Genesis 37:1-36

Good day to you all...Today we read Genesis 37:1-36



Today we are going to be reading about Joseph, Jacob's son...whom was his favorite.



We learned that one day while Joseph was out in the field with his brothers he told them that he had a dream. He told them that in his dream they would bow to him. They knew he was the favorite of the father and did not listen.



10He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?"
11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.



We learned that one day Joseph was sent to find his brothers in the fields and when he got to where they were supposed to be they were not there...





15A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"
16He said, "I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock."
17Then the man said, "They have moved from here; for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan



They saw him coming and mocked him...they then decided to throw him into a pit for the wild animals to eat...Ruban did not want to kill him so they decided to "rescue" him to gain respect from their father. When he came along they stripped him of his coat of many colors and threw him into the pit...they then noticed some Gypsies coming along...



26Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27"Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him.
28Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.



The brothers then went back and told their father that surly he had been torn to bits and showed him the coat.



34So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
35Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, "Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son." So his father wept for him.


36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard.



This is sibling revelry in it's finest...can you imagine...poor Joseph. He tried so hard to talk with his brothers and to keep on after them only to be shunned. Poor guy. Well the Lord has a bigger plan for Joseph and we learn more about that in tomorrow's reading of Genesis 38:1-30

Enjoy your day:o)

genesis 36:1-43

Hello There...I am so glad you're with me today :o) Today we read Genesis 36:1-43.

2Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
3also Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

6Then Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his goods which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land away from his brother Jacob.
7For their property had become too great for them to live together, and the land where they sojourned could not sustain them because of their livestock.
8So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

The rest of today's reading gives an outline of the decendants of Easu. If you haven't read it click here.

I am often amazed at how the descendants come down from Noah or Abraham or his children or their children...this is to show us that we are all connected to these Men that lived so long ago...It is our history...and I look at my own history with interest to see where I came from and hopefully my children will look at our history to learn more about where they came from...History = His story.

please join me in reading Genesis 37:1-36

Genesis 35:1-29

Hello and Welcome back...Were gonna mix things up a bit today..is that ok? Today we read Genesis 35:1-29...if you haven't done that yet do it now.



One thing I love about The Lords Word is that he is telling us a story. We are learning about a Man whom the Lord has blessed and his family... just as He had promised he would. We are learning about a man named Jacob, and his wife Rebekah whom he loved. We are seeing the Lord speak to him through dreams and visions and we are seeing him follow what the Lord is telling him...As did his father before him and his father before that. We are seeing the Lords hand at work and we are seeing how mistakes are made and how the Lord still leads them back to where He called them to be. In the process they build altars and give thanks to the Lord for his guidance as their eyes are open to what The Lord has in store for them. Let's continue on with the story....



1Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."
2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments;
3and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone."



The rest of the story if you haven't read it yet is here.



The story we read today tells of how a man(Jacob) was called back into direction by the Lord and he followed. Do you ever feel the Lord is trying to tell you something? Are you following his voice? As we ponder on the verses read today let us stop and ask the Lord if he would like to tell us something...is it time for a new direction or are we doing what he has called us to do?



please join me in tomorrow's reading of Genesis 36:1-43

Genesis 34:1-31

Hello and Welcome...Today we read Genesis 34:1-31...I thought I would start you off today by this nice and peaceful photo before we begin...Today's reading is a doozy.

Today we learned that Dinah, Jacob's daughter had decided to visit with the women of the land.

2When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

3He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.
4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, "Get me this young girl for a wife."

Jacob found out about this but his sons were out in the fields working. He decided to wait until they returned to tell them.

6Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
7Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
8But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.

12"Ask me ever so much bridal payment and gift, and I will give according as you say to me; but give me the girl in marriage."

Jacob knew they could not be trusted because they had violated his daughter.

14They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.

19The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. Now he was more respected than all the household of his father.

24All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.

We also learned that Someon and Levi were indeed so upset with the violation of their sister that they looted the city and took all the livestock and looted houses.

30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I will be destroyed, I and my household."
31But they said, "Should he treat our sister as a harlot?"

WOW quite a story today...what a shock...can you imagine the violation! and the anger in these young men...did these brothers love their sister or what? And the violation of Jacob's daughter...this man of God's blessing...And what is going to happen now with Jacob...they could no longer stay there...Halley's Handbook simply states...The bloody act of Simeon and Levi made him odious to his neighbors and soon he moved on to Bethel.

Please continue on with me as we read Genesis 35:1-29

Genesis 33:1-18

Welcome...Today we read Genesis 33:1-18



Today we learned several things although it did not seem like a very long reading.



Today we learned the importance of Jacob's family...he put them in order when Esau was approaching with his 400 people...and Jacob braced himself as he met up with Esau...He bowed seven times as he got closer to him. He was greeted with an embrace.



Jacob and his family bowed to him as he approached.



8 Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?" "To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said.
9 But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself."
10 "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
12 Then Esau said, "Let us be on our way; I'll accompany you."



Jacob said he would send him on and he would stay at a slower pace due to his flock and his children.



16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.



So we learned a lot today about the welcome of Easu. Jacob must have been so fearful not knowing how he would be welcomed by Easu. He was welcomed with an embrace. The brothers parted in peace.



Please join me in tomorrow's reading of Genesis 34:1-31

Genesis 32:1-31

Hello There...Today we read Genesis 32:1-31



Today we learned that Jacob had indeed traveled to the land of his father.

3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.' "
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."



Jacob was afraid. He divided his group into two. If Easu came to one group the other may escape...he then began to pray for the Lord to protect him.



17 He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?' 18 then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.' "



22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.

28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."



31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.



Wow...so he was blessed. but what a strange story. Have you ever done that...struggled with someone and realized that the Lord himself had sent that struggle for you to learn something...even though we get wounded in the process sometimes...(like Jacob's hip) we are blessed in the process of it all.



May the Lord bless you in your struggles today. Please continue reading with me as we read Genesis 33:1-18 Where Jacob meets Easu.

Genesis 31:1-55

Hello and welcome back...Today we read Genesis 31:1-55.

Today we read that Jacob had heard Leban's sons talking...he also noticed that Leban's attitude had changed towards him...

He went and told his wives that he was being treated unfairly and they realized they no longer had claim to their father's money and decided to cling to Jacob's wealth. Jacob had been told in a dream from the lord to leave...so they did.

19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

Leban asked Jacob why he had run off and taken his daughters and grandchildren with out even letting him say goodbye. He also asked him why he had stolen his gods.

31 Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. He then searched their tents.

34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel's saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

Jacob was angry and asked what his crime was...he also said that all the relatives may be put in front of them and they may choose for themselves whom they would go with.

41 It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you."

They took some stones and made a little tower...and made a covenant together.

48 Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me."

So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.

54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.
55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.

So today we learned that Laban did love his family. We also learned he really did not want Jacob to go because of the blessing of his father Isaac. But in the end they made a covenant together that he would bring no harm to his daughters and they were sent on their way.

I don't know about you but I am excited to see what will happen tomorrow...please join me in reading Genesis 32:1-31