Confessional Lutheran Ministerium

Genesis 35:1-15 NKJV

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

² And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

⁵ And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. ¹¹ Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. ¹² The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

After the shameful events of chapter 34, where God’s name was never brought up by Jacob or his sons, God brings Himself back into the picture. He sends the house of Jacob farther south, back to the place where God had first appeared to Jacob in a dream so many years ago, and commands him to build an altar there. After the crimes recently committed by his family, the house of Israel was being given a chance at a new beginning through repentance, restoration, and renewal.

Jacob’s household now includes the women and children of the Hivite men whom Simeon and Levi had slaughtered, so it makes sense that there were “foreign gods,” that is, idol figurines among them which needed to be discarded. Here Jacob comforts them, assuring them that, even though they had suffered loss, they would receive even greater spiritual blessings from the God who had graciously chosen to bless Jacob’s family.

In the course of their journey, Deborah died. Her death caused much grief in Jacob’s family, since she had been there from the beginning of Jacob’s life, to raise not only him but all of his children as well. Her death was another reminder to the family that they were all just passing through this life, and that knowing and worshiping the God who oversees eternity had to be their top priority.

Finally, God appears to Jacob again. When Jacob first came out of Padan Aram, God had appeared to him in the form of a man, with whom Jacob wrestled and refused to give up. Here God repeats the renaming of Jacob (i.e., “deceiver”) to Israel (i.e., “strives with God”). He blesses him and confirms His promise to give him many descendants, who would prosper and who would one day take possession of the land of Canaan. And so Jacob was again restored and renewed in his walk with God.

God repeats this same pattern with us when we stumble. He calls us to repentance. He graciously restores us through the forgiveness of sins. He brings us back to our Baptism, when He first placed His name upon us. He promises earthly help and heavenly joy, and then calls upon us again to follow.

Let us pray: Father, have mercy on us for Jesus’ sake when we stumble. Restore us and renew us by Your Spirit. Amen.

Genesis 34:19-31 NKJV

¹⁹ So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.

²⁰ And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: ²¹ “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. ²² Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” ²⁴ And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵ Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. ²⁶ And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. ²⁸ They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, ²⁹ and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

³¹ But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

The Hivite men believed the lies they were told by the sons of Israel. They believed that, if they allowed themselves to be circumcised, then Jacob’s family would gladly join their people forever, allowing the Hivites to take possession of all the flocks and herds that Jacob had accumulated. There was greed on the Hivites’ part. There was deception on the part of Jacob’s sons. Worst of all, the sign of circumcision, which God had instituted among the descendants of Abraham as the sacred sign of His covenant with them to be their God, had now been turned into a means for the people of God to commit unsanctioned murder and theft against an entire race of men.

Surely Jacob would reprimand his sons for their deception! Surely Jacob would discipline his sons Simeon and Levi for the genocide they committed! Surely Jacob would call his sons to repentance and to the fear of the Lord again! But no, that is not how the chapter ends. Yes, Jacob is upset with his sons, but only for the bad reputation it would give him and for the violence it threatened to bring down upon his house. As we saw yesterday, so we see again today: There is no thought given to God throughout this chapter.

Let this be a lesson to every Christian home. It is not enough for all the children to have been baptized. The name of God and the fear of God must continually be promoted within the home. The Word of God must be taught to children by their parents. Parents must be examples of faith and godliness. And they must not only discipline their children when their children misbehave; they must also teach their children to repent before God when they sin and to seek His forgiveness for Jesus’ sake.

Where parents or children have failed to give a thought to God, let there be repentance. Let there be a return to the Lord, who has proven Himself to be merciful and full of grace, and always ready to forgive. And let our thoughts be continually turned toward the Word of our God, that our families may be worthy, not of contempt, but of imitation. Let us pray: O Lord, bless the homes of Your people who are called by Your name, that we may serve You faithfully and be the lights of the world You made us to be. Amen.

Genesis 34:1-18 NKJV 34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ² And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. ³ His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. ⁴ So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

⁵ And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. ⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. ⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹ And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. ¹⁰ So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. ¹² Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

¹³ But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. ¹⁵ But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

¹⁸ And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

Of the fifty chapters in the book of Genesis, there are only three that say nothing about the LORD God. This is the first of those three, and it is, indeed, a God-less chapter.

After his encounter with Esau, it appears that Jacob did not go immediately to see his parents in the south. Instead, he stopped along the way and tried to make a home for his family in the north, in the land of the Hivites. There a terrible crime was committed against his daughter Dinah by Shechem, the son of the Hivite ruler.

Without expressing any remorse, Shechem and his father approached Jacob with a wedding proposal. More than that, it was a proposal to absorb Jacob’s whole family into the Hivite community through more intermarriages in the future.

Sadly, Israel apparently left the negotiations up to his young sons. The sons of Israel, for their part, stricken with grief and understandably angry over the mistreatment of their sister, turned to deceit against the Hivites and blasphemy against God in how they treated the sacred sign of circumcision. Instead of turning to God for guidance, instead of seeking a God-pleasing solution, they ignored God entirely. They were determined to get vengeance. The rest of their God-less actions will be recounted in tomorrow’s reading.

We’re beginning to see that, for the most part, the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel were not godly men. That will become even more evident in the coming chapters. And yet God chose this family to receive His Word, to bear His name, and to become the earthly family of His eternal Son. The sons of Israel are a testament to the fact that human beings are lost creatures, and that God’s salvation has always been and will always be by grace alone. But Christians can also learn from their shameful example here, so that we do not allow anger, even righteous anger, to lead us into committing sins that will bring shame upon the name of our God. Let us pray: Father in heaven, forgive us for seeking our own will instead of Yours, and for ignoring You and Your will when others offend us. We renounce all deceit, and we abandon all vengeance, trusting that vengeance belongs to You alone. Amen.

 Psalm 37:16-26 NKJV

¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

David continues his contrast of the righteous and the wicked in today’s reading, urging us and persuading us to pursue the righteous life of those who know the LORD.

First, it’s helpful to remember what it means to be either righteous or wicked. To be righteous means to trust in the LORD’s promises of mercy for the sake of Christ, which always results in a desire to walk in the ways of our merciful God. To be wicked means not to trust in the mercy promised for Christ’s sake, which always results in a life that deviates, to a greater or lesser degree, from the LORD’s ways.

What believers have noticed since the beginning of time is that the wicked often prosper and acquire greater power and riches than the righteous do in this life, because the world in its present form, existing under the curse of sin, is ruled by the devil, who offers glory and power to those who serve him, even as he offered it to Christ Himself (cf. Matt. 4:8-9). But the devil’s days are numbered, as are the days of his wicked allies, while the days of the righteous will never end. That’s why a righteous man is always better off than the wicked, even if the righteous have little in this life while the wicked have much. The righteous look forward to eternal benefits in the LORD’s presence, while the wicked will soon be cut off and cast out into the darkness.

But David also highlights the temporal benefits of the righteous in this Psalm, the blessing God gives us even in this life. We have the LORD watching over us here and now, delighting in our simple acts of worship, smiling upon us as we trust in Him, as little children trust in their parents. He blesses us with more than we need so that we can give and show mercy to others in need. We have the LORD guiding and directing our lives so that all things work together for our good. And we have the LORD God holding us up with His almighty hand, allowing us, at times, to fall, just as loving parents have to do with their children, but never allowing us to be “utterly cast down” (v.24). Let us pray: O Lord, we thank You for the gracious promises You have given us for this life and for the next, and we rejoice in Your abundant providence and blessings. Amen.

Psalm 37:1-15 NKJV 37 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

In Reading the Psalms with Luther, we have these words: “The 37^th psalm is a psalm of comfort that teaches and exhorts us to have patience in the world and warns us especially against envy. For it is vexing and painful to the weak in faith when things go well for the godless and the opposite happens to those who fear God. It is a great spiritual virtue when – seeing the great misdeeds of the peasants, the townspeople, the nobility, the princes, and everyone who has power – one yet exerts himself not to blaspheme or inwardly wish this or that curse on them. Moreover, he still suffers and sees that all things go well for them, and they remain unpunished. Indeed, they are praised and honored, while the God-fearing are miserable, despised, hated, begrudged, obstructed, vexed, and persecuted. The message is this: Learn to have endurance. Take your heart to God and do not let yourself be vexed. Do not become envious, or curse, or with evil to fall, or murmur, or look at them with hatred. Let these people go and commend them to God who will surely find all things out” (p. 92).

What excellent counsel! The problems and troubles and trouble-makers in this life – all the things that are out of our control – are God’s problem, not yours, dear Christian! Fret not, let them go, and commend them to God. Focus rather on whatever vocation God has given to you, whether father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker, and do all to His glory and the benefit of your neighbor, for that is how best to serve God in this sinful world.

As David writes, “Do not fret because of evildoers… Trust (by God-given faith) in the Lord…  Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him… Do not fret; it only causes harm…” God knows what you need even before you ask, and He has demonstrated His unwavering and unfathomable love toward you in Christ who took your sins upon Himself for your salvation and justification. He will bring you out of this evil world to the life of the world to come. Let us pray: Lord Jesus, strengthen and keep me by Your Gospel and Sacraments until You take me Home. Amen.

Genesis 33:1-20 NKJV 33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. ² And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?”

So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. ⁷ And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

⁸ Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?”

And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. ¹¹ Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. ¹⁴ Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

¹⁵ And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”

But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

¹⁸ Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. ¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. ²⁰ Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

Of this section Luther writes: “As an example for our faith and to strengthen it, Moses describes how God hears the groaning of a weak and struggling faith. These groans are, indeed, ineffable but not without great fruit. Thus, Jacob belongs to the number of those of whom Christ says (Mark 9:23): ‘All things are possible to him who believes.’ For by faith he has come forth as the conqueror of God and men so that neither God nor man wishes to harm him or is able to do so. God has blessed him, but his brother Esau has experienced such a change that he not only does not want to harm him but even wants to help, love, and be good to him. His anger has been changed into brotherly kindness.”

“This is surely the hand of the Highest, by which an angry man is prevented from doing what he had purposed, for God has the hearts of all men in His hand, so that they cannot go beyond a fixed limit. It is just as is stated in Job 38:11 concerning the limits imposed by God on the sea: ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed.’ To those who look at the sea when it is tossed by billows and storms, it seems to be threatening the shore as though about to burst through the borders by which it is enclosed and to overflow in all directions. But the pressure of the waters and billows is checked and kept within limits. So also the hearts of men rage in horrible fashion when inflamed by anger, but God has set up limits to fury and anger which it is not permissible to cross. The same is evident in this example of Esau, and everywhere in the stories of the heathen many other examples are extant which testify that human power and wisdom can never advance beyond the limit prescribed by God” (LW AE6).

What a great comfort it is to know and believe that God is in complete control over all things, and He allows events to unfold always for our good and that we may trust in Him all the more.

Let us pray: Thank You, God, for your love, mercy, and protection; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Genesis 32:22-32 NKJV ²² And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ²³ He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. ²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. ²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶ And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

²⁷ So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” ³¹ Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

Martin Luther wrote this about this passage of Scripture: “This passage is regarded by all as among the most obscure passages of the whole Old Testament” (LW 6:125).  And no wonder!  A very unusual event is described here in Genesis 32.  Jacob did not wrestle with flesh and blood, nor did he wrestle with the devil.  Jacob wrestled with God Himself…and yet he was not defeated.  God Himself fought against Jacob with such hostility that it appeared He would take Jacob’s life.  What a battle!  Jacob must truly be a holy man, for whoever can wrestle with God and come out alive must truly be a Christian!

The “Man” who wrestled against Jacob is the Lord of Glory, God Himself.  Specifically, He is the Son of God, who was to become incarnate, and so appeared many times in the Old Testament and spoke to the ancient fathers.  In this passage God, in His goodness, dealt with Jacob in a most personal way.  He disciplined Jacob by wrestling with him.  This was not intended to kill Jacob, for God purposely did not overcome him. Yet, the discipline which God sends often means grief and anguish of heart.  In the end, however, Jacob received the blessing.  God’s wrestling is a sign of His Fatherly love.  “For whom the Lord loves, He chastens,” says the writer to Hebrews (12:6).  He wrestled with Jacob, even as He wrestles with you, to discipline you and to strengthen your faith.

In your trials, do not despair.  Cling to God in Christ.  Hear and believe His promises, for they are all for you.  You will face difficulty; you will face temptation; this cannot be avoided. But in the midst of such trials, be cheered and comforted; be strengthened by God’s promises.  You have been baptized in the blood of Christ.  You are regularly fed with the body and blood of Christ in His Supper.  You are regularly absolved and forgiven, not by your pastor, but by God Himself through the words spoken by your pastor.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for paying for my sins. Teach me to trust that all things are allowed by You for my ultimate good. Amen.

Genesis 32:1-21 NKJV

32 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶ Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. ⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. ¹¹ Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. ¹² For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” ¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

The opening words of today’s reading are beautiful and comforting: “So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” Of this, Luther writes, “the holy patriarch Jacob, freed from the heavy and long misery of servitude under his father-in-law, rejoiced that peace and consolation had finally been restored to him after the completion of his tribulation. He then proceeded on the journey he had begun, that he might return to his dear father Isaac, who already for a long time had been weakened by old age… These are words of joy and triumph for the patriarch with great confidence and a feeling of security because of the peace given to him by God, just as though he meant to say: “Now the angels are appearing, heaven is laughing, the stormy winter has passed, and now the clear and serene light of day is shining forth” (LW AE6).

As the story continues to unfold, Jacob’s trials and tribulations will not quite be done, but for now he is comforted and refreshed with God’s presence by His heavenly angels. Jacob had endured much, but here God blesses him with a most pleasant surprise.

In and of our sinful nature, we tend to focus more intently on our misfortunes rather than our blessings and turn inward to sorrow and sadness. This, of course, can serve no good and can drive us further into despair. God in His mercy teaches us not to be “navel-gazers” but to look to Him as Psalm 121:1-2 says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Dear Christian, look in faith to the God who gave His Son to pay for all your sins. Though you are not worthy of His mercies, look to Him in faith; He will guide you through this life unto the life of the world to come.

Let us pray: O God, cause my eyes to look to You and not to myself, that I may continue to sing Your praise and receive Your comfort and strength; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Genesis 31:43-55 NKJV ⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸ And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹ also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

In today’s reading Jacob and Laban part ways after the dispute in yesterday’s reading. They constructed a stone heap and Laban declared that God would watch between them when they were absent from each other. They would not pass beyond the heap to afflict or harm each other. Jacob offered a sacrifice to God in faith and trust and called his brethren to eat bread. “In the morning Laban arose and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place” (v 55).

In setting up the stone heap and the words he uses, Laban seems to think that Jacob cannot be trusted not to afflict his daughters or take other wives besides his daughters. He seems afraid that Jacob may devise some evil against him or that his relatives, who may eventually wish to avenge these wrongs, may do so. He asks that God watch to make sure those things do not happen. This is in direct contrast to the clear faithfulness and honorable character Jacob had demonstrated, particularly when he agreed to work for Laban for seven years in order to have Rachel as his wife, was deceived by Laban, and then eventually Rachel was given to him.

Jacob suffered an injustice from Laban; it was unwarranted. Jacob could very well have retaliated and cried foul…but he did not. Of this Luther says, “But Jacob praises God and the Fear of his father, that is, Christ, because he was liberated from that scoundrel” (LW AE6).

When wronged, we are given to thank and praise God for His faithfulness and His promises, as Jacob modeled and as Christ Himself teaches. Whatever the circumstances, God is in charge and His Word is certain; He will never disappoint. Through regular reception of Christ’s Gospel – that our sins are paid for by Him – and the Sacraments, we will be kept in God’s grace and have our faith strengthened for all eventualities.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank You for your faithfulness. Lead and guide me always to You. Amen.

Genesis 31:22-42 NKJV ²² And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³ Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴ But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵ So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? ²⁸ And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ ³⁰ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ ³² With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ³⁹ That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. ⁴² Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

In the verses leading up to today’s reading Jacob, Laban’s nephew, had carried away all his possessions and livestock and headed out to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Jacob had not told Laban that he had intended to flee, and neither Jacob nor Laban knew that Rachel, Jacob’s wife and Laban’s daughter, had also stolen Laban’s gods. Also, God had come to Laban in a dream and warned him not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.

When Laban had heard that Jacob and Rachel had left, he pursued Jacob for seven days until he caught up with him. Laban expressed his dismay at Jacob for his actions, and for not allowing him to say goodbye to his sons and daughters. When asked about his actions, Jacob expressed his fear that Laban wound have taken his daughters from him by force.

In the confrontation Laban searched in vain for his household idols and accused Jacob of stealing them which caused Jacob to rebuke Laban and be angry with him. Luther says that “God breaks and restrains the angry mood of Laban in such a way that he does not even dare to murmur against Jacob [in keeping with God’s dream counsel that Laban should not speak against his uncle]. This is set forth for our consolation that we may have a sure hope in the goodness and mercy of God, who, Paul says, is faithful and will not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear but along with the temptation give an end so that we are able to bear it (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). God places a limit on temptation so that we are not tempted above our strength or beyond His will and counsel” AE 6).

The verse that Luther refers to, 1 Cor 10:13, teaches us that God will not allow us to be overwhelmed with temptation if we call upon Him to help us. We will be tempted to sin, as was Laban to speak against Jacob (however right he might have been!), but God is our strength in temptation and will provide the way of escape by His grace and mercy through His Word and Sacraments.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank for Your strength. Amen.