The Open Word

Genesis 37–38 record two separate incidents. The first introduces Joseph, the main character in the remaining chapters of Genesis. In Chapter 37, Joseph recounts his dreams, causing his brothers to sell him into slavery in Egypt. In Chapter 38, we have the account of Judah's incest with Tamar in which she bore Zerah, and Perez through whom the Messianic line ran.

Genesis 34 records the rape of Dinah by Hamor the Hivite and the subsequent slaughter of all the men of Shechem. Levi and Simeon, the perpetrators of the slaughter, lost their privileges as the second and third son of Judah because of this, making Judah the one through whom the Messianic line would descend (as Reuben was disqualified due to incest). This causes Jacob to return to Bethel, then to Ephrath where Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Genesis 36 records the descendants of Esau.

Genesis 32–33 chronicles Jacob's return to Canaan. On the way, he meets the Angel of the Lord, wrestles all night, and receives a blessing and a new name. He also meets up with Esau, who in the meantime became a wealthy individual himself.

We continue our discussion of Jacob and Laban. Jacob found himself working twenty years for his uncle, during which time he married two of Laban's daughters, had several sons, and increased in wealth. At the end of that time, Yahweh appeared to Jacob instructing him it was time to return to Canaan, the land of promise. 

Jacob, fleeing his brother's wrath, makes his way north to Padan-Aram to stay with his uncle Laban. On his way, he has his dream of a ladder to heaven, and a confirmation from Yahweh that he is the one through whom the Abrahamic Covenant will flow. Jacob, know as a conniver, meets his equal in Laban, a conniver himself, who tricks Jacob into marrying Leah over Rachel, who bore him four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

In this session, we pick up the account of Jacob and Esau. Since Esau was the oldest, the blessing of the firstborn would normally belong to him. However, with Rebekah's help, Jacob was able to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. This subterfuge so enraged Esau that he vowed to kill Jacob after Isaac's death, which prompted Rebekah to send Jacob to Padan-Aram to her brother Laban.

Genesis 25–26 covers the life of Isaac and Rebekah. We read of the death of Abraham, the birth of Jacob and Esau, and Isaac's sojourn in Gerar. Interestingly, the life of Isaac is only recorded in three chapters in Genesis, which makes him the least known of the three Patriarchs. However, the Bible sees him as a man of faith, and the link between Abraham and Jacob.

Genesis 24 contains the account of Abraham obtaining a wife for his son Isaac. Unlike Ishmael, Abraham desired that Isaac have a son from their kindred, not from the land as was the case with Ishmael. As a result, he sends his oldest servant, who many believe to be Eliezer, back to where Abraham's brother, Nahor, lived to find a wife from his family.

In Genesis 24 we find a shift from Abraham as the main character to Isaac. Of all three of the patriarchs, we know the least about Isaac. Nevertheless, he was the bridge from Abraham to Jacob, and the conduit through which passed the Abrahamic blessing.

In Genesis 22 we find the account of Abraham's test of faith where he is told be Yahweh to offer Isaac on an altar as a sacrifice to Him. This was not because Yahweh did not know about Abraham's faith, but instead that Abraham would know of his faith. Of course, Yahweh spared Isaac, providing a lamb instead as a picture of Christ's substitutionary atonement for all humanity.