Author: Beth Duncan

Gen 35:22b-23 Jacob had twelve sons: The sons of Leah….
Commentary contained this observation about Gen 35:22b: “This was actually a severely dysfunctional family. God will use this family, but not because they were such great spiritual men, but because He chose them by His grace alone.” I’ll admit, I wasn’t anticipating the level of dysfunction and disobedience I’ve encountered in Genesis. I’ve talked before about the child’s truth I’ve clung to about many of the faithful fathers of Genesis. But the level of fallible humanity I’ve seen in this book has been encouraging in that I see how He has called folks just like me: messy, fallible, human.
Gen 35:24 The sons of Rachel….
I’ve seen how they have disobeyed, mis-obeyed, taken wrong turns and gotten sidetracked, and I’ve seen how God, time and again has been loving and faithful to bring them back to His purpose, to use them in spite of themselves. And I have great hope and confidence that He can do the same with me and mine—all infinitely human and fallible, all deeply in love with our Savior. Thank You, Jesus.
Gen 35:25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah….
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the reality that You can and will use us in Your service—not because we are perfect but because You are. Thank You for Your steadfast love and infinite grace. Thank You that You can, will, and do use all things for our good and Your glory. Draw us closer. Amen.
Gen 35:26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah….
Have a blessed day.

Gen 33:14 “So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly…until I come to my lord in Seir.”
Jacob has made dubious choices for most of his life. He often acts in ways that are much more self-serving than godly. We see him once again deceiving his brother in Gen 33 when he promises to meet him in Seir and promptly heads in the opposite direction. His children see his behavior as well. And yet, God chose him to be the father of nations. Clearly, His ways are not our ways.
Gen 34:13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and Hamor.
In Gen 34, Simeon and Levi seem to have learned the merits of deception from their father. They intentionally incapacitate an entire city, kill the men, enslave the women and children, confiscate the property, and feel utterly justified in doing so. God’s calling, God’s presence, God’s influence seems wholly lacking in their actions and motivations. 
Gen 34:25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the questions it raises. Thank You for the awareness that the moral behavior of the parents affects the moral decisions of the children. Help us to show our children by example how to live a moral life. Thank You for Your ability to use even someone as flawed as Jacob in mighty ways. That gives me hope that You can do the same with me. Help me to put my hope, faith, and trust in You. Amen.
Gen 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land….”
Have a blessed day.

Gen 33:1 Jacob looked up and there was Esau….

It has been over 20 years since Jacob and Esau have been together. Gen 27:41 reads: Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ How many families are touched by this same dynamic of anger and hatred? How many family gatherings are filled with conflict and tension?

Gen 33:4a But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embrace him….

I wish we had some idea of what had occurred internally with Esau in the intervening years. The Esau that embraces Jacob in Gen 33 certainly seems to have grown and matured, moved on from anger and hatred. Commentary suggests that because Esau was granted material blessings from Isaac, he was happy, that he did not care about spiritual blessings Jacob received. I’m not sure his tremendous change in attitude could have come from anyone but God. And the complete turnaround gives us hope for families rife with conflict, no matter the reason. If God can turn around Esau’s murderous attitude, surely He can work in any family.

Gen 33:4b …he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this change in their family dynamic. As the holidays approach, so many are filled with apprehension about family gatherings and old wounds. Yet in this reunion between Jacob and Esau, You provide us with hope. Thank You. Guard us. Guide us. Draw us closer as we wait in joyful hope for You. Amen.

Gen 33:11 “Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all that I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.

Have a blessed day.

Gen 32:7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.
Jacob’s first reaction, when he knows his brother is coming to meet him, is fear. He knows that he has tricked and deceived his brother in the past and that Esau threatened to kill him the last time he saw him. The first thing he does, in fear, is act. He begins to divide his people and his flocks, hoping that Esau won’t decimate all that he has in his wrath. THEN he prays fervently. Then he goes back to his own action—this time choosing gifts of livestock to hopefully soften his brother’s anger.
Gen 32:9-10 Then Jacob prayed…. “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant.”
How like Jacob I can be. How often in my fear do I try to stand in my own strength, then pray, then go back to trying to do … SOMETHING about my own situation. God says He is my shield and my very great reward (Gen 15:1). As Jacob sees in this chapter, to drop all pretense of self-reliance and wait solely upon the LORD and His promises is so difficult. Just like Jacob, I feel the need to do, to act, not just to pray and trust. Jesus, Help me.
Gen 32:11 “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau….”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the reminder that I still have work to do when it comes to letting go and trusting You. I know that You are my shield, my protection. I know that You are my reward, my treasure. Yet, just like Jacob, I often find my fervent prayers couched in my own fearful actions. Help me to pray and trust, Lord. Help me to break the chains of self-reliance. Help me not to be afraid. Draw me closer. Amen.
Gen 32:24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Have a blessed day.

Gen 31:5 …the God of my father has been with me.
I am struck in this chapter with the many, many descriptions of God that are not personal. Many times both Jacob and Laban describe God in terms of other people—the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Nahor, etc. Neither of the refer to Him personally as THEIR God. I find that a bit troubling quite honestly.
Gen 31:29 I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me….
I pray every day over my children that they will understand God is holding them securely in the palm of His hand and that they will lean into Him and trust Him. I pray, daily, that they will invest time into their relationship with Him, that He will become personal to them. I know from experience that a personal relationship with God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is powerful and important. I want them to see MY God, but I want them to get to know Him, personally, as THEIR God.
Gen 32:43 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been with me….
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the ability to forge a personal relationship with You. Thank You that You WANT to know us and relate to us on a personal level, that You WANT us to claim You as our own even as we share You with the world. Thank You for the peace and comfort that can only come from a personal relationship with You. Thank You for being our shield and our very great reward (Gen 15:1). Draw us closer. Amen.
Gen 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.
Have a blessed day.

Gen 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister….
Much of Genesis 30 makes me sad. It seems to be a tale of infertility, family jealousy, and competition. We know that because Jacob loved Rachel so much, he worked for her father for 14 years with no wages to earn her hand in marriage. Rachel was beautiful, but for years and years proved infertile. Leah, the older sister, was plain at best, ended up married to Jacob because of her father’s deception of Jacob, yet was incredibly fertile and had many children. Neither woman was happy or content, and Jacob doesn’t seem very content either with his snappish reply to Rachel  in Gen 30:2.
Gen 30:2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
If only Leah, Rachel, and Jacob could have all remembered the lesson of Gen 29:35: “This time I will praise the LORD.” When I set my plans and they don’t pan out, as is apt to happen, disappointment, anger, jealousy can often result, especially if I think someone else got something I “deserved.” But that’s not the way God works. He has a plan for my life. He’s working all things for my good and His glory, even the things I don’t understand, even the things I count as disappointment and heartache. He’s using all of it to draw me closer.
Gen 30:3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for the reminder to put my hope and trust in You. Help me to praise You no matter what comes my way, knowing that You are with me and that you will somehow use it for my good and Your glory. Thank You for being my shield and my very great reward (Gen 15:1). Draw me closer. Amen.
Gen 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” …
Have a blessed day.

Gen 29:23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob….
The commentary on this chapter talks about how Jacob was deceived by Laban in a similar manner to how Jacob deceived his father and his brother. The thought, “serves him right,” which is not at all holy, is followed quickly by the thought, “God can use all things. Even this.” 
Gen 29:25 …So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? … Why did you deceive me?”
But much like my heart went out to Hagar earlier in Genesis, I find my heart going out to Leah as well. She seems to be collateral damage in all of this, but she’s clearly hurting, and the LORD sees and responds to her pain. Still, it took four children and I don’t know how many years for Leah to shift her eyes and her longing heart from Jacob to the LORD. But eventually she IS able to praise Him instead of mourn what Jacob will not give.
Gen 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, He enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for Your heart for those who feel “less than.” Thank You for Your willingness and ability to use ALL things for our good and Your glory. Thank You for seeing us in our pain and for helping us shift our focus to You instead of the things of this world. Draw us closer. Amen.
Gen 29:35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” …
Have a blessed day. 

Gen 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
In Genesis 28, God shows Jacob that His presence is not limited, that He is with Jacob everywhere. The truth of God’s presence fills me with great hope and peace—not only is He with me on the mountain tops, where it’s so easy to feel His presence, but also He’s with me in the valleys and on the dark winding paths where I feel lost and alone and afraid. Even there, He’s with me.
Gen 28:15 “I am with you and will watch over you whenever you go….I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
God promises that He is with Jacob, that He will watch over him, that He will bring him back to this land, that He will not leave Jacob until He has fulfilled His promise. However, Jacob adds his own conditions—If You are with me and watch over me, if You give me food and clothing, if You return me safely…. Lord, Help me not to be like Jacob, help me always to accept Your promises on Your terms and not my own.
Gen 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey…and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear….”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder that You are with me always. Help me to trust Your promises and to not try to bend Your will to fit my own conditions. Thank You for who You are and for being with me always. Draw me closer. Amen.
Gen 28:21 “…then the LORD will be my God….”
Have a blessed day.