Disguised Miracles

Throughout my late childhood and through half of my college years, I wanted to be a genetic engineer. I was (still am) fascinated with science, especially biology and chemistry. I loved to learn about the building blocks of life, and how DNA and our genes can be shaped to effect certain results. There have been incredible advances in genetics over the last 20 years, including the mapping of the entire human genome -- the chemical blueprint for a human being.

Genesis 30:25-43
"After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you." 27 But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you." 28 He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." 29 Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30 The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?" 31 "What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen." 34 "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." 35 That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks. 37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys."

After Laban tricked Jacob into working for him for fourteen years, Jacob gets a little revenge. There is no scientific basis for putting striped branches in the water troughs and causing the resulting offspring to produce streaked and dark colored sheep. This was a miracle. God was giving Jacob a headstart on getting his family out Laban's door. Whether or not Jacob recognized the miracle, that is what it was.

I wonder sometimes what miracles have occurred in my life without my knowledge, simply because I did not have the eyes to see them........................

We are not octopi.

It is a recurring fantasy among some men to sleep with two women at once. Obviously, from the male point of  view, this would be seen as some kind of ego-boost, as it would seem that he has enough virility to satisfy two women instead of one. Some men might also fantasize about having a harem or being married to more than one wife.

Watching the TV series, "Big Love," will cure any man of such delusions. The series, which portrays a modern day Mormon polygamist living in a Salt Lake City suburb with his three wives, will drive home a very important point: it is very challenging to keep your wife happy, and impossible to keep more than one wife happy.

Genesis 29:31-30:18
"When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." 33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon.  34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi.  35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the Lord." So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. 30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!" 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" 3 Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family." 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan.  7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.  9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad.  12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.  14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15 But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." 16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar."

Although Jacob did not initially intend to marry two women, he now had two wives. And soon enough, the rivalry between the two women heated up to a simmer. The fact that Leah was fertile and Rachel was not fueled the fire. Jacob's predicament is evident when the women included him in a bargain involving mandrakes, which were supposed to have aphrodisiac qualities.  

Regardless of ancient custom and modern day male fantasies, a marriage between one man and one woman remains the model that works best. God designed for us to cling to our spouse, and since we are not octopi, one spouse is more than enough. At least for me, it is. ;)

The Moon Is Following Me

As a kid, I remember sitting in the back of my parent's car on a long trip at night, staring out the window at the moon. It appeared to travel right along with me, and journeyed at the same speed we were going. When I remarked to my parents that the moon was following us, they told me it only appeared that way because the moon was so very large and so very close.


Genesis 28:10-22
"Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord  will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." 

In the ancient pagan mindset, gods were local. Each locality had a particular god, and that god was acknowledged by that particular people. But when the God of Israel began to make himself known to the people of Israel, there was a different nature to His sovereignty. He began to reveal that His intentions were for more than a small group of villages in a tiny corner of the world. This God was to be the Sovereign over all peoples, and His call would be worldwide.

Jacob would soon discover that thought he had traveled far away from his family to a foreign place, God was still with him. Unlike the small, local deities, our God is very large and close, and goes wherever we do. 

We are what we are born into

It is absolutely incredible to experience the dimensions and depth that opens in your life when you become a parent. For me, I see all of my carefully packed baggage come pouring out all over, like a bad day at the airport. I see myself doing things and responding in ways I SWORE up and down I would never do to my kids. I find myself preferring the company of one against another at times, then switching, depending on how incredibly annoying one is being at the time. I try, but I see my father in my parenting a lot.


Genesis 27:41-28:9
"Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living." 28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had." 

However, seeing my father in my parenting is not all bad. I tell my children I love them, because he always told me. I try to show them how to be strong and brave, like my father was with me. I try to teach them to protect others around them, the way my dad did with people around him. I teach them the value of working hard and being responsible and not acting like a jackass in front of people, because that was what my dad did with me.

Like with Isaac, Esau, and Jacob, certain patterns are indelibly passed on from one generation to another. Isaac was the spoiled favorite child of doting old parents.His half brother was kicked out of the house for teasing him one day. He was given a fortune and a life of luxury. So he favored and spoiled Esau in return, but then turned against him when Jacob proved more hungry and crafty and clever. Esau then became the brother left out in the cold.

Bitterness

I was a terrible liar when I was a teenager. I lied to get what I wanted. I lied to impress others. I lied to girls I wanted to date, and I lied about them after we dated.

I was also full of bitterness. I was bitter that other kids seemingly had it so easy. I was bitter that I wasn't one of the cool kids. I was bitter about the apparently bad hand I was dealt in life. I was bitter that I didn't get what I wanted.

Genesis 27:30-41
"After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." 32 His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." 33 Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him — and indeed he will be blessed!" 34 When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me — me too, my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." 36 Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud. 39 His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above.  40 You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." 41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 

The name Jacob means, "He who grasps the heel." It is a turn of phrase for being a liar or a deceiver. Jacob was what his name meant, just like Esau, which means red, was known for his red hair. 

Jacob had long been plotting this move. I imagine him spending long hours watching his brother playing or working with his father, his eyes squinting as the darkness in his heart spewed forth more and more rage and bitterness. His mother helped feed this bitterness, as it appears that Rebekah didn't have a very harmonious relationship with her Isaac either. 

But as I discovered, deceit, bitterness, and rage will destroy you. They act like gangrene and rot and mold and maggots on your soul. You will drown. You will die. And you will hurt so many people. It is the way of death, as Jacob will find out soon enough.

The Number One Son

There is within our culture a kneejerk reaction to favoritism. As Americans, we instinctively respond to unfairness with repulsion and contempt. We want people to have an equal chance in all things -- this is what the American Way is all about, right? Everyone should have the possibility of being anything they desire, to attain whatever goal he or she sets their eyes on, right? For example, we are told that, if certain conditions are met (like citizenship and being at least 35 years old), anyone could become President of the United States. This sounds great, and we Americans like the idea that anyone, anyone at all, could rise to the highest office in the land if they would only work hard enough. Sounds great. But the reality is, that for most people, there is actually zero chance of them becoming President of the United States. Take a look at who has already been there: where did they all go to college? What kind of career did they choose before going into politics? What income level did they have prior to taking office? I can tell you that the vast majority of all the Presidents went to Ivy League schools, were lawyers or CEOs prior to politics, and made a boatload of money prior to taking office. What does this mean for you and me? It means that Joe the Plumber will never be President, regardless of our high and lofty ideals regarding who can try for it. Favoritism is still part of our culture, even though we rail against it out loud.


Genesis 27:1-30
"When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. 2 Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your weapons — your quiver and bow — and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." 5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.' 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies." 11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." 13 His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18 He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." 20 Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The Lord your God gave me success," he replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not." 22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied. 25 Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." 27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. 28 May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness — an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." 30 After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting."

Isaac had never been quiet about his preference for Esau. Even though Esau and Jacob were fraternal twins, born on the same day, Isaac preferred Esau because he was technically the first born. Esau was also like his father in character and personality, and his likes and dislikes. Jacob was the favorite of his mother, having things in common with her. But its easy to read between the lines and see that Jacob was very bitter and resented his brother and his father for being left out. And so Jacob carried out his deceitful revenge.

We're pretty sneaky

I have often pondered how two people can come from the same genetic stock, grow up in the same background, and have the same parental experiences, and yet be so completely different. Even in the case of twins, where you for the most part would look identical, for the most part be treated identically, you still end up with different people.


Genesis 25:21-34
"Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." 24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.   26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." 32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright." 

In this story, I always identify with Jacob. Growing up, I was never much of an outdoors kind of kid. I lived always in my head. I loved playing inside, and didn't really care to get dirty all that much. I was also sneaky like Jacob, and full of jealousy and deceitful like Jacob as well. It amazes me that God chose Jacob over Esau. 

By all accounts, Esau should have been the hero of this story: first born, the "man's man," and all that. But Esau despised his birthright, meaning he didn't a darn about his status in the family. He probably thought Jacob wasn't serious when he made this deal. But Jacob was crafty. Watch out for us indoorsmen........ ;)