READINGS FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURE

Transcription

1 September 21: The Israelites & the journey to Canaan Exodus 16:2-15 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days." So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you shall know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaining against the LORD. For what are we, that you complain against us?" And Moses said, "When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the LORD has heard the complaining that you utter against him-- what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the LORD." Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, `Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'" And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD spoke to Moses and said, "I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, `At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat." READINGS FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURE 24

2 Family Tree for Abraham, Sarah and Hagar September 14: The Israelites Cross the red Sea -Exodus 14:19-31 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. 2 23

3 September 7: The Passover tradition begins -Exodus 12:1-14 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. 22 3

4 THE STORIES OF OUR ANCESTORS: Introduction to the Patriarch and Matriarch Read these key passages as prologue to the summer readings which begin June 22. The modern translation/paraphrase used here is from The Message by Eugene Peterson. Genesis 12:1-9 God Calls Abram Genesis 12:10-20 Abram and Sarai in Egypt Genesis 16 Hagar Bears Abram s Son Genesis 17 New Names, Everlasting Covenant Genesis Sarah Bears Abraham s Son The story of Abraham and Sarah is enormous! Like all stories, theirs had a plot made up of crisis, challenges, and resolution. But these are the ancestors of our faith we re talking about and it seems they had more of everything crises, challenges, even descendants. Throughout the narrative, God shares a fascinating relationship with Abraham and Sarah and Hagar. God moved them around endlessly and made promises that didn t seem to be fulfilled. God even gave the couple a son, followed by the confusing request to offer this son as a sacrifice. As if their complicated relationship with God wasn t enough, this couple s personal relationships were filled with self-propelled misadventures: telling lies, arguing with God, attempting to speed up God s work, and more. Although they did their best, like most humans, they were far from perfect as individuals or as a couple. The stories which begin on June 22 will take us through their children and grandchildren s lives up to the point where the people of Israel end up as slaves in Egypt. BACKGROUND EXODUS 2:11-15 Time passed. Moses grew up. One day he went and saw his brothers, saw all that hard labor. Then he saw an Egyptian hit a Hebrew one of his relatives! He looked this way and then that; when he realized there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day he went out there again. Two Hebrew men were fighting. He spoke to the man who started it: Why are you hitting your neighbor? The man shot back: Who do you think you are, telling us what to do? Are you going to kill me the way you killed that Egyptian? Then Moses panicked: Word s gotten out people know about this. Pharaoh heard about it and tried to kill Moses, but Moses got away to the land of Midian. He sat down by a well. AUGUST 31: MOSES ENCOUNTERS GOD Exodus 3:1-15 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM Who I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': 4 21

5 AUGUST 24: THE MOSES STORY BEGINS Exodus 1:8-2:10 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, "When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live." But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them." So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live." Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, "This must be one of the Hebrews' children," she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called the child's mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, "because," she said, "I drew him out of the water." 20 GOD CALLS ABRAM: Genesis 12: 1-9 GOD told Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your father s home for a land that I will show you. I ll make you a great nation and bless you. I ll make you famous; you ll be a blessing. I ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you. So Abram left just as GOD said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people they had gotten in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan and arrived safe and sound. Abram passed through the country as far as Shechem and the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites occupied the land. GOD appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your children. Abram built an altar at the place GOD had appeared to him. He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to GOD. Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev. ABRAM AND SARAI IN EGYPT: Genesis 12:10-20 Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, Look. We both know that you re a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they re going to say, Aha! That s his wife! and kill me. But they ll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you re my sister. Because of you, they ll welcome me and let me live. When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh s princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh. Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But GOD hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram s wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick. Pharaoh called for Abram, What s this that you ve done to me? Why didn t you tell me that she s your wife? Why did you say, She s my sister so that I d take her as my wife? Here s your wife back take her and get out! Pharaoh ordered his men to get Abram out of the country. They sent him and his wife and everything he owned on their way. HAGAR BEARS ABRAM S SON: Genesis 16 Sarai, Abram s wife, hadn t yet produced a child. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, GOD has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her. Abram agreed to do what Sarai said. So Sarai, Abram s wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place. He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress. Sarai told Abram, It s all your fault that I m suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she s pregnant, she treats me like I m nothing May God decide which of us is right. You decide, said Abram. Your maid is your business. Sarai was abusive to Hagar and Hagar ran away. 5

6 An angel of GOD found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur. He said, Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here? She said, I m running away from Sarai my mistress. The angel of GOD said, Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse. He continued, I m going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you ll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for GOD heard you, GOD answered you. He ll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family. She answered GOD by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, You re the God who sees me! Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him! That s how that desert spring got named God- Alive-Sees-Me Spring. That spring is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. Hagar gave Abram a son. Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave him his son, Ishmael. NEW NAMES, EVERLASTING COVENANT : Genesis 17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, GOD showed up and said to him, I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I ll make a covenant between us and I ll give you a huge family. Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face. Then God said to him, This is my covenant with you: You ll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that I m making you the father of many nations. I ll make you a father of fathers I ll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I m establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I m giving you and your descendants this land where you re now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I ll be their God. God continued to Abraham, And you: You will honor my covenant, you and your descendants, generation after generation. This is the covenant that you are to honor, the covenant that pulls in all your descendants: Circumcise every male. Circumcise by cutting off the foreskin of the penis; it will be the sign of the covenant between us. Every male baby will be circumcised when he is eight days old, generation after generation this includes house-born slaves and slaves bought from outsiders who are not blood kin. Make sure you circumcise both your own children and anyone brought in from the outside. That way my covenant will be cut into your body, a permanent mark of my permanent covenant. An uncircumcised male, one who has not had the foreskin of his penis cut off, will be cut off from his people he has broken my covenant. God continued speaking to Abraham, And Sarai your wife: Don t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I ll bless her yes! I ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her. Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby? Recovering, Abraham said to God, Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you! 6 AUGUST 17: JOSEPH RECONCILES WITH HIS FAMILY Genesis 45:1-15 Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, `Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there-- since there are five more years of famine to come-- so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. 19

7 THE SAGA CONTINUES At the end of the last reading, Joseph was being carried to Egypt as a slave. His older brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him (Genesis 37:4). Now the saga moves to a place where his brothers talked with him (Genesis 45:15). The journey between these two points is filled with drama. It is likely that more than one writer contributed to the account in Genesis The occasional confusion regarding some details need not detract from the truth of this foundational story for God s family of faith. When Joseph first arrives in Egypt, he serves Potiphar, an official in Pharaoh s (the king) government. After a false accusation from Potiphar s wife, Joseph is thrown in prison. There he becomes well-known for interpreting dreams, and even interprets Pharaoh s dream regarding an upcoming famine. Joseph is placed in charge of preparations for surviving this impending disaster, and rises to the rank of governor. The famine comes. Seeking to buy grain, ten of Jacob s sons go to Egypt. They plead their case to the governor, not recognizing Joseph. Joseph, however, does recognize them and plays a few tricks on them, perhaps to assess their honesty. Some time has passed since the first meeting and all eleven brothers now stand before Joseph. The movement toward reconciliation is filled with tender emotion. First, Joseph speaks to his brothers in Hebrew to reveal his identity, weeping. The brothers are asked to move closer, crossing the boundary of space customarily kept around a ruler. Joseph tells of his life in the intervening years, and moves to embrace Benjamin, then to kiss all the brothers. The kiss was an important sign of forgiveness and reconciliation. Joseph emphasizes that his survival has been part of God s plan: God sent me before you to preserve life (v. 6). Joseph describes his wise actions in Egypt as evidence of God s saving love. God intends to maintain the covenant made with Abraham (Genesis 12:1 3). This episode only begins the process of reconciliation among Jacob s sons. In the remaining chapters of Genesis, we learn how Jacob and his clan are reunited with Joseph and how they flourish in Egypt. However, after Jacob s death the brothers again fear retribution. Again, Joseph reassures them of how God has been working to preserve life (Genesis 50:15 21). The story then moves from the person Israel (Jacob) to the people called Israel. But God said, That s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever. And Ishmael? Yes, I heard your prayer for him. I ll also bless him; I ll make sure he has plenty of children a huge family. He ll father twelve princes; I ll make him a great nation. But I ll establish my covenant with Isaac whom Sarah will give you about this time next year. God finished speaking with Abraham and left. Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether houseborn or purchased every male in his household and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him. Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised. His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised. Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised the same day together with all the servants of his household, those born there and those purchased from outsiders all were circumcised with him. At about that same time, Abimelech and the captain of his troops, Phicol, spoke to Abraham: No matter what you do, God is on your side. So swear to me that you won t do anything underhanded to me or any of my family. For as long as you live here, swear that you ll treat me and my land as well as I ve treated you. Abraham said, I swear it. At the same time, Abraham confronted Abimelech over the matter of a well of water that Abimelech s servants had taken. Abimelech said, I have no idea who did this; you never told me about it; this is the first I ve heard of it. So the two of them made a covenant. Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. Abraham set aside seven sheep from his flock. Abimelech said, What does this mean? These seven sheep you ve set aside. Abraham said, It means that when you accept these seven sheep, you take it as proof that I dug this well, that it s my well. That s how the place got named Beersheba (the Oath-Well), because the two of them swore a covenant oath there. After they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and his commander, Phicol, left and went back to Philistine territory. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped GOD there, praying to the Eternal God. Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time. SARAH BEARS A CHILD AND BECOMES JEALOUS OF HAGAR: Genesis 21 GOD visited Sarah exactly as he said he would; GOD did to Sarah what he promised: Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time God had set. Abraham named him Isaac. When his son was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him just as God had commanded. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. Sarah said, God has blessed me with laughter and all who get the news will laugh with me! She also said, Whoever would have suggested to Abraham that Sarah would one day nurse a baby! Yet here I am! I ve given the old man a son! The baby grew and was weaned. Abraham threw a big party on the day Isaac was weaned. One day Sarah saw the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, poking fun at her son Isaac. She told Abraham, Get rid of this slave woman and her son. No child of this slave is going to share inheritance with my son Isaac! 18 7

8 JUNE 22 HAGAR AND ISHMAEL ARE LEFT IN THE DESERT The matter gave great pain to Abraham after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, Don t feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid s son, be assured that I ll also develop a great nation from him he s your son, too. Abraham got up early the next morning, got some food together and a canteen of water for Hagar, put them on her back and sent her away with the child. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she left the child under a shrub and went off, fifty yards or so. She said, I can t watch my son die. As she sat, she broke into sobs. Meanwhile, God heard the boy crying. The angel of God called from Heaven to Hagar, What s wrong, Hagar? Don t be afraid. God has heard the boy and knows the fix he s in. Up now; go get the boy. Hold him tight. I m going to make of him a great nation. Just then God opened her eyes. She looked. She saw a well of water. She went to it and filled her canteen and gave the boy a long, cool drink. God was on the boy s side as he grew up. He lived out in the desert and became a skilled archer. He lived in the Paran wilderness. And his mother got him a wife from Egypt. JUNE 29: THE NEAR SACRIFICIE OF ISAAC: Genesis 22 After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, Abraham! Yes? answered Abraham. I m listening. God said, Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I ll point out to you. Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants and his son Isaac. He had split wood for the burnt offering. He set out for the place God had directed him. On the third day he looked up and saw the place in the distance. Abraham told his two young servants, Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are going over there to worship; then we ll come back to you. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. He carried the flint and the knife. The two of them went off together. Isaac said to Abraham his father, Father? Yes, my son. We have flint and wood, but where s the sheep for the burnt offering? Abraham said, Son, God will see to it that there s a sheep for the burnt offering. And they kept on walking together. They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. Just then an angel of GOD called to him out of Heaven, Abraham! Abraham! Yes, I m listening. Don t lay a hand on that boy! Don t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me. Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham named that place GOD-Yireh (GOD-Sees-to- It). That s where we get the saying, On the mountain of GOD, he sees to it. Joseph still gets most of their father s attention (Genesis 37:29 35). Early on, Joseph s dreams alerted him to God s plans. As Joseph enters life as a slave in Egypt, God remains active in his life, and dreams will again guide his path. AUGUST 10: THE JOSEPH STORY BEGINS: Genesis 37:1 4, Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, "What are you seeking?" "I am seeking my brothers," he said; "tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." The man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, `Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams." But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him" -- that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 8 17

9 AUGUST 3: JACOB WRESTLES WITH AN ANGEL -The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. JACOB AND SONS BACKGROUND The saga of Jacob continues with the story of Jacob s sons, the longest narrative in Genesis. The account begins with the entire family in Canaan and ends with son Joseph in Egypt. In Genesis 37:1 4 we are introduced to Joseph, the oldest son of Jacob s beloved wife, Rachel. Recalling that Israel is Jacob s new name, we learn Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children (v. 3). One sign of this favouritism was the gift of a long robe with sleeves (v. 3), a style that suggested royalty. Jacob, himself a younger son who usurped the privileges of the elder son, sets up Joseph to do the same. In these first verses of the story, Joseph s actions are the focus. When the older brothers are described in verse 4, we learn they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Verses 5 11 recount how Joseph has dreams in which his brothers, and even his father, bow down to him. When Joseph details these dreams to his brothers, the stage is set for the tense rivalry that fuels the events in this saga. Joseph s brothers work as shepherds. One day Jacob sends Joseph to check on them. He catches up with them at Dotham, and the brothers seize the opportunity to be rid of this dreamer (v. 19). As Joseph approaches, they plan to kill him and tell their father he was killed by animals. Reuben argues against murder, preferring that Joseph be left in a pit, a hole dug by shepherds to capture rainwater. Verse 22 reports that Reuben planned to rescue Joseph later. This plan prevails, and the brothers strip off Joseph s coat before tossing him into an empty pit. Before Reuben can enact the rest of his plan, Joseph is sold to Ishmaelites descendants of Abraham s son Ishmael (Genesis 21:8 21) and taken to Egypt as a slave. The brothers tear Joseph s robe, smear it with animal blood, and take it home to Jacob, who goes into deep mourning for his beloved son. The brothers may be rid of their favoured brother, but 16 The angel of GOD spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: I swear GOD s sure word! because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I ll bless you oh, how I ll bless you! And I ll make sure that your children flourish like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me. Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba. After all this, Abraham got the news: Your brother Nahor is a father! Milcah has given him children: Uz, his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (he was the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. (Bethuel was the father of Rebekah.) Milcah gave these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham s brother. His concubine, Reumah, gave him four more children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Sarah lived 127 years. Sarah died in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Abraham mourned for Sarah and wept. FINDING A WIFE FOR ISAAC BACKGROUND Genesis 24:34 38, 42 49, 58 67: As we enter Genesis 24, the foundational story of Abraham and Sarah and their son Isaac continues. Sarah has died. Abraham is seeking a suitable wife for Isaac and sends a servant to his extended family to find one. In ancient Israel, it was common for families to arrange marriages within their clan in order to preserve traditions and to solidify wealth. Families were deeply involved in the marriage process, which included a gift from the bridegroom s family to the bride s father. Betrothal meant paying a price of the marriage gift. Thus, Abraham s servant sets out, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master (24:10). Abraham s servant describes the weighty assignment of finding a wife for Isaac. He places this burden before God in prayer and perceives an answer when he encounters Rebekah at a well. Rebekah leads him to her father s home, to receive her family s hospitality. We pick up the story as the servant recounts the history of Abraham and Sarah, his prayer, and why he thinks Rebekah is the woman God has chosen for Isaac. In an action not typical of that time, Rebekah s family asks her to make the choice about marrying Isaac. She chooses to leave her home to do so. When the servant points out Isaac in the distance, Rebekah took her veil and covered herself (v. 65). As a veil was part of traditional wedding garb at that time, one might consider Rebekah s action as communicating her choice to marry Isaac. Isaac and Rebekah move into Sarah s tent, indicating that Rebekah is now the leading woman of this tribe of God s people, and she continues the custom of hospitality in her new home. The name Rebekah means to tie. Some have translated it as faithful wife. In her story, there is an echo of the call of Abram. Rebekah also leaves your country and your kindred and your father s house (Genesis 12:1). Rebekah is chosen by God to be an essential part of the divine covenant. God s purposes making a great nation of Abraham and Sarah s descendants are continued through Rebekah s chosen journey. 9

10 JULY 6: ISAAC AND REBEKAH THE SCRIPTURE: Genesis 24:34-41 The servant said, I m the servant of Abraham. God has blessed my master he s a great man; God has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, servants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. And then to top it off, Sarah, my master s wife, gave him a son in her old age and he has passed everything on to his son. My master made me promise, Don t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live. No, go to my father s home, back to my family, and get a wife for my son there. I said to my master, But what if the woman won t come with me? He said, God before whom I ve walked faithfully will send his angel with you and he ll make things work out so that you ll bring back a wife for my son from my family, from the house of my father. Then you ll be free from the oath. If you go to my family and they won t give her to you, you will also be free from the oath. Well, when I came this very day to the spring, I prayed, GOD, God of my master Abraham, make things turn out well in this task I ve been given. I m standing at this well. When a young woman comes here to draw water and I say to her, Please, give me a sip of water from your jug, and she says, Not only will I give you a drink, I ll also water your camels let that woman be the wife GOD has picked out for my master s son. I had barely finished offering this prayer, when Rebekah arrived, her jug on her shoulder. She went to the spring and drew water and I said, Please, can I have a drink? She didn t hesitate. She held out her jug and said, Drink; and when you re finished I ll also water your camels. I drank, and she watered the camels. I asked her, Whose daughter are you? She said, The daughter of Bethuel whose parents were Nahor and Milcah. I gave her a ring for her nose, bracelets for her arms, and bowed in worship to GOD. I praised GOD, the God of my master Abraham who had led me straight to the door of my master s family to get a wife for his son. Now, tell me what you are going to do. If you plan to respond with a generous yes, tell me. But if not, tell me plainly so I can figure out what to do next. She said, I m ready to go. So they sent them off, their sister Rebekah with her nurse, and Abraham s servant with his men. And they blessed Rebekah saying, you re our sister live bountifully! And your children, triumphantly! Rebekah and her young maids mounted the camels and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and set off for home. Isaac was living in the Negev. He had just come back from a visit to Beer Lahai Roi. In the evening he went out into the field; while meditating he looked up and saw camels coming. When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel and asked the servant, Who is that man out in the field coming toward us? That is my master. She took her veil and covered herself. After the servant told Isaac the whole story of the trip, Isaac took Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah. He married Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her. So Isaac found comfort after his mother s death. Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. JACOB & EASU RECONCILE BACKGROUND STORY After the account of Jacob s marriages to Leah and Rachel, the saga in Genesis continues to tell of Jacob s growing family and wealth. In Genesis 30 31, we also read of Jacob s continuing tendency toward trickery and the growing tension this causes in Jacob s immediate family and between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban. In Genesis 31:43 54, Laban and Jacob finally make a covenant of peace and invoke God s presence in their relationship: the Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other (31:49). Jacob prepares to leave Haran, in accordance with the word God has spoken to him (Genesis 31:3,13). As Genesis 32 begins, Jacob is preparing to meet Esau. Recalling the enmity at their parting (Genesis 27), Jacob is afraid. After fervent prayer, Jacob sends messengers to Esau with gifts and words of peace. The night before he is to re-enter his homeland for the reunion with Esau, Jacob sends his family across the river and settles in, alone, in the camping place beside the river Jabbock. The text tells how a man wrestled with him until daybreak (Genesis 32:24). Jacob and the man wrestle and Jacob s thigh muscle is injured in the course of the contest. The struggle continues until daybreak, when Jacob demands a blessing from the man. Scholars have wrestled with the nature of the man in this account. Elsewhere, the writers of Genesis describe God in human terms (see Genesis 18:1 2), and this depiction of God as the man seems in line with that. This divine being declares that Jacob s new name shall be Israel, signifying that you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed (Genesis 32:28). Israel is Jacob s new name and also the name of the nation that is formed from Abraham s and Jacob s descendants. The traditional meaning of the name Israel is God strives. It also has been understood as may God rule or one who wrestles with God. Earlier in Genesis 32, the word face appears seven times, making a strong link with Jacob s experience: I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved (v. 30). This was extraordinary because ancient Hebrews thought that to see God s face would bring death (see Exodus 33:20). When Jacob later meets Esau, he says to see your face is like seeing the face of God (Genesis 33:10)

11 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place-- and I did not know it!" And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel. JACOB MEETS RACHEL BUT IS TRICKED INTO MARRYING LEAH: BACKGROUND ON THE STORY Jacob goes to Haran. When Jacob first arrived in the region, he encountered one of Laban s daughters, Rachel, with a large flock of sheep at a communal watering hole. Jacob rolled away the stone that was protecting the water source, so that Rachel s flock could drink. Jacob wept as he told Rachel that he was Rebekah s son. Rachel took Jacob to meet her father, Laban, who extended welcome and hospitality. It has been a month since Jacob s arrival in the home of his Uncle Laban. In reading this account, it is helpful to recall that in biblical times, marriage was a business deal between two men, the father and the groom. Working and/or paying for brides was standard practice. Jacob agrees to work seven years in order to have Rachel as his bride. It is reported that Jacob loved Rachel (v. 18) and that the seven years seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her (v. 20). Seven years later, Laban arranges for the customary seven-day wedding celebration. It s easy to find a little irony in the shock to Jacob when he awakens from the wedding night and discovers that he has actually married Leah (Rachel s sister). In the ensuing confrontation between Jacob and Laban, Jacob asks, Why did you deceive me? (v. 25). The Hebrew word translated here as deceive is the same one used to describe Jacob s deceit of Isaac in Genesis 27. While there is an element of love and attraction between Jacob and Rachel, this probably was not a factor in Laban s deliberation and decision to substitute Leah for Rachel. Laban is maintaining the traditions of the culture, in which the oldest daughter marries first. In doing so, Laban maintains Leah s honour. Despite his disappointment, Jacob acts with honour. After promising to work for Laban for another seven years, Jacob completes the week-long marriage ceremony with Leah and then marries Rachel as well. (In ancient Israel, polygamy was fairly common, ensuring that families grew; the practice declined over the centuries.) Through the children that Jacob has with Rachel and with Leah, God s promise to Abraham of a great nation continues. God works with and through those who might otherwise have been rejected: Jacob and Leah. JACOB AND ESAU ARE BORN Background on the Story Twenty years after marrying, Isaac and Rebekah are childless. Isaac prays for a child, and Rebekah becomes pregnant with twin sons. It is a difficult pregnancy, and Rebekah prays that the struggling of her unborn children might cease. God offers only a vision of the struggle that will continue after their births: The elder shall serve the younger (v. 22), a certain sign that God s work through this family would be a reversal of societal norms. This account of Isaac s family was recorded during the time the Hebrew exiles were held in Babylon. Did such a promise regarding the underdog the younger son reassure them of the surprising ways that God would yet work in their lives? Esau is born first and appears red and hairy. The name Esau sounds like the Hebrew word for hairy. Jacob is grasping Esau s heel as he is born, and his name is from the Hebrew word for heel. The differences continue. Esau is a hunter and Jacob prefers to work around the home. Esau is Isaac s favourite; Jacob is Rebekah s favourite. The tension between the brothers peaks when Esau comes home from a hunting trip and smells a stew that Jacob is cooking. Without a word of greeting, Esau demands a bowl of it. Jacob names an exorbitant price Esau s birthright. Esau agrees, despising or disregarding his birthright. This verb despise is used elsewhere in Hebrew Scriptures to refer to an act of despising God. The term birthright refers to the honour and privilege conferred upon the oldest son of a family. In ancient Israel, this custom was the norm. The birthright included receiving a double share of the family wealth and assuming leadership responsibilities of the family when the father died. The birthright could be transferred or revoked. As the story progresses, Esau s sale of his birthright is confirmed when Jacob tricks Isaac into giving him the blessing of the oldest son (Genesis 27). To escape Esau s fury, Jacob flees to Laban, Rebekah s brother. Esau also leaves home, marrying and settling in the area of Edom, which means red. The Edomites and the Israelites, who were Jacob s descendants, struggled against each other for centuries. JULY 27: THE SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 29:15-28 Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." 14 11