Bible Reading Made Different

  God told Jacob to go to Bethel and live there. He also told him to make an altar to Him there.  Many translations has God speaking of Himself in the third person in the first verse. For instance, The New King James Version (NKJV) reads,  “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”   Jacob told his household and all those with him to put away their foreign gods, purify themselves and change their garments.  These foreign gods would include the idols that Rachel stole from her father’s household too (Genesis 31:19).  Then he told his family and all of those with him that they were going Bethel where he would make an altar to the God, Who helped him in his day of distress and has been with him in the way which he has gone.  Do you have the testimony of knowing that God helps you in distressful times and that He is always with you?  They gave Jacob al...

  Jacob and Leah's daughter, Dinah, went to visit some women in the land. When Shechem, a prince in the country and also the son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he took her and raped her. He was strongly attracted to Dinah and fell in love with her and wooed her. Shechem told his father to get Dinah for him as a wife. Jacob heard about Shechem raping Dinah, but he held his peace until his sons came back from the field tending the livestock. Hamor met with Jacob to speak with him about the matter. When Jacob's sons returned and heard the news, they were grieved and very angry because this was a very disgraceful situation. Hamor spoke up and told them that Shechem was in love with Dinah and wanted to marry her. He also stated that he would like for their daughters and sons to be able to intermarry. He thought that they all would be able to dwell peacefully in the land and Jacob's family could trade and get more possessions in it. Then Shechem speaks to Jacob and his sons aski...

  Jacob could see Esau coming with his four hundred men, so he divided up his family. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind them and Rachel and Joseph last.  It appears that he put them in the order of the least important to him being first, just in case Esau came to inflict harm, to the most important being last.   Then Jacob got in front of them all. He bowed down seven times as he approached Esau in respectful honor. Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced and kissed him. They both cried.  Who said, "A man is not supposed to cry?" Real men do express their emotions. This was a reconciliation 20 years in the making. If you recall, Esau was ready to kill Jacob, which is why Rebekah sent him to her side of the family in the first place. Obviously, Esau had forgiven Jacob. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive and with whom you need to reconcile?   Esau saw the women ...

  Jacob went on his way and angels of God met him. When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's camp." Therefore, he called the name of the place, "Mahanaim"  (camp in Hebrew) . Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. Jacob told them to tell Esau that he was living with Laban all those years and he has oxen, donkeys, flocks, and servants. He sent them hoping to find favor in his sight.   Remember, Jacob with the help of his mother, Rebekah, stole the blessing that Esau was supposed to receive as the first born from Isaac. I remember that God told Rebekah that the older son would serve the younger son, but in this chapter Jacobs refers to himself as a servant while referring to Esau as "my lord".  I think this is Jacob showing respect and some fear at the same time. God told Jacob to go back to his country knowing the circumstances under which he left.   The messengers retur...