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Chapter 31
As I said recently, Laban has been a real bleep. Jacob spent 20 years with him and he changed his wages 10 times. Jacob tells him that he would have sent him away without anything, that's most certainly accurate. In verse 43 Laban says these daughters are mine, these children are mine, these cattle are mine. Mine, mine, mine. Thankfully, the Lord provided Jacob with much and guided him to leave Laban. And thankfully at the end of the chapter, Jacob and Laban parted in peace.
I thought it was good of Jacob to talk to Leah and Rachel before packing up and leaving. He didn't just domineer over them or leave them out of the loop, he discussed it with them. Of course, they too were tired of their own father.
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Chapter 32
Jacob is greatly afraid due to Esau, who is on his way with 400 men. Jacob calls on the Lord for protection. A good example to us all. When we need guidance, when we are distressed, when there is much up against us, we do well to call upon the Lord. We do well to call upon him anyway.
Look at all the livestock Jacob sent ahead to give to Esau. Clearly, Jacob had a very large amount of livestock to be sending such a gift.
This is where we see Jacob wrestle with God. Jacob held onto God and would not let go! Inspiring. This is also where God changed Jacob's name to Israel. And we see that the Lord will not hesitate to wound us if it serves our good and His glory.
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Chapter 33
This chapter shows a touching scene between Jacob and Esau when they meet after not seeing each other for 2 decades.
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Chapter 34
This chapter is very interesting. Two people have premarital sex and all sorts of things follow. Their fathers meet and talk. Dinah's brother's plot against Shechem and his people, they make them get circumcised, while the men are sore from circumcision Jacob's sons slew the men and took their livestock and wives and children. Just imagine if we had half of that importance of not having premarital sex in our culture today! lol
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Chapter 35
The people are told to get rid of their idols. Interesting that they had idols.
Rachel has Benjamin and dies during childbirth. She is buried in Bethlehem.
Reuben lays with Bilhah. This was a big mistake that he would regret, the goofball.
Isaac passes away at 180 years old. He lived longer than Abraham!
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Chapter 36
The generations of Esau...the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families.
The land could not hold both Jacob and Esau, thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
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Chapter 37
Jacob makes Joseph the coat of many colors and Joseph's brothers become very jealous.
Joseph has dreams of his parents and brothers pay homage to him, which eventually his brothers would have to do when he is over Egypt! Due to the dreams Joseph was having, his brothers hated him even more. They conspired against him, and wanted to kill him but Reuben intervened. So, they threw him into a pit and intended to sell him. Midianite merchantmen passed by and drew him up from the pit and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt and he was sold to Potiphar.
Meanwhile, Joseph's brothers put goat blood on the coat of many colors (there's those goats again!). Jacob believes that Joseph has been killed by an evil beast and he mourns for Joseph many days. He refused to be comforted, "and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning."
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Chapter 38
Er, Judah's firstborn son, was a real bleep. So, the Lord knocked him off.
Judah's other son Onan, was a disappointment also. So, the Lord knocked him off too.
Judah thinks Tamar is a harlot (as she intended) and he lays with her without knowing it's his daughter in law. What is it with people in those days, they don't seem to know who they are sleeping with! Anyway, she gets pregnant. When he finds out she is pregnant, he wants to have her burned. He changed his mind about burning her though, after it was revealed to him that he is the one who got her pregnant. He was supposed to had given her to Shelah his son, so that she might get pregnant and carry on the seed. When he didn't do what he was supposed to do, she took matters into her own hands.
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Chapter 39
The Lord is with Joseph and as a result the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored. Unfortunately, his master's wife had the hots for him. What an unfaithful woman! Treacherous. When he won't lie with her, she tells a ghastly lie against him and causes big problems for Joseph. Joseph is thrown into prison. The Lord continues to be with him and gave him favor in the sight of the prison keeper "and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper."
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Chapter 40
Two prisoners (the chief butler and the chief baker) dream dreams and Joseph correctly interprets their dreams. The chief butler is restored to his job, but the chief baker is hanged.
The chief butler was supposed to have mentioned Joseph to the Pharaoh, as Joseph requested. Unfortunately, in the glee of his freedom from prison, he forgot Joseph!
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