JanMary

Q4. (Genesis 31:44-55) What are the terms of the Mizpah Covenant? Mizpah was an imaginary "line drawn in the sand", marked by a heap of rocks or "Watchtower" as the reminder to not cross it. Jacob agreed to not mistreat his wives, nor to diminish their position by marrying rival wives. They invoked God to watch for any breach in the covenant, and to punish the offender. They agreed to not cross "the line" in order to harm one another. They took an oath in God's name, made a sacrifice, then shared a meal together. Of what is the Mizpah monument supposed to remind Jacob and Laban? It was to remind them that God is the "referee" in their dispute and they are to honor the oath they made to each other before God and their wives.

Q3. (Genesis 31:17-36) Why did Jacob and his family leave without saying good-bye to Laban? Laban's sons were growing angry about Jacob's accumulated wealth, and told Laban he and they would be impoverished. There was increasing tension with Laban. Jacob left secretly out of a motive of fear of being stopped and stripped of his family and possessions, by Laban's men. In what sense did they "deceive" Laban? (31:20, 27). The Scripture says that they deceived Laban by not telling him they were leaving, and left without saying goodbye . It has been said that "when we react in fear, the only possible outcome is sin". Jacob knew what kind of man Laban was, and in the fear, he forgot that God had promised to be with him and to return him safely to his promised land. He did what I've done on occasion....a knee jerk reaction to the times as a child when I had no protector, was terrified, and did not yet know the Lord, I "disconnect" from God and react in fear/survival mode, forgetting His promise to never leave me nor forsake me. Was anything they did unjust or unrighteous? If so, how? Rachel stole her father's household gods, then lied to cover up the theft. She didn't tell Jacob she'd stolen them, putting their lives in jeopardy (Jacob said anyone found with the gods would be killed). While Jacob was obeying God in leaving, he failed to trust God to protect them if he'd left openly.

Q2. (Genesis 30:25-43) At what point do you think Jacob realizes that his breeding techniques are not the cause of his growing wealth? I wonder if it started to dawn on Jacob, when Laban admitted that God had blessed him since Jacob began working for him, recalling the blessing given him by his Father Isaac, and reiterated by the Lord at the place Jacob named House of God...Bethel. Favor had been promised him. When the flocks began to produce the spotted and stiped offspring Laban said would be his, in large numbers, I think he "got it". God had promised him that he would return to the land he'd left in his flight to escape Esau, and he would need wealth in order to support himself and his large family. It tickled me how like many of us, Jacob tried to help God out by trying to manipulate the outcome of what God had already promised! According to Deuteronomy 8:17-18, what danger are we in when our income and assets begin to increase? Pride and arrogance....the false belief that we have made the increase, for He gives us the ability to work and produce and earn our income. I love this verse: Isaiah 26:12 " Lord you will ordain peace (God's favor and blessings, both temporal and spiritual) for us, for all that we have accomplished, You have done for us".

Q1. (Genesis 29) Why do you think God allows Jacob to be tricked into 14 years of labor for two wives? I think this was a case of Jacob reaping what he'd sown, in kind. I believe God allowed this to teach Jacob that deception isn't His way of doing things. God is holy, and there is no guile or sin in Him, and like Him, we are to deal honestly with people. There is nothing more powerful in a lesson in character building than to experience the consequences of our unholy actions toward another, and to get "into their skin" to see how our self centered actions hurt them. The pain we feel is meant to remind us to never do this again, and to seek God for His means of conducting life. I think too, that God was training Jacob to be wise rather than gulible to further deception for his future in birthing a nation. He was to train his children to be godly men and women, separate from the peoples around them. What purposes do you think God is working out through these circumstances? After conversion there is a wilderness period, the first of many, where God teaches and trains us as our relationship with Him develops...this is where we learn that He is trusworthy, and that and His ways are higher than our ways....that He is our Father. He was training Jacob to be a man of integrity and honor. This was also the beginning of the building of his family which was to become as numerous as the stars.

Q4. (Genesis 28:22) What does Jacob's promise to tithe indicate about his commitment? It indicates that Jacob recognizes this is the God of creation he has just encountered, and he was committed to putting Him first. Presumably, Jacob has been a believer in Yahweh all his life. In what sense is this incident at Bethel a conversion experience for him? The churches and even Bible studies are filled with people like Jacob, who have a head knowledge of God, but no personal relationship with Him. The incident at Bethel was Jacob's "come to Jesus" meeting where he moved from knowing about God, to the full realization that God is real, personal, available, knowable, Holy, and interested in Jacob as an individual. What is the relationship of tithing to conversion? It signifies the new revelation that everything belongs to God and the transfer of the preconversion belief that "it's all mine", to "God allows me to have 90% to enjoy, and the first tenth I joyfully give back to Him." It's the acknowledgement that He is first in my life, rather than what I earned and accumulated, or the living out of "Where the treasure is, there the heart is also".

Q3. (Genesis 28:18-21) What did it mean to Jacob to set up the stone? Like Moses at the burning bush, Jacob knew he'd been sleeping/standing on Holy ground where God had manifested His Presence, and Jacob wanted to mark or memorialize the special place where he became God's own possessor of the blessing and of God's presence in his life. What did anointing the stone mean to him? For Jacob, the rock he'd rested his head on was now a special memorial to God...naming the place Bethel, House of God, where he'd personally met and interacted with The Rock of Ages. Why does he do these things? He was afraid and said "How to be feared and reverenced in this place?...this is none other than the house of God." Jacob knew he'd pass this way again, and never wanted to forget this sacred place where his life changed from fleeing from a death threat, to a life lived for and with God's blessing. What does he promise God in his vow? Of all the increase of possessions that You give me I will give the tenth to You.

Q2. (Genesis 28:12-15) What did Jacob's dream of the angels ascending and descending from heaven signify to Jacob? He said to himself "Surely God is in this place.".....He'd experienced God's presence in his life, through a personal visitation, and realized there was an open door to Heaven and to relationship with and access to God. In my own life when He came to me, God went from being impersonally "out there", to the most important Person in my life. This kind of encounter changes everything, and Jacob seemed to realize he was now God's, and no longer his own. What did God's blessing mean to him? He had rested his head on a rock while sleeping but afterward used it to set up a monument to the Rock of Ages, naming the place Bethel (The house of God), then anointing it with oil, as a sacred place to Jacob. He stated that God would be his God, since God had declared Himself "for" Jacob, and then vowed to tithe to God. In what way was this a conversion experience for him? This encounter with God was the beginning of a personal relationship for Jacob, replacing the second hand information about God he'd received at the feet of his parents, Rebekah and Isaac. God Himself spoke to Jacob and established "The Blessing" in Jacob's life which he would then pass on to his first born son.

Q1. (Genesis 28:3-4) Why does Isaac bless Jacob, especially after Jacob's deception? Esau's pagan wives were a trial to Jacob and Rebekah, and perhaps were leading Esau further away from the God of promise....and perhaps Isaac came to understand that God would not have given the blessing to one who could resort to murder as with his ancestor Cain which resulted in him being cursed. He must have seen that the blessing really did belong to Jacob, as Rebekah must surely have told him when it was spoken to her, and decided to bless Jacob "legitimately" prior to his journey to Laban's home to seek a wife, and to escape the murderous intentions of Esau. How does this blessing compare to other blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Isaac gave the blessing given to Abraham, and then to himself, to inherit the land of promise, and for him to multiply until he became a group of peoples. What are the main elements of Isaac's blessing? Fruitfulness in multiplying The land of promise Nations to be blessed through the chosen lineage...Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.. through whom the Messiah was eventually to come.

Q6. Extra Credit. Whose character flaws most remind you of your own? Isaac's, Rebekah's, Esau's, or Jacob's? Why? How is God working to improve your character? Thank God for His grace and mercy...and that He's the restorer of broken walls! In the first days of my walk I was like Isaac....walking in the flesh, then He gave me some wonderful promises, and like Rebekah, I "tried to help Him fulfill them RIGHT NOW!, and using wrong means. I don't see much of Esau, as I came from such dire circumstances that when the Lord saved my sorry life, I've never taken lightly what He's done for me...I appreciate every bit of grace. Definitely have seen Jacob flaws too, and can say that I'm not yet what I'm going to be, but thank God I'm not what I used to be, and that His mercies are new every morning. How is He working to improve my character?.....As I surrender to Him, He works to complete the work He began in me. He's also done lots of work through trials, pain, betrayal, losses, disappointment, all of which cause me to cling to Him and to allow Him to change me.

Q5. (Genesis 25:28) What happens when your children sense that you love one child more than another? My children know they are loved equally, though they have some occasional tension...one thinks the other is smarter than the other. I've talked to the one who feels slighted in the intelligence dept. about how God created each one of us as individuals with the gifts, intelligence and personality to accomplish His will and purpose for us in this life, and that He has predestined works for each one to do, which He has equipped us to do with His help. I noticed in Scripture that when Jacob loved Joseph more than the other children, they were so jealous that they did away with Joseph, rather than directing their anger toward Jacob. Did such discrimination happen to you when you were growing up? No, we were all abused, neglected about the same. My oldest brother had polio in high school, was in an iron lung but after a long recovery, could walk again. Naturally he got more attention than the rest of us, but we were all yearning for him to be healed so there was no jealousy of him. If so, how are you finding healing? My healing began at age 30, when I met Jesus! It has been a long, slow building of trust in Him. I read this verse at the beginning of my walk, which showed me we were in covenant and the restoration began: "Although my father and mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up (adopt me as His child.)" Eventually, I forgave them, grieved "what was, and what was not", realized they were unloved, and couldn't give what they hadn't received, and grieved for their lives. How can we as parents love our children equally but differently? I've tried to take their personalities into consideration and to really listen and hear them, and to affirm who they are, and their gifts. We spend time differently because one is a son and one is a daughter, and they have different needs, but both know they are loved unconditionally and accepted as they are. I never heard from either parent nor from grandparents that I was loved....I tell my children everytime we speak that I love them.

Q4. (Genesis 27:33) Why couldn't Isaac reverse his blessing once he discovers Jacob's trickery? The blessing is the traditional Patriarchal Blessing, inspired by God and given through the patriarch to the first born of the next generation, and is always prophetic in nature, therefore is irrevocable, once given. It's Isaiah 55:11 in action" So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void without producing any effect, useless, but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." This was about God defining and prophesying the lineage of Messiah Jesus who would come through Jacob. What is Isaac's role in this blessing? Isaac is simply the vessel through whom God speaks the prophetic blessing. What is God's role in it? God inspires the blessing, chooses who receives it (He knows the future. He knew that Jacob was the one to receive the blessing, knew that Rebekah would stand in the gap to see that Jacob was not passed over in Isaac's favoritism for Esau, since He had spoken the prophecy to her when the babies were in the womb. God is Sovereign...the Blessed Controller of ALL THINGS. Only He knows how that would have been fulfilled apart from Rebekah's deception, but it would have been, regardless of the personalities involved. I love Psalm 119:91 which says that "All things serve God"....when I had the revelation of that verses meaning, it changed my life! Even God- hating Satan at his worst tricks to try to destroy God's plans, purposes, His children, etc. ends up serving God! God is Lord over ALL....how safe are we in His arms!!!!!

Q3. (Genesis 27:6-29) God had told Rebekah that Jacob is supposed to rule over Esau (Genesis 25:23). To what extent does this excuse her plan to deceive her husband Isaac? I can make excuses for her, with the little she knew about God, while we know from having the Bible as our guide, that what she did would not bring glory to the Lord. When she heard Isaac tell Esau to go hunt and prepare game preparatory to giving him the first born blessing, she panicked, and lacking the faith that God would intervene, took matters into her own deceptive hands. Such a human flaw....typical dysfunctional action. Good intentions, wrong action....been there, done that a time or two myself as a new believer, and God still worked in me to bring His purposes to pass. I regret not knowing what He would have done had I stayed out of it! How much responsibility does Jacob bear in the deception? Jacob was fully aware of the deception. I don't know how old he was...if he was still under his Mother's wing, I wouldn't hold him completely responsible. If he was grown, as he may well have been, he was fully responsible for participating.

Q2. Was Rebekah a spiritual woman, that is, interested in spiritual things? Yes, she was. When the babes struggled together within her, she said "If it's so that the Lord has answered our prayer, why am I like this?" And she went to inquire of the Lord. Even more impressive, the Lord answered her! Explaining that the two babies were two nations, separated, one stronger and the other weaker, and the elder would serve the younger. She believed the promise, but rather than allowing God to fulfill the word spoken, in unbelief she schemed and deceived Isaac to make it happen. (very poor mentoring for her children...makes me wonder if Jacob's future scheming was learned at Rebekah's feet) Was Isaac a spiritual man? Yes, he was. He went to the Lord in prayer and "prayed much" (It was 20 years before the answer came in Jacob and Esau) believing God for an heir, because Rebekah was barren. When he was old and near death, he prepared to give his first born the traditional, spiritual blessing. After Jacob lied to him about being Esau, Jacob blessed him. He knew the blessing was irrevokable and could not be taken back once given, so when Esau exposed the lie, Jacob gave him the secondary "blessing"...the prophecy of his serving his younger brother. Which do you think was the more spiritually sensitive? What evidence of spirituality do you see in Jacob? In Esau? It seems on the surface that Rebekah was....she questioned what was going on in her womb, believed what God said to her through the children's growing up years, and though wrongly, manipulated and deceived to make it happen. Jacob openly favored Esau because he was like himself...a man of the flesh and the field. (Rebekah favored Jacob, who stayed near the tents, so I'm assuming she taught Jacob spiritual things, while Isaac and Esau hunted, since Jacob valued the spiritual heritage, and Esau did not.

Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) It's called a profane, godless sacrilege in the amplified Bible. He had no regard for his position in the family nor the responsibilities, because his stomach/flesh desired a bowl of lentil stew...instant gratification. He placed no value at all on the spiritual blessing which was his. What did selling the birthright represent? The birthright represented the legal rights of the first born to a double portion of the inheritance, plus the leadership of the family when his father died. This was a spiritual matter, of faith, passed down from generation to generation. Ignoring his privileged birthright, represents trampling on the things God values. Today we would call it "walking in the flesh". What does this transaction say about Esau's character and values? Esau was a man of the flesh with little regard for the spiritual heritage which was his by birth. This was a spiritual matter, a right and privilege given by God, and he placed no value on it. What does it reveal bout Jacob's character and values? Jacob desired the blessing which was Esau's by birth, and "bought" it with a bowl of stew....his character was flawed...he was a shrewd schemer, but he valued the spiritual blessing and went after it.

Q5. (Judges 8:28-31) How does Gideon influence Israel during his life? After the defeat, the Midianites stayed away and didn't surface again to harass the Israelites. The land had peace and rest for 40 years in the days of Gideon. What is the positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge? Gideon had torn down and destroyed the Baals and Asherah poles before the battle. The people stayed away from Baal worship until after Gideon died, then they turned back to the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

Q4. (Judges 8:24-27) What is a snare? A snare is a trap set for the unsuspecting to step into, which then holds them captive. In what way does Gideon's ephod ensnare his family and the people of Israel? I think Gideon made the ephod to stay close to God...perhaps to use it to seek guidance as he's received for the military campaign. This put Gideon in a position of spiritual authority in the eyes of his family and the people, which ensnared him, because God hadn't ordained Gideon as a priest. It ensnared the others when they began to worship the ephod, rather than to worship God according to the way He had instructed them to worship through Moses. How can something be a sin if we don't see it as a sin? God is holy and set the standard for us to live by. If what we're doing, thinking, or NOT doing that He asks, and it violates His Word, it is sin, whether we think so or not. He is always right, and if there is a disagreement between He and I, I am always wrong. What was the essence of the sin the Israelites committed? They forsook the worship of their God, to worship something made with human hands which became an idol to them. What is the essence of Gideon's sin? Like his father before him, he became the keeper and caretaker of an object the people worshipped, rather than their God. This put him in a place of power and authority over the people, which had not been given him by his God, and the power corrupted him. I assume he accepted money from the worshippers who came to the "shrine" of the ephod, further corrupting him. He did nothing to stop this sacrilege and heresy.

Q3. (Judges 8:24-27) Why is spiritual unfaithfulness looked at as prostitution or adultery? God is our Father, and in Christ, we are His Bride, the Church. To **** after other "gods", (idols), is to forsake our first love for Him, to put our affections elsewhere, as in an adulterous affair. What is the concept of God's relationship to his people which underlies this analogy? He is our Creator, Father, God, Savior, Provider, our Source, Lover of our souls, Prince of Peace, Husband, our All in All. What kinds of temptations to spiritual adultery do you face today? (This is not a place to dump on denominations or sects, but to examine your own personal temptations to spiritual adultery.) Nothing noteworthy such as idols, but just as harmful: the busyness of the day! When I get caught up in too many things, and start the day without Him, I usually end the day in sadness that I went off on my own to "accomplish much" (like Martha), rather than asking Him to order my steps and then seeking His face throughout the day (like her sister Mary.) I know that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", but the "will" is still there seeking preeminence unless I purposely bring it under subjection to His Lordship every day!

Q2. (Judges 8:24-27) What does Gideon ask for his reward? He asked for one earring (gold) from each man's plunder, which amounted to from 40 to 75 pounds of gold. Was Gideon wrong to take a reward? No. That was the accepted form of payment for a victorious defeat of the enemy. Plunder was their payment. Where did the sin begin? When Gideon used the gold to make an ephod....which only the high priest was qualified to wear and was to be used to seek guidance from God. This symbol of guidance became an object of worship and a snare to Gideon and the people. Again, reminds me history repeating itself, as when Aaron used the gold earrings of the people who were clamoring for an object to worship when Moses was up on Mt. Sinai, and he made them into a golden calf for them to worship.

Q1. (Judges 8:22-23) Why does Gideon refuse to be king over Israel? Gideon recognized that God was their deliverer...he was only the vessel. In what sense would becoming king be treason? God was their King....according to the covenant delivered at Mt. Sinia after Moses was used to deliver the people from Exodus. Why didn't the Israelites see bestowing kingship as treason? The had turned away from God to worship Baal, breaking the covenant. They no longer believed that God was their King and deliverer. Ignorance or unbelief or apathy...maybe all three. Human nature always seems to go for the "instant gratification" and the "visible", such as their homemade, lifeless idols. This reminds me of when Jesus fed the multitudes and they clamored for Him to be their King as a human physical ruler, ignorant of the fact that He is THE King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Q5. (Judges 8:18-21) Why does Gideon slay Zebah and Zalmunna? These men had killed Gideon's brothers at Tabor. Is he unjust or fulfilling his just obligation? (Numbers 35:16) He is just in fulfilling this obligation.....it was that day's "death penalty" for murder, which was apparently not an act of war. Why does Romans 12:19 prohibit Christians from taking vengeance? We are never to take revenge ourselves...."Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord"

Q4. (Judges 8:4-17) Why do the cities of Succoth and Peniel refuse aid to Gideon's army? I think they feared Gideon's army would fail to complete the defeat of the Midianites, and wanted to appear to be "neutral" so that if Midian came back, they would be seen as allies, rather than enemies..."after all, didn't we deny food and support to Gideon?", they could reply. Why does Gideon punish these cities later? He was furious! He saw their refusal to provide food for their kinsmen army, as aiding and abetting the enemy. What is their sin? They withheld support for their kinsmen, much as was done to Israel when they came out of the wilderness to enter the promised land....several groups refused them passage, and even water to drink. Is Gideon just? Sounds pretty cruel to me, but even today in war we shoot traitors. They lived under the "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" mandate of the Old Testament. It wasn't until Jesus came that we learn the Godly response would be to let God avenge them, rather than doing the avenging himself. Can you think of a circumstance when a Christian might be guilty of the sin of Succoth and Peniel? Yes, anytime we have the ability or means to help someone in need, and withhold help, we are guilty of the same sin.

Q3. (Judges 8:10-12) Why must Gideon vanquish the Midianite force of 15,000 men in Karkor? To allow them to continue on would give them the freedom to regroup and gain new allies to come back again to fight against Israel. What danger do we face when we deal with problems only half-way? Half solutions are not solutions...they're just postponements of the problem, and the danger is that it arises a second time, perhaps a bigger problem than originally.

Q2. (Judges 7:24-8:3) What does Gideon ask the Ephraimites to do? He asked them to do "mop up" and defeat the Midianites when they tried to cross the river to escape from Gideon's army in pursuit. Why are they so angry? They were pridefully furious because they had not been included in the original call to battle...they felt slighted and seen as inferior. It apparently didn't occur to them that the Lord drew up the battle plan which delayed their participation until time for their role in blocking the escaping army. They wanted honor and recognition and seemed to believe their call to battle in the original plan would have routed the Midianites so that this mop up wouldn't have been necessary. What do you learn from Gideon's approach to the Ephraimites' arrogance? He took the high road...the more excellent way of diffusing the situation using Godly wisdom and tact. Rather than being defensive and making legitimate excuses, he commended them for the part they did play, and for their victory in killing the Midianite leaders. To have argued would have caused delay in the real battle... pursing the Midianites. That was God's mandate to Gideon and he remained focused rather than allowing a "sideways" attack to deter him from the goal. "A soft answer turns away wrath".....

Q1. (Judges 7:16-22) Why does Gideon divide his army into three companies? Dividing them allowed them to spead out and gave the impression that a huge army had the Midianites surrounded and outnumbered. What is the strategy with the trumpets, the empty jars, and the torches? These produced noise, confusion and panic in the enemy. 300 shofars being blown gave the illusion that 300 companies were surrounding them. The empty jars concealed the torch fires until broken, and the noise from the shattering added to the confusion and noise. The Torches blinded the enemy, much like shining a flashlight into another's eyes in the dark. "Our God is a consuming fire", comes to mind. Why did this strategy work? Because God is the God of all wisdom. He created us and knows both how to comfort His own, and how to rout the enemy attacking us! Confusion causes panic and shuts down the thinking process. The Midianites were so frightened, they self slaughtered their own army. Gideon's confident leadership emboldened his men, and I'm sure their shouts and trumpet blasts were formidable. God used a similar strategy to bring down the walls of Jericho...marching around and around 7 times then shouting, and the walls fell.