In those early days of his marriages, Jacob’s family had grown to eleven boys and a girl! For fourteen years, he worked as the chief shepherd for Laban so that he could marry Rachel and Leah. He had worked very hard, often in harsh weather and for long hours.
Read MoreJacob had escaped from his uncle with all of his wives and children, their servants, flocks, and tents. Ten days into their journey back to the Promised Land, Laban and the men of his household caught up with them.
Read MoreIn all those years of Jacob’s travels, Esau had grown to a man of vast fortunes. The customs of his family had also changed. Esau did not marry women from Abraham’s heritage. His marriages to Canaanite women deeply connected his life and children to the Canaanite nations around him.
Read MoreWhen Joseph told his brother who he really was, they were too terrified to say a thing. So many years before, when he was defenseless and alone, they had thrown him in a cistern and sold him to be a slave.
Read MoreOnce Jacob had put these wide and powerful blessings on the sons of Joseph, he called all of his sons together. He said, “‘Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.’”
Read MoreThe next blessing Jacob gave was for his son, Joseph. Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh had already been blessed, and each of them would be considered equal to the rest of Jacob’s sons and their tribes. Joseph would be counted as two, receiving the double portion of inheritance from his father.
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