Day 8 Reading Schedule: Genesis 25-29

Genesis 25: The Death of Abraham and Jacob and Esau 

This chapter shows the plan of redemption through the contrasting events of the deaths of Abraham and Israel and the births of Jacob and Esau, showing how God leads the descendants of the covenant. It mentions Abraham's concubine and her descendants (verses 1-6), records Abraham's death and burial in the cave of Machpelah (verses 7-11), and records the genealogy of Ishmael's descendants (verses 12-18). It also shows the birth of Isaac's two sons, Esau and Jacob, and God's sovereign choice in response (verses 19-27). Finally, it records the incident where Esau neglected his birthright and sold it to Jacob (verses 28-34).

The life of Abraham, the father of faith, which began in Genesis 12, ends in this chapter. In this chapter, Abraham, the father of faith, dies, and the history of the chosen people is connected to his son Isaac. In particular, the genealogy mentioned here shows who the descendants of the covenant are and that the bloodline excluded from the covenant must be separated. Here we see a new flow in which the central figure of the redemptive history is replaced from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob. This chapter mentions the end of Abraham's life and the subsequent appearances of Isaac and Ishmael, and especially Jacob and Esau, who were born in Isaac's family as the children of promise.

Genesis 26: The Story of Isaac and the Well in Gerar 

[Overview]

As a patriarch who lived for one generation, Isaac's life is mostly connected to his father Abraham and son Jacob, and his personal special deeds are not well described. Among them, this chapter deals with several incidents that allow us to understand Isaac's character and life. It records the incident where he inherited the blessings Abraham received as a descendant of the covenant (verses 1-5) and the incident where Isaac made the same mistake as Abraham (verses 6-16). It also records the conflict with the Canaanites over the ownership of the well and the incident where he formed an alliance and legally took possession of the land of the covenant (verses 17-33).

Genesis 26 focuses on the character and life of Abraham's son Isaac. When a famine struck Canaan, Isaac moved to Gerar and suffered the humiliating experience of lying to Rebekah that she was his sister to sustain his life there. However, God protected Isaac and blessed him. And in this chapter, there is a story about Isaac going off to find a new well because the natives stole his well, and God's response and reward to him. It also records Esau's double-marriage with foreign women.

Genesis 27: Jacob's Firstborn Blessing 

[Overview]

This chapter shows the conflict between Jacob and Esau over the promised succession. It records the incident where Jacob deceives his father and steals the blessing by taking advantage of Isaac's weakness due to his old age (verses 1-29), the sadness and anger of Esau who lost the blessing, and Isaac's prophecy about Esau (verses 30-40). It also shows the scene where Rebekah tries to escape Jacob from Esau's hands (verses 41-46).

From Genesis 12 to 25, Abraham's life is covered, and in chapter 26, Isaac's life is covered, and from this chapter, Jacob's life begins to unfold in earnest. Isaac, who was facing death, tried to pass the birthright to his beloved eldest son Esau by blessing him. However, due to God's intervention and Rebekah's scheme, the birthright went to Jacob, who inherited the covenant blessing. When Esau found out about this later, he tried to kill Jacob, but Jacob soon fled to Paddan-aram.

Genesis 28： Jacob's Wandering Journey and the Ladder Vision 

[Summary]

Now the era of the second patriarch, Isaac, is slowly fading away and Jacob's era has arrived. The main characters of the history of redemption began with Abraham and continued with Isaac, and now the prologue is introduced with his sons, Jacob and Esau, and especially Jacob. From this chapter, the life of Jacob, who lived a more eventful life than anyone else, begins. It records the scene where Isaac sends Jacob to Haran to preserve the pure bloodline of the covenant (verses 1-5), and the incident where Esau marries the daughter of Ishmael, who is of Abraham's bloodline, in order to gain the favor of his parents (verses 6-9). Then, Jacob, who was on his way to Haran, meets God in Bethel and receives the blessing that was given to Abraham and Isaac (verses 10-22). This is an important event that acknowledges Jacob's inheritance of the legitimacy of the covenant. Jacob then offered a vow to God to build a temple and to pay tithes.

Jacob's long life as a wanderer begins in this chapter. Isaac called Jacob, who was in a situation where he had to escape from Esau, and ordered him to go to Paddan Aram, his wife's home, and get a wife, and blessed him. So Jacob had to leave his parents and go alone to the distant land of Paddan Aram, and he had to sleep on the roadside with a stone as his pillow. Jacob was deceived by his brother and acted deceitfully, and he had to go on a journey of wandering. However, this chapter records the story of God meeting Jacob and blessing him despite his miserable state.

Genesis 29: Jacob's Marriage and Life in Paddan-aram 

[Overview]

This chapter shows how God kept His covenant in Bethel and gave Jacob abundant blessings through Jacob's life of flight. Jacob arrived in Haran and met his uncle Laban under God's guidance (verses 1-14). It records the incident where Jacob was deceived by Laban and received Leah and Rachel as wives in return for working for 14 years (verses 15-30). It records the incident where discord arose in the family due to the two wives, but God used this to give him 12 sons who became the actual ancestors of the Israelites (verses 31-35). This chapter shows Jacob's faith growing through trials and God's providence in carrying out the history of redemption.

This chapter is about how God kept His promise and gave Jacob abundant blessings. God, who appeared to Jacob in the wilderness of Bethel, promised to protect him wherever he went, and guided Jacob to his destination, Haran, where he met his maternal uncle Laban. The important storyline of this chapter is how Jacob, who was living in Laban's house as a foreigner, got married and had descendants.