Bible Reading Made Different

Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob said, “I am.”  That’s a lie. Isaac is still having his doubts about whether this is really Esau.  Isaac told  the Esau impersonator,  Jacob, to bring him the food so that he may bless him. Jacob gave Isaac the food and wine. He enjoyed his meal. Then Isaac told who he thought was Esau to come near him and kiss him.  This was another test to see if he was really Esau.  Jacob was obedient and   Isaac smelled his clothing and blessed him. He said that the smell of his son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. The Blessing – “May God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be those who bless you.”  This blessing received by deception is what God told Rebekah in Genesis...

One day when Isaac was old and his eyesight was so dim that he could not see, he called for Esau and Esau answered. Remember Esau is Isaac's favorite son (Genesis 25:28). He is still his father's favorite even after marrying wives that caused them a lot of grief. Isaac stated that he was old and did not know what would be the day of his death. He wanted Esau to go hunting and then to come back and fix him a nice meal such as he loved. Isaac wanted to have this nice meal from his favorite son before he died and he also wanted to bless Esau. I wonder if Isaac ever knew that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal of red stew - Genesis 25:29-34. Rebekah overheard Isaac talking to Esau. Of course, Esau headed out to go hunting. Rebekah spoke to Jacob (her favorite son - Genesis 25:28) telling him what she overheard Isaac say to Esau regarding hunting, cooking and blessing. Parents playing favorites with their children does not sound like a good idea for the sake of continual f...

  There was a famine in the land just like the famine during Abraham’s days  (Genesis 12:10).  Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar.  Is this the same Abimelech that Abraham dealt with in Genesis 20? When I googled, I found that Abimelech is a generic name given to all the Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible.   The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him not to go to Egypt, but to live in the land where God told him to dwell. By living in this land, God promised to be with Isaac and bless him. God will give all of the land to Isaac and his descendants. He promised to keep the oath He swore to Abraham.  Like Father, Like Son.   God promised to make Isaac’s descendants multiply like the stars in heaven.  Like Father, Like Son (Genesis 15:5).  In Isaac’s seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  Like Father, Like Son (Genesis 22:18).  Isaac will get all of these blessings because his...

  Abraham got married again. His new wife’s name was Keturah. Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.  Remember, Isaac is the Son of Promise.  He also gave gifts to the sons of the concubines that he had.  However, he sent them eastward, away from Isaac.  Abraham lived to the ripe old age of 175, full of years and he was buried with his family. Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham next to Sarah in the cave of Machpelah which he purchased in Genesis 23.  A lot of times, death can cause dissension in families.  Here, we see Isaac and Ishmael working together to bury their father.  Remember, Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, were sent away when Sarah saw Ishmael teasing Isaac in Genesis 21.  After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac.  Isaac lived in Beer Lahai Roi.  This is where he went on a trip in Genesis 24.  Maybe Isaac was looking to relocate when he took that trip. Abraham and Keturah  -  Keturah had Zimran, Jokshan , Meda...

  Continued from Genesis 24 (Part 1) The testimony begins as he states that he is Abraham's servant. He is actually beginning to tell what could be considered Abraham's testimony. The servant tells how God has greatly blessed Abraham. He states that God has given Abraham flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. He explains that Sarah bore a son to Abraham in her old age and Abraham has given all he has to his son. He goes onto say that Abraham made him swear that he would not take a wife for his son from the Canaanite women, but would go to his father's family to get a wife for him. The servant stated his concern that perhaps the woman would not want to leave with him. He even mentioned that Abraham told him that God would send His angel with him and prosper his way. The servant is telling it all because he even tells them that he would be released from the oath if the woman will not return with him. He tells it all from being at...

Abraham was very old and the Lord blessed him in all things. He made his oldest servant, who ruled over all that Abraham had, swear that he would not take a wife for Isaac from the Canaanite women.   As I googled (again), I found that this servant was Eliezer. If you remember, back in Genesis 15, this is the same Eliezer that Abraham (Abram) thought would have to be his heir when God told him that he will have many descendants.  In making this oath, Abraham had the servant put his hand under his thigh and had him swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth.   I guess this is similar to us “crossing our hearts” when we make a promise. I also remember making a pinky promise as a child, where my friends and I would hook our pinkies together and swear about something. Of course, formally in today’s world, we raise our right hand and often have the left hand on a Bible to take an oath.  Abraham told the servant to go to his country and to his family and get ...

Sarah lived to be 127 years old.  When looking up information for Isaac’s age at the time he was almost sacrificed in Genesis 22, I found information that said he was 37 years old. (Yes, I googled.) I wrote that he was almost 40. If indeed he was 37 years old, then Sarah didn’t live too much longer after “the almost sacrificed” incident. Sarah was 90 years old when she had Isaac and died at 127 years old; that’s 37 years later.  Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Of course, Abraham mourned deeply for his wife. Eventually, Abraham stopped mourning long enough to realize that he needed a burial place for Sarah and approached the sons of Heth for a place.  In my research, Heth was the great grandson of Noah. His descendants are the Hittites. The Message Bible refers to the sons of Heth as the town council of Hittites.  Abraham said that he was a foreigner and a visitor among them and told them to “give” him property so he could bury Sarah. They r...