Polygamy should have not been commonplace

An Altar And Offerings At Bethel

After being displaced from Shechem, Jacob returned to the "the house of God," Bethel. He built an altar and made offerings to the Lord. Shortly thereafter, his precious wife, Rachel, died giving birth to Benjamin, and soon his father, Isaac, died. Our inevitable tragedies are much easier to bear when we have already been to the altar beforehand. Consecrate now, for good measure.  Today would be a great day to start.

Genesis 35:14 - "And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon." 

Jacob's Deed

God's Covenant with Abraham passed to Isaac, then to Jacob and his seed. Numerous accounts in the book of Genesis reiterate this fact. This has to be one of the oldest real estate deeds on earth. 

Genesis 35:11-12 - "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." 

Leah And Rachel

Marriage laws did not exist prior to Moses' trip to Sinai. Polygamy was commonplace. Jacob married Leah and Rachel. Rachel was initially barren, so she gave her handmaiden, Bilhah to Jacob as a surrogate. Later, Leah "left off bearing," so gave Zilpah, her handmaiden to Jacob. The four wives bore twelve sons to Jacob - the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Genesis 35:23-26 - "The sons of Leah; Reuben, ...Simeon, ...Levi, ...Judah, ...Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, ...Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, ...Gad, and Asher." 

Esau Is Edom

God knew in advance that Esau was not going to work out. Esau went to strange nations to find wives. He settled east of Jordan in the region of Mount Seir. His descendants became known as Edom - the Edomites. When Moses brought the Children of Israel from Egypt, the Edomites would not let them pass through their land. Esau's grandchildren, the Amalekites, were first to declare war on the Children of Israel. Many of Esau's descendants were merciless enemies of Israel. 

Genesis 36:9 - "And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir." 

Click Here

Here’s another OMBS 


Jacob Buys Land At Shechem

God promised Shechem to Abraham and his descendants. Years later, Jacob bought land there for his family. Shechem became a highly significant city throughout Bible days. Joseph visited his brothers there before being sold into slavery. Later, he was buried there. Many Bible stories occurred there, but Palestinians now control it (modern Nablus). Jesus will reclaim it soon at the Battle of Armageddon. 

Genesis 33:19 - "And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money." 

Jacob Takes Ownership

Laban and Esau were behind now, so Jacob could take his family and flocks home to the Promised Land. He stopped for a while at Succoth, east of Jordan, and built shelters for cattle. But shortly, he purchased land from Shechem and for the first time, owned part of the Promised Land. Shechem is nestled between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim - where Joshua pronounced blessing and cursing. Sooner or later, God's promises always come to pass. 

Genesis 33:20 - "And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel [God - the God of Israel]." 

You Made Me Stink

Jacob settled his family and flocks on Promised Land in Shechem. But his daughter Dinah was raped by the son of the king of Shechem. Enraged, Jacob's sons mindlessly murdered and plundered the entire city. Over-reacting to tragedy doubles the loss. 

Genesis 34:30 - "And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house." 

Clean Up Your Act

Calamity struck Jacob at Shechem. His daughter was raped by the king's son. His sons murderously retaliated against the Shechemites. They had to flee the region. God called Jacob back to Bethel for spiritual revival. 

Genesis 35:2-5 - "Jacob said unto his household..., Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: ...And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; ...and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them." 

Ever needed someone to pray with you, CLICK HERE