Dr Paul Allen

As Genesis 31 opens, Jacob has been living in a foreign and hostile land for twenty years, outside the land that he was promised by God. He was driven out of this land in Genesis 28 after he had stolen the blessing meant for Esau, his elder brother. He fled to Paddan-Aram, where his uncle Laban lived. There he stayed and worked for Laban and married his daughters, Leah and Rachel. Yet throughout these years, Laban took advantage of Jacob and dealt with him dishonourably. Here in Genesis 31 Jacob finally decides to leave Laban after the Lord instructs him to return home to the promised land (Gen. 31:3). So Jacob and his family leave, in obedience to the Lord, taking with them all the livestock and property that he received as payment for all the years he worked for Laban, as Genesis 30 explains. But in Genesis 31:19 there is a seemingly throwaway line that reads, “And Rachel stole her father’s household gods.” Looking closer, this line is indeed a shocking revelation. Rachel, the God-fe...

Genesis 32:6 – And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” There are times in life when it feels like we are in an exhausting battle. Sometimes we even battle with God – struggling to accept His will, unwilling to agree with His word or fighting to get our own way and not do things His way. In this scene of Genesis, Jacob literally wrestles with God in a way that ends up being a good blessing for His future.  Jacob left home as a single man and now returns home as a husband and father who has been toughened up by years of abuse under his father-in-law, Laban.                After 20 years away, Jacob’s homecoming journey was interrupted by two angels who met him at the border of the Promised Land. Not knowing if his brother Esau, whom he had not seen for 20 years, still wanted to kill him, Jacob sent messengers ahead to notify Esau that he...

The Old Testament tells us that no person can see the face of God and live (Exod 33:20). The New Testament echoes this prohibition (John 1:18). The prophet Hosea, however, seems to disagree. In Hosea 12:3–4, the prophet revisits the story of Jacob as told in Genesis:     In the womb he [Jacob] deceived his brother,       and in his manhood he struggled with God.       He struggled with the angel and prevailed;          he pleaded for his mercy.       He met him at Bethel,          and there he spoke with him. (LEB) If we turn back to Genesis, we find that Jacob “struggled” (sarah) with “a man” in a physical scuffle (Gen 32:24 LEB). The same Hebrew word is also used in Hosea 12:3 for Jacob’s struggle with God, thereby linking these two passages. As Jacob wrestled the stranger, he came to realize he was struggling with God (elohim) in human form (Gen 32:28). He named th...

“God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad’ ” (Gen. 31:24). Laban may have been away when Jacob and his daughters set out for Gilead (Gen. 31:17–21), but their journey does not escape his notice for long. After he becomes aware of his son-in-law’s absence, Laban sets out in hot pursuit and is soon able to get within striking distance of Jacob (vv. 22–23). Given what we know about Jacob’s loss of favor in Laban’s eyes (v. 2), it is obvious Laban wants to execute ungodly wrath on his son-in-law. Our Creator’s visit to him in a dream just before he overtakes Jacob makes this even more plain. At the beginning of the passage, Laban is warned not to say anything to Jacob, that is, he is told to contradict nothing Isaac’s son says to him (v. 24). Without a doubt, this dream provokes Laban to keep his hands off Jacob in the following verses. Once again, God has intervened in history, keeping His prom...

“Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee” (Gen. 31:20). Having his wives’ full consent in his decision to flee Paddan-aram, Jacob and his entourage begin their return to Canaan in today’s passage. Concern for his clan’s safety factors into this move, but Jacob’s growing desire to trust God and return to the Promised Land cannot be ignored. Genesis 31:21 says he “set his face” toward Gilead, a region east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River where the Israelite tribes Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh later settled. Jacob is taking his family and making a beeline for his God-given country. This caravan makes its move while Laban is shearing the sheep (v. 19), which is a wise decision. Shepherds were busy during the sheep-shearing season and worked from sunrise to sunset gathering wool from their flocks. Jacob was therefore able to get a lead of several days on his father-in-law. Moses tells us Jacob “tricked” Laban (v. 20), a term that literally means “...

“Rachel and Leah answered … ‘All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do’ ” (Gen. 31:14–16). We saw yesterday that Jacob was a better man after his years spent with Laban, and today’s passage shows us just how much he has grown. The patriarch has learned from God’s discipline (Deut. 8:5), made evident in the speech he gives in Genesis 31:4–13. Notice how Jacob credits the Lord with his success. In three parallel statements he describes what Laban did and then affirms how God turned his father-in-law’s efforts to harm him into a blessing. Laban’s attitude toward his son-in-law has soured, but the Lord remains with Jacob (v. 5). God preserved Jacob from harm even as Laban deceived him (vv. 6–7). Laban tried to withhold wages from Jacob, but the Creator gave Laban’s wealth to his servant (vv. 8–9). After years relying on his own wits, Jacob is beginning to recognize that everything he has com...

“Then the LORD said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you’ ” (Gen. 31:3). Jacob may have started out his life as a deceiver, willing to lie and cheat in order to gain the place of promise (Gen. 25:29–34; 27), but he has proven himself to be teachable and emerges from his stay in Paddan-aram a better man (28:2). Humbled by his father-in-law’s trick, an example of talionic (eye-for-an-eye) justice (29:1–30), Jacob has labored long and hard for Laban, who has exploited his son-in-law’s godly desire to provide for his family (30:25–43). Though Laban has done all he could to keep Jacob and his services around indefinitely, God has thwarted him by prospering the patriarch’s efforts. Jacob’s hard work benefited his father-in-law (v. 27), but Laban’s family does not celebrate their wealth. Today’s passage tells us Jacob’s success angers Laban’s sons because it dwarfs their father’s profit (31:1). Laban earlier appreciated the great p...

“ Laban, after all his searches, failed to find his gods, and was baffled in his enquiry by a trick; but our God will not only be found of those who seek him, but they shall find him their bountiful rewarder.” Matthew Henry, from his commentary on Genesis 31:33–35 God’s word to the serpent in Genesis 3:14–15 ensures that the seed of the woman—Christ and His people from all generations—will have final victory over the Devil and his minions even though, because of our sin, there will be setbacks along the way. Jacob’s life proved these words to be true. Despite his sin (27:1–29), the Lord’s grace remained on Jacob, sustaining and disciplining him while in service to Laban (29:1–30:24). No matter how hard he tried, Jacob’s father-in-law, part of the serpent’s seed, was unable to bring his son-in-law to ruin (vv. 25–43). Jacob’s life demonstrates this principle once again in his final confrontation with Laban. Our Father shields and prospers Jacob yet again in chapter 31, because ...

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them … Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the LORD” (Ex. 6:3, 6). Moses and all of Israel had given up on God . Now things were worse than they had been, there was no hope of freedom, and now their misery was more than they could bear. How could God let them down? Why had He not delivered them? Before we are too hard on Israel, let us consider our own history. How many times have we doubted God and asked, “Why have you not delivered me?” Man is weak-willed, demanding, and impatient. We find it so difficult to wait on the Lord, to trust in His timing, to look at the worst of situations as opportunities for God to show forth His power and glory. Like Israel, we are quick to doubt. God, who had been known to the patriarchs as El-Shaddai, the Almighty One, the Sufficient One, was certainly capable of delivering His people. A sniveling, vengeful, prideful human was not...

A favorite point of attack on the Bible for those who deny its divine origin and inerrancy is the two varying genealogies of Jesus Christ . Not only is this a favorite point of attack by unbelievers, but it is also a point that often puzzles earnest students of the Bible. It is perfectly clear that the two genealogies differ widely from one another, and yet each is given as the genealogy of Christ. How can they by any possibility both be true? There is a very simple answer to this apparently difficult question. 1. The genealogy given in Matthew is the genealogy of Joseph, the reputed father of Jesus, his father in the eyes of the law. The genealogy given in Luke is the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus , and is the human genealogy of Jesus Christ in actual fact. The gospel of Matthew was written for Jews. All through it Joseph is prominent, Mary is scarcely mentioned. In Luke, on the other hand, Mary is the chief personage in the whole account of the Saviour’s conception and b...

The provocation was very great. They wanted to return to Egypt from which God had delivered them. He had delivered them from bondage, parted the sea, fed them with bread from heaven, led them through the wilderness, and yet they could not trust His power to prevail over a few giants! They doubted His power. At Horeb they had made a calf, because they said it had brought them out of the land of Egypt, Exod. 32:4. They now wanted a captain to lead them back into Egypt. What is more they wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb who had told the truth. Truth is never popular, yet how important to maintain it in regard to the proper position and inheritance of the saints. The Lord’s anger was aroused, and He threatened to disinherit them and to make of Moses a great nation instead. Moses wanted no glory for himself, but he was jealous for God’s Name and glory. He could not bear the thought of the lustre of that glory being tarnished in the eyes of the nations around, vv. 15, 16. Moses pleaded f...

Isaac Blessing Jacob (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) PROVERBS 11:24–26 “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (v. 25). Divine blessings shape a person’s destiny, which is why Jacob conspired to lay hold of the better blessing from Isaac and why Esau mourned greatly when he did not receive it (Gen. 27:1–45). Yet Scripture also speaks of blessings that human beings may bring to one another, and it promises good things to those who use what they have to bless others, as we see in today’s passage. One commentator has noted that God ’s economy does not always work as we might expect it to operate. To become rich and successful according to the world’s standards, one is generally encouraged to invest every penny in himself. The Bible , on the other hand, tells us the one who “gives freely” actually “grows more blessed” ( Prov. 11:24). Paradoxically, the more a person gives away to needy people and the work of the kingdom, the more bless...

Isaac Blessing Jacob (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) GENESIS 27:1–45 “Let the peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mothers sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” (v. 29). Blessings and cursings play a prominent role in Scripture (Lev. 26; Deut. 28: Matt. 5:1–12; 23), indicating their importance in God’s governance of His covenant community. One of the earliest appearances of the theme of blessing in the Bible occurs in Genesis 27:1–45, and it is to this passage that we now turn our attention. The Word of God does not view blessings as mere wishes for good that may or may not come true. Instead, a blessing is determinative of destiny when the hand of the Lord is in it. This is seen most clearly in the blessings that our Creator declares on His servants in Scripture. The blessing on Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3, for example, is a word that forms the future for the patriarch ...

Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph by Rembrandt, 1656. Genesis 48 describes how Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “By faith Jacob , when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph , bowing in worship over the head of his staff” (Heb. 11:21). In Hebrews 11:20 we saw how Isaac by faith blessed his two sons at the end of his life. This evidence of faith shows that those with true persevering faith will hold onto God ’s promises even if they die before they are all fully realized. In Hebrews 11:21 we read another example of faith drawn from the last days of an old covenant saint. This time our model is Jacob who when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph while “bowing in worship over the head of his staff” (v. 21). This verse reflects upon the book of Genesis and the story of Jacob blessing his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh . We read in Genesis 48:8–16 that near the end of Jacob’s life, Joseph brought his two sons to their grandfather. Manasse...

Isaac Blessing Jacob, painting by Govert Flinck (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau ”(Heb. 11:20). The author of Hebrews wisely included a section on the faith of the old covenant saints in his letter. After all, his original audience needed to be reminded to endure in their hope and thus demonstrate true faith—faith that perseveres until the end of life (Heb. 10:36–39). The old covenant saints who died in faith before receiving the ultimate promises of God (11:13) are excellent examples of persevering faith, since many new covenant believers also die before all of God’s promises are fully manifested in the new heavens and the new earth. Those who possess true persevering faith not only live by faith, but also die in faith. Today we shall look at the first of three old covenant saints who not only lived by faith but also died in faith. Hebrews 11:20 tells us that by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. ...

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Decretum horribile. That's what John Calvin called the doctrine of reprobation (Institutes 3.23.7). It means the "awe-full decree." We've seen in the previous five parts of this series that our Triune God in His amazing grace has elected or predestined some of fallen humanity to salvation. In this final post, the question we are faced with is what of the rest of humanity? Reformed theology typically confesses what is known as double predestination . The Canons of Dort (CD) define this doctrine as "the express testimony of sacred Scripture that not all, but some only, are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal decree" (CD 1.15). This is a very serious confession. Let me focus our hearts on the biblical teaching before addressing two practical struggles this doctrine can bring up. Is this Doctrine Biblical ? I begin with whether this doctrine is biblical because Scripture is the fou...