8.31.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 32:1-21

¹ Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.

³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my master Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’ ”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ ¹⁰ 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 groups. ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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.’ “

¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”

¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’ “

¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” ²¹ So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Laban had been a minor threat. Now a frightened Jacob was going to meet his twin Esau, who he perceived as a major threat. The first word he got was that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men – which didn’t sound good! Jacob thought strategically, and sent gifts ahead in a way that might be psychologically and physically disarming to Esau.

• For the first time in the Genesis stories about him, we see Jacob praying earnestly. In verse 10, he said, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.” How do you respond to this part of Jacob’s prayer? Can you honestly pray that prayer, or do you believe God “owes you” all you have and more?
• Verses 1-2 say Jacob received a deep sign of God’s presence. By verse 7 he was in “fear and great distress.” Does fear always show lack of faith, or is it a normal human reaction even with faith? (Don’t forget Jesus in the garden—Luke 22:41-44.) When you feel frightened, what is it in your relationship with God that calms your fears?

Read Pastor Andrew Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Lord God, too often I toss off a quick prayer as I rush out the door, or before I dive into a meeting agenda – if I remember to pray at all. It challenges me to think of Jacob clinging urgently to you, gasping “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Give me a deeper hunger for your presence and blessing. Teach me how to make being with you my highest priority. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.30.09

Weekly Prayer:

Lord God, too often I toss off a quick prayer as I rush out the door, or before I dive into a meeting agenda – if I remember to pray at all. It challenges me to think of Jacob clinging urgently to you, gasping “I will not let you go until you bless me.” Give me a deeper hunger for your presence and blessing. Teach me how to make being with you my highest priority. Amen.

Prayer Tip:

For our honeymoon, Becca and I went on a Mexican Riviera cruise. At the port of Puerto Vallarta, we traveled deep into the city to get away from all the “touristy” spots. We had the cab driver recommend a restaurant for us. He took us to a place that will always remain near to our hearts. We were the only two people in the restaurant, aside from the woman who owned the place and two little children she was watching for a friend. The entrees were phenomenal, but we couldn’t stop eating the fresh salsa that she just made for us. I asked her what her secret ingredient was. She responded humbly that there wasn’t really a secret ingredient but when she prepares the salsa, she prays over it and prays for the people who will be eating it. I was not expecting this answer. It truly blessed us to know that she was praying for us while she prepared that salsa! Perhaps we should all add this ’secret ingredient’ to all of our entrees. Next time you prepare a meal for others I encourage you to pray for the guests who will be dining with you. It is sure to bless both the preparers and receivers of the meal that God has provided.

–Rev. Michael Maroon, Pastor of Prayer Ministries

Join us for worship today–click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at live.cor.org.

Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

8.29.09

Personal Application:
The Bible’s characters were human, with dark sides as well as light. Jacob, like so many after him, kept turning to the Lord of Light, allowing the light to change his life more and more. Which direction are you facing now—toward or away from the Lord of Light? Choose one or more spiritual disciplines to practice daily, through which God can bring more and more light into your life.

Family Activity:
Laban and Jacob often spoke to and treated one another unkindly. When Jacob chose to disappear with his two wives (who were also Laban’s daughters), Laban pursued them. After more unkind words towards one another, Jacob and Laban decided to create a promise of peace. In all families, hurtful words are spoken. They can be divisive and crushing, causing conflict for moments, even years. In your home, establish a place of peace. Place a special rug or blanket in a central area. When arguments, fighting or namecalling begin, encourage the family members to sit on the peace place. Here, remind them to listen, breathe deeply, read Scripture, pray and talk with one another. Practice peace, and with God’s help, peace will become more of your family’s practice.

Prayer:
Dear God, we read about the good, the bad and the ugly of Jacob. We read of moments when he seems to do the right thing and moments when he clearly does the wrong thing. No matter where he is or what he does, you always watch over him. May we see that you have always been and will always be there for us, just as you were there for Jacob—and we are grateful. Amen.

8.28.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 31:22-55

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁵ Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. ²⁷ Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps? ²⁸ You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-by. You have done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s house. But why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. ³² But if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing.

³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.

³⁶ Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “What sin have I committed that you hunt me down? ³⁷ Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.

³⁸ “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. ⁴⁰ This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne?
⁴⁴ Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸ Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”

So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there.

⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Laban pursued Jacob, and accused him of stealing flocks, daughters and the household gods. Violence hung ominously in the air. But God warned Laban, and Rachel craftily hid the gods that she, not Jacob, had taken. In the end, they made a covenant of peace. They set up a pillar of stone as a memorial and boundary, praised God and parted forever.

• After twenty years of deals made and broken, rubbing sharp elbows daily, Jacob and Laban had many grievances. But God led them to set aside their complaints and make peace. In what relationships would setting up a “Mizpah pillar” (verses 49-53) improve your life? What kind of help with your feelings would you need to do that?
• The first part of Jacob and Laban’s talk is a classic Middle Eastern bazaar scene. The words twist and turn, sliding easily from compliments to condemnation. What are some ways you are tempted to use slippery speech in today’s world? How does Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:34-37 challenge you?

Read Darren Lippe’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.27.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 30:25 – 31:21

Genesis 30

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. ³⁰ The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”

³¹ “What shall I give you?” he asked.

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: ³² Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³ And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” ³⁵ That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. ³⁸ Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals.
⁴¹ Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,
⁴² but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. ⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 31

¹ Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.”
² And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.

³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, ⁷ yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. ⁹ So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.

¹⁰ “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’ ”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? ¹⁵ Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. ¹⁶ Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, ¹⁸ and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. ²⁰ Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. ²¹ So he fled with all he had, and crossing the River, he headed for the hill country of Gilead.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Once Rachel had a son, Jacob asked to go home. “Stay,” said Laban. They made a deal based on sheep coloring that seemed stacked in Laban’s favor. But Jacob did very well. Jacob’s methods aren’t credible today—even Jacob and Genesis gave God credit for his success. Though God again promised safety, Jacob got scared and ran—again.

• One minute Jacob praised God for giving him success, the next he plotted how best to advance himself. Jacob was—well, a lot like us. When has God worked for you and others through something you planned and initiated? When has God done something startling, which left you feeling “Wow—I’m just along for the ride”?
• Laban said he’d learned about God’s blessing “by divination” (later banned in Lev. 19 and Deut. 18). Then Rachel stole her father’s “household gods”! What does it tell you about Israel’s God that God did not just give up on these idol-worshipping, “irrational” people in horror? How wide is your understanding of God’s love?

Read Correy Trupp’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.26.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 29:31 – 30:24

Genesis 29

³¹ When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30

¹ When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family.”

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

¹⁴ During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Leah and Rachel battled bitterly with each other. Leah had children, but longed for Jacob’s love. Rachel had his love, but ached for children. Both wives gave Jacob their maidservants as pawns in their struggle for family status. Amid all the emotional pain, something vital was happening: the 12 forefathers of the tribes of Israel were being born.

• This is Israel’s own story of how God kept the covenant promise to make Abraham’s family a great nation. No glitzy fake heroics here! If God worked through the envy and pain of Jacob’s family, what may God do as you face hard situations? When has God bent an “evil” in your life to create a “good” for you and God’s kingdom?
• Jacob, his wives and the writer of Genesis all held notions about God and childbearing that we don’t share. God loved and worked with them despite their faulty ideas. Can you see where God worked in your life when you held ideas that you no longer hold? What makes loving God perhaps even more vital than knowing all about God?

Read Pastor Nicole Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.25.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 29:16-30

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her.”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. ²³ But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. ²⁷ Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. ³⁰ Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

Jacob got married—twice! Jacob worked seven years, married Rachel (he thought), and was shocked to find her older sister Leah with him the next morning. Leah wasn’t necessarily ugly. The word rendered “weak” can also mean “delicate,” a compliment. But Jacob loved Rachel, not Leah. A week later, Laban gave him Rachel—for seven more years of work!

• In that time, the norm was, as Laban said, to marry an older daughter first. In not being candid about this from the first, Laban duped Jacob. Have you ever dealt like Laban? Have you ever felt like Jacob, hurt and angry? How can God’s wisdom help you see below the surface at such times, and lead toward healing and peace?
• Laban gave his daughters lavish dowries, but also an example of deceit in his personal dealings. From verse 30 we can see that he set them up for a home filled with sorrow and conflict. What are you working hard to pass on to your children? Will your main legacy be a quantity of “stuff,” or a life filled with integrity and love?

Read Carol Cartmill’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.24.09

Daily Scripture: Genesis 29:1-15

¹ Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. ² There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”
“We’re from Haran,” they replied.

⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”
“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

⁶ Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”
“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

⁷ “Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

⁸ “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. ¹² He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. ¹⁴ Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions:

God begins to carry out the promise to watch over Jacob. Jacob finds his uncle Laban and meets Laban’s daughter Rachel (an important “plot point”). Laban welcomes Jacob to his home as a kinsman. This story is a lot like the one in Genesis 24, when Abraham’s servant found Isaac’s wife (and Jacob’s mother) Rebekah.

• Last week we read God’s promise to Jacob: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.” (Genesis 28:15) How does today’s reading show God fulfilling that vow? What makes it important for Jacob (and us) to know that his journey works out well not just due to his talent and skill, but also to God’s blessing?
• So far, we’ve mainly seen the dark side of Jacob. Like all of us, he had another side. He showed gallantry, kindness and a certain amount of courage in helping Rachel and making contact with his uncle’s family. Who do you know whose “dark side” dominates your view of them? Look for and name the “bright spots” in that person.

Read Pastor Andrew Conard’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.

8.23.09

Weekly Prayer:

Holy Spirit, open the eyes and ears of my heart as I read about Jacob and his family this week. So many of their ways seem ancient, foreign, even offensive to me. Show me, beneath the outward trappings of culture and custom, how much, I am like them. Show me the ways that you want to be as involved in my story as you were in theirs. Amen.

Prayer Tip:

Saint Benedict, the founder of western Monasticism, writes of twelve steps towards achieving humility. Interestingly, Jacob’s ladder was his inspiration for these steps. He writes,
“Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the very highest point of humility and to arrive speedily at that heavenly exaltation to which ascent is made through the humility of this present life, we must by our ascending actions erect the ladder Jacob saw in his dream, on which Angels appeared to him descending and ascending. By that descent and ascent we must surely understand nothing else than this, that we descend by self-exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven if our heart is humbled. For we call our body and soul the sides of the ladder, and into these sides our divine vocation has inserted the different steps of humility and discipline we must climb.” (Ch. 7 of The Rules of Saint Benedict)
The 12 steps are not explicitly prayerful in the manner that we typically view prayer; the steps are rather life disciplines that lead us towards achieving humble hearts. If you are interested in studying and applying the 12 steps, I would encourage you to Google “OSB Chapter 7,” click on the first link and scroll down to Chapter 7. As we all seek to humble ourselves before God and before one another, I offer this litany of humility. If you sense that you lack humility, this might be a good prayer to pray each morning to keep humility on your heart and mind throughout your days. It’s by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val:
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,

From the fear of being humiliated,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world,
others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should.

Amen.

–Rev. Michael Maroon, Pastor of Prayer Ministries

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Download a printable version of this week’s GPS.

8.22.09

Personal Application:
In Genesis 28:18, Jacob turned the stone he used for a pillow into a sign of God being there with him, even in painful times. Find a way to do something similar in your life. It might be a picture put up in your workspace, a verse taped to the dash of your car, or a common TV tray used as a simple altar. Creatively remind yourself of God’s abiding presence and steadfast love.

Family Activity:
Do you appreciate receiving a blessing? Blessings, whether they are words, gifts, or kind deeds uplift our spirits, renew our strength and sustain us along life’s journey. Scripture is filled with blessings from God. Read aloud the following passages: Genesis 2: 2-3; Psalm 33: 12; Ezekiel 34: 26; and Matthew 5: 3-11. Discuss the blessings found in each one. Create a family blessing basket. Write kind word or phrases on several small slips of colorful paper and place them in a basket. Younger children could draw pictures to place in the blessing basket. Whenever a family member is in need of a blessing, pull a slip of paper, read or show it to him or her, then share a hug or smile.

Prayer:
Dear God, as we read about Jacob’s beginnings, we relate to his moments of manipulation, scheming and shortfalls. Yet, despite all this, you were with him every step of his journey. This brings me confidence, Lord, that you will always be with me no matter what I say or do. Forgive me for the times when I do not live up to your hopes for me and transform me this day by your ever-present grace. Amen.