Genesis 33:-37:45

The next four lessons, which are on the life of Joseph, come from the Caldwell Commentary study entitled "CHRIST in GENESIS".

Joseph, the last of seven prominent men in the Book of Genesis, has more space devoted to him than any of the others (Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).  This is likely because almost everything in Joseph's life prophetically typified the Lord Jesus Christ in His two advents.  In this four-part study, we will discuss 82 ways in which the life of Joseph pictured-in-type the life of the Lord!

Genesis 35:1-29

Jacob's family had sunk to the level of the immoral and sordid society around them; rather than lifting the Canaanites from the idolatry in which they were deeply entrenched, Jacob had permitted those false "gods" to penetrate his own camp.  Rather than being a blessing to the lost people of the land who desperately needed to see Jacob and his family as holy and pure so they would be drawn to their God, the Israelites had become a curse to those around them.  According to Jacob's own words, the "stuck up" the place (34:30) and were hated with a passion because of "The Shechem Massacre" committed by his sons.

The good news is that God had not forgotten His covenant promises; so, no matter how many times His children failed Him, He encouraged them to pick-up where they strayed and to get "back on track".  Jacob knew Bethel was God's appointed place for him, but he had delayed and detoured.  It was time for him to go "Back to Bethel"!

Genesis 33 and 34

These two chapters of "the book of beginnings" do not star Clint Eastwood; rather, the main characters of the first "act" of this narrative are Jacob and Esau, whose reconciliation after 20 years turned out to be relatively "good".  The main characters of the second "act" are Jacob's daughter Dinah and two of his sons, Simeon and Levi.  Dinah was raped by the Hivite prince of Shechem, and that was "bad," but the situation turned very "ugly" when two of Dinah's brothers took revenge upon not just the prince, but the entire population of the city of Shechem.  Jacob is definitely not seen as a good father in this entire episode.  It is a very ugly blemish on the patriarchal line of the Saviour - which again demonstrates why ALL men (women) NEED the Saviour!

Genesis chapters 32 and 33

This lesson is from our study on "CHRIST in GENESIS".  It is the about the wrestling match between the pre-incarnate Christ and Jacob and contains some extra information from that presented in Lesson 76.

Genesis 32:22-32

One thing to realize as you listen to this lesson on the famous wrestling match of Jesus and Jacob is that it was the pre-incarnate Lord Who wrestled all night with Jacob to get something from him - and what He wanted was Jacob's absolute surrender!  At the end of the "match, there was something Jacob wanted, but he did not wrestle the Lord all night to get it.  It wasn't until the morning light of a new day and until his hip was dislocated and Jacob could do nothing but cling to the Lord, that he begged for a blessing and would not stop clinging until he got it!

This is not a sad picture of a loser - a pitiful failure - a weakling!  This is the picture of a spiritually strong man, for Jacob finally had been broken of his self-will.  He was finally dependent on God!  His clinging is a picture of a man of faith surrendered to God's will.

This is an important lesson for all of us, for we all wrestle with ourselves - our carnal nature with our spiritual nature!  

Genesis 32:1-21

"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city" (Proverbs 18:19)!  Genesis chapters 32 and 33 center of the meeting of Jacob and Esau (twins) after having been separated for 20 years - because Jacob deceived and lied to get the patriarchal firstborn blessing and Esau wanted to murder him. 

In this lesson, "Oh, Brother!" we primarily discuss the preparation for that meeting.  To do this, we look at five outline sections:  1. The Angelic Protection, which was a host of angels seen only by Jacob (32:11).  2.  The Advance Preliminaries (some good lessons in this on how to seek reconciliation with a "brother").  3.  The Apprehensive Preparation (Jacob divided his caravan into two division, so that at least one might slip away in escape if Esau came with swords).  4. The Appropriate Prayer, which sone of the greatest recorded prayers of Scripture.  Jacob's prayer (32:9-12) shows much growth in grace as he confessed his unworthiness!  5. The Ample Provisions (Jacob sent a very generous present for Esau).

Genesis 31:36-55

Jacob's 20-year experience in "The Laban School of Hardknocks" had come to an end.  Jacob learned many much needed lessons about reaping and sowing, about the Lord God, and about humility.  He had not learned everything, but God was ready for him to "graduate" and move on.  In this lesson, he makes his permanent break from Laban, who had angrily chased him until he overtook him in the hills of Gilead.  If not for God's intervention (in a dream to Laban), Jacob may have perished or have had everything taken from him.

In this lesson, we look at Jacob's speech of righteous indignation, addressed to his father-in-law.  He was righteously angry for having been fervently chased, falsely charged, and financially cheated.  He concluded his indictment of Laban with a testimony for God.  He acknowledged that if not for God's presence and protection, Laban would have sent him away empty.  Jacob exposed Laban's evil before all those gathered from both camps, but Laban never repented or asked forgiveness.

We also discuss the Peace Pact made between Laban and Jacob.  To serve as a reminder of this pact, Jacob established a pillar and a pile of stones, which he called "Galeed," which means "a heap of witness".  It was a witness between Laban and Jacob - or a sentry or "watchtower" of "Mizpah" to guard the boundary between the two men and ensure the terms of their peace were kept.  At the Mizpah Monument, Laban made a number of demands on Jacob, all of which were attacks of his character.

People who refer to Genesis 31:49 as "The Mizpah Blessing" really need to understand the verse IN ITS CONTEXT!!  It is NOT a blessing at all.  Also, it was spoken by a wicked-hearted man to purposely imply that his son-in-law was not to be trusted.  It was not spoke to bring them together, but to keep them apart.  It was only spoken by Laban to protect himself, not Jacob or his family.  Mizpah, to Laban, was a monument of suspicion and fear, not love and trust!

Genesis 31:17-35

God had spoken to Jacob in a dream, telling him that, after 20 years of patiently submitting to his devious, selfish, and conniving father-in-law, Laban, it was time to return to the land of his father (Isaac).  Thus, with his focus back on the Lord and the land the Lord promised him and his descendants, Jacob began his return trip to Canaan.  In this lesson, "Stealing Away," we discuss "Jacob's Flight," "Laban's Pursuit," "God's Intervention," "Laban's Accusation," Jacob's Defense," and "Rachel's Deception".

This is an interesting lesson!

Genesis 31:1-16

In this lesson, "Parting Prompting," we look at the two primary circumstances that prompted Jacob's decision to finally, after 20 years, separate himself from Laban and head back to his true home.  We also discuss his persuasive conversation with his two wives regarding his need to depart and their consent to depart with him and leave their father (Laban).  Fortunately, Rachel and Leah were united in their response; both women had harbored resentment toward their father for the way he essentially "sold" them to Jacob, had excluded them as virtual "strangers" from receiving any inheritance, and he had even "devoured" their dowry money on himself.  He demonstrated little care for them; too busy building up his own self-worth.  A very selfish father!

Jacob out-smarts his devious, deceptive father-in-law, Uncle Laban!