Genesis Roots: Jacob Wrestles with God and God Changes his Name to Israel!

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis. 

Over these last weeks we have been on quite a journey with our ancestor Jacob.  He has tricked his brother Esau out of his inheritance, run for his life and encountered God in a dream, moved in with his mother's family and was tricked by his uncle into marrying both of his cousins, Leah who is the eldest and Rachel, who is the love of his life.  Since that time, he has had 11 children with them and their 2 servants, Zilpah and Bilhah. 

Yes, Rachel is the love of Jacob's life and why not, she is definitely his equal in true trickster style.  She steals her father's household idols on the way out, doesn't tell Jacob, uses her womanly wiles and doesn't get caught when her father tracks them down!  In some commentaries it says that these idols were a sign of protection and property rights ... sound familiar?  The bold Rachel is definitely the woman for Jacob, the "heel-grabber!"  At the same time on his way out, Jacob has tricked his uncle out of a quite a number of prize livestock, sheep. 

So, perhaps Jacob has worn out his welcome!  It is time for Jacob to return to his home to face his brother, Esau.  Can you just imagine the fear?  What will Esau do?   Take a moment to sit with the burning, churning emotions that Jacob must have been feeling, knowing that he had to return home and "make it right" with his brother.  It is time for him to grow into the man that God has prepared him to be.  And he struggles.  This struggle resonates with me.  I understand wrestling with God.  Do you?

Jacob does not know it but God will change his name during this encounter.  He will become Isra-EL, which means one who prevails, or perseveres with God.  What about you?  What are some of the struggles you have with God?  Jacob's hip is dislocated in the struggle and he now moves with a limp.  How have you been scarred by your struggles with God?  What are the emotions that you experience when you are in a spiritual "growth spurt?"  

As you are allowing your memories and your emotions to bubble up in your consciousness, I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with Presence!  

Settle into a place of awe and wonder within yourself with a simple  breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathing in (who do you worship?)   ... God of my Wrestling Soul
Breathing out (what do you need?)     ... Bless me, bless me, bless me

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... God of Jacob, as I read and pray with the holy text, illuminate my soul with wisdom.  Give me a word to take with me as I wrestle with life and with you.  In Christ, Amen. 

Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read  Genesis 32:22-31 (NET) slowly, and envision Jacob's struggles with God.
Take in the story that is unfolding as you read.
Listen for a word or a phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible
During the night Jacob quickly took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.  He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he struck the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed.”

Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” “Why do you ask my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.  So Jacob named the place Peniel, explaining, “Certainly I have seen God face to face and have survived.”

The sun rose over him as he crossed over Penuel, but he was limping because of his hip.

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal your heart.
Listen and watch for God’s presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ...
Allow yourself to rest in the silence ...    

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to come back and pray while "gazing" upon ."  Where does your gazing take you?

Artwork by Unknown 1000 CE, in public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

If music is a pathway to God for you and maybe even if it isn't, end your time of contemplating this story of Jacob struggling with God by considering the beautiful song, "I Will Change Your Name" sung by Cross Ties, a group from the Prestoncrest Church of Christ.  Jacob's story is my story and this song is my song.  Is this your story?  Is this your song?  What new name do you welcome into your soul today?

Genesis Roots: Jacob, the Trickster is tricked and marries 2 sisters, Rachel and Leah

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis. 

Jacob arrives in Haran searching for his mother's family.  He meets Rachel, daughter of Rebekah's brother Laban, at a well watering flocks of their sheep for she was a shepherdess.  When he tells her who he is, she shouts for joy and runs to tell her father.  Jacob is heartily welcomed and stays with the family for awhile.   When Jacob the trickster tells Laban his uncle "everything" that had happened, Laban exclaimed, "You are surely my flesh and bone!"  Jacob should have seen what was coming.

As the story unfolds, God is nowhere to be seen.  Even though God has told Jacob that he is not alone, that God is with him, it is as if God sits back with the rest of us and watches poetic justice in motion.  I've read this story many times, but I don't like it very much.  I confess that as a feminist Christian woman, my reaction to this story is disappointment and anger at the treatment of women that I find personally offensive, a story which includes blatant polygamy and the use of women as payment for wages earned.   I lament over this passage.  I lament that we live in a world in which polygamy still exists, while it is illegal even in this country.  I lament that we live in a world in which women and children are used as objects for human gratification.  I lament that we live in a world where human trafficking is growing exponentially.  And I lament that Scripture is still used today as a justification for treating women as inferior human beings.  Lamentation is good.  Lamentation can be the beginning of healing and wisdom if we allow God to enter into that place of pain with us … God is not "nowhere," God is everywhere!

I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with the ability to find God even if God appears to be nowhere!  Settle into a place of confidence within yourself with a simple  breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathing in (who do you worship?)   ... God of Everywhere
Breathing out (what do you need?)     ... Help me know you more

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... God, I know you are everywhere even when it seems you are nowhere.   Increase my awareness of you and my sensitivity to your presence.   Help me to know that you are always with me.  Open up your Word and teach me so that I can see you in all circumstances.  In Christ, Amen. 

Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read  Genesis 29:15-28 (NET) slowly, to see how the thread of trickery continues
Take in the story that is unfolding as you read.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible
Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work for me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me what your wages should be.” (Now Laban had two daughters; the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. Stay with me.”  So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great.

Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. I want to have marital relations with her.” So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a feast. In the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had marital relations with her. (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! SoJacob said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?” “It is not our custom here,” Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. Then we will give you the younger one too, in exchange for seven more years of work.”

Jacob did as Laban said. When Jacob completed Leah’s bridal week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal you to yourself.
Listen and watch for God’s presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ...
Allow yourself to rest in the silence ...    

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to come back and pray while "gazing" upon this painting called "Jacob Meets Rachel."  Where does your gazing take you?

Jacob Meets Rachel by Erwin Speckter (1806-1835) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

To end your time of contemplating this story of Jacob and Leah and Rachel, consider this echo of lamenting as told by the "weeping" prophet, Jeremiah. (31:15/NET)

The Lord says,
“A sound is heard in Ramah,
a sound of crying in bitter grief.
It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.”

Genesis Roots: Jacob Flees the Wrath of Esau and Dreams of God

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis.

Younger brother Jacob (Rebekah's "favorite" son) is on the run from his "older" twin brother Esau (Isaac's "favorite" son)!  In our reading last week, Jacob had stolen Esau's birthright to him for a bowl of stew.  This week our story picks up right after Rebekah has helped Jacob tricked Isaac into giving Esau's "blessing" to Jacob as well.  Jacob has stolen everything from his brother, and Esau is angry enough to kill Jacob so Rebekah sends Jacob to Haran to find a wife from her family.

Jacob is what literary types label as "trickster."  A trickster is one who upsets normal rules of living by means of clever behavior.  They can also be the ones who drive the story from the edges!  And there is plenty of story yet to come.  In the fullness of time and maturity, Jacob fulfills God's plan for his life according to the bible story.  God re-names him "Israel" as he becomes the father of the Israelite people.  That ending is really hard to see from where we are now.   In our reading for this week, we drop in on Jacob just as he has run in the direction of Haran.

• Who do you identify with at this point in the story, Jacob or Esau?
• Do you generally take the part of the trickster or the tricked in your life?
• How does God come to you when you are fleeing your life?

I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with gratitude and grace.  Settle into a place of peace within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathing in (who do you worship?)   ... God of gossamer strands
Breathing out (what do you need?)     ... weave your story in my dreams 

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... Dream-Weaving God, I hear you calling me from the delicate edges of myself to move to the center of my soul.  When I play the trickster in my life, forgive me and use my circumstances to draw me close to you and to help me grow.  In Christ, Amen. 

Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read  Genesis 28:10-19a (NET) slowly, taking in the story that is unfolding.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible

Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. He reached a certain place where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones and placed it near his head. Then he fell asleep in that place  and had a dream. He saw a stairway erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the ground you are lying on. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using your name and that of your descendants.  I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Then Jacob woke up and thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

Early in the morning Jacob took the stone he had placed near his head and set it up as a sacred stone. Then he poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel [which means House of God]

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal your path.
Listen and watch for God’s mysterious presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ...

To end your time of praying the scripture, engage with this beautiful verse from Psalm 46:10a

Be Still and Know that I am God ... silence

Be Still and Know that I am ... silence

Be Still and Know ... silence

Be Still ... silence

Be ... silence

silence

Allow yourself to rest in the silence for as long as it invites you     

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to pray while "gazing" upon this image from the Morgan Picture Bible.  Click on Folio 4r to see the whole page which consists of 4 images, 3 of which refer to the stories of Jacob from these last couple of weeks.  The Morgan Picture Bible, c. 1240s, is a medieval picture Bible of 46 folios, 43 of which are kept in the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum in New York.  It originally consisted entirely of images but eventually Latin inscriptions were made in the margins, followed by Persian and then finally Judeo-Persian.   You can find more information about the bible and images by taking the Link above. 

By Anonymous (The Morgan Bible [1]) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If music is a pathway to God for you, listen to this beautiful song by The Fray called Be Still.  The video is so hauntingly simple.  Black background with white letting infuses the presentation with soul and I can feel myself sitting with Jacob on the stones at Bethel, in the "house of God."  And there really isn't anything better than being able to sit within the story with someone who has been touched by God. 

Genesis Roots: Jacob and Esau, Sibling Rivalry that Began in the Womb

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis. 

This week is all about sibling rivalry.  While the bible is full of siblings fighting about something,  Genesis, and this lectionary cycle through the story of the Hebrew ancestors, has more than its fair share of sibling war stories!  Let's go, it's me or you!  Some of these battles end tragically and some not so much.  The story of Jacob and Esau begins with what Rebekah refers to as "civil war" before her twin sons are even born.  Read Genesis 25:19-23 (NET) to get a sense of how she was feeling and how God responded to her questions.

This is the account of Isaac, the son of Abraham.  Abraham became the father of Isaac. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.  Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. But the children struggled inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” So she asked the Lord, and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”

Once again we see 2 brothers, 2 nations, the younger one becomes the "chosen" one and the eldest becomes the leader of a nation outside of the family.  Family issues, need I say more!  And God in the middles of the mess.  Sometimes, especially as we move through these stories of the patriarchs, I feel like God is being shaped into a caricature to make a compelling story.  Sometimes I lose sight of the mystery of God.  Haven't these kinds of stories always been told by the camp fire or the water cooler by the "winners?"  And don't the winners always tell the stories so the "losers" look bad?

This propensity we have to label winners and losers is the heart of sibling rivalry and dualistic thinking!  Dualistic thinking can be defined, perhaps overly-simplified, as thinking in dualities ... either/or thinking.  Remember a couple of weeks ago when Sarah had Abraham send his son Ishmael and Hagar into the desert to die.  It was either her son or Hagar's son.  She could not see how they could co-exist with one another.  God had another plan.  Dualistic thinking is not itself always a bad thing.  There are times, especially in formative years, when it is imperative for safety and well-being to know whether something is "good" or "bad."  However, one hopes that a tremendous amount of mystery can flourish alongside.

For me, it is Jesus himself who invites us beyond dualistic thinking when he says, "you have heard it said ... but I say to you ..." and you can fill in the blanks with the many times he asked people to consider things from a different perspective.    As we grow and encounter more and more things we cannot understand, our perspectives are challenged.  As you consider those mysterious things of life calling you to new perspectives, hear these words from Richard Rohr in his book Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,

“You no longer need to divide the field of every moment between up and down, totally right or totally wrong, with me or against me.  It just IS.  This calm allows you to confront what must be confronted in life with even greater clarity and incisiveness.” 

I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to seek God with openness as you engage the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with the ability to see with clarity!  Settle into yourself with a simple  breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathing in    ... Birthing God
Breathing out  ... Bring me vision anew

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... Birthing God, I am often at war, sometimes with others but often with myself.  Help me to see myself as I really am.  As I read and pray with your holy word, help me to find a word to illuminate my life and invite me to grow closer to you.   In Christ, Amen. 

Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read  Genesis 25:24-34 (NET) slowly, taking in the story that is unfolding.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible

When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish all over, like a hairy garment, so they named him Esau. When his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Now Jacob cooked some stew, and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

But Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” So Esau swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal you to yourself.
Listen and watch for God’s mysterious presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ...
Allow yourself to rest in the silence ...   

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to come back and pray while "gazing" upon this photo of a stain-glass window, called "Esau gives up his Birthright."

“Esau Gives up his Birthright” By Rensig, Everhard (maker, Details of artist on Google Art Project) [Public domain], photo via Wikimedia Commons.  Original stain-glass (c 1521 at the Cloisters of Mariawald, Germany) is now located at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

ok, isn't is fascinating to have a stain-glass depiction in which these 2 biblical characters look like musketeers, but I suppose that is how the story was contextualized for persons of the times, especially for persons who could not read but could only tell the stories through images.  If this disturbs you or makes you irritated, or if it makes you smile and wonder ... allow those emotions to carry you as you engage in Visio Divina, praying with an image.

Visio divina (sacred seeing) is a companion discipline of lectio divina (sacred reading)

Read the Image ... Allow your eyes to seek softly what you are attracted to in the image.  Simply receive the gift of seeing.  What "image within the image" is drawing you in ... Allow yourself a few moments simply to sit with this gift.

Receive the Image ... Take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a receptive spirit.  After receiving, close your eyes and reflect by allowing your imagination to form that image in your consciousness ... what are you receiving from God through the image?  How does this illuminate your life right now?

Respond to God ... Now take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a grateful spirit.  How do you sense yourself desiring to respond to God through the image you have received?  What would you say to God about what you are hearing, seeing, feeling?  Allow yourself to pray with gratitude ...

Rest in God ... Now take a deep breath and rest ... notice how your body feels.  Is there something more here?  Then go back and repeat your "gazing" prayer.   If you feel that you have received all you need in this moment, simply rest in the silence and come to a place of shalom, peace, wholeness ...

Amen.