Wasting Your Life?
Genesis 41
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 39-40) "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Because God has let you know all this, there is no one wise and intelligent as you. You will be in charge of my palace, and all my people will do what you say. I will be more important than you, only because I am Pharaoh.' "
Dreameanings
Genesis 40
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 8) " 'We both had dreams,' they answered him, 'but there is no one to tell us what they mean.' 'Isn't God the only one who can tell what they mean?' Joseph asked them. 'Why don't you tell me about them?' (v. 16) "The chief baker saw that the meaning Joseph had given to the cupbearer's dream was good. So he said to Joseph, 'I had a dream too. In my dream three baskets of white baked goods were on my head.' " (v. 23) "Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn't remember Joseph. He forgot all about him."
Success in Everything
Genesis 39
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 1-2) "Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master." (v. 4) "Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned."
Shhh! Don't Tell!
Genesis 37
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 4-5) "Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and couldn't speak to him on friendly terms. Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more." (v. 20) "Let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and say that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams.' "
Esau's Descendants
Genesis 36
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 6-7) "Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the members of his household, his possessions, all his cattle and everything he had accumulated in Canaan and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. He did this because they had too many possessions to live together. There wasn't enough pastureland for all of their livestock." (v. 9) "This is the account of Esau and his descendants. He was the father of the people of Edom in the mountains of Seir."
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
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(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
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(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
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(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
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(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.
7 Years for Love
Genesis 29
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 20) "Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her." (v. 23) "In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah." (v. 25) " 'What have you done to me?' Jacob asked Laban. 'Didn't I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?' "
Setting Up a Pillar
Genesis 28
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 18-19) "Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz." (v. 22) "and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Cheating
Genesis 27
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 12) "My father will feel my skin and think I'm mocking him. Then I'll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.' " (v. 24) " 'Are you really my son Esau?' he asked him. 'I am,' Jacob answered." (v. 35) "Isaac said, 'Your brother came and deceived me and has taken away your blessing.' "
A Treaty of Fear
Genesis 26
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 14) "Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him." (v. 16) "Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, 'Go away from us! You've become more powerful than we are.' " (v. 26) "Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of the army, came from Gerar to see Isaac." (v. 28-29) "They answered, 'We have seen that the LORD is with you, So we thought, 'There should be a solemn agreement between us.' We'd like to make an agreement with you that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by the LORD.' "
Instant Gratification
Genesis 25
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 30-33) "So Esau said to Jacob, 'Let me have the whole pot of red stuff to eat--that red stuff--I'm exhausted.' This is why he was called Edom. Jacob responded, 'First, sell me your rights as firstborn.' 'I'm about to die.' Esau said. 'What good is my inheritance to me?' 'First, swear an oath,' Jacob said. So Easu swore an oath to him and sold him his rights as firstborn."
God in Your Love Life
Genesis 24
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 14) "May it be that when I say to girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'--let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.' "
Blessed by Giving
Genesis 23
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 11-12) " 'No, sir, listen to me. I am giving you the field together with the cave that is in it. My people are witnesses that I am giving it to you. Bury your wife!' Abraham bowed down again in front of the people in that region." (v. 16) "Abraham agreed to Ephron's terms. So he weighed out for Ephron the amount stated in front of the Hittites: ten pounds of silver at the current merchants' exchange rate."
Don't Withhold from God
Genesis 22
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 2) "God said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you.' " (v. 12) " 'Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not withhold from your only son.' "
Sent Away
Genesis 21
I pray blessings on you as you read.
(v. 10-11) "She said to Abraham, 'Get rid of this slave and her son, because this slave's son must never share the inheritance with my son Isaac.' Abraham was upset by this because of his son Ishmael." (v. 13) "Besides, I will the slave's son into a nation also, because he is your child.' "
