QT 11/21/2025 Gen 34:24-31, Life without morality

Genesis 34:24–31 (ESV) —

24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

 

NOTE: It is not clear if Jacob had other daughters. One of the thoughts why Dinah's birth is mentioned is because of this incident, and that there were other daughters, just not central to the larger story. We don't know. There are no nice words to put on this incident. It was a massacre. The original guilty party was Shechem and possibly Hamor since he did not seem to reprimand his son. It seems like it could have been avoided if Jacob had exercised some leadership, and not left things up to his sons. I begin to wonder if Jacob was always a poor leader. Was he not able to control his grown up children? Is that the reason he will feign sorrow for 20 years after the presumed death of Joseph? Did he try to manipulate and control his sons through his sorrow?

 

Maybe a more likely scenario is that Jacob could not control two of his sons, Simeon and Levi. In that case, Jacob and Reuben (the oldest), in good faith, negotiated the treaty, but Levi and Simeon, in their rage, acted alone. Jacob does single the two out for rebuke.

 

The fear of the neighboring tribes is now a new trial. This is the result of the evil actions of Levi and Simeon. We experience the consequences of our actions, but God also allows painful things to cause us to seek him.

 

One last thought to try to make sense of all this, where is God mentioned in the story? This story is all about the flesh, from Shechem's rape of Dinah to Simeon and Elijah's rage against Shechem and the people of the town. No where in the story do we have any indication that Jacob or his sons sought God's leading. In fact, I begin to doubt Jacob's training of his sons. Murder is wrong -- why do they neglect the moral aspects of their actions.

 

PONDER:

1. What do my actions say to my children?
2. What am teaching them in my words, and more importantly, what am I teaching them by my life?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray for wisdom to live correctly before my children. I pray my actions would give them a different example of life than what they see in the world.

QT 11/20/2025 Gen 34:13–23, Violence and scheming are not the answer to problems

Genesis 34:13–23 (ESV) —

13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”

18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”

 

NOTE: The passage and story is told by God to Moses. So we get some insight into the morality of the situation. We are told upfront that the answer is deceitful. Whatever happens is born out of deceit. We also see that the father, Hamor, is still there and we must assume Jacob is too, so the solution is partially acceptable to Jacob. I have a little difficulty with the solution because there is more to being Hebrew than circumcision. It would also require the destruction of foreign gods and the belief that Yahweh is the one God only of the entire creation. The proposed solution appeals to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. "Their daughters … their livestock … their property." I find it fascinating that all the men of Shechem agreed, and that the procedure was so disabling that they could not hold a sword to defend themselves. Although more likely is that none of them had swords. If a sword was needed, one would obtain weapons from Hamor, the ruler of the town -- most people did not waste money on a sword unless they also had a lot of money.

 

What do we learn? Violence is not the answer to life's problems. The rulership of Israel passes from Reuben (adultery with one of Jacob's wives), through Simon and Levi (because of their murder of a town), to Judah (the fourth child). Judah begins to assert a greater leadership role in the family.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I rely on deceit to gain my way?
2. Do I go to violence to handle a situation? Violence is never appropriate and should only be used in defense of one's self or the helpless.

 

PRAYER: Father, Jacob's family is a picture of communities and families today. We are seeing more and more people lie and attack other violently. As Christians we should never involve ourselves in those actions.

QT 11/19/2025 Gen 34:1-12, Making hard decisions before they go off the rails

Genesis 34:1–12 (ESV) —

1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her. 3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. 4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.

8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. 9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.” 11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. 12 Ask me for as great a bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”

 

NOTE: I have a tendency to be pretty harsh on Jacob on this passage, especially verse 5. On the other hand, would have I done differently? Would going into a rage when I heard of the rape do anything? I can't undo the sin of others. I can be angry, righteously angry, but it is not as if you could do a whole lot back then. You can't call the police. You can't call the FBI for inter-state crimes. Your choices are limited. You can meet with the offending party and demand some recompense and say "no" on principle to marriage. I doubt the "king" (leader) of Shechem will give his son to you for slavery or jail (since they didn't really do jail). So, it is physical violence between the two parties or some type of negotiated arrangement. While most societies accept marriage, not many cultures accept the idea of sex only within the confines of marriage. I doubt Shechem did.

 

Hamor approaches Jacob and offers a bride price and an economic "best nation" status for trade. Technically, Israel was forbidden to inter-marry. The latter will be formalized in the law, but it was already a practice. Waiting for the adult children to show up does not help. The best solution was recompense and if the individual was serious about marriage, he would have to go through the process of becoming a Jew. I don't know if that was formalized at that time.

 

What do we learn from the story? I genuinely don't know what the best option was. I do know the end of the story, and I know that was not the correct solution either. If there is one thought, it is that Jacob should have taken the lead in the matter, or at the very least sought God for wisdom. He does neither.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I pass off decisions that I should make and are expected of me?
2. Do I fear making decisions on hard subjects?

 

PRAYER: Father, you have made me leader of my family, and in some cases some spiritual entities. Help me to be bold in the decisions, and to seek you in all cases.

QT 11/18/2025 Gen 33:1-20, God at work in ways we didn't even see

Genesis 33:1–20 (ESV) —

1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. 2 And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.

12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

18 And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

 

NOTE: Unless you've read the story before, everything points to Esau getting payback for the stolen blessing (and birthright). Although as I have mentioned before, Esau has been running the estate for over 20 years now and essentially owns it. Rebecca is dead and Isaac was having trouble seeing 20 years ago. But the amazing thing is that God has been working in Esau's life as he was working in Jacob's. Esau, his brother who had sworn to kill him, runs and falls on him, kisssd him, and together they weep. God has blessed his brother as well such that Esau tries to turn down the gift, but in typical eastern tradition, graciously accepts. Why did he come with 400 men? He came to protect his brother and even offered some of the men to protect him on the way to where he would settle. It is a beautiful story of forgiveness.

 

PONDER:

1. I know I worry about many things, but the key is to give those worries to God. I am not saying the issue will go away, but I am saying that God will bring about something that no worry could do better.
2. What are my worries?
3. What do I refuse to trust God concerning?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray for this presentation that I am giving today. I pray for good attendance. I pray it will go will. I pray that I can mix a talk on AI and finding jobs with an identification of Christ as my savior. I give to you all the worries of what can go wrong.

QT 11/17/2025 Gen 32:22-32, Wrestling with God, not with life

Genesis 32:22–32 (ESV) —

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

 

NOTE: The wrestling match is understood better at the end of the passage. Jacob was left alone and wrestled with God. God's tremendous power is evident in his touching Jacob's hip and putting it out of joint, and that Jacob understood that his life was spared. But God wrestles Jacob at his own strength. Jacob figures it out and realizes that the real blessing in life that he wanted was not what he could scheme or come up with on his own, but it was God's blessing.

 

For myself, it is also a metaphor of a period of time that probably began with Jacob's terrible prayer / vow at Bethuel.

 

Genesis 28:20–22 (ESV) — 20 Then Jacob made 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 clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

 

Twenty years later after being out schemed and cheated by Laban, but rescued by God at every point, Jacob's new prayer is different.

 

Genesis 32:26 (ESV) — Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

Gone are the deals, just a plea for God's blessing.

 

Twenty years is a long time to learn a lesson. The new name is a reminder to Jacob (as well as the limp) that he was only partially wrestling with Laban but was really wrestling with God.

 

Genesis 32:28 (ESV) — Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

 

How did he prevail? He prevailed by giving up. He prevailed by recognizing God in his life. He prevailed by not demanding the things of the world, but rather a relationship with God.

 

PONDER:

1. Am I wresting with God and not realizing it? I think I was a year or two ago.
2. What is the lesson I learned and how am I doing at implementing it?

 

PRAYER: Father, I trust you for the things you are doing. I don't understand them all but I believe you are in control. You will provide, my job is to give to you my worries.

QT 11/14/2025 Genesis 32:13–21, Clearing the slate

Genesis 32:13–21 (ESV) —

13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’ ” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

 

NOTE: Jacob's story is a story about the line of the Messiah. There is another story, not told, of Esau. God has been working in Esau's life as well. He is not the angry person he was as we will see in the next chapter. But Jacob does not know that at this point in the story. God has blessed both man. Esau essentially inherited his father's business, despite "trading it away." He will attempt to turn away the gift, that Jacob gives, saying that he has "enough." The idea of sending gifts to pacify is not new and not wrong. If a person has been hurt by your actions, a gift is good, but an apology is even better. Jacob sends five groups, although they are more likely ten groups since he would separate the males from the females. Those ten gifts communicate his sorrow toward Esau, as well as his bowing to the ground seven times as Esau approached. Jacob has grown up. He is not scheming. He is paying his debts. He is restoring relationships. He has learned that he does not control life, but rather God controls our life.

 

PONDER:

1. Where do I need to make amends?
2. With whom do I need to make amends?

 

PRAYER: Father, I feel like I have reached out in the only situation that I can think of and the person has not responded. I can't control his response, only mine. I pray for your leading and guiding

QT 11/13/2025 Gen 32:1–12, The need for prayer when life is built upon ourselves (and all the time)

Genesis 32:1–12 (ESV) —

1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, 4 instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’ ”

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

 

NOTE: Jacob is a wearied man. He just diffused a very tense situation with his father in law. In my mind, it did not end well, although the heap of stones can also represent a covenant or peace treaty between the two. Still, there was a lot of anger and disappointment. It never feels good or right when something feels wrong. Now, an even greater danger looms. His own brother is marching out against him. Has his brother held a grudge all these years? Will Jacob have to face another emotionally draining encounter with a kinsman, this time one that he caused?

 

Jacob prays. This is good, it shows his maturity. Jacob prepares. He takes prudent steps to protect his family.

 

In Jacob's prayer, he uses God's word, not his own selfish desires (as he did before when he left the land). He prays along the promises of God made to him. He repents when he says he is not worthy. He gives God the thanks for all that he has. It took twenty years but now he is ready to be the man of God that he was called to be.

 

PONDER:

1. When was the last time I spent time thanking God for all that he has given?
2. Do I spend more time praying for things I want or more time thanking God for what he is doing?

 

PRAYER: Father, I know I am a big failure in many things. Give me grace and peace to do the right things, not the things I want. Help me to wait upon your timing in my life. Help me to see how important today is.

QT 11/12/2025 Gen 31:43–55, Living for others

Genesis 31:43–55 (ESV) —

43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. 53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

55 Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

 

NOTE: I feel some for Laban, not for the flocks that were his, but for the children which are still his. He is the father to two daughters and grandfather to eleven boys and at least one girl. His actions is what caused them to be torn  away from him. The heap of stones is really a reminder of his stupidity and greed that tore them away. The heap has the idea of "gather" in Laban's naming, but it is separating. It should be called "The End Result of Narcissism." A life lived for one self is most empty at the end.

 

PONDER:

1. What am I giving my life to, that which is for me or that which is for others?
2. Am I complaining because life is lived for others? I need to remember that in the end, a life lived for others is sweet and well-remembered.

 

PRAYER: Father, I am where I am today because you have placed me here. I waste my time when I complain. I need to enjoy living in your will and doing that which pleases you rather than what I think will please myself.

QT 11/11/2025 Gen 31:33-42, Seeing the results of God's hand

Genesis 31:33–42 (ESV) —

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.

36 Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

 

NOTE: I wonder if this is the first time Jacob ever rebuked his father-in-law in anger. His daughters were not on Laban's side (vs 14-16), and in some ways, Rachel achieves a certain payback for the marriage deception. I'm not saying what Rachel did was right, it was clearly wrong. And if she actually believed those gods helped in some way, she was very wrong. For his part, Jacob is growing spiritually. It took 20 years, but he leaves Haran with a family, many children, and wealthy. And he recognizes that it was God who had blessed him. Without God, he says, he would have walked away empty-handed. That is a huge step for a man who thought he could scheme his way through life. He thought his scheme won him an inheritance and a blessing, but he was rich without any of his father's wealth. And God blessed him, not because he pretended to be Esau to Isaac, but because God chose to work through him. The climax to the story is still coming, but we are now seeing how God used the last 20 years to change Jacob.

 

PONDER:

1. Have I ever looked back on life to see how God has blessed?
2. Or do I look back on life and see it as the things I achieved in my own strength?

 

PRAYER: Father, I was a mess and without your constant intervention in my life, I am not sure where I would be today. I can honestly say the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places (Ps 16:6).

QT 11/10/2025 Gen 31:22–32, Listen to God, not the world

Genesis 31:22–32 (ESV) —

22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

25 And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. 29 It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” 31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

 

NOTE: Even though Laban is a cheat and a scoundrel, some of his arguments sound good: to be sent with mirth and songs, to kiss his daughters and grandchildren goodbye. But Laban is a cheat to his core. And he would have created some opportunity to delay or stop Jacob. So, while the words sound reasonable, and the arguments are compelling, sometimes it is still wrong. God told Jacob to leave, and I'm not sure it was possible to leave peaceably. I'm not sure what Laban was planning to do, even in this situation that God had to appear to him in a dream. Was he going to forcibly bring the wives, children, and stock back home? Was he going to kill Jacob for "theft of family and stock?" None of his options were legal, but who would have opposed him? There was one legal option, and that would have allowed Laban to bring everything back. If he found the stolen goods among Jacob's possessions, he would have had the authority to kill Jacob. So, Rachel's actions had put God's entire plan in jeopardy. Fortunately, God knows the future and the past. He knows what he will do. God's plan was to bring Jacob, his wives, and eleven sons (Benjamin would be born in the land) to the promised land. God will accomplish his will.

 

God will accomplish his will, but that doesn't mean it will be through you or me. Persistent disobedience to God's commands can result in God choosing other ways to accomplish his will. We have free will. We can choose to make a mess of our lives. If we truly believed, we cannot lose the salvation God freely gave us, be we can make a mess of our lives. As Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, … it hurts you to kick against the goads" (Acts 26:14). Where are we fighting against God?

 

PONDER:

1. Is God calling me to a task?
2. Do I use human arguments to allow me to stray from God's commands?

 

PRAYER: Father, I must obey you first, independent of anything else. Guard me from listening to the arguments of the world. Your word and your commands are my desires.

QT 11/7/2025 Gen 31:10-21, Trust God in that ugly situation

Genesis 31:10–21 (ESV) —

10 In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’ ” 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

17 So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee. 21 He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

 

NOTE: This is the first crisis. The attitude of Laban and his sons has changed from what it had been, and now they are angry and resentful. They feel like everything was stolen, all of their inheritance, even though it was Laban who took every chance to deceive Jacob again and again. Also, the sisters were carrying away most of the wealth that was the son's inheritance. I'm not sure why Rachel steals the family 'gods.' They are worthless and yet Rachel thinks not. Leah was probably a better and more spiritual wife. Rachel's beauty was skin deep. Leah had to rely on her faith. Jacob's actions are not exemplary either but I am not sure what I would have done. It was certainly better to get off the ground that Laban owned and get to a neutral place. Would Laban have attacked Jacob, his daughters and his grandchildren? I doubt it. Still, he did have a right to say goodbye to his "children," and to retrieve his possessions, the family 'gods.' It is an ugly situation all around. The only good thing is the next few verses where God appears to Laban in a dream and warns him about his actions. As we will see on Monday, most of the time God works indirectly, but there are times where God must work directly to accomplish his will. God changes this ugly situation directly, and he will if he must.

 

PONDER:

1. We need to trust God to answer our prayers. Yes, we take prudent actions, but ultimately, despite our actions we will face the piper, and must trust God.
2. What is the situation where I must trust God?

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray for your intervention where required. Accomplish your will in our life and may we give you thanks.

QT 11/6/2025 Gen 31:1–9, Learning lessons the hard way

Genesis 31:1–9 (ESV) —

1 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has gained all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

 

NOTE: This was a difficult and tense period in Jacob’s life. He could feel the resentment of Laban’s sons, who accused him of becoming wealthy at their father’s expense. Their accusation was partly true, but it was God who judged Laban for his deceit, not Jacob. Ideally, Laban and his sons would recognize this and repent, but for now, anger prevails.

 

Jacob realizes that God has been at work all along. Now, God speaks to Jacob just as He did to Abraham and Isaac, instructing him to return home. After more than twenty years of hard lessons, Jacob is finally beginning to understand that it has always been God guiding him. He is becoming aware of his own unworthiness and his need to rely fully on God, rather than on his own schemes.

 

PONDER:

1. Why are we slow to learn important lessons?
2. Why do we struggle to truly move on from lessons we’ve already learned?
3. Jacob ran away from Esau’s threat, and now he’s running from Laban and his sons. Jacob is always running, and only now (see Genesis 32) is he learning that he truly needs God, not possessions.

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray to put to bed the things you have been teaching me. I don't want to have to learn them over and over again. I pray for you hand to lead and guide. I pray to trust in your plans. I pray that you would use my life in these last days to help people come to know Jesus.

QT 11/5/2025 Gen 30:37-43, Look to God for the amazing

Genesis 30:37–43 (ESV) —

37 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

NOTE: Today, we know for a fact that this method of breeding does not work. Why did it work? Well it didn’t; what happened is that God caused the results that Jacob desired, proving also that God does interfere in the affairs of mankind when it suits his grand purpose. At some point, Jacob will realize this. Jacob had quite a few years of herding sheep. The results are far out of proportion than anything he might have seen in the past, which would have been random and coincidental. Once he did get striped, speckled, spottled, and all black, he did breed the stronger together, which does work. Anyway, in the end, where Laban thought to deceive Jacob, Laban was taken to the cleaners. Jacob who thought he was deceiving Laban, soon would realize that it was not him but God who blessed him. This ultimately leads to a number of crises, the most important, a crisis of faith.

 

PONDER:

1. How often do we give credit to God for results?
2. We think our wise plans are delivering great results, and for all we know they are achieving nothing. Men plan, but God provides the results.

 

PRAYER: Father, I need to remember that it is not my creativity or ingenuity, but it is your grace which brings about miracles.

QT 11/4/2025 Gen 30:25-36, God establishes your plans, not you

Genesis 30:25–36 (ESV) —

25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock.

 

NOTE: Laban is incredibly deceitful. He immediately removes the lambs that would have been Jacob's and places them many days away from Jacob so that he does not see them. Later, we would see that for all of Laban's scheming, Laban's wealth transfers to Jacob (Gen 31:1-2). Jacob thinks that it his scheming during the mating season, but in fact, as God would reveal in a dream (Gen 31:9-12), it was his will.

 

I remember a few passages that are useful at this point.

 

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV) —

9 The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:3 (ESV) —

3 Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established.

Psalm 37:5 (ESV) —

5 Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) — For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

The point is that scheming makes us think that we are in control of our life, but we are not. Yes, we must be prudent, but we must not forget that God is in control of our life, and it is his plan that will be accomplished. We need to let go of our plans and stop scheming our life, and go to prayer, asking him to accomplish his will in our life. It is much more peaceful to go with God than to fight against God. Saul found out that truth himself in his conversion.

 

Acts 26:14 (ESV) — And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

 

PONDER:

1. Do I need to give up trying to be in control?
2. Do I pretend to seek God but really I am just doing my own thing?

 

PRAYER: Father, forgive us for our pride and our rebellion, which began in the garden. Soften our hearts to hear you speak.

QT 11/3/2025 Gen 30:12–24, Seek God now, not after

Genesis 30:12–24 (ESV) —

12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

 

NOTE: I like that the two women attribute their children to God, but they seem to misapply the lessons. They both believe love is earned not given freely. They both find their identity in children and the number of children born. In many ways, Laban is at fault in his two daughters struggle. His deceit and the daughters "apparent" involvement has caused this. God allowed it and God ultimately blesses it for his purposes, but he could have provided 12 tribes in a number of different ways (for example, three sons, that then provide 12 sons). It doesn't matter, God provided. But the process is very painful and I'm sure was not easy on Jacob to see his wives quarreling among each other. God can bless something, but he rarely changes the bad consequence that come from evil. Sometimes in his mercy he spares us, but often he does not. Sin has consequences, and we need to remember that. We should not expect God to rescue us or erase the consequences of our poor choices. Rather, we should seek God first instead of seeking God after the fact.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I seek God as I make decisions?
2. Or do I forget God most of the time until I have royally screwed up and need his rescue?

 

PRAYER: Father, we need to develop a habit of seeking you first. We need to seek you will on our decisions and not depend upon ourselves. As we develop that habit, a new peace develops in our life.

 

QT 10/31/2025 Gen 30:1–11, Who are we really wresting with?

Genesis 30:1–11 (ESV) —

1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.

 

NOTE: So starts the great baby race, which Leah wins 8 to 4. Leah produces Judah and Levi, important figures in the Jewish nation. Rachel produces Joseph and Benjamin (tribe of the first king). Almost all of the tribes will produce at least one leader during the period of the judges. It is sad to see the dysfunction in the family as each wife fights for approval and love of Jacob. It is not unexpected given the example of favoritism that Jacob learned from his own mother and father. Yet even in this mess and relational sin, God is working. He is building a nation out of a mess of a family (literally they would try to kill a sibling). And he is teaching individuals. We don't know all that God is doing individually. The names of Leah's children suggest more of spiritual progress, while the names Rachel uses, suggests a competition.

 

What do we learn? Are we wrestling with men (mankind) as Rachel suggests, or are we wrestling with God. I would suggest, given where the story is heading, is that life is really wrestling with God, not other people. And until we surrender to his will, life will be painful.

 

PONDER:

1. Am I wrestling with men?
2. Or am I wrestling with God and learning to surrender my will to his?

 

PRAYER: Father, I learned some time ago that I am wrestling with you. It is my selfish will versus your will. Most of the time, I am surrendering to your will. But my flesh continues to win a battle or two quite often. Give me strength to see what I am really doing, and to surrender to your will for my life.

QT 10/30/2025 Gen 29:31–35, Who do I look unto for what matters most?

Genesis 29:31–35 (ESV) —

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

 

NOTE: I am guessing that this is over a period of 4-5 years. Theoretically, it could be as short a 3 years. Leah names the children in 3 of 4 cases with God in view, "Because the Lord …" (twice) and "This time I will praise the Lord." In many ways Leah was right for the wrong reasons. She went to God for her needs when her husband would not provide them. Unfortunately, she always saw the love of her husband as her greatest need.

 

We are also like that, looking to people or things to provide that which we yearn for the most. When in reality, it should be God we go to and yearn for the most. We need to make God our first thought of the day (QT/devotional), and our last thought of the day (bible reading program at night).

 

PONDER:

1. What is the first thing I do every day (after I have readied myself physically)?
2. What is the last thing I do before I fall asleep each night?

 

PRAYER: Father, I have found putting you first and at the end has made a huge difference in my life. Help me to stay consistent, especially at night where sometimes tiredness precludes me from reading the scriptures.