Day 10 – September 14, 2023: Genesis 33-36 and John 18-19

The story of Jacob continues and I have to retract something I said yesterday. Jacob did not put his wives in front of him with him behind. He did quite the opposite. He put himself first, then his wives least to favorite. Esau surprises him and hugs his neck when they meet. Jacob does supply him with an abundance of livestock and riches in exchange for his safety. Esau takes all of it. This is a scene of intense reconciliation. I like that image, intense reconciliation. This is the scene we also see in the Gospel of John, an intensity that is unmatched with Jesus’ arrest, torture, and crucifixion, but we have a bit before we discuss that, let’s stick to Genesis.

The story of the rape of Dinah is disconcerting for the sake of Dinah. She is absolutely voiceless and her brothers make all of the decisions on her behalf after she is raped. I wonder how she would have wanted the situation to be handled, maybe in this way, in an act of complete vengeance. There is a large part of me that says she would be justified in seeking that vengeance. This Scripture almost, I said almost, gives you a green light to violence when a child or a family member is wronged in this way. The eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth does not come from Jesus, but comes from Leviticus 24:19-21. Thank God, literally, that Jesus had a different perspective. But speaking on the part of someone who has not been a victim is a bit more difficult to navigate. The intensity of the feelings and the emotions cannot be matched unless you have suffered in a way that is reflected in this Scripture.

Jacob has his name changed yet again, second time in Scripture. Just in case the wrestling match had been forgotten, in chapter 35 his name is changed yet again from Jacob to Israel. This chapter surprises me because Jacob commands his family to put away the idols that they still have so that he is able to bury them. Wait, what? Why are the family members of Jacob worshiping idols in their posession. It feels like there is a tremendous disconnect when God makes it very clear that we are not to have any idols in our midst, and yet constantly the people of God have to determine themselves to rid themselves of the idols. Some habits die hard.

John gives us the agony of Jesus’ last few hours. The agony of betrayal by his disciples as Judas leads a band of armed men to arrest him. The agony of abandonment as all of his disciples flee the scene of his arrest and leave him alone. The agony of betrayal as Peter denies him three times. The agony of physical suffering as he was whipped and a crown of thorns placed on his side. The agony of torture as he was crucified upon the cross. The intensity of this scene cannot be overstated and it should reflect the extremes to which God is willing to go to bring us closer to him. The death of Jesus, Good Friday, is our salvation. Thanks be to God.