Opening Prayer
Dear Lord, we thank you for everyone gathered here today
and ask that you surround us with your powerful, life-changing presence.
Thank you for loving each of us and for calling us to walk with you.
We come before you as we meet and declare our dependence on you.
Be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Fill our hearts with your love, fill our words and conversations with truth and grace.
We ask all of these things in praise and adoration of You.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Pentecost Clarification (birth of the church)
We read last week that the Pentecost is often thought of as the birth-day of the Church. In some respects, this is true. In others, it is not.
It is not the beginning of a new religion. It is the fulfillment/completion of a very old one. And even before that, we know that we were not created to Fall but to be in relationship with God. In that sense, the Church – the people of God – has always been and always will be. The Parable of the Prodigal Son describes how our relationship with God was lost and then found again. The prodigal son – humans – will get another chance at life.
Pentecost also fulfills this prophesy from Jeremiah:
Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.. a new beginning. – Jeremiah 31:31-33
You could also say that if this was the Game of Monopoly, then Pentecost represented our ‘Get out of Jail’ card.
Bible Timeline Week
Gen 27-28 – Jacob deceives Esau and Issac as advised by Rebekah
Gen 28-29 – Jacob heads to Haran, Jacob’s dream, Jacob meets Rachel, marries Leah and Rachel
Gen 31: Jacob flees Laban
Gen 32-33 – Jacob returns, meets Esau, Jacob’s 12 Sons
Gen 37 – Joseph sold into Egypt
Gen 39 – Joseph tempted by master’s wife, goes to prison
Gen 40-41 – Joseph Dreams Again, becomes P.Minister
Gen 42-44 – Joseph’s Brothers come to Egypt
Gen 45 – The Truth Revealed
Gen 46-50 – Israel Migrates to Egypt, Jacob dies.
Exodus
Q: Does anyone remember where we left off? It involved Jacob and Isaac.
Jacob deceived Isaac into giving him the family blessing rather than his older brother, Esau. Esau finds out and vows to kill Jacob. Rebekah summons Jacob and says,
“Listen! Your brother Esau intends to get his revenge by killing you. So now, my son, obey me: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and stay with him a while until your brother’s fury subsides—until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in a single day?” - Gen 27:42-45
Gen 28 – Rebekah tells Isaac everything and also her worry about Isaac marrying a Canaanite woman like Esau. That also worries Isaac so he calls Jacob into his tent, blesses him again, and enjoins him never to marry a Canaanite woman but to find a wife from Rebekah’s clan.
Jacob heads off to that distant land where he will meet up with Rebekah’s brother, Laban (his uncle); another deceiver.
Q: Does anyone know what Esau does next?
He finds out about Isaac’s instructions to Jacob not to marry a Canaanite. He wants Isaac’s approval so bad he goes off and marries a daughter of the rejected Ishmael. That is still not of the line of Shem but Esau is clueless about his lineage – it never interested him. He always lived/acted in the moment and always made the wrong choice. His choice of wife (one of many) was another quick fix to the latest issue.
Q: Do you recall a similar journey that Isaac made?
Isaac was sent on the exact same journey by Abraham when he was younger to search for a wife (Rebekah).
Q: What was the difference in the two men’s journeys?
Abraham sent Isaac with many servants, camels, and gold for the dowry.
Isaac sent Jacob with none of this. Consequently, Jacob has no dowry when he finds Rachel and wishes to marry her, and the only way he can pay the dowry is to work in the fields for Laban for seven years which, due to Laban’s trickery, turns into 20 years.
Q: Isaac, like Abraham, was wealthy. Why would he do this to Jacob?
Perhaps punishment for Jacob’s deception? Remember, Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob. Given that Isaac surely knew of God’s preference for Jacob’s bloodline, one wonders at how unintuitive he was. If that is the case, then thank goodness for Rebekah.
From Beersheba to Paddan-Aram (Haran) is about 600 miles, which would take 1-2 months to reach.
Jacob’s Dream
Jacob departed from Beersheba and proceeded toward Haran. When he came upon a certain place, he stopped there for the night, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones at the place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was..
Then he had a dream: a ladder planted on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and God’s angels were going up and down on it.And there was the LORD, standing above and saying: “I am the Yahweh, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, your father. The land on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east, to north and south, and through them all the families of the earth will find blessing. I am with you and will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Truly, the LORD is in this place and I did not know it!”
He was afraid and said: “How awesome this place is! This is nothing less than the house of God, and the gate of heaven!”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a sacred pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
He named that place Bethel (“place of God”), whereas before that the town had been called Luz.
Jacob then made this vow: “If God will be with me and protect me on this journey I am making and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and I come back safely to my father’s house, the LORD will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a sacred pillar will be the house of God. Of everything you give me, I will return a tenth part to you without fail.”
Q: Jacob’s visionary experience had been experienced before. By whom?
Jacob is the third patriarch to receive it, after Abraham and Isaac. As Jacob’s first experience of God, this will be a game-changer for him. Although he still has much to learn, he knows there is a path, and he is on it.
Q: How did God introduce himself to Jacob?
As “I AM” (Yahweh), the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac.
Q: When Jacob awoke, it says he was afraid. Why do you think he was afraid?
It was his first experience with God, and he probably feared at having wronged his brother and father.
Q: Jacob is also in awe and very excited. Why?
He was being sent alone 600 miles to a land far away. He wronged his family and it felt like he was exiled. This is the first sign of hope he has ever had. In fact, it was far more than mere hope.
Q: What three aspects, or images, did Jacob see in his vision?
1. A ladder or stairway reaching from heaven to earth
2. Angels ascending and descending the stairway.
3. God at the top of the stairway over both heaven and earth.
4.
Q: What is the significance of the vision?
The motion of the angels ascending and descending the stairway between heaven and earth signified the connection between the material and the spiritual. To Jacob, this site was like the Garden of Eden – a doorway between the natural and the supernatural.
Q: What did Jesus give us that is a doorway connecting the natural and supernatural, material and spiritual?
The sacraments. The door opens when these occur conveying God’s grace (supernatural power) directly to us.
Gen 29 Jacob meets Rachel at the well
He meets Laban and there is much excitement. Laban has two daughters – Leah and the younger Rachel.
Jacob asks for Rachel’s hand in marriage but has no dowry.
Laban is happy to oblige and Jacob agrees to work for 7 years first.
Seven years is up and Laban throws a week-long wedding party. The night of the consummation, Laban switches Leah and Rachel and Jacob ends up sleeping with Leah.
Jacob is outraged at being duped and Laban says its custom to marry off the oldest daughter first. But, he says no problem, he will give him Rachel, too, for another 7 years labor.
Gen 31 Jacob flourishes. During these years, God blesses everything Jacob touches so that Laban prospers. Jacob works out a deal with Laban for his own flocks.
Six years later – 20 years since he arrived – Jacob departs Laban with his wives and children and flocks and finally heads home.
Children – so far, Jacob has 11 sons – 6 by Leah, two by her maidservants, two by Rachel’s maidservants, and finally one by Rachel (Joseph).
On the way back to Canaan, Jacob is very nervous about encountering Esau again. He prays a lot. In a dream one night he encounters an angel and wrestles with him through the night.
Because Jacob was strong, he lasts until morning and the angel finally dislocates Jacob’s hip. He tells Jacob his new name is Israel, which means one who has struggled with the divine and prevailed.
Gen 33 Jacob and Esau meet. To Jacob’ great relief, Esau harbors no ill will towards him and is excited to see him.
Gen 35 Rachel dies having Jacob’s 12th son, Benjamin.
Jacob visits his old home in Mamre in time enough to say goodbye to his father, Isaac. Isaac dies at 183 yrs.
Gen 36 The lineage of Esau (the Edomites).
Gen 37 Some 15 years pass. The young Joseph is now 17 years old and is the favored son of the 12. Jacob dotes on him. The brothers don’t like him for this reason.
This only gets worse when Joseph tells them about his dreams where his brothers are serving him.
One day when they are out with the flocks, Joseph is sent out to check on them. His brothers see him coming and scheme to kill him. Instead, they throw him into a dried-up cistern. When a passing caravan of Ishmaelites happens by on their way to Egypt, they decide to sell Joseph to them for 20 pieces of silver.
The bothers keep Joseph’s colorful tunic, smear blood on it and when they go home they tell Jacob a wild animal ate Joseph.
Jacob is so full of grief he puts on sackcloth and mourns inconsolably for many days.
After reaching Egypt they Ishmaelites sell Joseph to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and his chief steward.
Closing Prayer
Beloved Heavenly Father
In the unfolding events of salvation history, you have revealed yourself to mankind.
You have expressed through real time and historical events your plan of salvation
And your desire that every human being should come to know you,
To experience your love
And to accept Your gift of forgiveness and freedom.
Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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