We returned from Texas with Maddy, my wife Sharon’s birthday present. Maddy is a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen and an ex-show dog. She has a wonderful temperament for us.
We left Texas at sunrise and drove part of the Talimena Scenic Drive in Oklahoma on the way home. Here’s a slide show. Enjoy.
Maddy’s First Trip from Scott Branyan on Vimeo.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
My niece and two other students qualified for their blackbelts last Saturday. I was able to photograph the event. Allison’s brother Russell made blackbelt also earlier this year and is shown in some of the sparring photos. Good job, kiddos!
See some of the photos.
© Scott Branyan
Our neighborhood usually has some small fireworks displays going on, and this year was no different, except that I was ready to take some photos. This is from about 4-5 small shows which I could see from our yard.
http://www.sbranyan.com/galleries/2008FourthofJuly/index.html
Hope you enjoy the photos.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
A photography blog at The Boston Globe has a series of Mars photos which are stunning. Be sure to check out the dust devil images.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
See last slide in previous lesson’s PowerPoint.
[Draft in Progress]
© 2008, Scott Branyan
Genesis 29:1-30 PowerPoint Slides (PDF)
[Draft in Progress]
We might entitle this section, “Incessant Love: Jacob Marries Rachel; Leah Tags Along.” The story of the Patriarch Jacob and his family is very much the story of favoritism and preferential love of Rachel and her two sons. 1 This attitude Jacob observed in his own early years. The differential treatment of Isaac and Rebekkah towards him and his brother Esau must have been bittersweet. One would think he would have learned a valuable life lesson, but Laban’s deceptive treatment of Jacob must have also stuck in his craw.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
Genesis 28 PowerPoint Slides (PDF)
The charge 1 of Isaac to Jacob (28:2) to not marry a Canaanite woman follows the deceptive urging of Rebekah to her husband (27:46), but Isaac perhaps also remembers the charge Abraham gave his servant in 24:3.
Isaac sends Jacob away with the Abrahamic blessing. It is worth noting that although Isaac was deceived into blessing the younger son, he does not try to finagle back his blessing of Jacob. This took some maturity of faith, an understanding of the providence of God, and a resignation to the will of Yahveh. Isaac now gives him the full blessing which includes the wording concerning the promise of Abraham in verses 3-5.
Verses 6-9 further describe Esau’s spiritual dullness. He observes the blessing of Jacob, his parents sending Jacob off to Padan Aramm, and the charge of Isaac to Jacob to not take a Canaanite wife. As he realizes Canaanite wives are displeasing to his father, he complicates his situation by marrying a daughter of Abraham. This wife, however, is not in the promised line either, being a descendant of Ishmael (v. 9).
The place where Jacob stops on his way to Padan Aram (v. 11) becomes a sacred site, named Bethel 2 . Jacob’s dream at Bethel (vv.10-15) is a revelation of Yahveh confirming the covenant of Abraham to Jacob. The account of the dream is given from Jacob’s perspective: he sees a ladder, and then the angels of God going up and down the ladder. Finally, as his eye ascends upward to the top of the ladder, he sees the Lord himself. At this point, Yahveh speaks to him.
Yahveh’s message to Jacob in verses 13-15 is a reconfirmation of the promises of the Abrahamic covenent: a seed, a land and blessing. Additionally, Yahveh promises to be with Jacob and return him to the land (”I will bring you back,” v. 15). The return of Jacob to Bethel in chapter 35 is the climax of the Jacob narrative.
Jacob fulfills his vow (vv. 20-22) when he returns to Bethel (see 35:2-3). We have a mention of tithes again (remember Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek) but no details as to how, to whom, or when Jacob paid them. Some commentators have taken the silence here as an indication that the were paid by Israel when it returns to the land from the Exodus. There is not any positive support for such a view, although as we have seen before, the actions of the Patriarchs often foreshadow Israel’s destiny and developments in the Law.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
Genesis 27 PowerPoint Slides (PDF)
The episode with Jacob deceiving his father has to be one of the great swindles of all time. Rebekah is the instigator of the deception but Jacob is a willing accomplice.
Isaac is not without guilt here either. Surely knowing of Esau’s contempt for his birthright and perhaps even of the oracle God gave Rebekah at the birth of the twins, he determines still to bless the elder son.
One is left to wonder how God would have fulfilled the oracle without this chronicle of deception, but he would have had no difficulty. Rebekah and Jacob’s snatching the blessing is a moment of unbelief that brings future consequences. After sending Jacob away to Laban, Rebekah will not see him again. Jacob will live a shortened life of unpleasantness (47:9).
Jacob requests Esau prepare a savory dish and come before him for the blessing. The savory dish reminds us of the food Isaac loved (Gen 25:28; 27:4) but also of Jacob’s red stuff Esau hungered for (25:30) when he traded his birthright for it. The great events in this story hinge over a mere meal.
The Bible places emphasis upon the elaborateness of the scheme of deception. Of particular note is Rebekah’s willingness to take on herself a curse if the scheme is found out (v. 13). Rebekah thinks of everything necessary 1 for Jacob to put on the appearance of Esau fulfilling his father’s request. The only thing Jacob is not able to hide is his voice, and this necessitates him lying three times (vv. 19, 20, 24).
The blessing of Isaac upon Jacob (see the slide) is binding. Nuzi texts speak of the blessing as a legal form which would hold up in court. This explains Isaac’s resolve in verse 35.
Verses 41 and following give detail of the consequences of Jacob’s deceit. Esau’s wrath is kindled but in a deliberative sort of way. He will wait for Isaac’s death before extracting vengeance upon Jacob. Rebekah hears of his plans and instructs Jacob to flee to her brother Laban in Haran. Her words, “Stay with him a few days” 2 in verse 44 tell us she does not foresee the long lasting consequences of the deception. Jacob stays in Haran twenty years, and Rebekah most likely dies before his return to the land (cf. Gen 35:27-29. The next mention of Rebekah after Gen 28:5 is in Gen 49:31).
Finally, Isaac’s blessing of Jacob and Esau is regarded as an act of faith according to Hebrews 11:20. Isaac regarded the blessing of Jacob as legally binding, but he may have also seen it as providentially performed (something Jacob certainly comes to believe by Gen 48:19). Although, not to his expectation and causing great emotional distress on both himself and Esau (27:33, 34, 38), he does not seek to overturn the blessing of Jacob when he blesses Esau. The blessing of Esau is in keeping with the status now of a subservient brother who bears resentment and a determination to shake off his younger brother’s yoke of usurpation. At first unknowingly, and then by recognition of divine choice, Isaac prophesies in his blessings “regarding things to come.”
© 2008, Scott Branyan