Day 13: Genesis 31-32

Today's morning devotion is Genesis 31-32, which tells the tale of Jacob leaving Laban to return home. Along the way Jacob gets the attention of Esau in Edom, and Genesis 32 concludes with Jacob wrestling with God.

Laban's household gods


Just a question of curiosity: What exactly were Laban's household gods that Rachel stole?

Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods. (Genesis 31:19 ESV)

A search on Google yielded an essay interpreting Genesis 31 and the household gods (i.e., "teraphim" in Hebrew) along with a page from JewishEncyclopedia. Both suggest that the household gods were used in some form of pagan or idol worship.

Jacob's demeanor changed after 20 years


I remember yesterday reading Jacob's vow to declare God to be his (Jacob's) God, only if God provided for Jacob.

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, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, (Genesis 28:20-21 ESV)

That vow didn't seem to have a very grateful tone. But twenty years later, after prospering in the house of Laban, Jacob's prayer for deliverance from Esau sounds much less entitled and arrogant, and much more humble and mature.

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. 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. (Genesis 32:10-11 ESV)

People can change, and they do.

Popular posts from this blog

Indefinite pause in my reading

Ironically and with mixed feelings that primarily lean toward gratitude, I am putting my reading of Purpose Driven Life on hold. The book took me to the brink of collapse and then ultimately back again. One of the conditions of my current stability is to not read the book, and I intend to respect that wholeheartedly.
Read more

Abbreviations for books in the Bible

As a useful reference for Twitter, below is a list of abbreviations for books in the Bible, compiled from the index at the end of  ESV Bible, The UltraThin Edition . For the Old Testament: Genesis : Gn Exodus : Ex Leviticus : Lv Numbers : Nm Deuteronomy : Dn Joshua : Jos Judges : Jgs Ruth : Ru 1 Samuel : 1 Sm 2 Samuel : 2 Sm 1 Kings : 1 Kgs 2 Kings : 2 Kgs 1 Chronicles : 1 Chr 2 Chronicles : 2 Chr Ezra : Ezr Nehemiah : Neh Esther Job : Jb Psalms : Ps Proverbs : Prv Ecclesiastes : Eccl Song of Solomon : Sg Isaiah : Is Jeremiah : Jer Lamentations : Lam Ezekiel : Ezk Daniel : Dn Hosea : Hosea Joel : Jl Amos : Am Obadiah Jonah : Jon Micah : Mi Nahum : Na Habakkuk : Hab Zephaniah : Zep Haggai : Hg Zechariah : Zec Malachi : Mal For the New Testament: Matthew : Mt Mark : Mk Luke : Lk John : Jn Acts : Acts (no abbreviation) Romans : Rom 1 Corinthians : 1 Cor 2 Corinthians : 2 Cor Galatians : Gal Ephesians : Eph Philippians : Phil...
Read more

Day 3: Matthew 3

The reading plan for the third day closes with Matthew 3 , an introduction to John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus. A warning, not condemnation It really is strange how reading is different from listening. I feel like by this point I've heard many times the words that John spoke to the Pharisees and Sadducees when they came to his baptism. Every time I heard those words in the audio track, I always thought they sounded like condemnation of the "brood of vipers". But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ( Matthew 3:7 ESV ) Every time I heard the passage in the past, I thought that John was essentially telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that they're damned and that they would be excluded from the all-encompassing salvation and forgiveness that would be the gift of Jesus. But this time, I noticed that John's words were not...
Read more