090617: Genesis 29-35

Genesis 29
- correlations: Jacob vs. Esau, Leah vs. Rachel, Joseph vs. his older brothers etc. all correspond with Jesus’s rule for Kingdom of Heaven (the last shall become the first, the rich will become the poor, the servant shall become the master)

Genesis 31
- Rachel stole Laban’s gods à people may have practiced multiple religions

Genesis 32
- Israel: “God contended,” “he struggles with God”
- Jacob retained in his body (permanent hip injury), and Israel in her dietary practice (do not eat tendon attached to the socket of the hip), a perpetual reminder of this fateful encounter with God.

Genesis 35
- Jacob: “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.” à worshipping any god other than God the Father is wrong and unclean, hence here, Jacob rectifies the situation (i.e. Rachel stealing Laban’s gods).

090610: Genesis 25-28

Genesis 25
People die first and then were “gathered to his people” = Those who die gather at Abraham’s bosom

Genesis 26
Philistines originally were an ally of the Jewish people but then became enemies.

Genesis 28
Jacob had a dream of the Stairway to Heaven in the land of Israel, near Jerusalem. This is one of the few dreams that have not been interpreted, suggesting what Jacob saw in the dream may be real, hence forgoing the need for a transportation.