Tag: Jacob
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Jacob and the Prodigal (Part 2)
[Previous] When Jacob stole his brother's birthright, he did so while Esau was "out in the field." Isaac sent Esau out to hunt some game for him before he blessed him, but Jacob represented himself as Esau, and Isaac believed him. When Esau did return with game, the natural conclusion is that he returned from…
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Jacob and the Prodigal (Part 1)
[Previous] We have seen that the Parable of the Compassionate Father is directly related to the shepherding metaphors that precede it in Luke 15 and in the Old Testament. But the parable taps into much deeper images for the Jews of Jesus' day. Bailey shows how four other men of Jesus' era had used the…
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Jacob Returns
Gen 35:1-7 NRSV 1 God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are…
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Jacob’s “Safe” Option
The next scene in Jacob's life is his encounter with Esau. He was relieved that Esau had welcomed him, but he resisted Esau's attempts to hurry Jacob along the journey home and declined an offer of men to help. Jacob was now free to continue his journey. He could fulfill his vow to return to…
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Jacob or Israel
The same night as Jacob's prayer at Penuel, Jacob had yet another encounter with God. Gen 32:22-32 NRSV 22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and…
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Jacob’s Prayer
Yesterday I wrote of Jacob's encounter with God at Penuel. Jacob proceeded from there to the home of his uncle Laban. Laban and Jacob ended up in a game of deception in which Jacob prevailed. After one last deception, Jacob fled in anticipation of Laban's anger. Laban pursued Jacob, but no harm came as the…
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Stairway to Earth
Gen 28:10-22 NRSV 10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there…
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Isaac’s Failing Vision
Gen 27:18-29 NRSV 18 So he [Jacob] went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that…