King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Friday, January 24, 2020
Chapters: Genesis 34-37
Message: Train Up A Child
Hello My Friend,
There is a grave concern among much of the youth in the world today, there is absolutely no discipline in the home, no respect for their parents, no respect of life itself, and no respect for themselves. I believe much of this is due to the fact that they are not loved by their parents, and or even worse, their parents are raising them as transgenders or progressives that attack Christian and moral values. As saved, born again Christians, it is important that we not only raise our children godly, it is just as important to keep them out of the world. While we cannot control them, or what will become of them when they are adults, we can guide them and by the grace of God, they will not depart from the faith. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6.
This is not just worldly households, this is in many homes who proclaim Jesus. I drove by, and swear the only reason I ended up in that direction was for God to show me this church, a Unitarian church, where all lifestyles are accepted by God. Let me tell you, it is not enough to teach, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, we must also show them the consequence of sin, and why Jesus came here to save them. It is hard enough trying to keep ourselves from evil in our own flesh let alone teaching our children that it is okay to be like the world. I cannot forget what God said to Cain when he was angry that God did not accept his offering, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” – Genesis 4:7.
Temptation is everywhere, and if we dwell in the world sooner or later something evil is going to look good to us, and we are going to fall right into it, and it will have rule over us. Everything was finally coming together for Jacob, he made amends with Laban, Esau, and even God, as was headed for Canaan. God instructed him to go to Bethel, but when he crossed that line into Canaan, he chose to dwell in Shalem. Jacob might have gotten right with God, but he sure did not teach his children to get right with Him, and they quickly got sucked up in the world. Jacob’s only daughter started hanging out with the people, and she met a prince named Shechem.
“And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.” – Genesis 34:1-3,8,13-15,19,25-26.
“he took her, and lay with her,” Both boys and girls ought to be trained to respect their bodies by keeping themselves pure until marriage. If we do not teach them, then they will learn that the hard way. Since we all have this flesh that, if not grounded in Christ, can succumb to sin, we ought to be forgiving also. We must never condone sin, but we must forgive sin, that is if we want God to forgive us for ours. “and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.” Believe it or not, Shechem was the only one doing the right thing here, he wanted to marry her, and was willing to do what was necessary for Jacob to allow him to marry her. We all mess up from time to time, butt that is what grace is for, we learn from it and take the steps to correct it. Of course, this was not God’s plan for them to begin with, after all that happened, God spoke to Jacob.
“And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.” – Genesis 35:1-4.
“Arise, go up to Bethel,” I made a wrong turn the other day, thinking it was the street that I normally turn down, it took me about two miles to figure out that I was on the wrong street. I then had to make a u-turn and go back the other way. Now, I will admit that when I am driving my routes I talk to God the entire time, but at that time my mind started to wander. I was a bit upset that He did not warn me that I was making a wrong turn to begin with, but them He reminded me that sometimes He does allow those wrong turns so that we can realize how important it is to keep our focus on Him. So, Jacob went to Bethel, and built the altar as he was told, and that is when God just appeared.
“And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.” – Genesis 35:9-13.
“but Israel shall be thy name:” Israel means; The prince that prevails with God. Think about it, when we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour we become heirs with Him, and since He is the King, we become a prince or princess that has prevailed with God. Amazingly, as much as we mess up in this life, we still prevail with God. Amen! And how unworthy we must feel having realized this? I know I do. Now, as Jacob and his family left Bethel to head toward home, them made a stop because it turns out that Rachel was pregnant, and about to have the baby.
“And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.” – Genesis 35:16-19,22-27.
“that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine:” Again; this is what happens when children are not trained in the ways of God. Of course, Reuben was not a child at this point, rather a young adult, if either one of them had respect for themselves, their family, and God, they would not have even gotten to that point. This incident would cause Reuben to be striped of his birthright as he was the firstborn, and it was given to Judah, the forth son, who God would eventually use to not only make his descendants kings, but Jesus would descend from also. Since God promised He was going to give Jacob the land He gave Abraham, and Isaac that meant those who were already on it had to go. Now, and this is how God works, He knew Esau and his family were were there too, but there was not enough room on the entire country for both of them, which is why it is recorded that Esau moved his family to Mt. Seir, also known as Edom.
“Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.” – Genesis 36:1-8.
“and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.” Let me tell you, God’s mercies endure, even when we mess up time and time again. He will give us exactly what He promised, eventually. Why? The promise He made. God never goes back on His promises, and I will tell you that while we often forfeit many blessings because as His children we do sin more than we care to admit, He never goes back on His promises. It was important that God addressed Edom here as later on we will see what part they played in the Israelite’s lives centuries later. The word Edom means, red, it was in remembrance of the foolish bargain he made with Jacob when he sold his birth right over a bowl of red pottage (stew or soup). One thing we should remind ourselves is that as saved, born again Christians, we never lose our birthright, even if we make some foolish bargains. Amen! “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” – I Corinthians 6:9-11.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercies, for they surely endure for Your children. You love way too much to see us suffering in sin, which is why You gave us Your Word to train us in the way we should go. Thank You, for Your Word, for we surely do not always know what we do. While I know I have made some mistakes in my life, You still have a plan for me, and You will work it all together for good and for Your glory when I not only learn Your Word, but apply it to my walk with You. Lord, thank You for loving me, never forsaking me, and always seeing better things of me. Teach me to listen to You the first time, and to to always stay focused, so I do not have to keep making u-turns to get back into Your Will. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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