The Sons of Jacob Slaughter a Village

Today's Reading:
• Genesis 32:13-34:31
• Proverbs 3:19-20

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Genesis 32:13-34:31
The previous reading left off with me not knowing how Esau would greet his brother, Jacob.  Jacob must have truly been terrified of his brother's wrath.  The gifts he sent off were incredible -- I counted 550 animals, and that didn't include the 30 female camel's children, which weren't listed. (32:14-15). 

I find it interesting that Jacob sent these gifts in waves, with strict instructions that each wave tell Esau that his brother was in the wave behind it.  I know Jacob wanted to please his brother and make him more and more receptive to receiving him, but it also seems to me like Jacob was basically sending each wave of animals and servants to be slaughtered in his place.

The last night before Jacob met Esau, it says he wrestled all night with a strange man (33:24).  From what I understand, Jacob pretty much kept this man in a stronghold the entire night long.  Even after this man simply touched Jacob, wrenching his hip out of socket, Jacob refused to let go until he had been blessed.  At that point the man blesses Jacob with the name "Israel" because he fought God and won.  What would it be like to literally wrestle with God? We don't even get to see God any more, yet Jacob gets to literally wrestle with him.  It's amazing!

The last part of this reading is a disturbing story.  Jacob's daughter Dinah was raped, but afterwords the man fell in love with her and repented and asked to marry her.  The man's father asked Jacob to let all their children marry.  It doesn't say here how Jacob responded to that.  Instead it says that Jacob's sons spoke privately to the man who raped their sister, and they spoke with deception. 

These sons of Jacob told the man who raped their sister they would form a covenant of marriages if every single man in their village was circumcised.  It's hard for me to think of babies being circumcised, but grown men?  That is a huge commitment to make, yet this village wholeheartedly agreed to do it. 

Two days later, Jacob's sons went into that village and slaughtered every single male.  Then the other sons of Jacob went into the village and looted and plundered and took everything, including the wives and children.  Not only did these men deceive the camp into circumcising all (which is bad enough in my opinion) they killed all the men and took everything!  That's just horrible.  The reading ends when Jacob discovers what has happened.  He is quite dismayed and knows now that they will be a ruined, crushed people.

Proverbs 3:19-20
Two sweet, simple verses convey a lot of meaning here.  They say that it was wisdom and knowledge that the Lord used to found the Earth.  So here we learn that wisdom isn't just important for us, but it was vastly important for the Lord; for without it we would not be here.

What the Bible Says About the Death Penalty

Today’s Reading:
• Genesis 8:1-10:32
• Proverbs 1:20-23

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Genesis 8:1-10:32
It’s amazing how 3 short chapters can supply such a diverse range of topics – from the recession of the flood waters, to punishment of murderers, followed by the curse of Canaan, and finally ending with the re-population of all the nations and the people of the earth. It’s hard to imagine being stuck in a boat (even a large one) for over a year. I mean, they had faith, we know that. They were shown first hand. But it still has to be a bit testy to sit in that boat day after day; night after night. I know they had faith … but they also had to have doubts some of those times, don’t you think?

I no longer have any doubt of the righteousness of the death penalty after reading 9:5-6. God specifically told us that anyone who takes another person’s life will (and should) have their own life taken by human hands. He also says that any animals who kill a person must be killed. So for all those dogs, alligators, bears, whatever – if they kill a person, let the hunt begin. And for those of you who deliberately murder -- an eye for an eye. I don’t say I get enjoyment from finding this to be the case, and I’ve always kept a neutral opinion on the subject, until now. But wow! Two short verses can make my mind up on such a debated subject!

Isn’t the bible just chalked full of the most powerful information? Why haven’t I read it before? I love the lineage lines, and how everything is tracked, down to the nationality of the people. I think I need to be much more of a scholar to truly appreciate and track the lineage. I can certainly see how one can spend their entire life studying the bible, yet still learn new things all the time!

Proverbs 1:20-23
These verses refers to people who refuse wisdom and knowledge as simpleminded fools. Isn’t that the truth? There is an overflow of knowledge in this world, and unfortunately misinformation also runs rampant. I don’t care if a person has a strong opinion, as long as they base it on fact and knowledge, and not on what other people tell them. It kills me to see what people believe because they are too lazy to look up the information themselves and make an informed decision. Make up your own mind. Pursue wisdom. Don’t become a simpleminded fool.

Conclusion
I'm only a few days into my studies and already I’m so interested that I keep thinking about how I’m going to study the bible in a different way as soon as I'm done reading it through this way. I think I’ve discovered a new life passion, one that will never leave me -- and that is to study the bible. There are so many depths to it that I don’t think I can ever view it enough different ways. I think there will always be new, interesting angles to pursue.