God Renames Jacob
Genesis 35
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 1) "Then God said to Jacob, 'Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.' " (v. 10) "God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel.' So he named him Israel."
Deceit & Payback
Genesis 34
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(v. 2) "When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her." (v. 13) "Then Jacob's sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonered their sister Dinah." (v. 25) "Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man" (v. 31) "Simeon and Levi asked, 'Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?' "
Brotherly Love
Genesis 33
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(v. 3-4) "He went on ahead of them and bowed seven times with his face touching the ground as he came near his brother. Then Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried."
WRESTLING! ...With God???
Genesis 32
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(v. 6-7) "When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, 'We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you with 400 men.' (v. 24-25) "So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until dawn. When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled."
Fleeing from (NOT) Home
Genesis 31
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(v. 3) "Then the LORD said to Jacob, 'Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.' " (v. 20) "Jacob also tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving." (v. 31) "Jacob answered Laban, 'I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force."
Love Competition
Genesis 30
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 1) "Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die!' " (v. 3) "She said, 'Here's my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me and I can build a family for myself through her.' " (v. 9) "When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife." (v. 16) "As Jacob was coming in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. 'You are to sleep with me,' she said. 'You are my reward for my son's mandrakes.' So he went to bed with her that night.
