Study Desk

"This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that

And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me."

"Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord . I praised the Lord , the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master's niece to be his son's wife.

Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac's prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.

Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions."

When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful."

Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister'?" "Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied.

where the Lord appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant."

But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob.

From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: "I will soon be mourning my father's death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob."

And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle's flock.

Laban said to him, "You shouldn't work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be."

"Please listen to me," Laban replied. "I have become wealthy, for the Lord has blessed me because of you.

"I rushed away because I was afraid," Jacob answered. "I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

"Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won."

The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.

(Even today the people of Israel don't eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob's hip.)

Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough." And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.

They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you're not circumcised. It would be a disgrace for our sister to marry a man like you!