Tag: Jacob
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A Father Honored in the Land of Egypt – Genesis 50:1-3
Genesis 50:1-3 And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for…
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Gathered to His People – Genesis 49:33
Genesis 49:33 “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.” There is something very peaceful about that. Jacob finishes speaking to his sons. He says what he needs to say. He gives his…
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Back to Leah, Back to Promise – Genesis 49:28-32
Genesis 49:28-32 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the…
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Waiting for Salvation – Genesis 49:18
Genesis 49:18 “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” Right in the middle of all of this, Jacob suddenly cries out, “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” It is brief, but it is weighty. After speaking of Dan as a serpent by the way, after giving that dark picture of deception and…
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Around the Bedside – Genesis 49:1-2
Genesis 49:1-2 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. Jacob knows his time is short, so he gathers his sons around him. All…
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When a Dying Man Talks About Tomorrow – Genesis 48:21-22
Genesis 48:21-22 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. Jacob…
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Seventeen Years of Tender Mercy – Genesis 47:27-28
Genesis 47:27-28 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. There is a sweetness in this passage that…
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Pilgrims Before a Throne – Genesis 47:8-10
Genesis 47:8-9 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the…
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The Greater Blessing the Lesser – Genesis 47:7
Genesis 47:7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. What a scene this is. Joseph brings Jacob into the presence of Pharaoh, the ruler of the greatest empire on earth. Pharaoh had power. Pharaoh had wealth. Pharaoh had position. Pharaoh sat on a throne men would…
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Fear Not to Go Down – Genesis 46:1-4
Genesis 46:1-4 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God…
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The Wagons Are On Their Way – Genesis 45:25-28
Genesis 45:25, 28 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words…
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When Hunger Forces the Issue – Genesis 43:1-6
Genesis 43:1-6 And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying,…
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A Father Holding Too Tight – Genesis 42:37-38
Genesis 42:37-38 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if…
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When Jacob Talks Instead of Israel – Genesis 42:36
Genesis 42:36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. This is one of those painfully honest verses in Scripture. Jacob looks at the whole situation and says, “All these…
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Fear in Every Sack – Genesis 42:29-35
Genesis 42:29-35 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are…
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When Jacob Could Not See It – Genesis 37:33-35
Genesis 37:33-35 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him;…
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The Coat and the Cover Up – Genesis 37:30-32
Genesis 37:30-32 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said,…
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Worship in the Wrong Place – Genesis 33:19-20
Genesis 33:19-20And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. Jacob does something here that sounds spiritual, and in one sense, it was. He…
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A Tent Facing the Wrong Direction – Genesis 33:18
Genesis 33:18And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan… when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. Jacob is back in Canaan, and at first glance that sounds like progress. He is no longer on the wrong side of the Jordan. He is…
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Burning Hot, But Missing the Whole Story – Genesis 31:35-37
Genesis 31:35-37And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban…… and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass?…
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Sitting on the Very Thing That Bound Her – Genesis 31:30-34
Genesis 31:30-34And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let…
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Held Back by the Hand of God – Genesis 31:28-29
Genesis 31:28-29And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good…
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The Song and Dance of a Manipulator – Genesis 31:25-27
Genesis 31:25-27Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? Wherefore didst…
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God Knows the Way Men Work – Genesis 31:20-24
Genesis 31:20-24And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob…
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Leaving With More Than Flocks – Genesis 31:17-19
Genesis 31:17-19Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.And Laban went…
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The Dream Still Needed a Response – Genesis 31:8-12
Genesis 31:8-12 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.And it came to pass at the…
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The Mirror I Do Not Want to See – Genesis 31:4-7
Genesis 31:4-7 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.And your…
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Saved, But Not Yet Subdued – Genesis 31:1
Genesis 31:1And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. Jacob had been saved back in chapter 28, but he was not yet subdued. He belonged to the Lord, but he was still…
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What Was Jacob Doing? – Genesis 30:37-38
Genesis 30:37, 38And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks…
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The Deal Was Barely Made Before Laban Started Cheating – Genesis 30:33-36
Genesis 30:33-36So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according…
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The Wages That Did Not Make Sense – Genesis 30:31-32
Genesis 30:31-32And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all…
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The Ache of Being Less Loved – Genesis 29:28-30
Genesis 29:28-30 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven…
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A Week That Is More Than Seven Days – Genesis 29:27
Genesis 29:27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. This verse is important because it shows very clearly that in Scripture a “week” does not always mean seven days. Here it is obviously tied to a larger unit, for…
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The Deceiver Deceived – Genesis 29:21-26
Genesis 29:21-26 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to…
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Genesis 29:19-20
And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and those…
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Love, Desire, and the Beginning of God’s Deeper Work – Genesis 29:16-18
Genesis 29:16-18 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. The Bible just tells it…
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Two Birds of a Feather – Genesis 29:12-15
Genesis 29:12-15 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him…
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Strength at the Well – Genesis 29:8-11
Genesis 29:8-11 And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel…
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Trying to Clear the Field – Genesis 29:5-7
Genesis 29:5-7 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it…
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Music to a Weary Man – Genesis 29:2-4
Genesis 29:2-4 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the…
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Happy Feet on a Long Road – Genesis 29:1
Genesis 29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. I like the way this reads in the Hebrew. The phrase “went on his journey” carries the idea that Jacob lifted up his feet. In other words, he has happy feet. There is a spring in…
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If You Will Have Me – Genesis 28:20-22
Genesis 28:20-22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And…
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God Is Here and I Didn’t Know It – Genesis 28:16
Genesis 28:16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. I love this verse because it meets people right where they really live. Jacob wakes up and says, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” Think…
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The Ladder and the Promise – Genesis 28:13-15
Genesis 28:13-15 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac… … the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt…
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Grace at the End of the Day – Genesis 28:10-12
Genesis 28:10-12 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed,…
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Seeing But Not Understanding – Genesis 28:3-9
Genesis 28:3-9 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham. And Isaac…
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He Shall Be Blessed – Genesis 27:30-33
Genesis 27:30-33And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said…
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The Voice and the Word – Genesis 27:18-23
Genesis 27:18-23And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may…
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Covered to Deceive – Genesis 27:16-17
Genesis 27:16, 17And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. Rebekah is clever, no doubt about it. She knows exactly how Isaac…
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A Bowl for a Birthright – Genesis 25:29-30
Genesis 25:29, 30And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. Now the scene shifts from the womb… to a pot. Jacob is cooking. Nothing…
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Loved Because He Loves – Genesis 25:27-28
Genesis 25:27, 28And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. Now the boys begin to grow, and the difference between them becomes even clearer.…
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Two Boys, Two Natures – Genesis 25:24-26
Genesis 25:24-26And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called…