10/5/2018
I have had to temporarily suspend the blog for ,what I hope is a short time. I spent 6 hours up the Sussex eye hospital yesterday with Problems with my left eye. I have tp return in a week to see if there has been any change. I am practically blind in my left eye at the moment and am having some difficultly typing this for you. So I'll sign off for now.
Bye
Thursday 10 May 2018
Sunday 29 April 2018
If you've got it don't flaunt it unless you wish to pay the price
28/4/3018
Unless you're searching your family tree and you've traced it back to Jacob's family I will skip over Ch 36 with all of the tribes descendants. Jacob now moved back to Canaan. Joseph was now 17 years old and favoured by his father above all the brothers. Joseph tended his fathers sheep. One day Jacob gave Joseph a brightly coloured coat. This of course made his brothers jealous. Then one night Joseph had a dream. Perhaps sharing it with his already jealous brothers was not such a good idea. He dreamt they were out in the field binding sheaves. 'my sheath stood up, and yours all gathered around and bowed low before it' he said. Then to make matters worse. he had another dream, where the sun, moon and 11 stars bowed down before him. He told this to his father as well as his brothers. One day Joseph's brothers took the flocks of sheep to Shechem. Jacob (now called Israel) told Joseph to find his brothers to see how they were getting on. When they saw Joseph approach them from a distance they decided to kill him 'let's kill the master dreamer and toss him in a well. Reuben spoke up and said let's not kill him or shed his blood for he is our brother, but put him in a well and take his coat to splatter it with goats blood; that way we will say he got killed in the wilderness and his blood won't be on our heads'. Reuben was going to return and release Joseph afterwards; but when they sat down to eat their evening meal a group of Ishmaelite traders came along on their way to Egypt, and the brothers sold Joseph to them for 20 pieces of silver. Reuben was away when this was done so he couldn't free Joseph. Israel assumed that Joseph had been killed by wild animals when he saw the blood stained coat and mourned his death for many nights. Doesn't the 20 pieces of silver remind you of the 30 pieces of silver sold to betray Jesus ?Don't boast too much about your accomplishments no matter how big they are. No- one will like you for it- only despise you.
Bye for now
Unless you're searching your family tree and you've traced it back to Jacob's family I will skip over Ch 36 with all of the tribes descendants. Jacob now moved back to Canaan. Joseph was now 17 years old and favoured by his father above all the brothers. Joseph tended his fathers sheep. One day Jacob gave Joseph a brightly coloured coat. This of course made his brothers jealous. Then one night Joseph had a dream. Perhaps sharing it with his already jealous brothers was not such a good idea. He dreamt they were out in the field binding sheaves. 'my sheath stood up, and yours all gathered around and bowed low before it' he said. Then to make matters worse. he had another dream, where the sun, moon and 11 stars bowed down before him. He told this to his father as well as his brothers. One day Joseph's brothers took the flocks of sheep to Shechem. Jacob (now called Israel) told Joseph to find his brothers to see how they were getting on. When they saw Joseph approach them from a distance they decided to kill him 'let's kill the master dreamer and toss him in a well. Reuben spoke up and said let's not kill him or shed his blood for he is our brother, but put him in a well and take his coat to splatter it with goats blood; that way we will say he got killed in the wilderness and his blood won't be on our heads'. Reuben was going to return and release Joseph afterwards; but when they sat down to eat their evening meal a group of Ishmaelite traders came along on their way to Egypt, and the brothers sold Joseph to them for 20 pieces of silver. Reuben was away when this was done so he couldn't free Joseph. Israel assumed that Joseph had been killed by wild animals when he saw the blood stained coat and mourned his death for many nights. Doesn't the 20 pieces of silver remind you of the 30 pieces of silver sold to betray Jesus ?Don't boast too much about your accomplishments no matter how big they are. No- one will like you for it- only despise you.
Bye for now
Wednesday 18 April 2018
moving on
18/3/2018
So Jacob goes back to bethel and is met by God again to call himself Israel and he will have lots of descendants. See some patterns emerging here? Abraham and now Jacob. So to cut a long story short, if it's not too late Jacob ends up back home again and Rachael dies giving birth to Benjamin. I wanted to move on because the story of Joseph must be coming up soon now that we have all the brothers. To tell you the truth I've been very sluggish and lazy well not lazy so much, but unmotivated. To use my favourite word I haven't found the where-with- all to be bothered. Do you have those days when you just don't want to get out of bed? or do anything? This is difficult for me 'cos that's how I feel and have been for a few weeks now
Bye for now
So Jacob goes back to bethel and is met by God again to call himself Israel and he will have lots of descendants. See some patterns emerging here? Abraham and now Jacob. So to cut a long story short, if it's not too late Jacob ends up back home again and Rachael dies giving birth to Benjamin. I wanted to move on because the story of Joseph must be coming up soon now that we have all the brothers. To tell you the truth I've been very sluggish and lazy well not lazy so much, but unmotivated. To use my favourite word I haven't found the where-with- all to be bothered. Do you have those days when you just don't want to get out of bed? or do anything? This is difficult for me 'cos that's how I feel and have been for a few weeks now
Bye for now
Wednesday 11 April 2018
Reconciliation, rape and revenge
10/4/2018
After Jacob had sent time relayed presents to Esau to appease him; they finally met and Esau was himself very wealthy and forgiving to Jacob. He invited Jacob back to his home but Jacob didn't think all the herds and children would be able to go on without rest and he settled at Succoth for the time being, where he built himself a camp. Layer he arrived safely at Shechem, in Canaan, and bought the land just outside the city, from the family of Hamor. One day Leah's daughter Dinah went to visit some of the local girls. When Shechem, king of Hamor's son, saw her, he wanted her and raped her. Hamor told Jacob that his son loved Dinah and would do anything Jacob desired to let them marry. Dinah's brothers were mortified by what had happened so they planned revenge by telling Shechem he could marry Dinah if he and all his men got circumcised. They agreed to this and three days after they'd all been circumcised, when they were still sore and sensitive to every move, Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, entered the city with their swords and slaughtered every man there, taking their flocks, women and possessions in retribution for what was done to Dinah. Jacob was not happy about their actions because he accused them of making his people stink in the sight of the Perizzites and Canaanites. He feared that they would be crushed by so many more of them. So God now told Jacob to move back to Bethel where he had seen the stairway to Heaven.
Now I'm not a man and can't imagine what a circumcision in a fully grown man would feel like, but I bet it's pretty painful. So it was quite a dastardly thing to ask, but then so is rape! C'est la vie as they say in France.
Bye for now
After Jacob had sent time relayed presents to Esau to appease him; they finally met and Esau was himself very wealthy and forgiving to Jacob. He invited Jacob back to his home but Jacob didn't think all the herds and children would be able to go on without rest and he settled at Succoth for the time being, where he built himself a camp. Layer he arrived safely at Shechem, in Canaan, and bought the land just outside the city, from the family of Hamor. One day Leah's daughter Dinah went to visit some of the local girls. When Shechem, king of Hamor's son, saw her, he wanted her and raped her. Hamor told Jacob that his son loved Dinah and would do anything Jacob desired to let them marry. Dinah's brothers were mortified by what had happened so they planned revenge by telling Shechem he could marry Dinah if he and all his men got circumcised. They agreed to this and three days after they'd all been circumcised, when they were still sore and sensitive to every move, Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, entered the city with their swords and slaughtered every man there, taking their flocks, women and possessions in retribution for what was done to Dinah. Jacob was not happy about their actions because he accused them of making his people stink in the sight of the Perizzites and Canaanites. He feared that they would be crushed by so many more of them. So God now told Jacob to move back to Bethel where he had seen the stairway to Heaven.
Now I'm not a man and can't imagine what a circumcision in a fully grown man would feel like, but I bet it's pretty painful. So it was quite a dastardly thing to ask, but then so is rape! C'est la vie as they say in France.
Bye for now
Saturday 7 April 2018
Gifts of appeasement and a fight with God
7/4/2018
So Jacob was off to his home land where he would face Esau (the brother he had tricked out of his inheritance). Fearing Esau's revenge Jacob sent part of his cattle and riches with messengers to tell Esau that they were Jacob's and they were a gift to Esau. While this was going on, Jacob sent his wives and entourage across the river where he fought with a man till dawn and would not give in till the man blessed him. Seeing that he couldn't win, the man struck Jacob's hip, knocking it out of it's socket . The man asked him his name. 'Jacob' he answered and the man said 'you will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel(one who has power with God)and he blessed him there and then. Jacob named the place Peniel 'the face of God' for he said 'I have seen God face to face and yet my life is spared. To this day Jews won't eat the Sciatic joint because of this battle. the man wouldn't tell Jacob his name, so we don't know for sure, but take it as read that Jacob did in deed see God face to face and wrestle with him as a man. This leaves me pondering the whole episode. Why the fight? Did God make himself a man to fight? Why the hip joint? we are kind of led to believe that no-one can see God and live, but Jacob or 'Israel' seems to have. I don't know what to think of that. What do you think? Yet another thing to ponder (meditate) on.
Bye for now
So Jacob was off to his home land where he would face Esau (the brother he had tricked out of his inheritance). Fearing Esau's revenge Jacob sent part of his cattle and riches with messengers to tell Esau that they were Jacob's and they were a gift to Esau. While this was going on, Jacob sent his wives and entourage across the river where he fought with a man till dawn and would not give in till the man blessed him. Seeing that he couldn't win, the man struck Jacob's hip, knocking it out of it's socket . The man asked him his name. 'Jacob' he answered and the man said 'you will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel(one who has power with God)and he blessed him there and then. Jacob named the place Peniel 'the face of God' for he said 'I have seen God face to face and yet my life is spared. To this day Jews won't eat the Sciatic joint because of this battle. the man wouldn't tell Jacob his name, so we don't know for sure, but take it as read that Jacob did in deed see God face to face and wrestle with him as a man. This leaves me pondering the whole episode. Why the fight? Did God make himself a man to fight? Why the hip joint? we are kind of led to believe that no-one can see God and live, but Jacob or 'Israel' seems to have. I don't know what to think of that. What do you think? Yet another thing to ponder (meditate) on.
Bye for now
Tuesday 3 April 2018
Off to new pastures
3/4/2018
Now that Jacob was doing so well the green eyed monster of jealousy set in Laban's sons and Laban himself. So God told Jacob to move back to his homeland. So Jacob did just that and upped stakes and sent Leah and Rachael ahead of him. Jacob had made 3 days progress with his wives and possessions before Laban even knew about it. Laban rushed after them, but the night before they caught up with them God now spoke to Laban telling him not to do harm to Jacob. Laban had treated Jacob unfairly for all the years he had worked for Laban but they made a peace pact, setting up a stone monument to mark the boundary where Jacob would not enter Laban's land and vice versa, called the 'Watchtower'(Mizpah)
Just before Jacob left, Rachael took some gods with her and hid them under her clothes where she sat on a camel, so Laban's men couldn't find them as they searched the tents. I don't know how significant this is just yet to the future of this story, but it must have meant something for it to be mentioned. So finally after 22 years of working for the unscrupulous Laban, Jacob was free and headed for home with 2 wives and 2 concubines lots of sheep and a great deal of wealth; How's that for patience and bartering? and not a single blow was made.
Bye for now.
Now that Jacob was doing so well the green eyed monster of jealousy set in Laban's sons and Laban himself. So God told Jacob to move back to his homeland. So Jacob did just that and upped stakes and sent Leah and Rachael ahead of him. Jacob had made 3 days progress with his wives and possessions before Laban even knew about it. Laban rushed after them, but the night before they caught up with them God now spoke to Laban telling him not to do harm to Jacob. Laban had treated Jacob unfairly for all the years he had worked for Laban but they made a peace pact, setting up a stone monument to mark the boundary where Jacob would not enter Laban's land and vice versa, called the 'Watchtower'(Mizpah)
Just before Jacob left, Rachael took some gods with her and hid them under her clothes where she sat on a camel, so Laban's men couldn't find them as they searched the tents. I don't know how significant this is just yet to the future of this story, but it must have meant something for it to be mentioned. So finally after 22 years of working for the unscrupulous Laban, Jacob was free and headed for home with 2 wives and 2 concubines lots of sheep and a great deal of wealth; How's that for patience and bartering? and not a single blow was made.
Bye for now.
Monday 2 April 2018
A cunning plan
2/4/2018
After Jacob had got his herd of Black Speckled and spotted lambs, he went 3 miles away from there and established his new flock by putting the healthy ones together to mate and by cutting strips off poplar strands and putting them by the water so they would mate in front of the streaks, thus adding immensely to Jacobs flocks and he became a very wealthy man (we're in Chapter 30 of Genesis now by the way). So by careful planning and strategy Jacob became a rich and shrewd business man. Not much is mentioned about God's part in all this , but we know that Jacob was a God-fearing man.
So he probably sought God's advice on his plans or just trusted in the brains God had given him.
Bye for now
After Jacob had got his herd of Black Speckled and spotted lambs, he went 3 miles away from there and established his new flock by putting the healthy ones together to mate and by cutting strips off poplar strands and putting them by the water so they would mate in front of the streaks, thus adding immensely to Jacobs flocks and he became a very wealthy man (we're in Chapter 30 of Genesis now by the way). So by careful planning and strategy Jacob became a rich and shrewd business man. Not much is mentioned about God's part in all this , but we know that Jacob was a God-fearing man.
So he probably sought God's advice on his plans or just trusted in the brains God had given him.
Bye for now
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