Jacob – St. Stephen Presbyterian Church

Demon or God?–Genesis 32: 22-31

by revfritz
07/31/2011

Demon or God?

Genesis 32: 22-31

Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, Preacher

Our Old Testament story is one of the most familiar of the Bible. Jacob, the most conniving fellow in the scriptures, finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has managed to outsmart his father-in-law Laban and free himself and his family from Laban’s service. But now he has to figure out how to overcome the demons of his past. Years before, he had disguised himself as his twin brother Esau to trick his blind father into giving him Esau’s blessing. Now Jacob has to pass through the land where Esau now lives, and he has heard that Esau is coming to meet him with two hundred men. Jacob is terrified. He divides his own company into two groups, so that if Esau attacks him, one group has a chance of escaping. He sends them off and he waits, alone, by the river Jabbok, waits—for what?Read More »Demon or God?–Genesis 32: 22-31

The Dysfunctional Family of God

by revfritz
07/12/2011

We are studying the story of Jacob and his family in our weekly Bible Study. It’s a story that reminds us why the Bible is a better book than we give it credit for. Jacob is a scoundrel, a liar, and too clever by half. He ends us fathering the Twelve Tribes of Israel because he’s outsmarted by his father-in-law Laban, who tricks him into marrying the daughter he doesn’t want to marry so that he can marry the one he does want to marry. There’s more sex, family dysfunction, and intrigue in this story than there is in Desperate Housewives. God is, at least to the protagonists, almost an afterthought, a bit player in their family drama. But through it all, God is working God’s purpose out. Through Jacob’s line the blessing that God has promised the world through Abraham’s heirs is perpetuated.

I asked everyone, “How does this story affect the way you look at your own dysfunctional family?”