Jacob's Family and Deception Genesis 29:31-30:43

To see Genesis 29:31-30:43 without my comments click HERE.

In Genesis 29 we find the beginning and lineage of the Israelite people. Jacob (Israel) had two wives and two concubines. One marriage of which he did not want (Leah) which was forced upon him. Out of this family came the Israelite nation from the following women.
Of Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun.
Of Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin.
Of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, Asher.
Of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid: Dan, Naphtali.

If you read the entire context of the passage you will come to realize that Rachel was the primary woman that Israel (the man) was directed to be with. Rachel had her first child with Joseph much later than the other women had their children. Joseph was the first born of Rachel and had a very important part later on when he became Governor of Egypt and all his brothers bowed down to him. Ruben was the first born of Jacob and by all rights originally did have the birth right and consequently it was taken away and given to Joseph's children because of his sin. Some may think that this bypass of the first born is unusual or unbiblical because of the law in Deuteronomy 21:15-17, but, I can assure you that it is biblically sound to take the birthright away from the elder for the reason of grievous sin. Many examples exist in the bible where the younger bypass the elder, for example:

Seth bypassed Cain.
Shem bypassed Japeth.
Isaac bypassed Ishmael.
Jacob (Israel) bypassed Esau.
Joseph's children bypassed Reuben.
and David bypassed all his brothers.

Upon the births of his children Jacob (Israel) was looking to find a place (Gen 30) where his wives, children, and himself could go to call their own. Laban was reluctant to let him just leave because he was blessed with an increase in cattle by Jacob (Israel) working for him v.27 So, of course Laban did not want Jacob to leave. The two men set an agreement that Jacob would get all the spotted and speckled cattle, sheep, and goats to be his own if he would stay with Laban. We now know that both men had plans to trick each other.

Laban and Jacob (Israel) make an agreement, however both have a plan to trick the other.

According to the book "Primogenesis" by Howard B. Rand on page 99 he talks about Joseph practicing an art that is little understood today, which raised my curiosity. I did a little research and according to one site (scroll 3/4 the way down), if you strip the bark on white birch, benzoin, and laurel. Pilling the rods would make a sweet gummy substance come out of the wood in which the cattle would drink and would reproduce at the watering trough. Maybe it could be thought of as Viagra for cattle. So in essence Jacob was doing this to only the speckled and spotted cattle and not Laban's which ultimately produced an unequal amount of cattle for Jacob.

This polygamist family although imperfect were used by Father Yahweh to further his Kingdom here on earth both then and now. It shows an example of how the Father can use imperfect people to still promote his Kingdom here on earth.

Praise the Lord!

A Look At John 3:16

John 3:16 has to be the most quoted verse in the entire Bible. It's so popular that you cannot seemingly have a conversation with anyone that calls themselves a Christian today that they cannot quote it off the top of their head. I have seen bumper stickers that refer to this verse. I have seen bulletin boards and even signs at sporting events that at least give this reference. I even personally know a Baptist Minister that had John 3:16 put on his headstone so people could become "saved" by reading his headstone sometime in the future after he dies.

Rollen Stewart, the man in the rainbow wig, became famous for his antics of holding up John 3:16 signs at major sporting events. Later he became famous for both kidnapping and having an armed stand off with the police. His fame and popularity with John 3:16 eventually ended with him currently serving 3 life sentences in the California prison system.

Most if not all Jewish Christians (Judeo-Christians) will tell you things such as the entire Bible revolves around this one verse or the entire Bible is wrapped up in this one verse, and anyone can just become an Israelite if they just simply believe the contents of this verse. However, it's my opinion that this is not the case, but rather this verse is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted verse in the Bible, as the Bible was written to Israel about Israel, which I will not go into this in this particular post, but rather will just look at the verse itself.

Today, I want to encourage all to think objectively about the contents of this verse.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

First you should notice the word "world". According to Strong's Concordance #2889 the word "world" was translated from the Greek word "Kosmos" and is defined as being an orderly arrangement. The orderly arrangement that the Messsiah was talking about was his order of his Kingdom that once existed on earth and hopefully will exist soon on earth again. Yashua (Jesus) told Pontius Pilate in John 18:36 that his kingdom was not of this present "Kosmos" or world order.

All man made or man led Kingdoms degrade and eventually will be destroyed. Man has polluted the air, land, and oceans of the world through greed and selfishness. The 6,000 year curse of living without God is coming to and end soon. Kingdoms that are created by Israelites (Israel means to rule under God's law) that possess the fruit of the spirit of Galations 5 will become successful and thrive. The soon coming Kingdom of God will last forever. 

Second, you should notice that there is a contingency. This is not a simple belief that the Messiah existed and you just accept him into your heart as most will preach, whatever that means, but rather you must do something to not perish in the second death. one really has to read the entire chapter to understand the context of this verse itself. I could realistically spend many posts just on this one chapter, but for the sake of brevity, I will only mention one other verse in John 3. If you look at John 3:30 it states that he must increase, while we decrease. Only when we empty ourselves of our selfish ambitions and turn our lives over to God is when he can use us and we can start living a life for God. This can only be accomplished by the call of God that draws us John 6:44. The Bible also tells us to overcome Rev 2:26-27  this system of man's Government and to receive the divine nature from God to over come the lusts of the world 2 Peter 1:4.

There is no place in the Bible where the Messiah came to save souls and just preached for people to accept him into their lives. After all if it was just that simple, believing in the Messiah without accepting the Kingdom Message that he preached, then anyone that has heard the name of the Messiah on the entire planet should be "saved" no matter what else they believed. Obviously, common sense would tell you this is not the case.

Third, you should notice the word "should" in the verse. Most people today do not understand what the definition of the word "should" is. They some how equate the word "should" with "will" or "would". One analogy I have used before is: if we were diffusing a bomb and I told you that "you should be OK if you cut the green wire". How much faith would you have if I were to say that as compared to me saying "you will be OK if you cut the green wire"? The word "should" in this verse is to be read exactly like it's written. Yes, you should be OK if you believe in and live for the Kingdom order of the Messiah. It does not in any way state that you will be OK if you simply accept Jesus nor just only believe in the Kingdom Message that he preached. You actually have to believe and do something to promote his Kingdom here on earth. Then you will be judged accordingly. In the end there will be many that think they are Christians that will not be able to enter his kingdom Matt 7:21-23.

Admittedly I am interjecting my own interpretation (I even have problems with my interpretation also) below and believe this verse should be written something like:
For God so loved the order of his Kingdom, that he sent his only begotten son that whosoever believes in both God and his Kingdom and turn their entire life over to the Father should not perish, but should live forever in his coming Kingdom.

If other people have comments on this I would love to have them put them in the comment section.

Until we read the Bible understand the words and context of the Bible, we are not going to understand.
Praise the Lord!

Jacob (Israel) meets Rachel Genesis 29:1-30

To see Genesis 29:1-30 without my comments click HERE.

In Genesis 29 when Jacob arrived at Haran (the land of the East), there was a well in the field. This Well was covered by a rock that took many people to remove it, so the people of the Haran could water their sheep. The people were waiting until enough people arrived to be able to move the stone. While they were waiting Jacob asked if anyone knew Laban his uncle and they did. They mentioned that his daughter was on her way with her sheep to the well. Upon her arrival, Jacob removed the stone single handed and personally watered his uncle's sheep.

Jacob moving the stone by himself is important because it shows his physical capabilities. He was as strong as several men. I also want to remind everyone that Jacob was 76 years old at that time. The reason I believe him to be this age, I have explained in the last paragraph of another post about Genesis 27.

Jacob met his uncle and worked for him for a month when his uncle insisted that he set his wages. Jacob, being there to both flee from Esau and to find a wife, told Laban his uncle he wanted Rachel as his wife. Laban agreed that seven years would be the amount of time for Jacob to serve for Rachel. When the time came to marry Rachel Jacob reaped what he had sewn when he cheated his father for the family blessing in Genesis 27. On the wedding night Laban cheated Jacob by switching Leah for Rachel. The morning after when the marriage was consummated, Jacob realized he was married to Leah instead of Rachel.

I want to add the fact that marriage is consummated by the sex act and not from a government license which is totally unbiblical. 

Laban told Jacob that it's the custom of Haran for the elder to marry before the younger and that is why he switched them. Jacob then agrees to serve another seven years for Rachel this is because of his deception in Genesis 27. He was then married to two women one of whom he did not love. Jacob ended up serving Laban 20 years total according to Genesis 31:41.

Jacob served Laban for a total of 20 years this time consisted of hardship, suffering, and an unwanted marriage. This is a direct result from him following his own way instead of God's way. Following God's way is not burdensome 1 John 5:3.

I pray all will follow the Laws of God and keep their lives as easy as possible. Praise the Lord!