King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 7 notes
1And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2Then 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:
He married an idol worshipper’s daughter, who of course believed in the God of their father, for Rachel stole her father’s gods as well.
His community had idol worshippers and yet they dwelled in peace and feared not each other.
He being their leader could even order them to put away their gods.
That is the power of influence.
3And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; 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.
4And 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.
So Jacob knew of the jealousy of God against strange gods.
5And 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.
6So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth-el, he and all the people that were with him.
7And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.
9And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and blessed him.
10And 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.
11And 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;
12And 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.
13And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14And 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.
15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth-el.
16And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, ( for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.
20And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
21And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
Hm 🤔 he has brought a curse upon himself.
Even though this is just a verse, it could have been an entire chapter or even book 📙.
How did he hear about it? Who chanced upon them?
Most definitely Jacob never went in unto her again after that incident.
Who was that spy 🕵️ who reported the case? What were the initial moves of Reuben? When did that love 😍 life begin among them?
Like the story of Absalom, which was several chapters long, so could this particular verse.
Wisdom in a man is like deep waters...
So also is the writing of a book 📙 🙏.
23The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram.
27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
History indeed repeats itself. Not too long ago, it was Isaac and Ishmael who buried father Abraham. However, this repetition is not some monotonous vicious cycle, because at the end of each man’s life he left behind much more than he came to meet and was given. So the process of nation building was under way. The quest to form national Israel was underway.
O what a quest — in the course of time and history, Israel grew and became great. And this process continued from generation to generation. All through the Old Testament.
However, in the New Testament it took on a completely different form. The nation building no longer became of the flesh, and in grafting of other nations by circumcision and the adherence to the law. No, it became by the spirit.
Interestingly, though, the common factor has and always will be this: that the process of nation building and inheritance is by birth. Strictly by birth. For both the new and the old covenants.
Awww.. 😢
Dake’s bible explains that Isaac lived over 40 more years from when he expected to die, for which reason he had given his blessings.
I believe that, considering that his blessing — which was supposed to help put his house in order — rather tore his house 🏡 apart, he might have pleaded with the Lord to grant him life and to see his family 👪 together again before he died.
And this he did.