- : Genesis Chapters
- 28:
- 1-4, 10-16
- , 29:
- 30-35
- , 32:
- 24-30
- , 35:
- 9-29
- Jacob wrestles an angel
- Jacob is renamed to Israel
- God’s promise extends to Jacob
- 12 Tribes of Israel are born
- Key Verses and Themes
- Genesis 28:1-4,10-16
- Jacob’s ladder dream
Gen 28:12-15
— Jacob, sent on his way by Isaac his father, and running away from Esau, who still wants to kill him, is re-assured by God in his dream that He is with him, and that the promises made to Abraham and Isaac will continue through him.
- Genesis 29:30-35
- Judah born
- Gen 29:35
— 29:35 (Jesus Christ will come from Judah in terms of genealogy/flesh)
- Genesis 32:24-30
Jacob renamed Israel—
This occurs after Jacob wrestles with the “man”, who we learned was an angel appearing in the form of a man.
- Abrahamic Blessing succession to Jacob:
Gen 35:11-12
— God blesses Isaac after Abraham’s death, “remembering” the covenant he made to Abraham.
- Genesis 35:9-29
- Jacob renamed Israel (x2):
Gen 35:9-10
— Isaac passes on the blessing he received from God to his son Jacob. Abraham’s blessing has now spanned 3 generations already.
- Abrahamic Blessing succession to Jacob:
Gen 35:11-12
— God, who we read last week blessed Isaac after Abraham’s death, now does the same to Isaac’s son, Jacob, again “remembering” His covenant and promises.
- Rachel dies in Bethlehem:
Gen 35:19
— Rachel dies just after giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Her first born son was Joseph.
12 tribes (12 sons) of Israel born:
The 12 sons of Jacob, whose names are bolded in our workbooks, are the heads of what we know as the “12 tribes of Israel”, a.k.a. the tribes are named after each son.
References to the New Testament & our Church practices
- Jacob’s Ladder Dream
John 1:51
The ladder serves as a prefiguration of Christ, and standing atop the ladder was the Lord. Christ Jesus is the Lord, Who connects heaven and earth, Who is the Mediator between us and God.
- Jacob vs. Centurion
- Matthew 8:8-10 vs. Genesis 28:16
- As one of the church father’s teaches,
Jacob,
says “Surely the Lord is in this place”, after his dream of the ladder, speaking of the Lord as if He is only in one
singular place.
- The Centurion
- recognizes and confessed God’s omnipresence (
- in all places at once
) by saying “just say the word, and my servant will be healed” to Jesus/
- Christ responds to the Centurion
- : “not
- even in Israel [
- Jacob’s new name given by God
] did I find this faith” because Jacob said the Lord
- is in only one (
singular
) place, where as this centurion, who believes that Jesus can heal his servant from afar, is believing Christ to be omnipresent, and since only God is omnipresent, the centurion is correctly recognizing Jesus as God.
- Judah born
Matthew 1:1-3
In verses 2 and 3, we see a “Judah” mentioned in Jesus’s genealogy. It’s the Judah we read about this week! In fact, based on what we have read so far, we can trace the first 4 people in this lineage, that is, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah!
- Rachel
Matthew 2:18
, referring to a “Rachel” is referencing Jacob’s wife, Rachel, who we read about this week, who also died after giving birth to Benjamin. This verse was a reference to a prophecy spoken by Jeremiah, in
Jeremiah 31:15
; remember the context— King Herod had just killed all the male babies under 2 years old in and around Bethlehem, as he was trying to kill Jesus when He was a baby. Rachel (the mothers of the babies that were killed), is weeping for “her children” as she is the mother of Israel’s (Jacob’s) children.
- Discussion Questions
What was the significance of Jacob’s dream of the ladder?
Firstly, it was to reassure Jacob, who was fleeing from his angry brother Esau, that the Lord was with him, especially after Isaac blessed him at the start of the chapter, verses 1-4. Remember, angels are ministering spirits,
Hebrews 1:14
, and so seeing the angels served as a reminder that God’s providence never ceases and that angels are actively engaged in the affairs of believers. Remember, fleeing home 6,000 years ago in the Middle Easy was dangerous to say the least, and Jacob was human, he was probably scared, tired, worried, etc.!
In a deeper sense, it’s interpreted by many church fathers as a prefiguration (foreshadowing if you will) of Christ, Who connects heaven and earth. This interpretation is based on
John 1:51
, where Jesus tells Nathanael, “You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Christ is the mediator between God and humanity, linking heaven and earth, the bridge uniting humanity with God. St. Aphrahat says it also prefigured the cross, as the cross was raised up like a ladder, with the Lord “standing” above it.
Who is Judah?
Judah is one of Jacob’s sons, specifically his 4th born/4th oldest, and he was born to one of maids, Leah. Judah is the direct ancestor of Christ. We will read in week 8 about this again.
Why did Jacob have two wives and two maids that he had children with? Isn’t our faith to only have one spouse?
Remember, we have free will, and in the cultural/historical context of the time, polygamy (having multiple partners) was acceptable, as humanity was trying to increase in population. God in His divine providence worked through that, using it to establish the 12 tribes of Israel and thus the nation of Israel population-wise.
The Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), engaged in polygamy not out of lust, but by a desire to fulfill God's command to multiply and establish a nation. That’s why Jacob only really “loved” Rachel, as he is the wife he was attracted to and wanted to marry in the first place, but his father-in-law Laban deceived him into lying with Leah, Rachel’s older sister, in
Genesis 29:21-24
, and so he honored that and took Leah as a wife too. So it’s not because they were lusting that they had multiple partners.
But remember, God gave to Adam one wife, Eve; it was God’s will that one man has one wife, in a monogamous relationship. That’s why Christ reaffirms this in
Matthew 19:4-6
, and why, yes, our faith does NOT permit a man or woman from having more than one spouse.
Who did Jacob wrestle? Was it a man or God?
- Gen 32:24
- says "man", but in
- Gen 32:28
it says “you have struggled with God”; which is it?
It was an angel wrestling with him, the angel was representing God/Christ, but obviously in the form of a man, as Christ took on the human form as we know.
What do we learn from Jacob wrestling the angel?
Jacob’s intense struggle symbolizes his perseverance in prayer and faith, and having zeal and passion to pursue God. This is what we have to imitate! When Christ says in
Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
” take it as a referencing something like this. Jacob wrestled with “God” until he was blessed, and this fervor and pursuit of God led to him getting blessed. So don’t ever let go of your faith, as Jacob clung to the angel.
How do we “let go of our faith”. It’s not just renouncing your faith if you're held at sword-point, like we have seen in recent years with ISIS. Every time you're faced with a decision to choose good or evil, especially when your conscience is warning you to think twice about what you do, you are holding on to your faith if you choose good, but letting go if you choose evil.
So when your with friends, and you choose to cuss, gossip, (for older kids) drink/drugs, or worse, you let go of your faith.
Who are Jacob’s 12 sons in Genesis 35:22-26?
These 12 sons of Jacob, who is also named Israel, are the 12 “tribes” of Israel, meaning they are the forefathers of each tribe. So when someone refers to a tribe of Israel, they are referring to the children of one of these 12 sons of Jacob. So in
Romans 11:1
, when St. Paul says he is “from the tribe of Benjamin”, he means that he descends directly from Jacob’s son, Benjamin.
- This Week's Study
—Update the "Group Bible study Form" sent out on remind.
Make a concerted effort to read what we skip in class, as now the gaps are bigger, and some important context is left out.