to the surface when Leah's son Reuben brings home some rare mandrake plants he found. Mandrakes were thought to help with arousal and infertility. When Rachel asked Leah for the plants, likely hoping they will help her to get pregnant, Leah lashed out that Rachel had taken her husband and now wants to take her mandrake plants.

Rachel, apparently desperate, offers to give Leah one night sleeping with Jacob in exchange for the plants. Rachel, apparently, held great power over Jacob in the family dynamic in verses 14–16. Leah began to bear children again, having another two boys and a girl, naming them all for God's provision in her life. Rachel, too, finally bears her first son, Joseph. Her name for him amounts to a prayer for another son to follow in verses 17–24.

The narrative then shifts to inform us that Jacob's 14 years of service to Laban in exchange for his two wives has come to an end. He demanded that his father-in-law send him away so he can return home to his own people. Its possible Laban retained some legal right to not release Jacob. In any case, Laban said plainly that he has become wealthy because of the Lord's blessing on Jacob. He asked Jacob to name new wages to continue to work for him verses 25–28.

Instead of Jacob asking for a flat wage or even a percentage of Laban's flocks, he asked to keep any newly born goats or lambs that are off-color.

Most of the sheep in Laban's flock are white, and most of the goats were black. A small percentage of the goats were speckled, striped, or spotted, and some sheep were black. After agreeing to Jacob's deal, Laban immediately removed all of the off-color animals from the flock three-day's journey away from the main group.

Genesis Episode 29 - Jacob’s Marriages & Children

Genesis Episode 28 - Jacob Flees From Esau Genesis 28 is the story of Jacob fleeing from his home to Mesopotamia because his brother Esau wanted to kill him for cheating him out of their father’s blessing in Genesis 27:41.
Since Rebekah had appealed to Isaac to send him away in Genesis 27:46, it's possible that Jacob needed more convincing, not yet understanding just how angry his brother Esau really was. So Isaac called him and commanded him to go to Rebekah's brother's household in Paddan-aram to find a wife. Before he left, Isaac blessed him again, this time giving to him the full blessing of Abraham including a version of God's promises to Abraham in verses 3–5. It was told to Esau that Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman which brought him to a realization that his parents weren’t pleased with his two Canaanite wives. Possibly in an attempt to regain some of his father's approval, Esau took a third wife, one of the daughters of Isaac's half-brother Ishmael in verses 6–9. On the road to Mesopotamia and apparently alone, Jacob was forced by nightfall to bed down on the ground. The Lord appeared to him in a dream atop a ladder—or staircase—connecting heaven to earth. On that ladder, angels were ascending and descending. Then the Lord repeated to Jacob some of the very same promises in the same words He said to Abraham.

• That He will give to Jacob and his descendants the very ground he is sleeping on.
• That He will make Jacob's offspring as the dust of the earth spreading.
• That all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through his offspring in verses 10–14.
• More immediately, that the Lord will be with wherever he went, to keep him safe, and to bring him back to the land of the promise in verse15.

Jacob woke up overwhelmed by awe and fear and as such he called this place Bethel, which means "house of God" and set up a stone pillar to commemorate this spot in 16–19. Finally, Jacob made a vow that if God will be with him and provide for his needs and bring him back to his father's household in peace, he will make the Lord his God. He will worship him at this place, and he will give to the Lord 10% of all God gives to him.

Genesis Episode 27 - Jacob Deceptively Gains the Blessing of Isaac By the end of Genesis 27, Isaac unintentionally handed the family blessing down to his second-born, Jacob, something that was unusual, since Esau is technically the oldest and is entitled to that inheritance. Isaac was old, blind and believed himself to be near the end of his life and as such the time had come to pass the blessing on in verses 1–4. Isaac told Esau to go out into the field to hunt fresh game and to prepare for him a delicious meal such that he can eat the meal and give him the blessing. Isaac's wife Rebekah overheard the exchange between Isaac and Esau in verse 27:5. Unfortunately, Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau, and as such she wanted him to receive this blessing. Before the twins were even born, Rebekah received an oracle from the Lord prophesying that the younger would one day rule over the older in Genesis 25:23. So Rebekah decided to step in to help that prophecy along as was the case with Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, trying to "help" God's plans in Genesis 16:1–5 & Genesis 21:9–12. Rebekah compelled Jacob to participate in a scheme to deceive Isaac into giving him the blessing by pretending to be Esau.

• She prepared the meal Isaac was expecting from Esau.
• She dressed Jacob in Esau's clothes to make him smell like his brother.
• She covered his smooth hands, arms, and neck with goat's skin to make him feel to the touch like hairy Esau. Jacob however offered one objection to the plan:
• What if his father caught him and cursed him instead of giving him the blessing?

It's worth noting that Jacob's concern here is not about whether or not this action is moral; rather, his concern is only about what will happen if he is caught in the lie. Rebekah assured Jacob the curse will fall to her if he’s caught and as such she commanded him to obey and do what she says. When Jacob went to his blind father with the meal, it seemed like the plan was doomed from the start. Isaac knew it was too soon for Esau to have returned, and the voice of this man claiming to be Esau sounded like Jacob. But Jacob lied to Isaac’s face that he was Esau. Jacob’s deception about his identity is something God turned on him later in his life in Genesis 29:21–26 & Genesis 32:24–28. Isaac was finally convinced by Jacob's disguised hairy hands and the smell of the fields on his clothes in verses 14–25.

• So he prayed for great wealth in grain and in the fat of the land.
• He also prayed for the one before him to be lord over his brothers and other nations.

Finally, Isaac passed on the promise that all who bless or curse this one will receive the same in return in verses 26–29. Moments after Jacob left with these blessings from Isaac, Esau returned with his own meal. Shocked and shaking with anger, Isaac realized he had been duped by Jacob. Esau was distraught and he recalled the time Jacob "cheated" him out of the birthright for a bowl of stew and mocked the meaning of Jacob's name.

• Ya'aqob which literally means "heel grabber" or "usurper" or "he lies" or "cheater"

This is somewhat of an ironic moment for Esau since the oath to sell the birthright should have meant allowing Jacob to take the blessing in the first place. Anyways, Esau begged his father for some kind of a blessing of his own in verses 36–38 which he received though sounded more like a curse.

• Esau and his descendants will be wanderers, living away from moisture and the fat of the land.
• They will live by the sword and only at some point in the future break free from the rule of his brother in verses 39–40.

Episode 22 - Abraham Is Willing To Offer Isaac Genesis 22 contains one of the most iconic stories in all of literature: Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son, Isaac. It's a troubling story for many, mostly because it is so often misunderstood. When read as part of the long, detailed story of Abraham, this is an event that reveals the depth of Abraham's trust in God, one of the qualities God values most in His people. Sometime after the birth of Isaac, while Abraham is still living in Beersheba, God speaks to him again. This time, God comes to test Abraham's faithfulness and obedience with a very specific command. Abraham is to take Isaac to the land of Moriah. There, he is to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains in Genesis 22:1–2. God makes the command especially poignant by acknowledging up front that Abraham loves Isaac, his only son. Most criticisms of this story start and end here: with the idea that Abraham would ever obey such a command from God. It's important to realize, however, that this is not the first time Abraham has heard from God. Nor is it the first time Abraham has been presented with a situation he does not fully understand. However, God faithfully provided a son to Abraham, even though Abraham could not see how it was possible in Genesis 17:17 & Genesis 21:1–2. God was righteous in His destruction of Sodom, saving Lot, even though Abraham didn't understand how this could happen in Genesis 18:22–23 & Genesis 19:15–16. Now, Abraham has to decide if he trusts God enough to obey a seemingly impossible command, even when he does not fully understand how God plans to make things right. Abraham doesn't hesitate in that he gets up early, summons two of his servants, along with Isaac, collects enough wood for a burnt offering, and loads up the donkey. We don't know exactly how old Isaac is at this point, but he is capable of traveling without his mother in Genesis 22:3–4, asking intelligent questions in Genesis 22:7 and carrying wood for his father in Genesis 22:6. Most likely, Isaac is a teenager. The small group immediately heads out on the three-day trip to Moriah.

Once there, Abraham leaves the servants and donkey behind and heads up into the hills with Isaac and the wood in Genesis 22:3–6. Does Abraham expect God to stop him before he kills Isaac? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Hebrews 11:19 gives us a clue:

"Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead." In any case, Abraham doesn't slow down even when Isaac asks where the lamb is. Abraham simply replies that the God will provide himself the lamb. Isaac, for his part, seems willing to cooperate with his father in Genesis 22:6–8. After building the altar, Abraham binds Isaac and lays him on it. Before he can kill his son, though, the Lord's voice rings out from heaven commanding Abraham not to harm Isaac. The test is over and Abraham has passed: "'…now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me'" in Genesis 22:12. A substitute sacrifice is provided in the form of a ram caught in a thicket right behind Abraham. The ram is offered, and Abraham names the mountain "The Lord will provide." Then the Lord renews and emphasizes His promises to Abraham once more, swearing by Himself. Because of Abraham's obedience, the Lord promises to bless Abraham, to multiply his offspring exponentially, and to give Abraham's offspring victory over their enemies in Genesis 22:15–17. The Lord adds another promise:

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Chapter 19 is one of the most dramatic and shocking chapters in Genesis.

1. The events recorded here reveal the utter wickedness of the people of Sodom.
2. They display God's grace to Abraham in rescuing Lot and his family.
3. They show God's readiness and ability to judge the sins of humanity.
4. And, these verses display the lasting consequences of sin in the hearts of Lot and his daughters

Hagar and the Birth of Ishmael. Hagar one of Sarai’s Egyptian maid-servants whom the king of Egypt bestowed upon Abram in chapter 12:16 is the person mostly concerned in the story of this chapter 15. We have about four things in this chapter concerning Hagar:

1. Her marriage to Abram her master (v. 1-3).
2. Her misbehavior towards Sarai her mistress (v. 4-6).
3. Her discourse with an angel that met her on her flight (v. 7-14).
4. Her delivery of a son (v. 15, 16).

God’s Call Of Abram; Abram In Egypt Genesis 12 is marked as the beginning of Genesis’s “patriarchal history,” which tells the story of Israel’s earliest ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons. Before this chapter, we have all the familiar stories that make up what we call the “primeval history” that is Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood. Beginning with this chapter the focus narrows down to Abram, Sarai and their family. God tells Abram whose name will later be renamed to Abraham to resume the journey his father Terah began, to Canaan. Possibly to depart from the paganism worship during the disperse of the languages at the tower Babel.

In calling Abram to do this, God also states his plan to make a great nation, a people that were His own through whom he would bring his own son who would bring salvation to the world. He is 75 years old when he leaves Haran (Latter-day Assyria) for the land of Canaan. When they enter Canaan, a land that was occupied by Canaanites the LORD appears to Abram and tells him that he will give this land to Abram’s offspring. In response, Abram builds an altar to the LORD. He then gradually journeys toward the Negeb. When a famine hits the land, Abram and Sarai go to Egypt. Before they enter Egypt, Abram tells Sarai that because she is beautiful, the Egyptians may kill him and take her for themselves. Instead of asking for the LORD’s help, Abram makes up a scheme:

Mankind After The Flood; The Tower Of Babel It’s about 4 generations after the flood and the population of the earth was still small. The building of the Tower of Babel is just a little over 100 years after the flood. As the families of Noah's children Shem, Ham, and Japheth grew, they continued to live together as a community with one language and one culture. Eventually, they moved to the area known as Shinar and began to build a massive city Babel, later to be called Babylon (Later, when the Israelites came into conflict with the powerful Babylonians, the name of this city was a reminder that God's power was far greater than the plans and might of mere human beings) with a huge tower that would always direct them back to the city so as not to get scattered or lost upon the face of the earth. In doing this the people disobeyed God's command to "fill the earth". Some scholars believe the building of the tower was an attempt to evade a future flood from God, or possibly as a symbol of man's power. God acknowledged that nothing would be impossible if they continued to operate as one people with one language. This comment has been interpreted in various ways, but seems to follow the same line of thought God used prior to the flood: Left alone, mankind can find a way to commit any act of evil imaginable. To prevent this, God confused and dispersed the people. (The engineers, foremen and builders could no longer understand each other).

Chapter 10 is commonly known as the Table of Nations. We see how the three sons of Noah, that’s Shem, Ham, and Japheth and how became the progenitors of the various nations of people and the regions in which they settled after the Tower of Babel. The first section lists the sons and descendants of Japheth. Japheth's people apparently settled mostly in the lands to the north of the region that would become the Promised Land of Israel. The second section details the line of Noah's son Ham. The people and nations that come from Ham will become central to Israel's story, as told in the rest of the Bible. Ham's descendants include the peoples who will eventually become Egypt, the great nation that will play a pivotal and ongoing role in Israel's history. Ham's grandson Nimrod (through Cush) will establish the powerful kingdoms of Babylon and Assyria, and will both become enemies of Israel. And the descendants of Ham's son Canaan will eventually be (mostly) driven from the Promised Land by the Israelites. The final section of the Table of Nations in chapter 10 describes the descendants of Shem. It is Shem's line that will lead to Abraham and the nation of Israel. The dispersal of the peoples into separate nations, languages, and tribes will happen after the events surrounding the tower of Babel as described in Genesis 11.

Noah and his family leave the ark After the global devastation caused by the flood as described in Chapter 7, Genesis 8 opens with quietness, waiting for the floodwaters to recede. This passage begins with a comforting idea: God remembered Noah (Genesis 8:1).

Genesis 7 - God Destroys The World With A Flood

Cain & Abel

• Two brothers seeking to approach God.
• Cain offered sacrifices that were the labor of his own hands.
• Abel's offering anticipated the coming of the Lamb of God. There is only one way for a sinner to approach a holy God and that is through shed blood.
• We read in Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.

Man’s Temptation & Fall Satan came in the form of a serpent which is translated in Hebrew as “The Shining One”. It is interesting that the great dragon is a name for Satan. Satan so often disguises himself as a shining one. We think we would never be susceptible to that kind of person, but Satan will come as an angel of light in order to deceive.