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    Read Genesis 29 Genesis 29 NLT - Jacob Arrives at Paddan-Aram - Then - Bible Gateway   Genesis 29:25-27- Genesis 29:25-27- But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”   The deceiver has now become the deceived, and Jacob is engaged by the consequences of his uncle (and by then father-in-law) manipulation. Jacob hadn't troubled himself with the incredible level of deception he planned with his mother to snatch his father's blessing away from his brother, Esau. Perhaps he remembers the rage Esau felt in the moment he realized he had been taken advantage of in such an underhanded manner. Laban, who took advan...

    Read Genesis 23 Genesis 23 NLT - The Burial of Sarah - When Sarah was - Bible Gateway   Genesis 23:4-6-  “Here I am, a stranger and a foreigner among you. Please sell me a piece of land so I can give my wife a proper burial.” The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Listen, my lord, you are an honored prince among us. Choose the finest of our tombs and bury her there. No one here will refuse to help you in this way.”   Here we get to see three very important and time-honored traditions from this area of the ancient world - properly celebrating and honoring those who have died, a good reputation being of great value, and Middle Eastern "haggling." Abraham loved and treasured Sarah deeply, who shared in all of the promises from God, and wanted to do all in his power to offer her the best available place for burial. As a foreigner, he was also deeply aware that he would need to rely on the friendship and generosity of others to secure such a site not only f...

  Read Genesis 17 Genesis 17 NLT - Abram Is Named Abraham - When Abram was - Bible Gateway   Genesis 17:1-2- When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the  Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai- ‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”   God came to Abram again to make the same promise He had already made, thus confirming the covenant Abram and Sarai had heard before and just tried to fulfill through their own ingenuity, power, and compromise with the culture. It was, after all, now 13 years after Hagar had given birth to Ishmael. As Ishmael was becoming a man, there were still no children through Sarai. When in the world was God going to come through on the promises He had made to them long ago?! God starts off this encounter by helping Abram focus on Who He is- "I am God Almighty," the One Who can fulfill every promise, which was bou...

    Read Genesis 10 Genesis 10 NLT - This is the account of the families of - Bible Gateway   Genesis 10:32- These are the clans that descended from Noah’s sons, arranged by nation according to their lines of descent. All the nations of the earth descended from these clans after the great flood.   In this chapter we see God revealing what happened next as Shem, Japheth, and Ham spread out and lived out Genesis 1:28: "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it." We see a general sense of internal unity of all people; that is, all of these people listed- no matter how far they traveled from one another, their political differences, or personal conflicts- arose from one family and were created in the image of God. The nations of people were blessed, and they were fruitful and multiplying as God wanted., but we know human nature hasn't changed.    No matter how different we are, no matter how many different cultures exist, and no matter wh...