Month: March 2021 Page 1 of 2

A new birth – Benjamin from Benoni

On March 24, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Ben-oni to Benjamin

Genesis 35:16-20 gives the account of Jacob’s journey from Bethel to Bethlehem, the birth of Benjamin, the death of Rachel at the birth of her new son, and her burial. Although this account enlists the death of Rachel (Jacob’s wife), this is also an account of birth – a new son of Israel. Rachel in her travail and labor names the newborn son Benoni, meaning son of my trouble (or sorrow) but his father names him Benjamin, meaning son of my right hand (or son of authority). The new son is born in Ephrath which is also called Bethlehem. Ephrath (or Ephrathah or Ephratah) means fruitful and Bethlehem means House of Bread.

While literally, the naming by Rachel can be attributed to the travails of her labor and hence the naming of her son, Benoni, it is noteworthy that his father renames him as Benjamin.

Some see this renaming to be symbolic of Christ Jesus’ birth. Jesus came into the world to be the suffering servant of God, a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), to whom God gave the Name above all names (Philippians 2:9-11) and all authority in heaven and on earth and (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is the Son of Authority at the right hand of God (Hebrews 8:1). The King of kings and the Lord of lords will come as the Son of Israel (Revelation 12:5) as the Seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16), through Isaac and Israel, and is the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4). Bethlehem is not known for being the place where Israel’s favorite wife (Genesis 29:18), Rachel died, but it is known for the birth of the Son of God who came into the world to defeat the devil who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) once and for all (Hebrews 10:10).

Also noteworthy is the fact that from the line of Benjamin, comes Saul, the first king of Israel choosing (1 Samuel 9:1), and the Saul who became Paul (Philippians 3:5).

Points to ponder:
Everyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of authority, is born again (John 3:3-8), i.e., has a new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17) and has overcome death (John 11:25). When one is born again, they are changed from the old antagonist Saul to the new Apostle Paul who can be fruitful, in the world, when the Holy Spirit of God produces His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) in their lives. Do you have new birth? Are you born again? In other words, do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Benoni who is the Benjamin of God?

Genesis 35:16-20
¹⁶And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
¹⁷And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
¹⁸And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
¹⁹And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
²⁰And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

A drink offering and oil poured thereon

By Mano Paul

On March 22, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Jacob pours a drink offering and oil on the pillar of stone at Bethel

In response to God’s command to and covenant reaffirmation with Jacob, Jacob with reverence sets up a pillar of stone in that place where God had met and communed with him, and poured a drink offering on it, and poured oil upon it. Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel (Genesis 35:13-15).

As a reformed man with the name Israel, Jacob responds with reverence and worships God by setting up a pillar of stone, just as he had done before when he had the dream of angels ascending and descending the ladder between heaven and earth. Even in his first encounter with God, he had poured on the pillar of stone a drink offering and oil upon it and called the name Bethel (Genesis 28:10-19).

In other words, the altar, the drink offering and consecration by oil, and the naming of the place are all repeated. The first time it was by Jacob, the deceiver on his way away from the land that God had promised his fathers, and the second time it was by Jacob the reformed and renamed man as Israel, on his way back into the promised land that God has covenanted to give to his father Issac and grandfather Abraham.

Points to ponder:
Jesus is the stone pillar (a rock) who can be relied upon (Psalm 118:22-23, Daniel 2:34-35, 1 Corinthians 10:3). He is the ladder between God and man (John 1:51), upon whose command, ministering angels (Hebrews 1:14) ascend and descend to carry out God’s work amongst his people. Oil was used to anoint kings (1 Samuel 16:13) and metaphorically, the pouring of oil on top of the pillar of stone is indicative of the kingship of the anointed (the Christ or Messiah). Upon Jesus was the anointing of the Holy Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 61:1, Acts 10:38) and He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

A drink offering is symbolic of a life of utmost dedication and devotion (2 Samuel 23:16) and service (Philippians 2:17) to the Lord. Jesus’ life was poured out as a drink offering for our salvation and in response, we must pour out our life in dedication, devotion, and service to Him.

Have you responded with reverence and do you worship God by consecrating your life by setting Christ the Pillar, the Rock, in your heart? Have you been anointed by the Holy Spirit who is given to everyone who believes in Jesus? Do you worship God by recognizing Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and consecrate your life to Him (as Israel did)!
And if you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, is your life and mine poured out as a drink offering on Him and for Him?

Genesis 35:13-15 (KJV)
¹³And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
¹⁴And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
¹⁵And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

Command to and Covenant with…

By Mano Paul

On March 18, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Genesis 35:11-12 God blesses Jacob, renames him as Israel and upon revealing Himself as God Almighty, God gives the command to Jacob to be fruitful and multiply and promises him that nations and kings shall come from his loins (Genesis 35:11). God then promises to give to Jacob and to his seed after him, the land and seed that he had given to Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 35:12). After God had spoken with him, God ascended from where he was (Genesis 35:13).

The command that God gives to Jacob is the same that he had given to man, since the creation of Adam (the man) (Genesis 1:27-28), and with Noah, after the flood (Genesis 9:1). The covenant that God reaffirms with Jacob is the same that God had made with his fathers – Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3) and Isaac (Genesis 26:3-4). It is after the blessing and reaffirmation of His covenant, God ascends from where he was.

Points to ponder:
At creation and after the flood, the command to be fruitful and to multiply meant that man is to propagate and fill the earth, representing God (in whose image man was created – Genesis 1:27) to all of creation, so that creation would recognize God as God Almighty and ascribe to Him, the worship and glory that is due unto Him. God’s reaffirmation of the same covenant with Jacob and to subsequent generations, as he did with the generations before him, not only demonstrates God’s faithfulness generation after generation but also his steadfast unchanging character, for in God there is no variableness (James 1:17).

Those of us who have believed in Jesus are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s command to us is to be fruitful and to multiply; fruitful by producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in our lives and multiply meaning that we ought to be sharing the gospel of Jesus’ love, grace, and mercy to all of creation so that those who are not in God’s kingdom will see him as Almighty God and believe in Jesus and be added into God’s kingdom. Repeated addition is multiplication.

God does not change and is faithful generation after generation. Are you and I faithful in being fruitful and in multiplying God’s kingdom?

Genesis 35:11-13 (KJV)
¹¹And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
¹²And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
¹³And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

God is El Shaddai

By Mano Paul

On March 17, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, I AM, Through the Bible

Juxtaposing Jacob’s renaming, the second time, in Bethel (Genesis 35:10), God reveals a name by which Jacob is to know him by. God identifies himself as God Almighty which in Hebrew is El Shaddai (Genesis 35:11).

When Jacob wrestled with God, God asked him his name and Jacob, who had used his brother Esau’s name to lie and deceive his earthly father, had to confess and admit that he was Jacob (Genesis 32:27-28). Then Jacob asked for God’s name but did not receive an answer (Genesis 32:29). Now, God does not ask for Jacob’s name (again) and instead renames him (again). And what is more noteworthy is that though unsolicited, God reveals to Jacob that He shall be known to him as God Almighty i.e., El Shaddai. It is the same name by which God had identified Himself to Abraham (Genesis 17:1). Israel was to experience the almighty omnipotent essence of God. Later God would make a mention of this to Moses, when he will reveal to Moses, of his essence of just being, not just as being God Almighty, but All-all-things (i.e., All sufficient one) as he will reveal his name as the Great I AM (Yahweh) (Exodus 6:2-3).

Points to ponder:
The word Shaddai appears forty-eight times in the King James Version of the Bible as illustrated. Twice it is rendered as Almighty God, five times as God Almighty, and forty-one times as just Almighty. The word Shaddai always renders as Almighty and we need to be reminded of God as Almighty in our walk as Christians (after a name change reflecting we belong to Christ); God will mention to Moses that He is the Great I AM (Yahweh which when rendered under the constraints of linguistics as the All Sufficient One) and for one to recognize that He is Yahweh, they must also recognize him as God Almighty (El Shaddai).

Eventually, everything centers around Jesus Christ who said that all power in heaven and on earth is given to Him (Matthew 28:18). The fullness of God dwells in Him (Colossians 2:9). Jesus and God the Father (Yahweh) are one in essence (John 10:30). Jesus is God Almighty. Jesus is El Shaddai. Have you identified Jesus as the El Shaddai in your life? In Christ, you and I can experience the almighty omnipotent essence of God! Do you believe in him? Jesus alone is Almighty and All Sufficient for you!

Genesis 35:9-15 (KJV)
¹⁰And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
¹¹And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

Renaming of Jacob – the Second time

By Mano Paul

On March 15, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

When Jacob came out of Padanaram, in the land of Shechem (Genesis 33:18), and arrived at Bethel, God reappeared to him (Genesis 9:15) and blessed him. After blessing him, what God does first is He renames Jacob and tells him that he shall no longer be called Jacob, but he will be called Israel. Did you know that this is the second time God is renaming Jacob? The first time was when Jacob encountered and wrestled with God (Genesis 32:28) before he had met his brother Esau and reconciled.

Points to ponder:
When we believe (have faith) in Jesus Christ and place our trust in him, moving out of our old lifestyle to come to a place in our life where God is worshipped and reigns, it is important to recognize that being called Christians and not living as Christians can be dangerous, disastrous and bring dishonor to God. Do you and I need to be reminded of who we are, if God was to appear to us now? Would he find us still living a Jacob – deceptive lives – or will he find us worthy of ones who struggle to live as sons and daughters of God? Will you and I have to be renamed?

Now if you have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, this is your time to believe and accept him to be your God and he will give you a new name – a name that signifies that you belong to him – a Christ-one or Christian.

Reappearance, Renaming and Revelation

By Mano Paul

On March 10, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

When Jacob came out of Padanaram, in the land of Shechem (Genesis 33:18), and arrived at Bethel, God reappeared to him and blessed him. After blessing him, what God does first is He renames Jacob and tells him that he shall no longer be called Jacob, but he will be called Israel. Note, this is the second time God is renaming Jacob; the first time was when Jacob encountered and wrestled with God (Genesis 32:28). Juxtaposing Jacob’s renaming, God reveals a name by which Jacob is to know him by. God identifies himself as El Shaddai (God Almighty).

Some observations that are noteworthy include:
1. When Jacob wrestled with God, he clung to God and refused to let go, pleading to be blessed (Genesis 32:26). Here without any plea, God takes the initiative to bless Jacob. Jacob’s act of obedience to move out of his house, from a land that he ought not to have remained (Genesis 33:17), to a place that he recognized was the House of God (for he called it Bethel) resulted in blessings (Genesis 35:9). In Hebrew, beth means house, and El is used for God – Elohim.
2. The renaming of Jacob, a second time, I believe is a reminder for Jacob to change his life, his ways. Note, even after God had told him that he would be called Israel (Genesis 32:28), Jacob’s lifestyle had not changed. Jacob was given a name change, but he did not have a heart change. Even after his brother had reconciled with him, Jacob continued to deceive him by lying to him and telling him that he will follow Esau to where Esau was going, but instead, he went to Padanaram in Shechem and made for himself a house and booths (tents which in Hebrew is Succoth) for his cattle (Genesis 33:12-17), deceiving his brother again and disobeying God, putting himself and his family in danger. He continued to live up to his old name, Jacob, which meant deceiver (supplanter), as was evident from his lies to his brother. God had to remind him that he was no longer to be called Jacob but henceforth known as Israel, meaning that he will have to change his ways and live as one who struggles with God (which is what Israel means) and cling on, refusing to let go, to enjoy God’s blessings.
3. When Jacob wrestled with God, Jacob asked for God’s name but did not receive an answer. Instead, he was asked what his name was and Jacob had to confess and admit that he was Jacob, Until then he had to live with his brother’s name that he had used to deceive his earthly father. Here God, the heavenly father (Matthew 18:14), does not ask for Jacob’s name but instead renames him (again). Following that, though unsolicited, God reveals to Jacob that he shall be known to Israel as El Shaddai, meaning God Almighty. Israel was to experience the Almighty (omnipotent) essence of God. Later God would make a mention of this to Moses, when he will reveal to Moses, of his essence of being, not just as being Almighty, but All-all-things as he will reveal his name as the Great I AM (Yahweh) (Exodus 6:2-3).

Points to Ponder:
God reappears to us time and again, through his word, as the Spirit of God illuminates the Scripture unto us and blesses us when we walk according to His commands and ways. Those who believe in Jesus Christ are a new creation and bear (represent) the name of God. We ought not to walk in our old ways, deceiving others and deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). As we walk about in God’s ways, we will get to experience the Omnipotent God – God Almighty – the El Shaddai – in our lives.

Has God appeared to you? In other words, have you encountered Jesus, in whom the fullness of God dwells (Colossians 2:9), and have you believed in Him? If not, do not delay and put your life and the life of your loved ones in danger, for now (today) is the appointed time for you to encounter God (2 Corinthians 6:2). Believe and be blessed as God appears to you in his word and is revealed in Jesus Christ to make you new and give you a new name – as son or daughter of God.

Genesis 35:9-15 (KJV)
⁹And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
¹⁰And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
¹¹And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;

Getting your house (heart) in order

By Mano Paul

On March 9, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

Following the murdering of the Shechemite men by Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Jacob frets wondering if the inhabitants of the land, where he sojourned would come after him with vengeance and slay him and his family. He expresses to his sons, that their reputation of being a people of peace (Genesis 34:21) was now tarnished and that their cruel attitude and sellfill action (Genesis 49:5-7) would now deem him odious as a stench in the land (Genesis 34:30).

And God tells Jacob, implying that God intervenes and tells Jacob to leave that land and go up to Bethel, where Jacob had encountered God the first time as he was fleeing from his brother Esau (Genesis 28:18-22). Noteworthily, God even tells Jacob that when he gets there, he is to dwell there and make an altar unto God, making this historic as the building of an altar up until this time was a response of men when they had an encounter with God (Genesis 8:20, 12:7-8, 13:18, 22:9, 26:25, 33:20), and not a requirement of God.

Now when Jacob comes to his household, in addition to informing his house of God’s command and direction, he essentially tells his house to get in order. He asks them to do three things.

Put away (Purge)
Be clean (Purify yourself), and
Change garments (Put on new garments).

He edicts them to put away any other gods (Exodus 20:3); which is rendered in the text as strange or foreign gods. Then they are to purify themselves by washing (Exodus 30:19-21, Leviticus 14:28) and put on new garments changing from their old attire (Leviticus 6:10-11).

These strange gods are possibly a reference to the idols that Rachel had stolen (taken and sat upon, hiding them) from her father’s household (Genesis 31:34) or any idols that the sons of Jacob may have plundered and assumed from the Shechemites (Genesis 34:29). Jacob (who will be rechristened for a second time as Israel by God) and his household are to have no other gods before them. His family obliges and gives him all the foreign gods and all the ornaments (earrings) that could be fashioned into dead gods (Psalm 115:3-8), which Jacob hides under an oak by Shechem and leaves the land.

Fearing God, the people of the land, refrain from pursuing the sons of Jacob. When Jacob comes to Bethel (formerly called Luz – Genesis 28:18-19) in the land of Canaan, he built an altar there as God had commanded him to and called the place Elbethel, meaning, God (El) the House (bayith/beth) of God (El) or God of The House. Earlier he had called the altar he had built in the land of Shechem – EleloheIsrael, recognizing that God was His God, the God of Israel. We could infer that his expression Elbethel from EleloheIsrael is a recognition of God being his God and the God of his house or that his house ought to be as the house of God.

Rebekah’s nurse, who accompanied Rebekah when she went to marry Isaac (Genesis 24:59), though unnamed there is identified here as Deborah, dies in Bethel and is buried under an oak in Bethel and that was called Allonbachuth (meaning the oak of weeping). How Deborah (meaning bee or wasp, having the Hebrew root dbr meaning to speak) is with Jacob is not explicitly mentioned, although some speculate that she must have fled with Jacob or sent later by Rebekah to tend to Jacob in her brother, Laban’s house. We do not know for sure, but she is recorded by name in the Scripture when she accompanied the bride-to-be, Rebekah, and when Rebekah’s son, Jacob, returns to the land.

Points to Ponder:
We are commanded to walk in faith and be on a journey toward God’s promised land. As we trek, we must be solely dedicated and devoted to God alone and put away or purge all idolatry from our lives. Literally, all idols (power, pleasure, position, popularity, etc) ought to be buried in the ground, under a strong tree (like an oak), never to be unearthed. We are to seek God’s forgiveness and repent of our sins and be made clean allowing God to purify us and wash us by his blood (Ephesians 5:25-26, 1 John 1:7, Acts 22:16), and we are to put on the new man, Jesus Christ, and put off the old self (Ephesians 4:23-25).

Is your house, or should I say, heart, in order? Is your heart one in which God is housed? In other words, is your heart cleansed from evil conscience (Hebrews 10:19-21) and in order meaning, have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ acknowledging his Lordship alone, and asking for his forgiveness so that you are washed clean, and changed to become more like Him? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

Genesis 35:1-8 (KJV)
¹And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
²Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
³And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
⁴And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
⁵And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
⁶So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
⁷And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
⁸But Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.

The danger of delayed obedience

By Mano Paul

On March 8, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

31 verses recorded in Genesis 34 seems inapposite to the narrative of the Israelites as it involves rape, an offer of dowry, murder, and deceitfulness, but yet it is recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16), to teach us some valuable lessons.

Jacob purchases a plot of land in the land of Shechem from Hamor (Genesis 33:19) and tarries in that land instead of going to the land that God had asked him to go (Genesis 31:13). Dinah, his daughter, chooses to go to mingle with the woman of the land, when Shechem, Hamor’s son lays eyes on her, seizes her and rapes (defiles) her. Unusually, after Dinah is defiled, Shechem falls in love with her and beseeches his father to ask for Dinah’s hand in marriage. The news of Dinah’s rape reaches Jacob when his sons are in the field tending to cattle. When Dinah’s brothers come and learn of Dinah’s defilement, they are wrought with anger. Hamor comes to Jacob and asks for Dinah to be given to his son Shechem as his wife and proposes that they intermarry the daughters of the Shechemites (pagans) and the Israelites, and share the land, and their possessions. Shechem, in exchange for Dinah, offers great dowry and gift, unto Jacob and his sons. The sons of Jacob, deceitfully respond to Shechem and Hamor, and suggest that if all the Shechemite males are circumcised, then they will allow Dinah to marry Shechem. They will also take Shechemite women as wives for the Israelites and the two shall become one people. They use circumcision as a sign of making the non-Israelites one of their own, instead of treating it to be the sign of the covenanted people of God, as was God’s edict to Abraham (Genesis 17:9-14). Fooled by the brother’s words, and with the avarice desire to assume the wealth and possessions of the Israelites for themselves, Shechem and Hamor reason with the Shechemite men in the city and convince them all to be circumcised. Three days after the Shechemite men are circumcised, when they are sore in pain, Simeon and Levi, two blood brothers of Dinah, take their swords and murder the men in Shechem, kill Hamor and his son Shechem, and take their sister back out of the house of Shechem. They then loot the city, plundering it, and taking the cattle (sheep, oxen, asses) that were in the city and the field, all the wealth and all the Shechemite children and wives as captives, acting much like the pagans instead of as God’s covenanted people. When Jacob hears of this, he expresses to Simeon and Levi that their action will not only jeopardize his life and the lives of his family but he will be deemed repulsive by the inhabitants of the land, to which his son’s reason and respond with a question “Should their sister have been treated like a prostitute?”

Some of the observations that we can glean from this pericope are:

Jacob, who was rechristened as Israel (Genesis 32:28), is referred to as Jacob and not as Israel.
While the word ‘defile’ appears four times in this chapter, not once is there a mention of God.

Some of the lessons that we can learn from this account are:

Dinah’s going out to socialize among the women of the land, without the protection of her brothers or father, ends up costing her her honor and defilement.
The anger of the sons of Jacob makes them vengeful, taking matters into their own hands, including using God’s covenant sign to deceive. While these series of unfortunate caused the defilement of Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, the eventual result of Jacob’s son’s action led to the distortion of God’s covenant sign.
To offer to become one people and be unequally yoked with others (2 Corinthians 6:14) who are not in the faith is dangerous as it can lead us astray from God (Numbers 31:16).
When we obey God and act according to his ways, our actions can make us a witness of the One True God, Yahweh, allowing for the access of the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach the people in the land or when we disobey and acts according to the patterns of the world, it can impede our witness and make us a repulsive odor in the noses of those who don’t know God.

The critical lesson we can learn is that all of these misfortunes for Jacob, his daughter, and his sons could have been avoided if only Jacob had not tarried in the land of Shechem. If Jacob had not delayed in obeying God and had traveled to Bethel where he was commanded to go by God, the defilement of Dinah, nor the murderous and plundering acts of his sons would not have happened.

Points to ponder:
The danger of delayed obedience is that it can put us and our families in harm’s way. When God asks us to do something, let us not wait, but let us immediately respond to doing what God wants us to, lest we jeopardize our lives and the lives of our loved ones (family) and become a repulsive (stink) amongst the inhabitants of this world that are still not God’s people. What is God asking you to do today? What are you waiting for?

Genesis 34:1-31 (KJV)
¹And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
²And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
³And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
⁴And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
⁵And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
⁶And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
⁷And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
⁸And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
⁹And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
¹⁰And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
¹¹And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
¹²Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.
¹³And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
¹⁴And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
¹⁵But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
¹⁶Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
¹⁷But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
¹⁸And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.
¹⁹And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
²⁰And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
²¹These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
²²Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
²³Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their’s be our’s? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
²⁴And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
²⁵And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
²⁶And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.
²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
²⁸They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
²⁹And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
³⁰And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
³¹And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

Is EleloheIsrael Eleohe(YourName)?

By Mano Paul

On March 5, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

After Jacob found grace (unmerited favor) in the face of God (Exodus 32:28-30) and from his brother Esau (Genesis 33:10), at Padanaram, he pitches a tent, and erects an altar there and called it EleloheIsrael, which means God, The God of Israel.

In other words, after his experience of grace, Jacob, now rechristened with a new name/identity as Israel (Genesis 32:28), upon coming to a place of temporary rest (since a tent is not permanent), on his journey toward the promised land, stops and worships God by erecting an altar. He also makes a personal declaration recognizing The One whom he is worshipping. He identifies God, who had identified himself to Abraham, Isaac, and to him as Elohim (from which we get the root El), meaning God Almighty (Exodus 6:3) as His personal God – The God of Israel (Hebrew: eloheIsrael). Israel in other words is saying that Elohim is His God.

Points to ponder:
One experiences the grace of God when they acknowledge and admit their current sinful state (as did Jacob) and are graciously given a new identity in Christ, for whoever is in Christ (by belief in Him) is made a new creation/identity (2 Corinthians 5:17). Have you believed in Jesus Christ and been given a new name and identity in Christ? (Galatians 2:20). If you have experienced the grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6; John 14:9), the rightful response is to worship him.

Upon belief, as we move on the journey toward the promised land of God, we must recognize that this world is a temporary place (tent), and we must worship God and recognize him to be our personal God. Though He is God Almighty (Elohim), He can be addressed as the God of Israel (Jacob formerly), as your God, and as mine. Is the Almighty God, your personal God? In other words, is EleloheIsrael Elelohe(YourName)?

Exodus 33:17-20 (KJV)
¹⁷And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
¹⁸And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
¹⁹And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
²⁰And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV)
⁶For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 14:8-10 (KJV)
⁸Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
⁹Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
¹⁰Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Shalem in Shechem

By Mano Paul

On March 4, 2021

In Christian, Genesis, Through the Bible

After Jacob (rechristened Israel),finds favor in the eyes of Esau, his brother goes to Seir while he continues to Succoth and arrives at Shalem, a city in Shechem in the land of Canaan, which was promised by God to be given to Abraham and his seed (Genesis 12, 15, 17). Before the city of Shechem, at Padanaram, he pitches his tent and also engages in trade to buy a parcel of land from Hamor, Shechem’s father for a price.

While these place names – Shalem, a city in Shechem, are given to inform us of place names in Israel’s journey en route to Canaan, it is interesting to note the meanings of the names of these places. Shalem is a variant of Shalom meaning peace in Hebrew. Shechem, possibly named so, after the name of Hamor’s son, means “ridge/neck” or “(ridge/neck between the) shoulders” in Hebrew (Genesis 21:14, 24:45).

Armed with these meanings, what starts to formulate is a picture of peace on the ridge of the shoulder. It brings to my mind the picture of the lost sheep now peacefully resting on the shoulders of the good shepherd (Luke 15:3-7).

Points to ponder:
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14). He seeks those who are lost (away from God in the clutches of death), finds them, and places them on the ridge of His shoulder (Luke 15:3-7). On His shoulders, one can find peace (Shalem) for He is the Prince of Peace, knowing that He is in control and the government (rule) is upon his shoulders (Shechem) (Isaiah 9:6).

Are you resting on the shoulders of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, meaning have you believed in Him or are you still lost – away from God? In Jesus’ Shechem (shoulder) can one truly find true Shalem (peace); no other place.

John 10:11,14 (KJV)
¹¹I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
…
¹⁴I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Luke 15: 3-7 (KJV)
³And he (Jesus) spake this parable unto them, saying,
⁴What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
⁵And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
⁶And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
⁷I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Month: March 2021 Page 1 of 2

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