Readers Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, September 21, 2012 Read – Genesis 28 & 29 It’s no wonder that Esau is peeved with his brother Jacob. And the story evolves into an action story of deadly magnitude. Will Esau kill Jacob? Have we come far from the story of “Cain and Abel”? Of course we know the outcome of the story but once again we ought to listen carefully to what is really a bad example of family dynamics. It’s no wonder that Jacob flees for his life. And right at that time God steps into the story. Up until that time God has been pretty silent – perhaps we might think of God as observing this messed up family from afar. But God has plans for Jacob. And in a story that is familiar to most of us God meets Jacob through a dream as Jacob flees for his life. One of the most important things to notice about the dream and the ladder is that it is a ladder that comes down from heaven and that it is God and the angels who are coming down to Jacob. Somewhere someone got it messed up and many of us learned to sing the song about how we are climbing Jacob’s ladder. It is difficult to get thoughts like that out of our heads once we have them there. But, the song “We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” is one that we would best forget. This story is certainly not about something that Jacob is doing. It is all about what God is doing and about a God who promises. God intervenes in Jacob’s life and a transformation begins. Jacob’s arrival at the ancestral home is reminiscent of Abraham’s servant arriving there to find a wife for Isaac. Jacob is not looking for a wife but he finds one – actually as the story unfold he finds two wives and two concubines. As we begin reading this story we need to remember that Jacob has been a cheater in his life up to this point. In Laban he meets his match. I’m sure that the people of Israel loved to hear and tell this story – the story about how they got to be twelve tribes. It all begins when Jacob falls in love with Rachel and desires to marry her. Laban suggests that Jacob work seven years to earn her. Jacob has nothing but time on his hands and agrees. But on the wedding night the deceiver is deceived – Laban give Jacob Leah in place of Rachel. A deal is quickly worked out where Jacob can have them both – with the agreement to work an additional seven year. This is not a problem since Jacob is not in much of hurry to go home. Soon the family begins to grow as four sons are born to Leah.