Genesis: 30 – Don’t Mess With A Blessed Man

So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:42, 43) To trick your nephew once is tough. Laban just didn’t know when to leave a good thing alone.. […]

Genesis: 29 – A Tricky Situation

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. (Genesis 29:35) You met your match. You imagine using that phrase when you see what Jacob endures when he meets Laban. The trickster comes across a […]

Genesis: 28 – A Divine Encounter

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. (Genesis 28:15) It is fascinating. Like his grandfather, Jacob had such an encounter with God that it became a significant […]

Genesis: 27 – The Bless and the Mess

When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!” But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” (Genesis 27:34, 35) You can hear the bitter and anguished tones of Esau on the realisation that he’s lost it […]

Genesis: 26 – All’s Well That Ends Well

He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarrelled over it. He named it Rehoboth saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” (Genesis 26:22) What’s with the wells? Well, wells means access to water. Access to water is a key meeting point for animals […]

Genesis: 25 – When The Birthright Went Wrong

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:34) Genesis 25 is a fascinating chapter covering a span of a number of years. It starts with the rest of the life of the father of faith and the […]

Genesis: 24 – True Love

Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. (Genesis 24:67) It did not occur to me just how many expressions of true love are apparent throughout this chapter. Father-Son Love: The incident […]

Genesis: 23 – It’s The Principle That Matters

Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.” (Genesis 23:12, 13) it’s a moving picture we’re given at the start […]

Genesis: 22 – When You Believe

Episodes like this in scripture highlight how little we really know about faith and how much we will know about faith. There are dramatised depictions of this time when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son. These portray an embattled Abraham and one in particular had a Sarah who twigged that something was wrong […]

Genesis: 21 – When God Comes Through

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:6, 7) There are those who don’t believe there is a god […]