January 9 + Daily Notes & Readings

DAY 9

If you're having a hard time with some of the actions of the people in our stories, give them a break.  If this is a telling of how the world came to be, they've only had 20-something chapters to figure things out.  

Today we're reading about a growing family.  Families look different today than they did all those thousands of years ago.  The way family works is different, too.  Still, I can't help but notice how the family drives so much of what happens.  

Let's get reading.

DAILY READINGS

Genesis 29-31 & Psalm 9

DAILY NOTES

Genesis 29:2

• Have you noticed how wells have played into a few of our stories.  Water is life.  Communities are built around good wells.  

Genesis 29:10-11

• Jacob moves the stone to water Rachel's sheep.  This task was done by all the shepherds when they gathered there (verse 3).  So, Jacob is strong and in love.
• He wept, maybe, because he did not have anything to present to Rachel like Isaac did to Rebekah.

Genesis 29:18

• This seems like a long time to work to earn the right to marry Rachel.  Remember, though, that Jacob is fleeing his brother.  His mother told him to go to Laban and "stay with him a while" (Genesis 27:44).  Plus, he has nothing else to offer.  It is only in the coming chapter he will build his wealth.  

Genesis 29:25

• I love the use of the exclamation.  Readers know it was Leah that Joseph took (he didn't know?).  Lo and behold, when the sun comes up...it's Leah!  In one sense, Leah has already been rejected when Jacob chose Rachel.  She is being rejected here again.  We'll also find out that, surprise, Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah.  

Genesis 29:26-27

• Laban could have told Jacob this important piece of information 7 years ago.  Would it have changed the outcome, though?  Jacob loved Rachel.  Would he not have taken Leah to be his wife first if it meant he could have Rachel as his wife afterwards?  
• Listen to us.....it's like we're watching a novela!
• "Complete the week" refers to the wedding week, 7 days of feasting and celebrations.
• Surely Laban had to have planned this all along.  He is getting 14 years of prosperous labor.  

Genesis 29:31-35

• NRSV says Leah was unloved in verse 31.  In verse 30 it merely says that Jacob loved Rachel more.  The Hebrew says that the Lord saw she was "being hated."  
• Jacob begins to build his family.  In Chapter 30, Jacob will have 12 children.  These will not all account for the future tribes of Israel because 1) one of the children is a woman, Dinah (sorry, ladies) and 2) the last child, Benjamin, isn't born until Chapter 35.
• Want to remember the 12 sons of Jacob?  Here ya go: The 12 Sons of Jacob

This isn't a Bible Project video, but it's catchy enough to be helpful.

Genesis 30:1-3

• The familiar jealousy and envy of this family is introduced.
• It's funny the plans we come up with.  God had already told Jacob what would happen to his family, that they would be blessed.  Of course, Jacob doesn't know how that is to be.  So, with a barren wife, at least in the ancient world, the best thing to do is have children through other wives.  

Genesis 30:25-43

• Jacob has had enough.  Still, he seeks permission to leave with his family.  Remember, he was the one who stole his brother's blessing and bought his birthright for a bowl of red stuff.  He hasn't always been the noblest of people.  At least right now, however, he seeks to do right by Laban.  He isn't expecting more wages.  
• The Lord has blessed both Jacob and Laban through Jacob's service.  Jacob says that Laban was blessed when Jacob's foot first came to him (verse 30).
• Laban shows himself as a cheat once again.  
• Jacob hasn't lost all his craftiness.  He devises a plan to outwit Laban.  

Genesis 31:3

• If Jacob hadn't already felt the need to leave because of Laban's sons, God makes it clear it's time to go back home.  Now, he seeks to convince his wives that he has acted trustworthy and honorably.  It has been their father that has made things difficult.  

Genesis 31:15

• The daughters are hurt because there was dowry involved in their marriage.  They were exchanged for labor.  And Laban kept the right wages from them.

Genesis 31:19

• Some have suggested Rachel fits the mold of her husband.  Jacob stole from family.  Now, she does the same.  Others have suggested she stole the "household gods" to keep her father away from idolatry.  
• These are more than heirlooms, although they would have been passed down to the firstborn son.  They probably represent a family blessing.

Genesis 31:23

• Laban pursues Jacob and confronts him.  Even though he has been told by God to "say not a word...either good or bad,"  Laban says many words, good and bad.  And he acknowledges to Jacob God told him not to say anything to him.

Genesis 31:30

• The only true grievance Laban can have against Jacob is that his family's gods are missing.  Of course, Laban assumes Jacob is to blame.  Did he assume because of something he knew about Jacob?  Did he want Jacob to have stolen them so he could have a charge against him?  

Genesis 31:35

• If you ever thought the Bible didn't deal with real life, what do you make of Rachel's excuse?  He had no reason to believe his daughter would hide anything from him.  

Genesis 31:36

• Upbraided?  He let him have it!  This was his chance to voice his case against Laban completely.  

Genesis 31:42

• It's been said that Jacob did not want to say "and the God of Isaac" because Isaac was still alive.  

Psalm 9

• Part of giving thanks to God is telling of what God has done for you.
• The Lord is a help to all those in need for all generations.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Family is important.  Families are messy.

What does might it suggest that our faith is built upon these messy families?  One thing we can be sure, even when we mess up and get in the way of God, God's way still prevails!  Hopefully, we've learned from our ancestors.  They have much to teach us through their stories, good and bad.

And, hopefully, we teach our stories, too.

I heard a lecture recently about 1950s American culture.  In regards to the emergence of the youth culture, one observations struck me.  The '50s were the first time youth had the freedom to be mobile and had an income they could use at their own discretion.  Of course, we're speaking generally here.
One aspect of this newfound freedom is that they could spend less time with their older counterparts (parents, etc) and more time with their friends.  As kids hung out more with other kids they no longer assimilated into the more adult culture.  They assimilated to the culture of other kids.

It's easy to see where that has led us all these decades later.  And it highlights a responsibility we have as adults to share our family stories with our children, to share our stories.  Who cares if they think they're boring, or that you've told that story before.  I'm not suggesting we don't let kids be kids, and that doesn't mean our kids won't make mistakes (Reread Genesis for a reference😏).  I just think we should make intentional efforts to teach our children our faith and what makes us who we are as families and individuals.

See you tomorrow!

Stay blessed...john