Genesis 35:2, "And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.'"
Jacob is headed back to Bethel to meet with the Lord God Almighty. Jacob charges the people to put away their foreign gods. Two thoughts: going to the house of God truly helps God have His proper place in your life. When we come to the house of God and worship, it aides us in being closer to God. When we get closer to God, the things of this world, the Gods of this world lose their grip upon our lives. Amen. But second thought, why did Jacob allow these gods in his camp to begin with? He knew that foreign gods were being worshiped and allow people to do so after he had met the true and living God. Jacob had been away from Bethel, the place where God met with him, his heart cooled from God and foreign replacements began in his family. This is the pattern. This is the process. This is the program upon how this works. We have been wired of God to worship something and if not Him, we worship something. Ugh. What cheap gods this world offers. Let us rise and worship daily the One, True and Living God!
Acts: I love how God used Paul.. although some people mocked him and didn't believe,he didn't give up . Paul was on fire for the Lord.going place to place telling people about Jesus and the resurrection.I pray for this same eagerness
Genesis 34- In this chapter, Dinah, Jacob's son by Leah is raped by Shechem and then Shechem and his father go to Jacob to ask for Dinah's hand in marriage. Dinah had been defiled! So the brothers lie to them and tell them that if all the men would be circumsised that Shechem could marry Dinah and they could become one people. So when they went and got circumsised, while they were on the mend, Dinah's brothers attacked and killed them all. Jacob was upset that they had dealt treacherously with them and killed them.
Genesis 34- This is apparently a misunderstood and debatable passage concerning the question, was Dinah raped, or was she seduced? At first, I didn't understand if Dinah had been raped, why was Jacob so calm and collective about the situation when approached by Shechem's father for Dinah's hand in marriage. It was custom of those days that if an unmarried man had relations with a virgin, she was defiled because they were unwed and so it was custom for the man to pay a dowry to the family and marry her if it was approved by the woman's father. If not, the man would still have to pay the dowry. I beleive Dinah was seduced rather than raped considering the customs of the times also for a few other reasons. In Genesis 34:2 it said that Shechem..."saw her, he took her, and lay with her and defiled her." In verse 3 it says And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. Also, Shechem went to her father asking if he could marry her and was willing to pay whatever price for her hand in marriage. In verse 19 it says- And the man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father. Later in Genesis 34:30- And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubleed me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. So Jacob was more upset with his son's response than he was about what was happening with Dinah. I believe this is because it was custom to handle the circumstances in the mannor that was being proposed by Shechem and his father. Later on in Genesis 49: 5-7 we read what Jacob thought about Simeon and Levi. It was not favorable concerning what they had done and it says there in verse 7 ..."I will devide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Because of Simeon and Levi's anger and selfwill, they brought God's judgement on them and reaped consequences later on down the line. One takeaway I have overall is that responding in anger and cruelty always has some negative consequence. Sometimes those consequences are immediate and sometimes it takes a while to see the effects. This remids me of the scripture Romans 12:19 ..." Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord." We have to put our trust in the Lord in our moments of anger. And we need the fruit of the Spirit to help us not to respond in our anger. Just another reminder that we can't do this on our own!
Genesis 35- God speaks to Jacob and tells him to return to Bethel, so Jacob and his family travel to Bethel to hear from God. God speaks and tells him, his name is to be Israel for he will be fruitful and muliply and kings would rise from his seed. That nations upon nations would arise from his seed. After God speaks, Jacob makes a pillar and calls the place Bethel again. When they departed, Rachael goes into labor and dies. Jacob names the son born Benjamin. Not long after, Jacob also dies. They now have their twelve sons to fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham and Sarah. Jacob- Israel was 180 years old when he passed away.
Acts 17- Paul went and preached to as people as possible. What news he was bringing the people had never.heard of. Some didn't understand, some had more questions and studied the scriptures for themself ( we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling- as the word of God says and study to show ourselves approved being ready to give an account for what we believe as the word of God alao says). Some were angered and offended. Some immediately knew it was true. This makes me think of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: 18-23. Anytime the gospel is shared a seed is sown, sometimes that seed will take root and be watered with sunlight and rain, but other times it's left there above the ground for the birds to come and take it away. Our job as followers is to swe the seeds with the Lord's direction and trust the Lord to continue orchestrating the details.
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Genesis 35:2, "And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.'"
Jacob is headed back to Bethel to meet with the Lord God Almighty. Jacob charges the people to put away their foreign gods. Two thoughts: going to the house of God truly helps God have His proper place in your life. When we come to the house of God and worship, it aides us in being closer to God. When we get closer to God, the things of this world, the Gods of this world lose their grip upon our lives. Amen. But second thought, why did Jacob allow these gods in his camp to begin with? He knew that foreign gods were being worshiped and allow people to do so after he had met the true and living God. Jacob had been away from Bethel, the place where God met with him, his heart cooled from God and foreign replacements began in his family. This is the pattern. This is the process. This is the program upon how this works. We have been wired of God to worship something and if not Him, we worship something. Ugh. What cheap gods this world offers. Let us rise and worship daily the One, True and Living God!
Acts: I love how God used Paul.. although some people mocked him and didn't believe,he didn't give up . Paul was on fire for the Lord.going place to place telling people about Jesus and the resurrection.I pray for this same eagerness
Genesis 34- In this chapter, Dinah, Jacob's son by Leah is raped by Shechem and then Shechem and his father go to Jacob to ask for Dinah's hand in marriage. Dinah had been defiled! So the brothers lie to them and tell them that if all the men would be circumsised that Shechem could marry Dinah and they could become one people. So when they went and got circumsised, while they were on the mend, Dinah's brothers attacked and killed them all. Jacob was upset that they had dealt treacherously with them and killed them.
Genesis 34- This is apparently a misunderstood and debatable passage concerning the question, was Dinah raped, or was she seduced? At first, I didn't understand if Dinah had been raped, why was Jacob so calm and collective about the situation when approached by Shechem's father for Dinah's hand in marriage. It was custom of those days that if an unmarried man had relations with a virgin, she was defiled because they were unwed and so it was custom for the man to pay a dowry to the family and marry her if it was approved by the woman's father. If not, the man would still have to pay the dowry. I beleive Dinah was seduced rather than raped considering the customs of the times also for a few other reasons. In Genesis 34:2 it said that Shechem..."saw her, he took her, and lay with her and defiled her." In verse 3 it says And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. Also, Shechem went to her father asking if he could marry her and was willing to pay whatever price for her hand in marriage. In verse 19 it says- And the man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father. Later in Genesis 34:30- And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubleed me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. So Jacob was more upset with his son's response than he was about what was happening with Dinah. I believe this is because it was custom to handle the circumstances in the mannor that was being proposed by Shechem and his father. Later on in Genesis 49: 5-7 we read what Jacob thought about Simeon and Levi. It was not favorable concerning what they had done and it says there in verse 7 ..."I will devide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." Because of Simeon and Levi's anger and selfwill, they brought God's judgement on them and reaped consequences later on down the line. One takeaway I have overall is that responding in anger and cruelty always has some negative consequence. Sometimes those consequences are immediate and sometimes it takes a while to see the effects. This remids me of the scripture Romans 12:19 ..." Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord." We have to put our trust in the Lord in our moments of anger. And we need the fruit of the Spirit to help us not to respond in our anger. Just another reminder that we can't do this on our own!
Genesis 35- God speaks to Jacob and tells him to return to Bethel, so Jacob and his family travel to Bethel to hear from God. God speaks and tells him, his name is to be Israel for he will be fruitful and muliply and kings would rise from his seed. That nations upon nations would arise from his seed. After God speaks, Jacob makes a pillar and calls the place Bethel again. When they departed, Rachael goes into labor and dies. Jacob names the son born Benjamin. Not long after, Jacob also dies. They now have their twelve sons to fulfill the covenant God made with Abraham and Sarah. Jacob- Israel was 180 years old when he passed away.
Acts 17- Paul went and preached to as people as possible. What news he was bringing the people had never.heard of. Some didn't understand, some had more questions and studied the scriptures for themself ( we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling- as the word of God says and study to show ourselves approved being ready to give an account for what we believe as the word of God alao says). Some were angered and offended. Some immediately knew it was true. This makes me think of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: 18-23. Anytime the gospel is shared a seed is sown, sometimes that seed will take root and be watered with sunlight and rain, but other times it's left there above the ground for the birds to come and take it away. Our job as followers is to swe the seeds with the Lord's direction and trust the Lord to continue orchestrating the details.