Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked. Jacob answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your servant." – Genesis 33:5

Today's Scripture Reading (August 31, 2021): Genesis 33

Our extended families are often a blessing. They can also be a curse, but I try to minimize those moments in my life. I have great memories of my extended family. An aunt first taught me the song "There's a Hole in my Bucket," written back in the 1700s, and that lesson came around a campfire in her backyard. I still remember that moment. The song featured my aunt singing the "Dear Henry" parts, while my uncle sang the corresponding "Dear Liza" responses. It was a good investment. I have since taught the song to my grandchildren, and it has become a requested tune whenever we get together, and now my grandchildren can sing it back to me.

Another aunt taught me the power of using a mirror to focus light in a room; it was her way of waking me from my nap. She also taught me the trick of dialing your own phone number to get the phone to ring a few seconds later, which we did until the operator told us to stop playing with the phones. (By the way, that is a trick that no longer works in our more advanced world.) But these are treasured memories for me, and memories that I only have because of my extended family.

In some ways, I have lost touch with my aunts and uncles as I have grown older. I moved away from the extended family, and the truth is that they no longer have any idea of who I have become. I also treasure the relationship that I have with my nieces and nephews, but even there, I am closer to some than I am with others. The falling away of the extended family seems to be one of the casualties of our more mobile contemporary society.

Jacob finally meets with his brother Esau. A lot has changed since the two brothers had been together. His mother and chief cheerleader, Rebekah, had likely died, although her death is not mentioned in the Bible. And while Isaac was still alive, it was Esau that was in control of the family. I sometimes wonder if, when Jacob left, he recognized that his exile would last over two decades? I also wonder if he understood all that his expulsion would cost him, but even more importantly, what it would cost his family.

But as the brothers come back again, Jacob has the honor of introducing his brother to the extended family. Esau gets to meet his nieces and nephews, and later Jacob would have the opportunity to meet Esau's children. Both men were given a chance to get to know who their nieces and nephews were. It was a great gift and likely one that neither brother realized they had missed until they were allowed to meet the rest of their family. In my imagination, Uncle Esau and Uncle Jacob had the opportunity to build relationships with the children and teach the lessons that we all need to learn, but that can only be taught by a loving aunt or uncle.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 34

Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." – Genesis 32:26

 Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2021): Genesis 32

Charlotte Brontë, in her classic work, "Jane Eyre," writes, "I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself." It is the anthem of the self-sufficient. Maybe it is a song that we have all sung at some point in our lives. Sometimes, when we are alone, it is a song that reminds us that we are still valuable. At other times, it is a song that we want to sing. But it is a song based on a lie that says that we don't need each other.

And it has been a song that I want to sing. For most of my life, my goal has been to be able to depend on me for the goals of my life. Part of that dream has been to be financially independent, not depending on anyone else, including the government, to have the things that my family requires for life. This meant putting money away for retirement, securing a place to live, fulfilling the dream of homeownership, all of these things that I have sacrificed to attempt to achieve. I desire to care for myself.

But the older I get, the more that I realize that self-sufficiency is probably an unachievable dream. We need each other, even when we profess that we don't. We were created in such a way that we require a community to be the best that we can be. I am repeatedly brought back to the words of God, recorded in Genesis when he speaks of the future creation of the human race. God's comment reflects the concept of essential community. "Let us make mankind in our image [and] in our likeness." God, who exists in community as Father, Son, and Spirit, created us in his image, with a need for a similar community that reflects the community in which God has always existed. We need each other. The concept of self-sufficiency is just an illusion that we like to believe can be true in our lives.

Jacob might be a great example of this illusion of self-sufficiency. Jacob had always believed that he could manipulate the world around him so that he didn't need anyone else. Jacob was clever enough to depend on himself, and when his cleverness didn't get him where he wanted to go, Jacob was sneaky enough to get what he wanted so that he didn't need God or anyone else.

But things had changed. Jacob was scared and, for the first time since maybe his childhood, he needed help. And so he prayed to God who he had never felt the need to depend on;

I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted'" (Genesis 32:10-12).  

 And when God comes to Jacob, he wrestled with God, an image of Jacob's persistence in his request with God. To go forward, I need your blessing. There is no more time to fight with you or with myself. God, all I can do is hang on to you with everything that I have, and that is what I intend to do until you give me your blessing. This moment becomes a time of transition in the life of Jacob. Until this point in his life, he had always believed that the enemy was outside of him. His enemy was Esau, or maybe Laban, or even the desires of his father, Isaac. But the reality was that the real problem was that Jacob had lived his life outside of a community. The real problem was on the inside of him, and it did not reside in the world that surrounded him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 33

You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. – Genesis 31:6-7

Today's Scripture Reading (August 29, 2021): Genesis 31

We tend to put our actions in the best light possible while treating those who oppose us as if they were evil incarnate. This phenomenon might be best revealed in our political relationships. If you are a conservative, you almost by definition consider those with a liberal political viewpoint to be wrong and often evil. But don't worry, the liberals believe the same about you. As a result, we divide into smaller and smaller echo chambers, only hearing those we agree with and ridiculing the increasing number of people we have written off. And this division colors almost every aspect of our lives. It is one of the biggest problems in our contemporary society, with every side firmly believing that they are right and the other side is wrong.

I admit I share more in common with conservatives than I do with liberals. But I also acknowledge that ideas have arisen with those on the left that I find intriguing and worth investigating. I would especially like to see whether some of these ideas can be made economically feasible. But I also know that the other side is not evil; they just see life from a different perspective. And sometimes, getting a different perspective can be a good thing.

It is time for Jacob to go home. And so, he makes the argument to his wives. The move is necessary because Jacob has worked hard, but Laban has insisted on cheating him, constantly changing his wages so that he could get the best of Jacob. Was that the truth? Yes, at least there is an element of truth in the comment. But there is also another side to the story. Jacob came into his relationship with Laban with deceptions of his own. Jacob's name is an allusion to how he came into the world, grasping the heel of his brother. And grasping the heel was an image of deception.

Laban had deceived Jacob, but Jacob had also deceived Laban, as well as many other people in his life. Jacob was not a perfect individual. And yet, he was also correct. God had protected him and blessed him. God had called him to do something more and better. All of this had nothing to do with how hard Jacob had worked or how good Jacob thought he might be. God had protected Jacob despite all the things that Jacob had done.

God's protection of Jacob is also good news for us. Because although we are imperfect, God is willing to work through us as well. Jacob's story is our story if we are willing to confront our lives honestly. It doesn't matter which side of the political aisle we call home. Sometimes we are correct, and sometimes we miss the mark. But, in the end, God is always on our side, just as he was with Jacob.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 32

But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." – Genesis 30:15

Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2021): Genesis 30

Trauma survivor Carolyn Spring argues that "the happy family is a myth for many." Dysfunctional relationships tend to be the norm, but why wouldn't that be true? We seem to pass our dysfunction down from generation to generation, teaching our children the same dysfunction that marks our existence. As a result, the number of dysfunctional families multiplies in each generation, which means that more and more of us are sharing our dysfunction with the next generation.

One of the refreshing things about the Bible is that there is no attempt to hide the dysfunction of the people at the center of the biblical stories. And that is true of this tale about Rachel and Leah. At the heart of this story are some mandrakes found by Leah's son, Reuben. Mandrakes were an edible root often called a 'love apple' in Hebrew. The belief was, and in some areas still is, that eating mandrakes would help with fertility. If a woman ate a mandrake and then made love with her husband, there was an increased chance of a pregnancy resulting from the act. The importance of the mandrake in this story is that both Rachel and Leah were competing for the love of Jacob, and both believed that the possession of the mandrakes would increase Jacob's desire to sleep with them, thinking that it was more likely that the union would result in a child.

But beyond the dysfunction revealed by the sexual competition between the women is Leah's charge that Rachel had stolen her husband from her. The background for the charge is that Leah and Rachel were sisters, but Jacob had married Leah first, even though that was not his intention. Jacob believed, at the time of his marriage to Leah, that he was marrying Rachel. But the reality was that Leah had exclusive access to Jacob for the first part of the marriage. All of that changed when Jacob finally got his wish and married Rachel as well. In Leah's eyes, Rachel had come between her and her husband. In reality, Rachel had always been a part of the marriage, and Jacob's desire had always been more for Rachel than it was for Leah (bringing us back to the role that mandrakes played in convincing a husband to sleep with one wife over another).

The pain and dysfunction in Jacob's family were obvious. And the dysfunction and favoritism present in the family of Jacob were also present in the family of Jacob's parents, Isaac and Rebekah. And this dysfunction would be passed down to the children of Jacob. In the end, it would be this favoritism that would result in the brothers selling Joseph (Rachel's son) into slavery and then telling Jacob that one of his sons had died.  Theologian Donald Barnhouse remarks, "Is it any wonder that this family had a history of strife and bloodshed? Children reflect the atmosphere of the home."

Maybe this dysfunction between Jacob, Leah, and Rachel is proof of the danger of polygamous relationships. God never intended for us to have more than one husband or one wife. In the creation dialogue, the intention is clear that God intended for one man to marry one wife. "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). And later, the Law of Moses would forbid marrying sisters. "Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living" (Leviticus 18:18). As for why we have to look no further than the dysfunctional relationship between Leah and Rachel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 31

Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month … - Genesis 29:14

Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2021): Genesis 29

American singer and humorist Kinky Friedman argued that "money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail." We like to argue about whether love is more important than money or whether it is money that makes the world go round, but the truth is probably one that we don't want to hear. Both are important. Not that we need to be rich, whatever might be your definition of wealth. But money issues are one of the significant points of conflict in any romantic relationship. We need love, but we also seem to need access to at least some money.

Add into the mix the emotions of a father, who wants the best for his children, both in someone who will love and respect his daughters, as well as someone who will be able to provide some level of financial security for them, and the complete picture of the intersection of love and money becomes a little more muddled.

But in the ancient world, the situation was a little clearer. The concept of romantic love never even entered the equation. It was the job of the father to find someone who could financially care for his daughters. The daughter had very little input into who it was that she would marry. She simply trusted the plan developed by dad. At least, that was the way that it was supposed to work in theory.

Laban had two daughters for which he needed to find a husband. But he wasn't interested in finding a romantic match for his girls. He wanted someone who could financially care for his girls. Enter Jacob. Laban shows great hospitality to this visitor from another land. But he is not just altruistic. Yes, Laban offered hospitality to Jacob because that was a cultural expectation. He also provided hospitality because Jacob was his nephew. But we can't underestimate the fact that Laban also knew that Jacob would one day inherit a significant amount of wealth from his father, Isaac. Jacob was someone who could financially care for, not just one, but possibly both of his daughters. As Jacob stays in his house for a month, Laban is already working on a plan that will result in this young man marrying not just one of his daughters but both of them. Jacob was actively pursuing Rachel, but if Laban played the situation right, he would marry Leah as well. Laban needed Jacob to care financially for his daughters. And maybe, in the process, he could make them happy as well.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 30

Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac. – Genesis 28:8

Today's Scripture Reading (August 26, 2021): Genesis 28

"What you have accomplished in the past is a much stronger example than talking about what you are capable of doing in the future. Actions do speak louder than words!" The words belong to Catherine Pulsifer, and she is right. What we have done in the past is a good indication of what we will do in the future unless we are willing to join the battle against the actions we have previously taken. We can talk about what we want to do or what we believe, but what we do is the true measure of who we are.

It is also the accurate measure of our faith and what we believe. Do you want to be a person of faith? Then how is your faith reflected in your behavior? Faith is not found in our rituals, but our lack of faith is sometimes found in what pulls us away from those rituals. If faith is not reflected in what we do in our daily lives, then we are not a people of faith. We may speak like we are people of faith, but the reality that is reflected by what we do tells a very different story.

It seems unlikely that Isaac never spoke to his sons about the things that were important to him. And one of the things Isaac held at the core of his being was his faith and his fear that if his sons married the local women, that they would pull them away from that faith. Abraham had made sure that Isaac had a wife who shared the family values. Isaac wanted the same thing for both of his sons, Esau and Jacob. But it appears that Esau decided to marry young, or at least at a younger age than his twin brother Jacob. Before Jacob had married his first wife, Esau was already married to more than one wife.

But as Jacob gains the blessing from his father, Isaac renews his instruction to his unmarried son; don't marry the local woman. Go home to the place of your grandfather's relatives and marry someone from there, someone who will share at least some of the family's core values. And as Jacob receives the instructions, he leaves to go and find a wife from among his great-grandfather's family.

It is at this moment that Esau is finally convicted of his error. At some point in the past, it is likely that Esau solemnly nodded his head as his father gave him his instructions regarding marriage. But the instructions never penetrated into a place where Esau understood and believed what it was that his father had taught. He had promised his father that he would get a wife from the extended family of Abraham, but those were just the words of his mouth. Esau's actions showed that he had never internalized his father's lesson. It is not until he sees his brother's actions that Esau begins to take to heart the words of his father, Isaac.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 29

His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." – Genesis 27:13

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2021): Genesis 27

American author and public speaker Tucker Max argues that "The devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for." He is right. One of the problems with our culture is that we have turned the devil into a caricature, and one that is almost impossible to believe is real. We place him in his silly red suit, with his stupid-looking horns, and then write him off as a children's cartoon in which no sane person would believe.

But the things that we wish for, well, for that we are willing to make excuses. How can anything that we want have anything to do with the devil. How could anything that we love be evil?

It is hard to find a hero in the story of Jacob and Esau and the stolen blessing. Jacob plays the role of the deceiver and thief, the one who deceives his father and steals the blessing. Esau is a spoiled child who wants everything right now and cannot delay gratification. He is unwilling or unable to resist a smaller, more immediate reward so that we can gain a larger goal later. And none of this story would have taken place if it wasn't for the favoritism demonstrated by both of their parents. Each parent favored one child over the other, and both were bound and determined that their favorite child would gain an advantage over the other child.

As the time for Isaac to give his blessing to his oldest son, Esau, nears, Rebekah has a plan for Jacob to execute in an attempt to steal the very blessing that Isaac intends to give to Esau. If the plot is carried out correctly, Jacob will gain the advantage that Rebekah had always wanted for her favorite son. And if there were blame to be had, she would bear it. If there were a curse, Rebekah would suffer through that as well. But in her desires for what she wanted to achieve in her life, the devil was at work.  

Rebekah got precisely what she wanted. Jacob would win the blessing over his brother, Esau. But there would also be a curse under which Rebekah would suffer. In fact, in getting the blessing for Jacob, she would lose everything that she felt was important, namely, Jacob. After winning Isaac's endorsement, Jacob would go on the run, afraid that this time his brother, Esau, might kill him. The consequence of Jacob's exile, a direct result of Rebekah's plan, was that Rebekah would never see her beloved son again. Satan had come down to Rebekah giving her precisely what she wished for, and in the process, would steal away from her the very thing toward which she had dedicated her life.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 28

So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. – Genesis 26:15

Today's Scripture Reading (August 24, 2021): Genesis 26

We live in a world that is increasingly vulnerable to cyberwarfare and cyberterrorism. The problem is that the very thing that makes our lives easier can also be attacked, compromising our convenience, but more importantly, also making our world much more dangerous. Ransomware attacks on utility delivery companies can endanger the very things that we depend on or expect to be part of our lives. There might not be a better way to attack someone in our modern world than to hit them where it hurts, making the commodities we use every day unavailable or our access to those goods and services unreliable. And trying to fix our cyber systems after an attack can be very expensive. It is also time-consuming to make the repairs, meaning that at least for a while, we have to do without the things on which we rely. And until we can fix it, we have to do without, making life a little less comfortable.

As Isaac moves south, in an attempt to escape famine, to Gerar and the land over which Abimelek ruled, he returns to the same area where his father Abraham had lived a generation earlier. At that time, Abraham had dug the wells he needed to live in the area. As Isaac returns to the same place, he finds the wells were still in good working order, which was a good thing because while wells were essential to life, they were also expensive and time-consuming to build. Using Abraham's wells meant that obtaining freshwater during a time of famine was one thing about which Isaac simply didn't need to worry.

But as tensions heat up as the famine grabs hold of the region, so does the conflict between the Philistines and Isaac's servants. In contemporary society, a cyberattack against the other side might have been a course of action that could be considered. It would increase the pain of the enemy without engaging in a physical war. But, of course, Isaac lived in a computerless world. Most conflicts seemed to end in a physical attack between combatants. But if that was not desirable, there were other ways to attack your enemy.

Maybe the counterpart of a modern cyberattack in the ancient world was to throw dirt in a well, plugging it up and making the well unusable. A stopped well had to be either repaired or rebuilt. Neither of these things could be done cheaply, and both took time, leaving the enemy inconvenienced for a while. The fact the Philistines had stopped up the wells that had remained functional since the days of Abraham indicated how severe the conflict had become between Isaac and the Philistines. The next step would likely be a war between the Philistines and Isaac, something in which neither Abimelek nor Isaac really wanted to participate.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 27

After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi. – Genesis 25:11

Today's Scripture Reading (August 23, 2021): Genesis 25

It is not surprising that Elizabeth II is ranked as one of the greatest Monarchs in British history. She has reigned longer than any British King or Queen who ruled before her, eclipsing the length of Queen Victoria's reign of almost sixty-four years. In 2022, she will celebrate seventy years on the throne of Great Britain. She has maintained her popularity during turbulent and changing times. Through wars and conflicts, she continues to be loved and admired by her subjects and even by some who might be considered to be adversaries. Among a long list of great monarchs, Elizabeth II rises to the top.

But there is also a downside to being the best. The British Royal family has suffered its scandals during the last seventy years, even if none of the scandals had tarnished the image of the Queen. But Elizabeth II is not immortal. Like the Kings and Queens before her, she will die, and someone else will have to take her place. The problem is that no one in the line of succession appears to measure up to Elizabeth. Charles, the next likely King, is still hurt by his failed relationship with Dianna and his relationship with Camilla. And many royal subjects have no interest in calling Camilla Queen.

For a long time, William, third in line to the throne, looked like a better choice, and many hoped that Charles would abdicate and just let the crown pass straight to his son. But recent developments and a conflict between William's younger brother, Harry, and the rest of the Royal Family have raised concerns. The scandals have left Prince George of Cambridge unscathed, but that is likely because he is still just a child. So, once we lose one of the best Monarch's of British history, the future of the Royal Family is still very much in question.

There is no doubt that Abraham was a great man, but he was just a man. Abraham lived a long life, filled with years. But, as happens with all of us, the time came for Abraham to leave this earth, joining his wife, Sarah. And when he did, everything that he had built was left to his son, Isaac. And God blessed Isaac, but the truth is that Isaac could not live up to the man his father had been even with God's blessing.

Yet, God would carry on the work that had started with Abraham with Isaac. And his promise would be carried down through the generations of people, some of whom were great, some who missed the mark, but none of whom would be Abraham.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 26

"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. – Genesis 24:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 22, 2021): Genesis 24

We live in a mobile society. Some of us move farther and more often than most of our ancestors would have dreamed. But some still live out their entire lives within a few square miles from the place where they were born.

In High School, I spent some time working with a local veterinarian. It was quite an experience. When we were called out, I never knew when we would be back in town. One day, we left mid-afternoon, and that day's trip was to an area of the county that I didn't even know existed. It was like stepping back in time to the way things were long before I was born. The houses were scattered over the countryside, and most homes seemed to be in ill repair. Running water was a rarity, and outhouses were everywhere. Mechanical inventions seemed to be unknown. It was a disconcerting experience for someone who was essentially a city boy. I remember working that day far from modern conveniences and even delivering a calf in less than optimum circumstances. These people never ventured far from their homes and hadn't for generations.

In a culture where living their entire lives within a few kilometers from home, Abraham moved two thousand kilometers to the west. But he didn't want his son, Isaac, marrying one of the local girls. Abraham wanted to find a girl from home. Abraham was almost a hundred years old when Isaac was born, so as Isaac reaches a marriageable age, Abraham is not sure how much longer he has left on this earth. He is much too old to make the trip to the town of Nahor himself, and so he sends his servant instead. But Abraham also needs to make himself clear. By the time his servant returns, he might not be alive. So he leaves the instructions. "Do not take my son to Nahor. It would be better for Isaac to remain unmarried than to go back to Nahor." In Abraham's mind, God had promised that the land where Abraham lived would be given to his descendants. Abraham was afraid that if Isaac left, he might never return, and God's promise would be discarded onto a trash heap. So Isaac could not leave Canaan.

It is a drastic solution. But it is likely aimed more at the servant than Isaac. The servant needed to succeed in his quest and bring back someone for Isaac. All of Abraham's dreams for Isaac were now dependent on a servant and the task that Abraham was giving to him, and that Abraham needed him to complete, even if the completion didn't take place until after Abraham had passed away.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 25