35:22-26
Being where they were meant to be does not mean that sin cannot occur. We may be where God wants us to be, doing what God wants us to do, but we still need to be on our guard against sin. So Reuben sleeps with his father’s concubine. As well as the immorality of the act itself, this was also an affront to Jacob, challenging his position as head of the household. We then get a list of the twelve sons of Jacob. Note that the text switches between Israel and Jacob in referring to Jacob/Israel. For the Bible as a whole “Israel” almost always refers to the nation, and Jacob is used to refer to the individual, Jacob. So when God told Jacob that he would be called Israel maybe what He was saying is that Jacob would be more than an individual, but a whole nation would come from him.
35:27-29
Jacob then comes to his father Isaac. Isaac was 180 years old, and he now dies. Mamre has been mentioned in Gen 13:18 and 23:2. Isaac was “gathered to his people”.This phrase “gathered to his people” may indicate that they at least had an inkling that death was not the end, though it could be that that is reading too much into it. Esau and Jacob together bury their father. We are told nothing else about the meeting of the two.
No comments:
Post a Comment