Jo’s Place

​ The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac Leaving Bethel, Jacob and his clan moved on toward Ephrath.  But Rachel went into labor while they were still some distance away… Her labor pains were intense.  After a very hard delivery, the midwife finally exclaimed, “Don’t be afraid—you have another son!”  Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”).  The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).  So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (now called Bethlehem).  Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.  Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond Migdal-eder.  While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.  These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:  The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Ju...

​ Esau is cursed by Isaac As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt.  Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father.  Then Esau said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”  But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”  Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”  Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game?  I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came.  And yes, that blessing must stand!”  When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry.  “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.  But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me.  He has taken away your blessing.”  Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob  (always trying to take what is rightfully mine by treachery)  …and now he ha...

​ Jacob deceives his father. “My father?” Jacob said  (as he entered Isaac’s tent to deceive his father). “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered.  “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”  Jacob lied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”  But Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”  “The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.  Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer… so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.”  So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him.  “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said.  But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s.  So Isaac  prepared  to bless Jacob.  “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked  (again). “Yes, I am,” Jacob replied  (once again lying to his father) .  Then Isaac said, “Now, my...

Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.  “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”  Abimelech and his advisers replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you.  So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you.  Let’s make a covenant.  Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you.  We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace.  And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”  So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.  Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other.  Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.  That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug.  “We’ve found water!” they exclai...

Conflict over Water Rights When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him.  He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.  He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.  So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt.  These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.  Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country.  “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.  He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death.  Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.  Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.  But then the sh...

Isaac Deceives Abimelech A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time.  So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.  The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.  Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you.  I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.  I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands.  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”  So Isaac stayed in Gerar.  When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.”  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” ...

Bethuel gives his daughter Rebekah to his uncle’s son Isaac Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say.  Here is Rebekah; take her and go.  Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”  When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord.  Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah.  He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.  Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.  But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”  “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said.  “Then she can go.”  But Abraham’s servant said, “Don’t delay me.  The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”  “Well,...

​ Laban hears about Isaac (Abraham’s servant) went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet.  Then food was served.  But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.”  “All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”  “I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained.  “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man.  The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.  “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns.  And my master made me take an oath.  He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.  Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife ther...

A Wife for Isaac Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.  One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.  Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.  Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”  The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home?  Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”  “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.  For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.  He will send His angel ahead of you, and He will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.  If she is unwilling...

​ Abraham’s Faith Tested Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith.  “Abraham!” God called.  “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”  “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah.  Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”  The next morning Abraham got up early.  He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac.  Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.  On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants.  “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”  So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them wal...