Jan 23: Genesis 32-34

Jan 23, Genesis 32-34

Genesis 32. Jacob was planning on returning to Canaan and was scared to meet his brother Esau after 20 years of fleeing from him. Basically Jacob sends his messengers ahead of him to Esau to ‘butter’ him up before they meet face to face. The messengers returned with some bad news - Esau has 400 men with him (Hanging out with 400 men is usually a sign of intentions for battle). Jacob was afraid so he separated all his people for safety and then he sought the Lord - reminding God of the God’s promise to Jacob to protect him and bring him back to his homeland. It is an example of a very honest prayer. So he sent ahead of him an incredible arrangement of animals in waves to his brother, in order to appease him. Jacob sent his wives and kids ahead of him and he stayed back and that night he wrestled all night with a man, that Jacob is convinced was God, and in the morning, the man touched his hip socket and basically knocked it out of joint - but Jacob wouldn't leave until this man blesses him. Then the strangest thing happens - this man (God in the form of a man) renames him from Jacob to Israel (because he had striven with God and with man, and have prevailed). The name of Israel should sound familiar, now you know where the name of the people and the country come from!

Genesis 33 - Jacob looks up and see his brother coming… and the 400 men with him. He divided all his kids and put the kids and the servants first, then Leah, and finally putting Rachel and Joseph in the back. Out of respect, Jacob bows 7 times to the ground when he meets his brother. But Esau ran to his little brother and kissed Jacob and wept over him - they wept together. There was brief introductions and then Jacob gave a bunch of animals to his brother. Instead of journeying together, Jacob decided to travel at a slower pace than Esau, in order to keep the animals and the kids safe. He ends up building a house - not where his brother is - but in another town. Commentators say that Jacob still did not fully trust his brother, which is why he didn't accept anything from his brother, nor did Jacob/Israel tell his brother, Esau, that he wasn’t going to meet up with him… They have quite a history together obviously and time doesn't heal all wounds (I don't know who made that stupid statement up).

Genesis 34 gets very real! Dinah is the daughter of Jacob and one day was out walking and she was grabbed and raped by Hamor (who was a prince). In that ancient culture this was of the utmost in humiliation and devastation for the woman, not that it isn’t in todays society as well, but she wouldn’t have been able to get married. As a raped woman was considered defiled and unfit for marriage, her life was sadly ruined. Ironically, Hamor was ‘in love’ with Dinah and begged his dad to get Dinah for him as his wife. Dinah’s brothers heard about it and were furious. Jacob heard about it and wrongly didn’t do anything. Hamor spoke with the Jacob and the brothers making an appeal for both groups to share their women in marriage and especially Dinah. The sons of Jacob answered Hamor deceitfully, and said in order to marry the Israelite women, all the men are to be circumcised. After some deliberation, Hamor and his people agreed. On the third day after getting circumcised, when all the men were soar, two of Jacobs boys came in, Simeon and Levi, went into the city with their swords and killed all the males. They took Dinah out of Hamor’s house after killing him, even through it would be a good question to ask what she was doing there in the first place! Then all the sons of Jacob literally plundered the entire city and took everything with them, including the kids and women, back with them. Jacob gets mad at his sons, not because of their deception or murdering, so much as his anger about the neighboring clans that could come and attack them. Jacob did not do a good job protecting his daughter. 

To sum it all up:

• Men are to protect women like sisters. Jacob did a poor job protecting his daughter. Men need to stand up for women, not use them and get what they want. A good man looks out for the women that God has brought into his life, not for selfish gain, but to be a man of integrity.