Date | Version | Reading Plan |
---|---|---|
February 4, 2025 | ESV (2016) | OT/NT Plan 2025 – 2027 |
Genesis 35
Observation
Following the events of Simeon and Levi taking revenge on Shechem for defiling their sister, Dinah, God spoke to Abraham and told him to go to Bethel, dwell there and make an altar. Jacob responded by instructing his household to put away their foreign gods and purify themselves. “Confirming his commitment to serve only the Lord, Jacob instructs those with him to rid themselves of foreign gods (see 31:34–35).” (TGCBC). They did so and, as they were journeying, God protected them by having a terror fall upon the cities around them so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. Jacob and his people came to Luz (Bethel) in the land of Canaan and Jacob built an altar there.
We see briefly included the detail that Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under an oak at Bethel. Rebekah “probably was like a beloved second mother to Jacob…Her death, along with Isaac’s in v. 28, marked the passing of a generation.” (CSB Notes)
God appeared to Jacob again and told him that his name was no longer to be Jacob but Israel. He identified Himself as God Almighty and told Jacob to be fruitful and multiply. “God’s blessing of Jacob recalls how God blessed Abraham (24:1) and Isaac (25:11; 26:12). God’s words also echo the creation mandate (1:28), which was repeated to Noah (9:1, 7).” (TGCBC). Jacob set up a pillar where God had spoken with him, poured out a drink offering on it along with oil and called the place Bethel (”house of God”).
Journeying from Bethel, Rachel went into labor, a birthing that would end in her death. When her labor was at its hardest, her midwife told her to have no fear because she had another son. While she was dying, Rachel named her son, “Ben-oni” (”son of my sorrow”), but Jacob named him, Benjamin (”son of the right hand”). “The circumstances surrounding his birth may have caused Jacob to have a special affection for Benjamin.” (TGCBC).
A brief mention is made of Reuben’s inappropriate relationship with Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah. The TGCBC makes note that “his actions cause Jacob to deny him the status of firstborn (see v. 23), which is subsequently given to Joseph (see 49:4; 1Chr 5:1–2).”
The chapter concludes with the listing of Jacob’s son by Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah and his return to his father, Isaac, at Mamre. It was the place where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Isaac died at 180 years of age (20 years after Jacob returns from Paddan-Aram), gathered to his people and full of days, buried by his sons Jacob and Esau.
Application
God extended His protection and showed Himself faithful in keeping the promise made to Abraham and Isaac by giving Jacob the land along with his offspring. Through the generations, God remained faithful to every promise made and will continue to do so, reflecting His eternal character of steadfast love and grace.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness. Despite our brokenness (and mine most of all), You show Yourself endlessly dedicated to your work of redemption.
Mark 7
Observation
The chapter opens with the Pharisees gathering to Jesus and seeing that some of His disciples ate with defiled hands, that is, unwashed. There were other traditions to which the Pharisees held and they confronted Jesus on why the apostles did not walk according to the traditions. The ESVEC notes that, “Neither Jesus nor his disciples break the law of Moses (cf. Matt. 5:17). They do, however, disregard the oral ‘tradition of the elders’ (Mark 7:3, 5) as a mere ‘tradition of men’ (5:8; cf. Matt. 15:1–20; Mark 5:21–48).”
Jesus responds to the Pharisees by quoting Isaiah 29:13 (cf. Ps. 78:36; Col. 2:22) that they honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. They had left the commandment of God and held the tradition of men. “Instead of recognizing the Word of God as the sole authority in all matters of faith and morals, they evaded or explained away the clear demands of the Scripture by their tradition.” (BBC). By this, Jesus revealed them as hypocrites for claiming to follow the commandments of God but in reality laying them aside to follow those that man had established. The ESVEC provides a helpful definition/description:
Hypocrisy is not only displayed by demanding of others what one does not do oneself but is found within the human heart when pretending to surrender to God when in fact the heart is thoroughly self-seeking.
Application
While they may have once been properly aligned, the Pharisees had come to entirely reject the commandments of God for their own traditions. This is in no wise isolated to the Pharisees as we are just as capable of pridefully jettisoning obedience to God’s Word for what we conceive on our own. Let us see this as abject lesson to stay rooted in the Scriptures, ceaseless in prayer that the Spirit may guard us from such sinful inclinations.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that by Your Spirit you would keep me close to You and away from personal or worldly traditions that are not of You or grounded in the commands you have given.
Resources
- J. I. Packer et. al, The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016)
- Colin Hansen (Editor in Chief), TGC Bible Commentary (Columbia, MO: The Gospel Coalition, 2022)
- Iain M. Duguid (Series Editor), ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018-2025)
- Faithlife Study Bible (Lexham Press, 2016)
- Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 2016)
- CSB Study Bible Notes (Holman Bible Publishers, 2017)
- The New American Commentary (Brentwood, TN: Holman Reference)