Marriage Blessing and Social Belongingness in Biblical Context

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Day 1
Text without context is pretext. Basically, context matters! So often we read or hear a biblical story out of context and assume we understand the significance based only on a few verses. In doing this, we do a great disservice to the overall shape of the story as well as the arch of a character! This week we looked at Jacob and Esau—brothers with a long and volatile history. Consider the individual stories in the life of Jacob as an episode in a Netflix series—if you only watch the last episode, you may get some meaning out of it, but you cannot possibly understand the depth and significance of character.
First, read the greeting between Jacob and Esau in Gen 32:1–20. What are your first impressions of this story?
In Genesis 32, Jacob went to meet his estranged brother Esau, and later, he met angels of God and wrestled with God. My impression is that Jacob was afraid that his brother would likely harm him, and he felt guilty for there was sibling rivalry between them. The two brothers were not on good terms, but Jacob was open to reconnecting with Esau, and he had faith this was possible. The story shows how the revelation of God’s presence is a great encouragement, and Jacob learned he was not alone all along. God’s angels revealed God’s presence as being essential for protection, and as Jacob prayed, he was less afraid.
After skim-reading the story of Jacob (Gen 25:19–34:29), create a brief outline of the major events in Jacob’s life (it may help to write a sentence for each major story—or episode—of his life, with the ch:vs).
In both chapters, there is sibling rivalry where Jacob and Esau do not get along, as are Rachel and Leah. The Bible cautions against sibling rivalry as fractured relationships, and the people looked out for their interests, and there was jealousy. Leah was Jacob’s first wife and the older sister of Rachel, the second wife, and Jacob favored Rachel, who was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
* Prologue: The first story is the background of the birth of Esau and Jacob
* Genesis 25:19-34 recounts the birth of Jacob and Esau, where Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, and the Bible also focuses on Isaacs’s lineage, including his father Abraham and his descendants. While Isaac loved Esau, the skillful hunter, Rebecca, who was their mother, loved Jacob.
* Scene 1: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac had Jacob and Esau (Gen 25: 19-28
* Rebekah was barren, and Isaac prayed for children, but the children struggled against each other in her womb (Gen 25:21-22).
* The LORD told Rebekah that they would be divided (Gen 25:24).
* Esau was born first with a red color and had a hairy cloak. Jacob was born holding Esau’s heel, and at the time, Isaac was sixty years old (Gen 25:25-26).
* Esau became a skillful hunter, while Jacob was a quiet man, mainly dwelling in tents, and Isaac loved Esau, who ate his own game, and Rebekah loved Jacob (Gen 25:27-28).
* Scene 2: The second story focuses on Esau selling his birthright (Gen 25:29-34).
* Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau, having come from the field, requested Jacob to give him some red stew (Gen 25:29-30).
* Jacob asked Esau to sell his birthright first (Gen 25:31).
* Esau indicated the birthright was of no value to him as he was about to die from exhaustion (Gen 25:32).
* Jacob asked Esau to swear and give away his birthright, and he did so (Gen 25:33)
* Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew, who then ate and drank, and then went away, and Esau then despised his birthright (Gen 25:34).
Genesis 29
* : Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram, he married Leah and Rachel and had sons with Leah
Scene 1: Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram (Gen 29:1-14)
* Jacob went eastwards and met people and flocks of sheep (Gen 29:1-3).
* Jacob asked where they were from, and Rachel came with a flock of sheep (Gen 29:7).
* Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban and Laban’s sheep. He kissed Rachel and told her he was her father’s relative and son of Rebekah (Gen 29:18-11).
* Scene 2: Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:15-30)
* Jacob is formally introduced to Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel (Gen 29:15-18).
* Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but Laban brought Leah and gave his servant Zilpah to Leah (Gen 29: 20-24).
* The following morning, Jacob learned he had been deceived and had to work for another seven years (Gen 29: 25-27).
* After seven years, Jacob took Rachel as his wife and given Bilhah as her servant.
* Scene 3: Jacob’s Children (Gen 29: 31-35)
* The Lord allowed Leah to conceive as she did not get the same love as Rachel, but Rachel remained childless (Gen 29: 33).
* Over time, Leah gave birth to four sons named them Reuben, followed by Simeon, then Levi, the third son. Finally, she bore Judah, the fourth son, and she stated she would praise the Lord and thus, named him...