Category: Scripture

Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”

So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood, and prepared a wedding feast. But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)

But when Jacob woke up in the morning- it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”

“It’s not our custom to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. Bu twait until the bridal week is over, then we’ll give you Rachel, too-provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”

So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave her him Rachel, too. (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years. (vv. 21-30, NLT)

After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”

Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. There was not sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven year if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”

“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than anyone else. Stay and work with me.” So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. (vv. 14b-20, NLT)

Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous at the dust of the earth! They will spread out all directions-to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised to you.”

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” (vv. 10-17, NLT)

So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. Instead , go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather, Bethuel, and marry one of your Uncle Laban’s daughters. May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings He promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are not living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”

So Issac sent Jacob away and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel and Aramean.

Esau know that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ismael’s daughters, in addtion to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Neboaith and the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son. (vv. 1-9, NLT)

So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Issac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!”

“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, my God always give you abundant harvests of gran and bountiful new wine. May many nations become your servants and bow down to you! May you be the master over your brothers and may your. mother’s sons bow down to you! All who curse you will be cursed and al who bless you will be blessed.”

As son as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father , Esau returned from his hunt. Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”

But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?

Esau replied, “It’s your son, you firstborn son, Esau.”

Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”

When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.

But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”

Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he too my rights as firstborn, and how he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine-what is left for me to give you, my son?”

Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.

Finally, his father , Isaac, aid to him, “You will live away from the riches of the earth, and away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yolk from his neck.” (vv. 27-40, NLT)

So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal , just the way Isaac liked it. Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. She covered his arms and the the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.

So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.

“Yes, my son, Isaac answered. “Who are you-Esau or Jacob?”

Jacob replied, It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. NO sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”

Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God put it in m path.!” Jacob replied.

Then Isaac sai to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau..” So Jacob went closer to his father and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands re Esau’s,” Isaac said. But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.

Then Isaac said, “Now my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.: So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac at it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.” (vv.14-26, NLT)

One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”

“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.

“I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. Take your bow and quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”

But Rebekah over heard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left ot hunt for the wild game, she said, to her son, Jacob, “Listen, I overheard your father say to Esau, ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. Then take the food to your father so that he can eat and bless you before he dies.”

“But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I am trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”

But his mother replied, “Then let the the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go and get the goats for me!” (vv. 1-13, NLT)

One day, King Abimelech came from Gearar with his advisor, Ahuzath and also Phicol, his army commander. “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off you land.”

They replied, “We can plainly see that the Lord is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant. Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the Lord has blessed you!”

So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together. Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left them in peace.

That very day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed. So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “well of oath”).

At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith , the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. (vv. 26-35, NLT)

A severe famine now struck the land, and as happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac mored to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines lived.

The Lord appeared to Issac and said “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you. Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all thee lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, you father. I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants and all the nations of the earth will be blessed. I will do this because Abraham listened to Me and obeyed all My commandments, decrees, and instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.” But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and say Isaac caressing Rebekah.

Immediately, Ambimeleh called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously you wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’

“Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of our people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of a great sin.:

Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone woh touches this man or his wife will be put to death!” (vv. 1-11, NLT)

As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperarament, preferring to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating wild game Esau bought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

One day, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red”.)

“All right, ” Jacob replied, “but give me your rights as the firstborn son.”

“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

But Jacob said, “You must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn. (vv. 27-34, NLT)