God interacts with the world in a very unique way. He works by using people as conduits with whom He will ultimately achieve His goal of the Divine Plan. Throughout the Book of Genesis, many cycles of protagonists appear with whom God chooses to interact. In one such cycle, the Jacob Cycle, God influences, molds, and guides Jacob in increasingly personal ways. God influences Jacob throughout his childhood, his journey to Haran, his journey from Haran, and finally, with one last test of will. Throughout the guidance, God’s increasing trust in Jacob allows for an eventual transformation of the relationship, where Jacob morphs into God’s Israel.
During the early stages of the cycle, God works through Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, to do much of His
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While Jacob makes his way to Haran, God finally decides to introduce Himself to Jacob. God speaks to Jacob for the first time in a dream, during which He tells Jacob that, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac...I am with you and will keep you wherever you go...I will not leave you until I have done [the promises] of which I have spoken to you” (Gen 28:15). Interacting with Jacob through a dream and telling him that God will keep him instills within Jacob a sense of security. Jacob can continue on his journey without worry, although he has yet to receive other aspects from the blessings, God stays with him and God will keep him. This security becomes clearer when Jacob wakes up and makes a vow saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go...then the Lord shall be my God…”(Gen 28:20-21). Jacob’s vow not only shares an interesting imitative similarity to the promise made by God in the dream, but more importantly, Jacob refers to God in a possessive way. By referring to God possessively, as “my God”, it might suggest that Jacob has had a sudden insight, and now sees God differently. In other words, Jacob has experienced God, the same God as his ancestors, and perhaps now realizes that even in what seems like an ordinary place where one might just lay down to rest, God’s presence has stayed and will continue to stay with
Jacob’s father was an extremely talented carpenter whose skills allowed him many privileges similar to those of a white man. He was allowed to work at his own trade as well as manage his own affairs with the condition that he pay two hundred dollars a year to his mistress and supporting himself. He wished to pay for his children with his earnings and tried many times, however, he was never successful. She also had a brother that was two years younger than her that she adored. While she loved both her father and younger brother, she had a special bond with her mother and maternal grandmother. She had a loving, nurturing, and supportive relationship with the both of them. While she knew she was a slave, she was shielded from the reality that she and
Jacob was very eager to go down to Paddan-aram to choose a wife as his father Isaac had instructed. He set out and arrived at a certain place. “The ambiguous word ‘place’ is used here, for the text emphasizes that Jacob has no idea that the he place has come upon is sacred, only when he wakes up does he realize it is sacred.” But as we know, his “departure received the blessing of his father and the support of his mother (28:1-5). His father’s blessing is linked with the earlier blessings bestowed on Abraham, and the content is similar, prominence is given to the idea of fertility and on the return to the land of Canaan where the promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled.” Jacob like the Hebrew people will go to exile, but he will eventually
Rebekah’s actions were foreshadowed in the very beginning when God revealed what is going to happen during her pregnancy (Genesis 27. 23). Indeed, Rebekah played a pivotal role in aiding Jacob to deceive Isaac, in order to receive the blessings. This evidence is illustrated in the following excerpt of the story, “Go out to the flock and bring me two young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it, then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessings before he dies”. Upon Jacob, inquiring about his consequences, Rebekah guaranteed him, not to worry about the as she is willing to take the curse for him (Genesis27:13). Rebekah actions can be justified because of Esau’s marriage to a Hettite woman, which caused grief to both Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:34-35)). Even though the author does not state it explicitly, it can be inferred that Rebekah preferred Jacob to receive the blessing because she is thinking in the long run that if Esau receives the blessings, there will not be enough food for survival, as Esau skills does not allow him to make use of the blessings as he is a hunter and not a farmer. Hence, one can argue that her deception was done with only good intentions for survival reasons and
This raw emotion is easily accessible and gorgeously real. The believability of the moment is what allows Jacob to feel like a real character. Jacob was also quick to speak without thinking. After his father-in-laws idols went missing, Jacob was quick to declare that, “whoever stole the idols from Laban must die” (Gen 31:30). Jacob’s journey was not complete until his name was changed from Jacob, the branding of being second fiddle, to Israel- the forefather of the nation (Gen 35:10).
God’s role in the Bible is characterized in several different ways, with dramatically competing attributes. He takes on many functions and, as literary characters are, he is dynamic and changes over time. The portrayal of God is unique in separate books throughout the Bible. This flexibility of role and character is exemplified by the discrepancy in the depiction of God in the book of Genesis in comparison to the depiction of God in the book of Job. On the larger scale, God creates with intention in Genesis in contrast to destroying without reason in Job. However, as the scale gets smaller, God’s creative authority can be seen in both books, yet this creative authority is manifested in entirely distinctive manners. In Genesis, God as
In Genesis, God’s will actually works in favor towards Rebekah. His will ensures that Rebekah is successful in tricking Isaac, her husband. God favors Rebekah and Jacob and helps them, therefore making them successful. Rebekah is successful in helping her son, Jacob, trick Isaac to receive his blessing, because God favors her. Rebekah overhears Isaac telling Esau what he must do to receive his blessing, because God wants Rebekah to hear (Gen 27:5). Jacob receives his father’s blessing through trickery, as it is a part of God’s will. According to God’s will, Jacob, the younger son, will be superior to his elder brother, Esau. As the Lord tells Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, and two people born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger” (Gen 25:23). Since before Jacob’s birth, it is a part of God’s will that
from a dream where he had been thinking back to that time in Vietnam, and he
Jacob ended his relationship with Laban as the owner of the vast majority of his flock. This was due in no small part to the intervention of God on behalf of Jacob. Jacob used a strange method of breeding in an attempt to accomplish this end. The amount that this actually had an effect through symathetic magic or the percieved effect in had based on folk superstition, versus God working in the situation as well as reccesive genetics, is unclear. In any case it is clear that God had some effect on this outcome, in no small part because of the covenant he had made with Abraham to bless him and his descendents. This account must therefore be read in the light of God working providentialy in history, even hwen the precise method He is using is
God’s continuing work can be seen in the incarnation of Christ and his redemptive work. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God…God created the things we can see and the things we cannot see…everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else and he holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:16, 17). Not only is Jesus the exact representation of God, but he is God himself who worked with the Father in creating the world – the sustainer of everything (Hebrews 1:3). “Because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan” (Ephesians 1:11). This means that, “his will may be disobeyed, but his ultimate purpose cannot be frustrated, for he overrules the disobedience in his creatures in such a way that it sub serves his purpose” (Akin 2014, 235). Here we can clearly see God’s sovereignty and that we can rest in the truth that Jesus is Lord and God is in control. God’s involvement in our lives goes even deeper and shows us that he is personal and wants relationships with his creation. He not only spoke with Old Testament figures such as Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Moses, he held relationships with them through guidance and even discipline (Genesis 1:28, 3:8, 12:1, 26:5; Exodus 11, 19, 20, 33:11). Amos 4:13 says that God reveals His thoughts to man. We often
There are thousands of stories in the Bible, but one stands out in particular; the story of Joseph. The Hebrew meaning of the name Joseph is “may Jehovah add, give increase.”1 Through the life of Joseph we see God add meaning and purpose to his life, just as God adds meaning and purpose to all our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”2 Joseph obediently followed God’s plans through trials and tribulations whereas many other figures in the Old Testament faltered in their faith. Joseph, son of Jacob, is the single most important human being in the Old Testament because of his impeccable faith to the one true God and his story of forgiveness that set the stage for God’s chosen people.
The answer to this question can be interpreted from the following Bible verses: Genesis chapters 28-33, 35, 37, and chapters 39-50. First, the dream of Jacob and his inheritance, the book of Genesis distinctly verifies that God played an important role in his blessings and inheritance. Genesis 28, makes this clear to us; “And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven...And behold, the Lord stood above him and said, 'The land wherein thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.'” “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, 'Surely the Lord is this place, and I knew it not.” - Genesis 28:12,13, and 16 [KJV]. When Jacob awoke from his dream, he had an understanding that God had blessed him with a profound sign of divine favor. He then, out of
Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It begins with the story of God’s creation of the universe. The Lord is the Almighty Creator of the world, skies, heavens, seas, animals, man, and woman. He governs the universe and develops relationships with man. Throughout Genesis, God acknowledges the fact that human beings make mistakes, and accepts their imperfection. Throughout Genesis, God changes from one who does not tolerate disobedience, to one who shows clemency. Early on in Genesis, God punishes Adam and Eve for disobedience. After making the mistake of flooding the world, the Lord realizes that even He is not perfect, and does not allow Jacob’s deceit of his father to taint his future.
The dream depicts the sun, moon, starts, and eleven planets kneeling before him. Joseph has eleven brothers whom are all the prophets of Jacob. Once they discover the dream they construct a plan casting Joseph as a slave into the land of Egypt and out of the land of Canaan. Looking at this from a biblical stand point, Jacob holds it true his son could be dead. Therefore, for days he grieved his son. However, the Quran states his sons are lying and patience is important standing in his position. His father further says when you accept Allah he can help you when you look to him for answers. Through Joseph’s brothers sins, mistrust, and dishonesty, Allah is the all-powerful and supreme being. He is to look at him in times of
The book of Genesis presents the reader with a relational God. In particular, Genesis focuses on the relationship between God and man and “thus Genesis does not present a static theology of God’s involvement with humanity, but regardless of his mode of engagement, God is present and active”. However, the sin of man arrived into the world and these relationships were fractured. Again, God exhibits judgment, but also mercy when in Genesis three He sends Adam and Eve out of the Garden for their transgression, yet provides clothes as an act of grace.
The book of Joshua is the continuation of the pilgrimage of Israel to the Promised Land. However, it is also a book about the man Joshua. Joshua's life is an illustration of the power of faith, and teaches us the key to victorious living. The principles he lived by and through which he found success are the same ones we can live by to be victorious in Christ. The essential element of that life is faith.