Now writing at Medium.com

This blog is heavily used as a reference and so it will stick around for everyone. I’m grateful that it’s been useful to all of you.

I write on various topics now, including socioeconomic, geopolitical, the economy and effects on consumers. If these topics interest you, I’d love for you to see what I’m writing over on Medium.com.

Justin Honse at Medium

I will still write about bible-related topics at times – in fact, my first article is quite popular, which explores the story of Adam and Eve, and considers Adam had to choose between God and eternity, or Eve. I’d love your thoughts on it:

Between Bites, Torn Devotion: Did Adam have to Choose?

I’ll be sending a one-time email to subscribers of this blog letting you know about the new writings on Medium, which you can opt-out of, of course. Thank you to all my readers, I hope to one day finish this commentary on the book of Genesis, as I have already put over three years of my life into research for the posts that are already here (Genesis 1-26).

Regards,
Justin Honse

Genesis 1:1 – In the Beginning God Created

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Gen. 1:1

The Holy scriptures begin with a bold opening;  the first five words alone challenge the conventional educational wisdom of today.  If the reader believes these words, they should not have much trouble with the rest of the scriptures, for they will have believed that God exists and that He made all things.

That said, ownership is implied here, as is re-stated in Psalm 24:1

“The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.”

Most Jewish translations read along the lines of “In the beginning of God’s creating”, which should not change our understanding at all, only offer that the act of creation is either happening, or perhaps being revealed to Moses, in the present tense.

 

Genesis 27:11-13 – Jacob’s Desire and Rebekah’s Confidence

“Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man.  “Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.””  – Gen. 27:11-13

Rebekah has just laid out her plan to assist Jacob in obtaining the blessing instead of Esau.  Jacob does not appear to be opposed to this plan at all, surprisingly, but rather, as I mentioned in my previous post, his main concerns are not getting caught, and tarnishing his reputation with his father Isaac, if he is found out.  Rashi points out that the sages teach that their voices were similar (they are, after all, twins) which may explain why Jacob’s main concern is not the obvious – that his voice would give him away.

This scene, together with the scene regarding the birthright, shows us that Jacob vehemently desired the favored and sacred position of firstborn in the family, and was even willing to do questionable things to attain this.

Rebekeh’s response is likewise fascinating.  Now that she knows Jacob understands her plan, and is on board with it aside from these reservations, she appeases her son by stating she will take the blame, even the curse, if they are caught.  In essence, Jacob would be guilty of ‘obeying his mother’s voice’ – which in itself is an honorable thing to do.

The oracle concerning her sons’ birth – that the older will serve the younger – may have given Rebekah the confidence to move forward with this plan.  Though, Everett Fox points out that after this chapter, Rebekah eerily disappears from the narrative, and her death is not specifically mentioned in the scriptures.  We may have a small inkling as to her death, as when her nurse, Deborah, dies in Genesis 35:8, and it refers to her being buried underneath an oak tree which was referred to as the ‘tree of weepings’ (plural).  Some scholars believe that Rebekah was buried at the same time as Deborah.

Genesis 27:5-10 – Sneaky, Rebekah!

“Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau.  So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, ‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’  “Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you.  “Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. “Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.””  Gen. 27:5-10

When read closely, Genesis 27 reveals many near-truths and half-lies.  Familiarity with the story causes this to go almost completely unnoticed, but as with many passages in scripture, careful attention is warranted for us to get a full picture of the personalities of those involved.  In this passage, several neutral or ambiguous statements are made and it is up to the hearer to understand what the motive is.   First we see this with Rebekah, and later with Jacob.

When you read the verses above, Rebekah does not actually say anything indicating a deceitful plan.  Read plainly, the narrative simply states:

Your father just asked your brother Esau to go hunt some food to prepare a meal for him, so your father can bless him before he dies.  Go get me two goats, and I will cook them up.  Then you can give them to your father, so he can [also] bless you before he dies.

In saying these things, she likely hoped Jacob would obey her without question; it is up to Jacob to infer the ramifications of what she intends to do.  She even began her request with “my son, listen to me as I command you.” (v. 8)

Jacob, however, has shown himself to be more shrewd than what we originally learn of him (Gen. 25:27) such as in the case with commandeering the birthright (25:31).  Jacob knows that Esau was technically the firstborn, and that he would be first in line for the blessing; Jacob also knows that Esau is favored by Isaac, whereas Jacob is favored by Rebekah (25:28)  This causes Jacob to know his mother is up to something.

The very next words Jacob utters indicate not only that he understands the full extent of the plan his mother has concocted, but also that he is all-in.  Surprisingly, his only concern is getting caught, and what that would cause his father to think of him.

Genesis 27:3-4 – Hunt Me Some Game

““Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.””  Gen. 27:3-4

We are aware from Genesis 25:28 that Isaac favors Esau over Jacob because Isaac loved the taste of game, and appeared to take pride in his son’s ability to hunt skillfully.  So now Isaac charges Esau to hunt him some food to prepare.

Often the original Hebrew contains words with implications, and sometimes these come through in modern translations, other times they do not.  For example in this passage, Isaac instructs Esau to “hunt game for me”, but some English translations specify to hunt “wild game”, or I’ve also seen “hunt me some hunted game”.  This may sound repetitive, but some rabbis understand this to mean that Isaac was not completely trustful of Esau, and he was being specific to warn Esau that whatever he brought him should be an animal with no owner, to eliminate the possibility Esau may steal someone’s animals if his hunt was  not successful.

It is worth noting that when Jacob, pretending to be Esau, came in with food prepared, Isaac asked him “How do you have it so quickly, my son?” (v. 20)  He may well have been concerned that Esau was bringing stolen food.

Interestingly, Jacob’s answer practically gives away his identity, as Jacob says that “God caused it to happen”.  Jacob was known as the son who cared for the things of God – this would not have been part of Esau’s everyday speech.

Genesis 27:2 – “I Do Not Know the Day of My Death”

“Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death.””  

~ Gen. 27:2

Isaac would have been about 123 years old at this point.  Certainly his health was beginning to fail; his eyesight was already going if not gone completely, and the text tells us he had to rise up to eat, which may indicate he was bedridden to some extent – we do not know for sure.

Ever since the flood had occurred, life spans began to reduce rapidly.  A Midrash tells us that children do not necessarily expect to reach the age their parents did, which was likely part of Isaac’s concern.  Abraham lived to 175 years, however Sarah only lived to 127.  In reality, Isaac lived another 57 years and died at age 180 (Gen. 35:28-29)

Introduction to Genesis 27

“Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.””  Gen. 27:1

Genesis 27 is a fascinating chapter because we see history change as the narrative unfolds.  Isaac is old and thinks he may be near death, and so decides it is time to bestow his blessing.  We are told he is near blind, and as such gets tricked into blessing Jacob rather than the intended son Esau, even though Isaac tries to rely on all five senses.

Several elements mentioned earlier in Genesis will come into play in this chapter:  The parent-child favoritism between Isaac and Esau, and Rebekah and Jacob;  The implications of the sale of the birthright from Esau to Jacob; and ultimately, the oracle  given to Rebekah when the twins were yet in her womb.

Ultimately passages such as this can be puzzling to the reader, leaving us wonder if Isaac was really deceived, if Jacob, or even Rebekah are ultimately guilty of lying, or if God’s hand was at work the whole time, steering the events through even questionable means to accomplish His purpose with the blessing.

Genesis 26:34-35 – Esau Marries

“When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.”  Gen. 26:34-35

We note that Esau was forty years old when he decided to marry, the same age as Isaac was when he married Rebekah.  (Gen. 25:20).  There are many instances in the scriptures of polygamy (multiple spouses) however we do not see any scriptures that indicate God condones it.

In Genesis 24:3, Abraham was adamant when speaking with his senior servant that the wife to be found for Isaac was not to be from among the Canaanites (of which the Hittites were part).  This ideal of Abraham’s is likely at least in part why Esau’s choices brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 26:35).

The Hittites were derived from Heth, who was referenced in Gen. 10:15:

“Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth”

Canaan was the son of Ham, and he was the one cursed by Noah after the incident in the tent after the flood.  Later, Abraham buys the Cave of Machpelah and the adjacent field from the sons of Heth to bury Sarah (Gen. 23).

Genesis 26:26-33 – The Covenant with Abimelech

“Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army.  Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”  They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.’”  Then he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.  In the morning they arose early and exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace.  Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.”  Gen. 26:26-33

Genesis 26 with Isaac contains many of the same narrative elements as Genesis 20-21 with Abraham, including  a treaty with King Abimelech.  There are some notable differences as well, some of which may not be picked up on due to common translations, or perhaps predispositions.

First we see Abimelech brings his advisor as well, which may have made for a less intimidating visit than just the king and the commander of his army.

Abimelech refers to previous oath, as some translations read “let the oath between us/ourselves now be between us and you”.  Common translations seem to imply that Abimelech makes no reference to the covenant with Abraham, as if it were disregarded.  On one hand it is understandable to assume this considering what happened with Abraham’s wells getting stopped up after his death, but, as we learned in the covenant with Abraham, not even the king knows everything his subjects are doing:

“And Abimelech said “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.””  Gen. 21:26

Abimelech is not only recognizing the previous oath, but making it more bold by adding a curse for whoever violates the oath, by the phrase “that you will do us no harm”, which was not part of the covenant with Abraham.

It is easy from a plain reading to assume that Abimelech is not a follower of God.  I would disagree based upon his interactions with Abraham and Isaac, noting that he shows both a fear and respect for God by not taking Rebekah after what happened with Sarah.  Additionally because he has had an interaction with God and now adds a threat of retribution to whoever (be it his own subjects or Isaac’s camp) violates the oath for harm, it appears he intends to uphold it as he placed himself knowingly under the possibility of divine punishment.

Genesis 26:23-25 – Dig Your Own Well (Part II)

“Then he went up from there to Beersheba.

The LORD appeared to him the same night and said,
         “I am the God of your father Abraham;
         Do not fear, for I am with you.
         I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,
         For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.”   Gen. 26:23-25

The LORD sometimes speaks at odd moments in scripture, seemingly inserting Himself almost at random in certain passages.  With all the trials Isaac was going through – having moved due to famine, then being mistreated in Gerar repeatedly, Isaac was likely wondering if God was with him.

A significant element of the Genesis 26 narrative is encapsulated in these verses: that God is with Isaac, just as God was with Abraham.  Isaac was not merely getting hand-me-down faith; he also had a direct relationship with God.  As the rabbis say, He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  He is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  There is a difference.

God wants us to have our own personal relationship with Him.  I believe this is why Isaac’s re-digging of Abraham’s old wells proved fruitless.  It was as if Isaac re-dug those wells of his father, and named them the same names as his father almost in formulaic fashion, as if that was what he thought he was supposed to do.  The digging of a well to get to the life-sustaining water hiding below is symbolic of how we reach out to our creator, and so Isaac was finding out that God doesn’t necessarily want us to try to get to Him the same way those before us did.  Once Isaac understands this, he builds his first altar, and digs yet another new well. (v. 25)

In this case we see Isaac does not make any progress until he starts digging his own wells.  Once Isaac begins doing things a new way, King Abimelech comes to him and says, as if prophetically, “you are now blessed of the LORD” (v.29).

Genesis 26:19-22 – Isaac Matures Spiritually

“But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.  Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it Sitnah.  He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.””  Gen. 26:19-22

This is one of many narrative portions of scripture that if we merely read at face value, we only glean historical, seemingly anecdotal information about the life is Isaac.  We must always ask ourselves what lesson we can learn from the text and how we can apply it to our own lives.

Consider how frustrated Isaac likely already was at the fact that the Philistines stopped up his father’s wells.  Abimelech asked him to leave Gerar proper, and now while trying to make his own space, he and his servants go through all the effort to dig a well, only to have the Philistines commandeer it.  And then it happens a second time!

The land of Canaan was given to Abraham and Isaac by God, and yet Isaac can’t seem to claim any of it for himself.  Likewise it was probably frustrating for Abraham that, although the land was his in the eyes of God, he had to buy a cave to bury Sarah, including a field he didn’t want, for an exorbitant price!

What we must glean from this part of scripture is that at times, life will seem unfair; we will be wronged on occasion, and often our efforts will seem to be in vain.  Isaac shows us great character through the ordeal however, most notably his being slow to anger, and his perseverance.

We should take note that many of the hurdles Isaac faces in this story are extremely similar to those of Abraham, up to and including issues over wells with Abimelech.  God may at times bring us through similar ordeals to see if we handle them differently and with better character than our fathers, or than we ourselves have in the past.

This is what the story of Isaac is about; Improving our reactions to life’s challenges.  This becomes clear when, after all this strife with the Philistines in Gerar, Abimelech eventually comes to make a covenant with Isaac.  It is true this was done with Abraham as well, however what is important to note is the tone of each of these covenants:

Abraham hears Abimelech out, then decides to complain about the issues with the wells,   stubbornly insists that Abimelech recognize that the wells were his, then they part ways. (Gen. 21:22-32).  It is as if he agrees to peace, but he is not really at peace about it.

Contrast this with Isaac, who had even more trouble over the wells, and in addition probably felt his father’s reputation slighted over stopping the old wells up (v. 15).  When Abimelech and his entourage show up to make a peace covenant with Isaac, there is a distinct feeling of goodwill that was lacking from the covenant with Abraham.  Not only does Isaac not complain about his treatment – he makes them a feast (a custom Abraham decided to skip) and we are told in v. 31 that Abimelech left “in peace”, something also missing from the covenant with Abraham.

This story teaches us about spiritual maturity, personal growth and improvement in our relationships.  The blessing from this?  Consider v. 32:

 “Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him     about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

Life indeed.